President Tokayev Wins Election: Why Is It Good News for Everyone?
“Groomed by Europe, feared by enemies, sure of victory” – this was how the German magazine Der Spiegel described the incumbent President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, on the eve of the presidential election, which took place on Nov. 20. Der Spiegel magazine is correct in its vision of Europe (and the West in general) “grooming”…
The Most Successful Summit of ‘Asian OSCE’: How Astana Became the Diplomatic Capital of Asia Thanks to CICA
During the week, the eyes of the world were directed at Astana where the city hosted a series of international summits, the most important of which was The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). The idea of CICA originated in 1992, in Kazakhstan, and was voiced at the 47th General Assembly…
President Tokayev’s Three Principles Outline Way to Achieve International Peace
The 77th General Assembly of the United Nations was characterized by a general feeling of anxiety and alarmism. Some speakers limited themselves to accusations, blaming other members of the “community of nations” for the generally accepted fact that the world’s security situation and economic perspectives are visibly worsening. A balanced assessment of the situation with…
Seven Days of Search for Peace: Kazakhstan Hosts Record Number of World Leaders in Just One Week
NUR-SULTAN – Seven days of autumn… This week has brought a record number of momentous events both in the life of Kazakhstan and on the world stage. Tragedies and deadlocks on one side, speeches, and summits on the other. In a world where lots of previously secure structures are rapidly disintegrating, the President of Kazakhstan…
Kazakh President’s State-of-the-Nation Address As a Second Chance for Country
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s state-of-the-nation address is a unique combination of solutions for the country’s many problems. The key is democracy (hence the decision to conduct the pre-term elections of the President and the Parliament in 2022-2023, liberalization of the legislation on political parties and other reforms). But, besides European-style democracy, the President is using…
Kazakhstan as a Contributor to Food Security
In this year of endangered food security, when the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other UN bodies are warning about the threat of famine in Africa and some of the poorer countries of the Middle East, Kazakhstan is playing an honorable role as the “donor of food security.” The country not only produces…
From January to July: Kazakhstan Meets Challenges and Soothes Fears
The year 2022 is far from over, but it is already clear that this year will go down in the history of Kazakhstan as the year of momentous change, probably the most important since the country gained independence in 1991. The year was full of dangers, and they let themselves be felt in the first…
Kazakhstan’s Cross-Border Cooperation in Sphere of Water Supply – a Way to Central Asia’s Future
As an extremely hot summer comes to Europe, coupled with painful mutual embargos between the EU and Russia, Kazakhstan and its Central Asian neighbors provide an example of a mutually advantageous, responsible exchange of natural resources, water in the first place. Kazakhstan is providing neighboring states with electric energy and hydro carburants. In exchange, Kazakhstan…
A Very Special Referendum: Reducing the Level of Personal Powers
So, the amendments to the Constitution of Kazakhstan have been adopted. Not by the will of the President, not by the decision of some “very important” officials or even people’s deputies. These very important decisions were voted into law. Voted by none other than the people of Kazakhstan, by 6.1 million voters who took part…
The Spiritual Diplomacy of Kazakhstan and the Upcoming 7th Congress of Traditional Religions: Protecting Peace Religiously
Kazakhstan is living a rich religious life: the Moslems on May 2 started celebrating the holiday of Oraza Ait (the Kazakh name of Eidal-Fitr), while the second largest religious group in the country, the Orthodox Christians, continue the period of celebrations that followed the Orthodox Easter (it fell on April 24 this year). What the…
Foreign Press on Terrorist Attack Against Kazakhstan: When Arrogance Leads to Ignorance
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan came out with an official statement denouncing “a number of publications” in Western media, which presented a twisted, pro-terrorist picture of the recent tragic events in Kazakhstan. “Currently, the law enforcement agencies and armed forces of Kazakhstan are confronting terrorists, not ‘peaceful protesters’ as some foreign media misrepresent it,”…
‘Nazarbayev’s Method’ Works: Peaceful Transition Almost Complete as Chairmanship of Nur Otan Party Transferred to President Tokayev
The decision of Kazakhstan’s First President Nursultan Nazarbayev to cede the chairmanship of the ruling party Nur Otan to current President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is a part of a long and sophisticated political process. This process is democratic in nature and aims to ensure the smooth transition of power to younger generations of Kazakhstan’s leaders without…
Dostoyevsky’s 200th Anniversary Celebrated in Kazakhstan, the Land of His Formative Years
