This week, a labor strike against a Chinese company occurred in Kazakhstan, demanding better pay, an article was published examining China's growing academic assertiveness, Kazakh parliament passed a law that would curb internet freedoms and could shut down social media platforms, and local Russian and Kazakh officials held talks about building a port on Irtysh river, which could provide access to China.

23 April 2022

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This week, Afghanistan security agents made the first arrests of opium smugglers since last week’s ban on trade and cultivation of poppy seeds, Two new papers were published pointing to the troubling water patterns in Central Asia, Four activists were detained for a pro-Ukraine protest in Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan sign an agreement to cooperate in logistics projects along the Trans-Caspian trade route.

15 April 2022

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This past week, Kazakhstan denied that it might help Russia circumvent sanctions, but confirmed it will continue normal trade activities, A new study was published exploring Kyrgyz young elites’ opinions on China, the Taliban banned opium poppy cultivation, and Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan agreed to boost bilateral trade.

08 April 2022

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This week, many Central Asian migrant workers in Russia lost their jobs as the Russian economy suffers under sanctions, leaving families at home short of cash, the Taliban is said to be working on the preservation and restoration of the Buddha statues that sit on top of a massive copper ore deposit, and a Kazakhstani radio presenter is reportedly under probe for calling on Putin to “take care” of “Nazis” in Kazakhstan on air.

01 April 2022

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This week, the Kazakh president Tokayev pledged to limit his power in a “gradual” manner, a promise not likely to be kept according to experts, Serdar Berdymukhamedov, son of former president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, was inaugurated as president of Turkmenistan, and Russia and Kazakhstan agreed to increase oil exports to China.

25 March 2022

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Two more affiliates of Kazakh ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev, a nephew and a business tycoon, were arrested this past week. Meanwhile, Russia officially suspended exports of grains such as wheat and buckwheat and sugar to “help protect the domestic market”, and Afghanistan resumed talks with China to mine copper as the humanitarian disaster growingly hits the country.

19 March 2022

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This past week, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan got together to work on opening a new trade route to Europe, a rally condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, and Russia’s Sberbank started to try and fill the gap left by the departure of Visa and MasterCard with the Chinese Union Pay.

12 March 2022

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This week, sanctions against Russia, including its removal from SWIFT, continued to hit Central Asian economies that are deeply linked to Russia's economy, Kazakhstan’s ruling party got renamed “Amanat” from “Nur-Otan”, and the Chinese exports were reported to be suffering because of the war in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia.

05 March 2022

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