Field Reports
President Nazarbayev Sets New Goals Before Parliament
By Georgiy Voloshin (the 04/09/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On September 2, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev officially opened the new session of the country’s Parliament after a traditional summer recess. At the beginning of his address, the head of state commended the work of the current legislature formed as a result of early parliamentary elections in January 2012. Apart from the ruling Nur Otan party, which dominated the lower chamber of Parliament for the five preceding years, two other political parties are since represented there, even if their relative weight remains insignificant. Nazarbayev’s praise also comes as a confirmation of his lasting trust in the deputies, whereas a number of experts previously predicted new snap after the controversy caused by the pension reform law.
Azerbaijan Applies for PACE Resolution on The Sarsang Reservoir in Nagorno-Karabakh
By Bakhtiyar Aslanov ( the 04/09/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The Sarsang water reservoir is one of the highest reservoirs supplying Azerbaijan with water and is located in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, controlled by Armenia. It is located at an altitude of 726 meters above sea level with a dike of 125 meters and a capacity to hold 560 million cubic meters of water. The reservoir was built in 1976 on the Tartar River and extends across 14.2 square kilometers in the area of Aghdere. Sarsang is said to provide 40-60 percent of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s electric energy and is operated by the Artsakh HEK OJSC electric company. It has the capacity to provide irrigation water for 100,000 hectares of agricultural land in six rayons in Azerbaijan, Tartar, Agdam, Barda, Goranboy, Yevlakh and Aghjabadi.
Turkmenistan and Turkey Launch Construction of International Port
by Tavus Rejepova (the 08/21/13 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On August 15, the Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a one-day visit to Turkmenistan to promote Turkmen-Turkish cooperation and development of the trade and tourism industry. Alongside the visit, Prime Minister Erdogan and President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov participated in a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony of the construction of the new international port of Turkmenbashi on Turkmenistan’s Caspian Sea coast.
Kazakhstan Boosts Antiterrorist Policies in Response to Growing Threats
by Georgiy Voloshin (the 08/21/13 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On August 14, President Nazarbayev adopted new procedures regarding the notification of terrorist threats and the coordination of antiterrorist activities by competent state bodies. According to these rules, threats are now divided into three distinct categories each having its own color: yellow for potential security risks identified by law enforcement authorities, orange for confirmed risks and red for perpetrated terrorist attacks or the possibility of repeated attacks. In an interview to local media, the secretary of the ruling party NurOtan, Erlan Karin, said that Kazakhstan’s leadership had previously acknowledged serious gaps in the management of security risks, including terrorist and extremist activities.
Visit also
Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, "Promise and Peril in the Caucasus," AFPC Insights, March 30, 2023.
Oped S. Frederick Starr, Putin's War In Ukraine and the Crimean War), 19fourtyfive, January 2, 2023
Oped S. Frederick Starr, Russia Needs Its Own Charles de Gaulle, Foreign Policy, July 21, 2022.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Rethinking Greater Central Asia: American and Western Stakes in the Region and How to Advance Them, June 2022
Oped Svante E. Cornell & Albert Barro, With referendum, Kazakh President pushes for reforms, Euractiv, June 3, 2022.
Oped Svante E. Cornell Russia's Southern Neighbors Take a Stand, The Hill, May 6, 2022.
Silk Road Paper Johan Engvall, Between Bandits and Bureaucrats: 30 Years of Parliamentary Development in Kyrgyzstan, January 2022.
Oped Svante E. Cornell, No, The War in Ukraine is not about NATO, The Hill, March 9, 2022.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, Kazakhstan’s Crisis Calls for a Central Asia Policy Reboot, The National Interest, January 34, 2022.
Book S. Frederick Starr and Svante E. Cornell, Strong and Unique: Three Decades of U.S.-Kazakhstan Partnership, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, December 2021.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, S. Frederick Starr & Albert Barro, Political and Economic Reforms in Kazakhstan Under President Tokayev, November 2021.