The Times Of Central Asia | Eurasian Publication & News Online

In modern diplomacy, Central Asia usually means five post-Soviet states: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. But how fixed are the region’s boundaries, and who gets to define them? Should Central Asia be understood as the five states that have emerged as a distinct political space? A broader historical and...

political parties

Tokayev Dissolves Kazakhstan Local Councils Ruling Party Merger

Innovation Rankings

Central Asia in the Global Innovation Rankings: Supercomputers, Engineers, and the Economics of Government Ambitions

Middle Corridor

Azerbaijan–Kazakhstan Ties Could Reorient Central Asian Integration

The five Central Asian presidents met with Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev in Avaza on October 8 for the Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s participation brings a principal outlet for Central Asian trade into the six governments’ economic deliberations. Within their...

Nuclear Energy

Japanese Firm Backs Uzbekistan’s Nuclear-Powered Data Center Project

Uzbekistan's first nuclear power plant, now under construction in the Jizzakh region, is primarily a Russian project. Rosatom is supplying the reactors, and Atomstroyexport, part of its engineering division, is the main contractor. But at the first summit of the Central Asia plus Japan Dialogue in Tokyo in December 2025,...

Religious Regulations, Russian Rehearsals, and the TCTC’s Regional Roadblocks

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Dastan
Short Stories from the Region

Dastan: Why Are Uzbekistan’s Snipers So Good?

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Opinions

Opinion: Central Asia Is More Than Minerals

Eric Rudenshiold & S. Frederick Starr

Opinion: Weaponizing Faith – The Cold War Roots of Central Asia’s Security Dilemma

Zabikhulla Saipov

From Lenin to Kenesary: What Kazakhstan’s Renamed Streets Say About Power

Issatay Minuarov

Opinion: Why Central Asia Cannot Afford to Abandon the Iranian Route

Timur Serikuly

Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan Show What Diplomacy Can Deliver as Vast Rail Project with China Advances

Javier M. Piedra

Uzbekistan’s Heritage Did Not Stop With the Silk Road

Mathieu Lemoine

Opinion: Kazakhstan’s Demining Expertise Could Provide Boost to Afghanistan

Timur Serikuly

Opinion: Uzbekistan Census – When the Village Reappears in the City

Zamirbek Minbaev

Opinion: The Specter Is Back – A Kazakh Warning to America

Askar Alimzhanov

Opinion: The Amu Darya Stress Test – Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Politics of Agricultural Adaptation

Zamirbek Minbaev

Opinion: Kazakhstan’s New Income Growth Plan – Administrative Measures Against Market Realities

Igor Klevtsov

Opinion: Central Asia’s Shift from Silk Road Romance to Infrastructure Finance – What the June Forums Are Building

Dr. Magsud Mammadov

Business & Economy

Railway Economics

Opinion: China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway: Turning Transit Into Local Benefits

At the eighth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and Azerbaijan on October 8, 2026, Azerbaijan joined the forum as a full member after three years of participation as a guest of honor. President Ilham Aliyev stated that “Transport is one of the primary areas of cooperation between Central Asia and Azerbaijan”. Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev called for comprehensive infrastructure along the routes, with logistics hubs and service centers supporting production facilities and industrial zones to generate economic activity around the transport corridors. Construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is among Uzbekistan’s transport priorities and is important...

Economic Growth

Kazakhstan Economic Growth Hits 4.2% Despite Decline in Oil Production

Airline Expansion

Tajikistan’s Shohin Airlines Unveils First Plane

Nuclear Power Plant

IAEA Helps Kazakhstan Prepare for Nuclear Infrastructure Review

Middle Corridor

Azerbaijan–Kazakhstan Ties Could Reorient Central Asian Integration

Women in Tech

Women in Tech Uzbekistan Forum Highlights Growing Demand for AI Skills

Uzbekistan is attracting foreign technology companies, expanding IT education, and training young people to work with artificial intelligence. But employers’ needs are changing faster than educational programs can adapt. Just a few years ago, companies were looking for programmers, then cloud technology specialists. Now they need developers capable of building AI systems and autonomous digital agents. Against this backdrop, discussions in Tashkent are focusing on how to increase women’s participation in the technology industry and enable them not only to learn new tools but also to develop their own products. These issues took center stage at the Women in Tech...

