Carnegie Moscow Center
Vladimir Putin secured his return to power in Sunday’s Russian presidential election. Though that result came as no surprise, the issue of what will come next for Russia is still an open question.
The reshuffling of the board of Russia's liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy illustrates that Putin's government is becoming increasingly intolerant of criticism.
Recent violence in Zhanaozen in December has forced Kazakhstan's authorities to rethink political, economic, and social policies. Only time will tell if the changes will have their desired effect, but it is the country's population that will make the ultimate judgment.
Uzbekistan, like other Central Asian states, shifts its foreign policy efforts between Moscow and Washington depending on circumstances. It seems that now Uzbekistan is pressing for an increased American military presence in the country.
The ruling class emerged victorious from the recent parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan. But the overconfidence of Kazakh leaders means that all economic, social, and political issues, including the question of power transition, remain unresolved. The leadership may soon face a political storm.
Twenty years after the Soviet collapse, leaders of the five Central Asian republics have built functioning states but they have yet to fully implement democratic reforms, decentralize and share power, and develop strong intraregional relations.
Tens of thousands of Russians took to the street in protest over voter fraud allegations in the country’s parliamentary elections. It remains to be seen what this public response and the election results will mean for the country’s future.
As Kazakhstan celebrates its twentieth anniversary of independence, the country faces a number of tough geopolitical, political, economic, and social challenges.
Legacies of the Soviet era still pervade Kazakhstan, 20 years after independence, and leave most citizens unable to offer a detached judgment of what benefits Kazakhstan might have derived from seven decades of Soviet rule.
The events of the Arab Spring surprised both politicians and experts and while the region’s future is not yet clear, a number of risky scenarios could unfold.