Field Reports
CELEBRATING NOVRUZ IN CENTRAL ASIA
By Erica Marat (3/21/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Novruz, spelled differently in each state, has become one of the attributes illustrating ethnic peculiarities among the Central Asian nations. Every year, massive celebrations are staged in the Central Asian capital cities. Along with some common rituals prepared and performed under Central Asian governments’ supervision, Novruz is also a venue for parading national costumes, dances, and food.KAZAKHSTAN EXTENDS HELPING HAND TO GEORGIA
By Marat Yermukanov (3/21/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The Georgian President’s brief stopover in Astana on his way to Japan on March 5 could hardly be called an epoch-making visit. Even observers familiar with Mikheil Saakashvili’s distaste for ceremonial pompousness were puzzled by the low profile he upheld in his talks with his Kazakh counterpart and with journalists, dropping casual jokes about tourism and investment. But in Astana, everybody knows that the current state of Georgian economy, especially in the energy sector, is anything but a joking matter.AKSY EVENTS STILL TORMENT KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT
By Nurshat Ababakirov (3/21/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
In his address on 17 March in Aksy, President Bakiev called for deterring the efforts of some politicians to “politicize” the Aksy events. But to the question of seemingly dissatisfied people as to why the involved officials are still not punished, the president once again mentioned that he is not a “czar” to overcome the constitutional framework. Nevertheless, in order to placate the strong demand of the grassroots, the president had to sack the Prosecutor General, Kambaraly Kongantiev, on 19 March, who was believed to have failed to expose the officials that gave the orders to shoot at civilians.KULOV CITES GRAFT IN GOVERNMENT AND PARLIAMENT
By Nurshat Ababakirov (3/7/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
“I had to pass through parliament!” Daniyar Usenov according to Kulov justified himself before President Kurmanbek Bakiev. Kulov’s February 28 statement to Delo N newspaper also mentions how the first deputy prime minister allegedly complained to President Bakiev that his current position as a “manager” costs him much more than his actual $300 salary.On the first days following the announcement, the first deputy prime minister seemed slow to respond to such loud and rigorous accusations, adding to the impression that he had been seeking to coordinate with the president and the pro-Bakiev parliamentarians.
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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.