Kazak Election Law Fails to Impress
New legislation looks good on paper but opponents say will do nothing to make elections fairer.
New legislation looks good on paper but opponents say will do nothing to make elections fairer.
Will Kazakstan choose to curry favour with Putin's Russia or continue to pander to her generous American sponsors?
Can Felix Kulov, a former vice-president and ex-mayor of Bishkek, muster a serious presidential challenge to the incumbent Askar Akaev? Political observers in Bishkek certainly think so.
Analysts speculate that President Nazarbaev is attempting to rein in an old political rival by removing his powerbase in southern Kazakstan
Military experts are sceptical about government plans to overhaul the armed forces
Kyrgyz are bitter over what they see as crippling IMF credit conditions
Russia steps up efforts to establish a Central Asian energy alliance as a counterweight to growing US influence in the region
Impoverished Uzbek women are finding it so hard to get by that they are abandoning their children.
How long will pro-US Tashkent tolerate Russian broadcasts critical of American bid to topple Saddam?
Astana and Moscow want to make money from foreign radioactive waste by building a new atomic plant in an earthquake zone.