Mineral Processing

Kazakhstan Proposes Local Rare Earth Processing Partnership with Belgium

Kazakhstan has invited Belgian companies to help process critical minerals domestically. Astana hopes to gain access to European processing technologies to expand exports of higher-value products used in high-tech industries. For now, the two sides are discussing laboratory testing and potential projects, with no new investment agreements announced. The proposal was presented at a Kazakhstan-Belgium seminar held on October 12 at Nazarbayev University in Astana. Vice Minister of Industry and Construction Olzhas Saparbekov said Kazakhstan could supply 21 of the 34 critical raw materials on the European Union's list. "We are ready to discuss phased models under which processing is...

Innovation Rankings

Central Asia in the Global Innovation Rankings: Supercomputers, Engineers, and the Economics of Government Ambitions

In the Global Innovation Index (GII), published on September 29 by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Kazakhstan climbed eight places to rank 73rd among 139 economies. Uzbekistan ranked 77th and Kyrgyzstan 92nd. Tajikistan placed 112th, while Turkmenistan was not included in the study. The overall rankings, however, conceal some interesting details. Uzbekistan ranks second worldwide in the share of graduates in science and engineering. Kyrgyzstan ranks second in labor productivity growth, while Tajikistan leads in utility model applications relative to the size of its economy. Utility models are a simpler form of patent protection, usually for smaller inventions. Such...

Artificial Intelligence

Kazakhstan’s AI Strategy: Eurasia’s Emerging Digital Power

Astana hosted AI & Digital Bridge 2026 on October 1–3, and NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang is scheduled to visit the capital on October 23 for a fireside chat with Zhaslan Madiyev, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development. Speaking to The Times of Central Asia earlier this month, Madiyev described a strategy that goes beyond building data centers. Kazakhstan’s digital development builds on capabilities it already has (a mature digital-government system, an established energy and industrial base, cross-border fiber and data-transit infrastructure, and a growing technology sector) to move beyond carrying data and...

Local Politics

Public Transport

Bishkek Metro Plans Resurface Despite High Costs and Low Demand

Bishkek is once again talking about building a metro, despite an assessment by the Kyrgyz capital's own planners that it would attract too few passengers and cost roughly ten times as much as a tram network. Officials have now raised it with French and European development partners. Plans for the new transport systems were discussed on October 9 by Bishkek First Deputy Mayor Kubanychbek Imanaliev, French Ambassador Nicolas Faye, and representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The French side expressed its willingness to help finance a feasibility study. Alexander Baranov, one of the developers of the city's...

Agricultural Trade

Kyrgyzstan Proposes Apple and Potato Import Ban to Protect Domestic Farmers

Ministry of Defense

Kazakhstan Names Former Finance Official Deputy Defense Minister Amid Military Shake-Up

Tourism

Turkmenistan Launches E-Visa System, But Questions Remain

Independence Day

Turkmenistan Marks 35 Years of Independence Amid Reports of Shortages

political parties

Tokayev Dissolves Kazakhstan Local Councils Ruling Party Merger

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a decree on October 12 terminating the powers of maslikhats, the country’s local representative assemblies. Snap elections must now be held by December 12. The move follows a decision in June 2026 to merge the Amanat party into the newly established pro-presidential Adilet party, which won August’s parliamentary elections. Most incumbent local deputies, however, were elected in 2023 under the Amanat banner, raising questions about their mandates as the party is absorbed into Adilet. Why Questions About Legitimacy Arose Tokayev first raised the prospect of early elections on September 24, speaking at the inaugural session...

Vibe Coding

Kazakhstan Begins Military AI Training for 75 Personnel

Kazakhstan has begun training military personnel to create software using artificial intelligence (AI) without having to write code themselves. A total of 75 participants, including conscripts from the Air Defense Forces and Ground Forces, will take the course at Maqsut Narikbayev University (MNU) in Astana. The approach, known in the AI industry as "vibe coding," allows users to create digital tools by describing tasks in everyday language. AI generates the code, while users check the results and refine their instructions as needed. During the course, participants will learn to visualize data and develop applications. "Our goal is to give military...

Election Campaign

Kyrgyzstan Presidential Election: What Has Changed Since 2020?

Kyrgyzstan’s presidential election is scheduled for January 27, 2027, with candidate nominations already open. Sadyr Japarov intends to run for a second term, but the political landscape bears little resemblance to the situation six years ago, when he came to power following the protests of October 2020. Since then, Kyrgyzstan has shifted from a parliamentary to a presidential model, rewritten its election rules, and changed its media legislation. Japarov’s political alliance with Kamchybek Tashiyev, the former chief of the State Committee for National Security (GKNB), has collapsed. Tashiyev, until recently considered a possible successor to the president, has been convicted...

