Featured stories about Kazakhstan
Stories about Kazakhstan
Central Asian people's path to the American dream is full of dangers
Among the dangers of traveling this route are being robbed or taken hostage by cartels in transit countries, being attacked by wild animals, and drowning in the Caribbean Sea.
Shifting tides: Do Kazakhs still like Russia?
Public opinion is split: for some, Russia is an unavoidable, yet dangerous partner, but a lesser evil compared to others.
Central Asian presidents cannot stop appointing their relatives to high-level posts
The most glaring example of this practice is the current president of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimukhamedov, who succeeded his father Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov in 2022.
A podcast in Kazakhstan is under controversy for inviting a friend of the Boston Marathon bomber
Critics viewed the episode as an attempt to whitewash a criminal by providing him with a platform and not asking tough questions.
In Kazakhstan, the truth about the 2022 deadly protests is still suppressed
For a year and a half, the authorities have not released a complete list of the victims, along with the circumstances of their death.
Central Asian states lead the way in the repatriation of foreign terrorist fighters’ families from Syria and Iraq
The cases of Central Asian countries can serve as a study model, and have many good practices to share with the international community.
Ashes on their foreheads: Forest fires in Kazakhstan expose pervasive corruption and government’s fake promises
Over the past three years alone, four large forest fires have occurred in the north and east of Kazakhstan, causing the destruction of more than 100,000 hectares of forests.
Central Asian leaders sigh with relief as Erdoğan wins presidential elections in Turkey
After a cooling off in the relations in the 1990s and early 2000s, the blossoming of cooperation between Turkey and Central Asia has come under Erdoğan’s rule.
Kazakhstan is still haunted by Soviet-era political repression and famine
Kazakhstan is still grappling with the past tragedies and processing its national trauma.
Fake accounts and presidential elections in Kazakhstan
The ruling leadership in Kazakhstan is aware of the importance of capturing the hearts and minds of internet users, spreading disinformation and using artificial automated accounts to imitate enthusiastic support for the government.
‘Central Asian literature exists regionally only in Russian': Interview with Russophone Uyghur writer Ramil Niyazov-Adyldzhyan
While the majority of Uyghur people live in China, a large Uyghur diaspora lives in Central Asia, including in Kazakhstan, where they are freer to express themselves.
The stories of Koreans in Kyrgyzstan who converted to Islam
Their conversion is partly the result of the re-Islamization of Kyrgyzstan, which started in 1991, after Kyrgyzstan gained independence.
Unfreedom Monitor Report: Kazakhstan
Advox research into digital authoritarianism in Kazakhstan is now in a report. Read an excerpt and download the full pdf.
Central Asian leaders display loyalty to Kremlin at the military parade in Moscow
Russia’s allies in Central Asia are in a delicate position. They have to maintain neutrality while being pressured by Russia, who is leveraging the region’s political, security, and economic reliance.
In Kazakhstan, political dissidents accused of spreading disinformation
These incidents show how the Kazakh government does not hesitate to abuse its own laws, purportedly enacted to safeguard citizens, for its own ends to repress dissent and maintain control of the narrative.
Human trafficking, forced labor and exploitation of migrants in Russia
Russian authorities trafficked people for illegal actions that they were forced to commit while being trafficked, such as prostitution, illegal presence in the country or drug trafficking. Many are deported.
Why are oil workers protesting in Kazakhstan?
The workers are depicted as privileged, earning exponentially more than average citizens. The reasons for their dissatisfaction, however, are structural.
At home, in a presidential palace, and a mosque: Where Central Asian presidents hosted iftar in 2023
Where they are held, who attends them, and what words are spoken at these events can help better understand Central Asia and its people.
Hopes for democracy in Kazakhstan fade further as numerous violations mar parliamentary elections
The ‘New Kazakhstan’ vision that aspires to bring fair and competitive elections is yet to be implemented.
Central Asians fighting in Ukraine are both defending and attacking it
The authorities in Central Asia have issued stern warnings to their citizens not to fight in Ukraine, threatening lengthy prison sentences for participating in armed conflicts abroad as mercenaries.
Surviving economic hardships through Kazakhstan's ‘toi business’
The thriving toi business is a prism through which it is possible to read the complexities of the present, namely chronic unemployment, underdeveloped infrastructure, and strategies of survival under capitalism.
