News Digest
KAZAKH DEMONSTRATION ORGANIZERS JAILED, FINED
By empty (3/1/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A court in Almaty on 28 February sentenced the organizers of an unsanctioned 26 February demonstration, activists from the opposition group For a Just Kazakhstan, to fines and short jail terms, Russia\'s \"Vremya novostei\" reported the following day. Tolen Tokhtasynov and Asylbek Kozhakhmetov were sentenced to 15 days in jail, Amirzhan Kosanov and Marzhan Aspandiyarova to 10 days, and Bulat Abilov and Petr Svoik to five days. Gulzhan Ergalieva was fined $300, while For a Just Kazakhstan head Zharmakhan Tuyakbai and Oraz Zhandosov were fined $200 each.KAZAKH PRESIDENT\'S DAUGHTER BLASTS PUBLICATIONS ABOUT FAMILY
By empty (3/1/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
In a statement on March 1, Darigha Nazarbaeva, the daughter of President Nursultan Nazarbaev and head of the Asar Party, criticized press reports about members of her family that have appeared since the murder of opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbaev. Nazarbaeva said that various media \"are knowingly disseminating false information about the involvement of close relatives of the president in this crime.\" She said that the publications, \"in addition to ridiculous accusations, [contain] direct threats toward members of my family.UZBEK COURT SENTENCES OPPOSITION LEADER TO 10 YEARS
By empty (3/1/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A court in Tashkent sentenced Nodira Hidoyatova, coordinator of the opposition Sunshine coalition, on March 1 to a 10-year prison term for a variety of economic crimes. Hidoyatova, who maintained her innocence, was convicted of membership of a \"criminal group\" along with the brothers Abror and Sanjar Umarov. Sanjar Umarov, leader of the Sunshine coalition, is also on trial for economic crimes; he is expected to be sentenced in the coming days.GEORGIAN PRESIDENT DENIES PRICE FOR IRANIAN GAS WAS EXORBITANT
By empty (3/1/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Mikheil Saakashvili has denied in an interview with Ekho Moskvy that Georgia paid $250 per 1,000 cubic meters for the gas it imported from Iran in late January while gas supplies from Russia were temporarily disrupted after the main Russia-Georgia gas pipeline was blown up. Georgian Energy Minister Nika Gilauri and Economic Development Minister Irakli Chogovadze both declined on 1 February to specify the exact price paid for the Iranian gas; they and other government ministers ignored a subsequent request from parliament to clarify the issue, \"Akhali taoba\" reported on 17 February. Saakashvili said in his Russian radio interview that the price was lower than the $110 Tbilisi previously paid for Russian gas.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.