Population

Kyrgyzstan Aging Population Puts Growing Pressure on Pension System

The number of people above working age in Kyrgyzstan has increased by more than 146,000, or 25%, over the past five years. The country still has a relatively young population, but the growing number of older people is nevertheless raising questions about the long-term sustainability of its pension system. At the beginning of 2026, Kyrgyzstan had a population of 7.4 million, including 737,000 people above the standard retirement age – 63 for men and 58 for women – accounting for about 10% of the population. Women outnumber men in this group by roughly two to one, as they not only...

International Affairs

Global Power Rankings

Kazakhstan Ranks 34th, Uzbekistan 71st Among World’s Most Powerful Countries

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were the only entries from Central Asia in World Population Review’s 2026 list of the world’s 100 most powerful countries. The region’s two largest economies ranked 34th and 71st, respectively. Kazakhstan placed between Hungary and Egypt, ahead of Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, Norway, and Saudi Arabia. Among former Soviet republics, Russia ranked higher, in 11th place, while Ukraine came in 51st and Belarus 57th. Uzbekistan ranked between Oman and Sri Lanka, 37 places below Kazakhstan. It placed ahead of Armenia (80th) and Georgia (91st). The top 10 countries were China, the United States, India, Germany, Japan,...

C5+1 Diplomacy

C5+1 and the Forgotten Geography of Central Asia

Yandex Drone Attack

Drone Strikes on Russian Data Centers Disrupt Yandex Services Across Central Asia

Migrants in Russia

They Went to Russia for Work and Ended Up at War: How Central Asians Enter the Russian Military

U.S.-Central Asia Engagement

Central Asia Looks to a Possible Trump Visit

Migrant Resettlement

Kyrgyzstan Rejects European Migrant Resettlement Proposals

Kyrgyzstan has repeatedly rejected proposals from several European countries to accept migrants from Afghanistan and African countries, Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev said on October 13. In exchange, those countries had offered employment opportunities for Kyrgyzstan’s skilled workers. He said Bishkek would not negotiate on those terms. Kulubaev did not specify which countries had made the proposals or how many migrants Kyrgyzstan had been asked to accept. No European government has publicly confirmed such an offer. On October 1, the Council of the European Union adopted new rules for returning foreign nationals who have no legal right to remain in its...

Regional Cooperation

Opinion: Central Asia’s Minilateral Diplomacy and the Limits of Cooperation

In the contemporary, largely fragmented world order, the concept of minilateralism has become increasingly relevant. As less powerful, smaller states are struggling with often ineffective multilateral diplomatic frameworks, cooperation on a smaller scale has been gaining momentum in international relations. Central Asian countries, although with an intrinsic set of strengths and resources, still lack the power to individually address some of their own issues and advocate more proactively for their interests, especially in global forums dominated by major powers and entities. Geopolitical weaknesses of each Central Asian country lie in insufficiently developed domestic economic and military power to compete with...

Fuel Supplies

Tajikistan Holds Fuel Talks With U.S. After Starting Imports From Iran

Tajikistan has discussed fuel supplies with the United States after beginning imports of petroleum products from Iran, whose oil sector is under U.S. sanctions. On October 8, Tajikistan's Minister of Energy and Water Resources Daler Juma met with Carson Relitz Rocker, chargé d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy, to discuss the country's petroleum supplies and other issues. Tajikistan depends almost entirely on imports of petroleum products. From January through September 2026, the country imported approximately 1.37 million metric tons of oil, petroleum products, liquefied gas, and related goods worth $1.13 billion. This included 333,200 metric tons of gasoline, 424,800 metric tons...

Visa Liberalization

Tajikistan and Iran Expand Visa-Free Travel

Tajikistan says a visa-free regime with Iran has been fully implemented, allowing citizens of each country to travel more freely to the other. As of October 5, Tajik and Iranian citizens with “ordinary foreign passports” can enter, transit through, and stay in the territory of the other country without a visa for up to 30 days within a 90-day period, Tajikistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “This system is implemented through international border crossings, including land crossings, international airports, and air routes from third countries, in compliance with the requirements of the national legislation of both countries,” Tajikistan’s state Khovar...

