Kazakhstan - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Latest Kazakhstan News

Kazakh Prepared Stepson For Suicide Bombing

A court in Kazakhstan's western city of Atyrau imposed a seven-year prison term on a young woman for preparing her 12-year-old stepson to become a suicide bomber. More

Two of the "troubling deterioration's" poster boys, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (back to camera) and Russian President Vladimir Putin, meet in the Tver region on Ukraine in March.

Eurasian Deterioration 'Troubling'

Countries in Central Europe and Central Asia are increasingly being ruled by autocratic governments with little regard for democracy, according to the 2013 "Nations In Transit" report by democracy watchdog Freedom House. More

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev (right) with his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov (file photo)

Kazakh, Uzbek Leaders Sign Pact

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev has reached a strategic partnership agreement with his Uzbek counterpart, Islam Karimov, during a visit to Tashkent. More

Kazakh Activist Released In Poland

A Kazakh opposition activist detained in Poland has been released. More

Kazakh Activist Arrested In Poland

Kazakh opposition activist Muratbek Ketebaev has been detained in Poland. More

More Kazakhstan News

Latest Blog Posts

Who will occupy the throne after Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev?

Expanding The Nazarbaev Clan

Nursultan Nazarbaev has ruled Kazakhstan since 1991 and his family controls much of the energy-rich Central Asian state's wealth. But even as the speculation as to who will succeed the 72-year-old as president continues to bubble under the surface, it seems his family is linking to other families of the petro-fueled elite in dynastic fashion. More

Aliya Nazarbaeva is touted as the "successor of her father's ideas."

Daughter's Film Touts Kazakh President’s Green Credentials

New York film buffs can get a taste of Eurasia this week as the New York Eurasian Film festival opens. Among the offerings -- a film touting Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev’s role in spearheading "green development" as a solution to a “worldwide crisis.” The producer of the film is none other than his youngest daughter, Aliya Nazarbaeva. More

Blog Archive

Features & Commentary

PHOTO GALLERY: Desertification has increased markedly in the past two decades in Central Asia, causing agricultural yields to plummet. Some estimates suggest that 70 percent of Turkmenistan has become desert, but nearby Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have also suffered precipitously.

UN-Backed Plan To Combat Central Asian Desertification Won't Hold Water

The United Nations launched an ambitious 10-year project to combat desertification in 2006. As the UN marks World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought seven years later, there is little to show for the effort.

Kazakh businessman Mukhtar Ablyazov has spent millions of dollars funding Kazakh opposition groups and independent media.

How Far Will Nazarbaev Go To Take Down Mukhtar Ablyazov?

Nursultan Nazarbaev has a powerful enemy in “runaway” oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov. Now, with Ablyazov’s wife and daughter in state custody, he appears to hold the upper hand.

A memorial service in June 2012 for one of the 14 border guards who died in the late-May killings on the Kazakh-Chinese border.

One Year Later, Doubts Swirl Around Kazakh Border-Guard Murders

It was one year ago that Kazakh authorities announced a mass murder at a distant outpost on the Kazakh-Chinese border. Since then, the sole surviving border guard has been convicted and jailed, but many questions remain unanswered.

Amnesty International says abusive governments can no longer use the issue of sovereignty to justify their actions.

Amnesty Report Notes Worldwide Abuses, As Well As Courage Of Activists

In a new report, the global rights group Amnesty International documents abuses in 159 countries and territories that it says were "inflicted by those in power on those who stand in the way of their vested interests."

In Kazakhstan, Spending Saturday Night In The Gulag

A museum of the Stalin-era prison camp system in central Kazakhstan has given visitors a night-time tour, where they were "treated" to prison meals and a performance of mock interrogations.

Disabled antinuclear activist Karipbek Kuyukov was born in the eastern Kazakh region of Semey, formerly known as Semipalatinsk, which was used by the Soviet Union to test nuclear weapons.

Armless Kazakh Artist Says 'Poor-Quality' Fingerprints Cost Him British Visa

An armless Kazakh artist says he was denied a British visa recently because he was unable to provide fingerprints. Karipbek Kuyukov says British authorities returned his passport without issuing him a visa due to the poor quality of his fingerprints.

An HIV center in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh

Interview: Lack Of Data On Gay Men Impedes HIV Fight In Central Asia

In recent years, the countries of Central Asia have experienced some of the fastest growing rates of HIV infection in the world. One of the key populations at risk is men who have sex with men.

Kyrgyz farmer Baktybek Kupeshov cobbles together makeshift tractors from bits of old Soviet-era cars.

Aging Farm Machinery Hampers Central Asian Productivity

In parts of Central Asia, obsolete farm machinery keeps agricultural production low. A look at Kyrgyzstan shows how much.

Many Kazakh traders travel across the border to China to buy goods to sell at home in local markets.

On The Road With Kazakhstan’s Women Shuttle Traders

Women shuttle traders in Kazakhstan travel far and wide to provide for their families. Their grassroots role in the market economy has earned them thanks and praise from everyday citizens -- there are even plans in motion to erect a monument in their honor.

"A huge problem with alcohol," is how the report's author describes the situation in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and other countries.

Low Life Expectancy Continues To Plague Former Soviet Countries

The dramatic drop in life expectancy in Russia and much of the former Soviet Union has yet to be reversed, according to a recent study.

RFE/RL's Radio Azattyq has been an important source of information for people in Kazakhstan for decades. In 2009, Azattyq won the prestigious 2009 Online Journalism Award for "standing in defense of citizen’s rights to seek and receive information."