Turkmenistan’s Chief Mufti Replacement Recalls Earlier Dismissals
Only two people in Turkmenistan, the chairman of the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) and the president, have what could be considered job security. Everyone else is expendable, at a moment’s notice, and that extends to the country’s top clergy. Turkmenistan has replaced the country’s top mufti, and while the reasons...
Uzbekistan World Cup Ends With Reality Check After DR Congo Defeat
For an hour in Atlanta, it looked as though Uzbekistan's World Cup story might yet have an improbable final chapter, but a flurry of goals in the final 25 minutes saw Fabio Cannavaro's side handed another harsh reality check. The White Wolves threw away a first-half lead to lose 3-1...
Russia’s Fuel Crisis Tests Kazakhstan’s Energy Resilience
Kazakhstan is being pulled into a new energy paradox. As Russia's fuel crisis deepens, the country is being discussed as a potential gasoline supplier to its largest neighbor. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan is tightening controls at home, building reserves around refinery maintenance, and weighing fuel imports from China to protect its own...
Kurultai Election Campaign Takes Shape in Parliament’s Final Budget Debate
Kazakhstan's outgoing parliament spent one of its final sessions debating the government's management of the 2025 budget, in what often resembled a dress rehearsal for the country's first Kurultai election campaign. On July 1, Kazakhstan’s new constitution will enter into force, replacing the current Senate and Mazhilis with a single-chamber...
UKTMP Eyes Expanded U.S. Presence as Kazakhstan’s Titanium Champion Seeks New Markets
ASTANA — On June 11, Sylvain Gehler, Chairman of the Board of the Ust-Kamenogorsk Titanium and Magnesium Plant (UKTMP), and Assem Mamutova, the company’s CEO, spoke with The Times of Central Asia during the Astana Mining and Metallurgy Congress (AMM). He outlined their plans to strengthen the company’s international footprint,...
Uzbekistan Agrees Tariff Cuts for U.S. Goods as Moody’s Raises Sovereign Rating
Uzbekistan and the United States announced a new package of trade commitments on June 25. Moody’s raised Uzbekistan’s sovereign rating by one notch the same day. The two decisions strengthen Tashkent’s case that economic reforms are producing practical gains. Under the “early harvest” announced in Tashkent, Uzbekistan will eliminate or...
From Bishkek to Yakutsk: What Unites Eurasia’s Emerging Cinema
Stepan Burnashev is a Sakha filmmaker from Yakutia who has helped bring Yakut cinema to audiences far beyond the republic. His films have screened at international festivals, appeared on Amazon, and helped turn Yakut cinema into one of the most distinctive regional film movements in Eurasia. In Bishkek, where Burnashev...
Chongara and Tash-Tobo: The Villages That Changed Countries Without Moving
About 2,500 people in Chongara and Tash-Tobo now live under Kyrgyz jurisdiction. The transfer reduces the number of Uzbek enclaves in Kyrgyzstan and clears the way for a much shorter road across the Batken Region. For Umitbek, the change first appeared online. Chongara, his home village, passed from Uzbekistan’s Ferghana...
Kazakh Coalitions, Kyrgyz Security Signals, and Uncovering Disinformation Networks in Central Asia
Sunkar Podcast
Kazakhstan to Host 2027 Table Tennis World Championships