Life & Culture

Small Businesses

Almaty Facade Renovations Leave Small Businesses in the Dust

When Gaukhar Osmonalieva rented a space in central Almaty for a pet grooming salon and coffee shop, renovations to the building’s facade were already underway. She was assured the work would be finished soon. Her business opened in August, but instead of a busy street and an outdoor terrace, she found herself surrounded by scaffolding, a torn-up sidewalk, and constant dust. By mid-October, construction was still underway, and the customers she had hoped to attract by choosing the location were coming less frequently. “At one point, the construction workers dug up the entire road, and foot traffic dropped noticeably. We...

Archaeology

Ancient Fortress and Rare Figurine Discovered at Kalzhyr Settlement in Kazakhstan

Book presentation

The Angel of Karaul in Frankfurt: Leyla’s Story as a Call for a World Without Nuclear Testing

Language Dispute

Uzbekistan’s Centrum Air Apologizes After Uzbek-Language Dispute

ITF World Tennis Tour

Almaty to Host Central Asia’s First World Tennis General Assembly

Safety measures

Kyrgyzstan Road Safety Plan Proposed After 900 Traffic Deaths in 2025

Kyrgyzstan recorded 8,456 road accidents in 2025, leaving 900 people dead and 12,169 injured. Compared with the previous year, the number of accidents rose by 18.8%, while fatalities increased by 21.1%. In response, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has drafted a road safety program for 2027–2030 and opened it for public discussion on October 10. It identifies speeding, driving into oncoming traffic, drunk driving, and violations of rules at intersections and pedestrian crossings as major causes of accidents. Speeding alone resulted in 298 deaths last year. The ministry is proposing the installation of barriers, improving street lighting, creating safer pedestrian...

Archaeology

Rare Medieval Coins Discovered in Kyrgyzstan’s Lake Issyk-Kul

Archaeologists have discovered rare coins dating to the 10th–11th centuries at the bottom of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan. The coins, from the Karakhanid period, may contain as much as 90% lead, an unusual composition that researchers believe could reflect a shortage of copper. Their discovery is particularly valuable for understanding monetary circulation in medieval Central Asia. The coins were found during underwater excavations at the Toru-Aygyr archaeological complex in northwestern Issyk-Kul. The site contains the remains of a large medieval settlement on the northern branch of the Silk Road. According to the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of...

Book Launch

Farewell to Russia: An Interview with Joe Luc Barnes on Central Asia’s Changing Role

In Moscow, before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Joe Luc Barnes met residents who distrusted their government but believed its assurances that war was not coming. The shock that followed opens his book, Farewell to Russia: A Journey Through the Former USSR. Barnes, a journalist, editor and contributor to The Times of Central Asia, has visited all 15 former Soviet republics since February 2022. His book explores how people have built their lives since independence, and how deeply Russia remains woven into them. Speaking to TCA, Barnes recalls meeting rural residents in Central Asia who were more supportive of Russia...

TCA Interviews

Goethe-Institut Director on Kazakhstan’s Cultural Ties with Germany

What does genuine intercultural dialogue look like in an interconnected yet polarized world? The Times of Central Asia spoke with Friederike van Stephaudt, director and head of cultural programs at the Goethe-Institut in Kazakhstan, about cultural relations between Germany and Kazakhstan. She discussed literary translation and how young people’s interest in studying or working in Germany can develop into lasting cultural connections. TCA: When you came to lead the Goethe-Institut in Kazakhstan, what aspects of the country’s culture and society particularly interested you? Friederike van Stephaudt: What fascinated me from the very beginning was Kazakhstan’s unique position at the intersection...

Justice

Victim Compensation

Most Compensation for Uzbekistan’s Dok-1 Max Victims Remains Unpaid

Families affected by Uzbekistan's Dok-1 Max poisoning scandal are still owed most of the 78 billion soums awarded in compensation, more than two years after the court verdict, according to the Bureau of Compulsory Enforcement. The case dates back to late 2022, when children across Uzbekistan fell ill after taking contaminated cold medicines, including Dok-1 Max, manufactured by the Indian pharmaceutical company Marion Biotech. Laboratory tests confirmed that samples of Dok-1 Max and another syrup, Ambronol, contained dangerous levels of diethylene glycol and/or ethylene glycol, toxic substances that can cause severe kidney damage and death. By February 2024, the medicines...