On the 11th of November this year, the world will celebrate an important anniversary that has a special meaning for both Russia and Kazakhstan: 200 years ago the world-famous writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow, in a family of a Russian military doctor, Mikhail Dostoyevsky. The writer lived a tumultuous life of 60 years,…
Kazakhstan at the 76th UN General Assembly: a Global Volunteer
The 76th General Assembly of the United Nations, held in New York City in September of 2021, was an event of historical importance. And here is the reason: it was the first global discussion forum of universal importance that took place in what we can (still tentatively) call a post-COVID world, or rather the world…
President’s State-of-the-Nation Address: Tailor-Made for Kazakhstan
The state-of-the-nation address is a very special genre of public speech. The heads of states of many countries follow the American prototype and imitate the US presidents, repeating the usual speech patterns about democracy, new technologies and empowerment of the people. Others follow the more authoritarian “nativist” speech patterns, emphasizing loyalty to tradition, faithfulness to…
Alibek Dnishev, the Silver Voice of Kazakhstan, Turns 70 (Video)
Alibek Dnishev, the most famous Kazakh opera singer and a wonderful person, the singing soul of Kazakhstan, turns 70 today. Dnishev was born in Almaty and grew up in a typical Kazakh urban family, the son of a journalist. Next to their apartment block stood a movie theatre named Alatau where the young Dnishev watched…
National Security Strategy as a Medicine Against Society’s Fears
When Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the decree approving the National Security Strategy for 2021-2025, the people unfamiliar with Kazakhstan’s realities could ask a question: “Why is it needed now? What for?” Such people should be reminded of one important thing about Kazakhstan. The country’s institutions operate special political doctrine – that of The Listening…
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President with a Human Rights Agenda
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will certainly be remembered in history books as ‘the human rights leader,’ one of the first Eurasian rulers who put the interests and protections of an individual citizen before everything else in the state’s policy. This is still an unusual phenomenon in the “big Eurasia,” where politicians for many centuries have…
Olzhas Suleimenov – Renowned Kazakh Poet, Thinker and Activist – Turns 85 Today
Olzhas Suleimenov turns 85 today. Not the youngest of ages for a human of flesh and blood, but this is the most interesting thing about Kazakhstan’s most famous poet and prominent public figure Suleimenov: he never allowed the earthly reality to trap him. Under all ages and regimes, he never forgot to look at the…
From History to Modernity: Kazakh, Russian Scholars and Diplomats Hold a Conference in Moscow
MOSCOW – East and West, Europe and Asia, history and modernity: both Russia and Kazakhstan are unique countries that bring these seeming opposites together, showing the world a special kind of Eurasian harmony and peace-loving attitudes. This unique mixture of cultures and civilizations gave a special flavor to the scientific conference “Russia and Kazakhstan: 30…
Kyrgyzstan Gets New Constitution
Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian state bordering Kazakhstan with its 6 million strong population, is on its way to political stabilization after the referendum on changes to the country’s Constitution was successfully held in it, with 79 percent of the votes cast in favor of the changes. The changes give Sadyr Japarov, Kyrgyzstan’s recently elected President,…
The Turkic World: Opportunities Instead of Impediments
What is the Turkic World and what role can it play in modernity, if historically these countries, connected by the language and the common ethnic roots, belonged to different empires, military blocs and even civilizations? These are difficult questions, the answers to which seemed to be made difficult by history itself, which placed the Turkic-speaking…
Zhambyl Zhabayev’s 175th Anniversary: a Poet of Steppes Who Outlived His (Almost) 100 years of Physical Life
Zhambyl Zhabayev is not just a great Kazakh poet, he became almost a mythical figure, uniting very different epochs. Even his life span is unique: born in 1846 he died on June 22, 1945 – weeks after the defeat of Nazism in Germany. He had only eight months more to live to celebrate his 100th…
The Election of Sadyr Zhaparov Lends New Hope for Greater Cooperation Between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
On the 10th of January 2021, Kazakhstan’s border state, Kyrgyzstan, elected its new president. Sadyr Zhaparov, 52, a former deputy of the Kyrgyz parliament, was elected the new head of state by 79 percent of the votes cast. Кazakhstan, which has long looked on with much concern at the political instability and internal strife in…
Elections in Kazakhstan: International Reactions
MOSCOW – International observers, foreign policy pundits and the world’s media – everyone is watching Kazakhstan’s parliamentary elections, noting the progress of this country’s relatively young democracy. With every election, the international community gets a wider and wider access to the information about elections in Kazakhstan: this time, Kazakhstan’s Central Election Commission accredited 398 foreign…