Espionage

German Spy Scandal Puts Central Asian and Caucasus Espionage Cases in Focus

Military Deaths

Kazakhstan Defense Ministry Inspection Leads to 13 Criminal Cases in Wake of Soldiers’ Deaths

Religious Freedom

Why Central Asian Governments Are Regulating Religious Life

Child Protection

Uzbekistan Considers Life Imprisonment for Child Sexual Offenses

Political Trials

Kyrgyzstan Court Jails Kadyr Atambayev and Temirlan Sultanbekov

A court in Kyrgyzstan has sentenced Kadyr Atambayev, the son of former President Almazbek Atambayev, to four years in prison and opposition Social Democrats leader Temirlan Sultanbekov to seven years over an alleged plot to seize power following last year's parliamentary elections. The defendants denied the allegations, and Sultanbekov described the prosecution as politically motivated shortly before the October 8 verdict. The trial at Bishkek’s Pervomaisky District Court was held behind closed doors despite defense lawyers’ requests for public hearings, preventing independent scrutiny of much of the evidence. Kadyr Atambayev entered politics in 2021, when he was elected to Bishkek's...

Asset Recovery

Kazakhstan Ratifies European Legal Assistance Convention as Asset Recovery Push Expands

Kazakhstan has ratified the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, in a step that could strengthen a long-running effort to obtain evidence and pursue assets held across foreign jurisdictions. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the ratification law on October 6. The 1959 Council of Europe convention requires participating states to assist in criminal cases, including gathering evidence, transmitting records, serving judicial documents, and executing certain search and seizure requests. The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers invited Kazakhstan to join on June 18, 2025. Kazakh prosecutors have said accession would provide a common legal channel with European states where...

Ukrainian Childen

Ukrainian Woman Detained in Astana at Russia’s Request

Ukrainian citizen Lyubov Rozhanska has been detained at Astana airport at Russia’s request in connection with a criminal case over an alleged attempt to abduct a child, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported. She had flown from Istanbul to collect her grandson. Ukraine has called for her release and opposed her possible transfer to Russia. Rozhanska was detained on October 1 while passing through border control. She is currently being held in a pretrial detention facility in Astana, her Kazakhstan-based lawyer Riza Nurbayeva told DW. A court is expected to consider whether she should remain in custody. According to Nurbayeva and Russian...

Kashagan Oil Field

Kazakhstan Resumes Collection of $5.2 Billion Kashagan Fine

Kazakhstan has restarted enforcement proceedings to collect a 2.3 trillion tenge ($5.22 billion) environmental fine from North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), operator of the Kashagan oil field, ending a three-week procedural pause. The proceedings resumed on September 29, according to the Justice Ministry’s online enforcement database. NCOC continues to reject both the allegations behind the fine and the penalty itself, and says it is challenging them through available legal channels. Collection had been suspended on September 7 after NCOC challenged the actions of a state enforcement officer. The Specialized Interdistrict Administrative Court of Atyrau Region requested the enforcement case materials,...

Environment

Water Shortages

Uzbekistan Rejects Claims That the Amu Darya Is Drying Up

Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Water Resources has rejected claims circulating on social media that the Amu Darya River is drying up. The ministry said water continues to flow through the river, although discharge at some locations is lower than a year ago. On October 9, the water level near Termez, where the Amu Darya enters Uzbekistan, was 27 centimeters higher than it had been at the same time in 2025. Farther downstream, however, discharge at the Kerki monitoring station was approximately 11% lower than a year earlier. These figures provide little indication of the river’s longer-term condition. The ministry noted that...

Energy

Uzbekistan Solar Panel Program Targets 3,100 Sites in $20 Million Project

Land Restoration

Kyrgyzstan Plans to Restore Land in Syr Darya Basin

Environmental Assessment

Sea Breeze Uzbekistan Clears Second Stage of Environmental Review

Rogun Dam

Tajikistan Ratifies $300 Million World Bank Grant for Rogun Dam

Water Security

Central Asia Agrees New Water Limits, but National Quotas Remain Unclear

Water has repeatedly caused friction between Central Asian governments. Uncoordinated releases have flooded communities downstream, while disputes over access have contributed to deadly fighting along contested borders. On October 7, the region's countries agreed on water withdrawals from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya for fall and winter 2026–2027, though published results do not reveal how much water each country will receive. The agreements were reached at the 95th meeting of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC) in Avaza, on Turkmenistan's Caspian coast near Turkmenbashi. Participants agreed on national water withdrawal limits and projected reservoir operating schedules, but the...

Nuclear Safety

Kazakhstan Nuclear Emergency Center Opens With U.S. Support

Kazakhstan has opened a center to monitor radiation and coordinate responses to nuclear and radiological emergencies, with support from the United States Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. The center opened on October 2 under Kazakhstan’s Atomic Energy Agency. It will receive and analyze radiation data, facilitate information exchange between government agencies, and coordinate their actions during emergencies. The authorities also plan to train specialists and conduct practical emergency-response exercises. Kazakhstan is the world’s largest uranium producer and operates nuclear research facilities. The consequences of Soviet nuclear weapons testing at Semipalatinsk continue to require monitoring and remediation. Between 1949...

Caspian Sea

Japan Funds $3 Million Caspian Sea Monitoring Project in Kazakhstan

Japan is funding a $3 million project to improve monitoring of the shrinking Caspian Sea, focusing particularly on Kazakhstan’s shallow northern basin. The project, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with Kazakhstan, was officially launched in Aktau on October 5. Experts from across the Caspian region are expected to take part in joint research and a regional scientific platform designed to improve the exchange of data and expertise. For Kazakhstan, the most immediate problem lies in the northern Caspian. The water there is extremely shallow, meaning that even relatively small declines in sea level can push the...

Water Security

Opinion: Central Asia’s Old Water Bargain Was Built for Cotton

Central Asia inherited a water bargain built for another economy. In the Soviet system, upstream republics stored water and released it for summer irrigation. Downstream republics used that flow for cotton and other crops. The cost of the exchange stayed inside one plan. Water releases, electricity, fuel, and crop quotas were part of the same political economy. After 1991, the dependence survived, but the plan that balanced it did not. The 1998 Syr Darya agreement already tied reservoir operation to irrigation releases and set compensation for the winter power Kyrgyzstan gave up. The 2000 Chu-Talas agreement went on to share...

Kazakhstan’s AI Strategy: Eurasia’s Emerging Digital Power

Latest

Features

Features

Religious Regulations, Russian Rehearsals, and the TCTC’s Regional Roadblocks

Latest

Dastan: Why Are Uzbekistan’s Snipers So Good?

Religious Regulations, Russian Rehearsals, and the TCTC’s Regional Roadblocks

Dastan: Why Are Uzbekistan’s Snipers So Good?

Opinions

Opinions

Eric Rudenshiold & S. Frederick Starr

Zabikhulla Saipov

Issatay Minuarov

Timur Serikuly

Javier M. Piedra

Mathieu Lemoine

Timur Serikuly

Zamirbek Minbaev

Askar Alimzhanov

Zamirbek Minbaev

Igor Klevtsov

Dr. Magsud Mammadov

Business & Economy

Business & Economy

Opinion: China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway: Turning Transit Into Local Benefits

Women in Tech Uzbekistan Forum Highlights Growing Demand for AI Skills

Kazakhstan Proposes Local Rare Earth Processing Partnership with Belgium

Central Asia in the Global Innovation Rankings: Supercomputers, Engineers, and the Economics of Government Ambitions

Kazakhstan’s AI Strategy: Eurasia’s Emerging Digital Power

Local Politics

Local Politics

Bishkek Metro Plans Resurface Despite High Costs and Low Demand

Tokayev Dissolves Kazakhstan Local Councils Ruling Party Merger

Kazakhstan Begins Military AI Training for 75 Personnel

Kyrgyzstan Presidential Election: What Has Changed Since 2020?

Kyrgyzstan Aging Population Puts Growing Pressure on Pension System

International Affairs

International Affairs

Kazakhstan Ranks 34th, Uzbekistan 71st Among World’s Most Powerful Countries

Kyrgyzstan Rejects European Migrant Resettlement Proposals

Opinion: Central Asia’s Minilateral Diplomacy and the Limits of Cooperation

Tajikistan Holds Fuel Talks With U.S. After Starting Imports From Iran

Tajikistan and Iran Expand Visa-Free Travel

Life & Culture

Life & Culture

Almaty Facade Renovations Leave Small Businesses in the Dust

Kyrgyzstan Road Safety Plan Proposed After 900 Traffic Deaths in 2025

Rare Medieval Coins Discovered in Kyrgyzstan’s Lake Issyk-Kul

Farewell to Russia: An Interview with Joe Luc Barnes on Central Asia’s Changing Role

Goethe-Institut Director on Kazakhstan’s Cultural Ties with Germany

Justice

Justice

Most Compensation for Uzbekistan’s Dok-1 Max Victims Remains Unpaid