The Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures (CICA) convened this week, bringing together the leaders of Central Asian nations as well as Russia and China. The conference, held every four years, was established under the auspices of a number of countries from throughout Asia and the Middle East, and recently has…

As Russian forces on the border with Ukraine are ordered back, regional leaders have reflected on the implications for Russian intervention in their own countries. As reported earlier, Kazakhstan’s tepid support coupled with Kyrgzystan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan’s reticence on the issue have raised a real point of tension between Russia and the FSU republics. President…

Ukrainian dignitaries have convened in the eastern city of Kharkiv in order to establish a framework by which peace could be brokered throughout Ukraine. The escalation of violence in Ukraine’s east, not to mention the killing of more than 30 pro-Russia protestors in Ukraine’s southwestern city of Odessa, have placed the country in a precarious…

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) released a statement this morning on the impact of Ukraine’s crisis on economies of Ukraine, Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. EBRD economists forecasted that Ukraine will predictably slump into a deep recession and sanctions for Russia will serve to accelerate its own economic stagnation. However, projections…

Reports emerging from China’s Xinjiang region reveal that more than 200 Muslim Uighurs have been arrested over the past six weeks. The 232 total detainees have been brought up on charges ranging from possessing and disseminating material classified as “violent or terrorist,” or merely receiving such content. It is unclear whether or not all individuals…

Last week, the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) met informally to bolster diplomatic solidarity in the face of increasing isolation from the West over its role in the Ukraine crisis. However, the meeting lacked several key members – among them, Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan. The only attending members were Armenia, Bealrus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.…

The Energy Ministry of Turkmenistan recently commissioned a new thermal power plant that will contribute up to 3.6 million kilowatts of electricity, most of which will be utilized in order to supply Turkmenistan’s Lebap province, found in Turkmenistan’s highly restricted closed border zone with Uzbekistan. Beyond being able to provide northeastern Turkmenistan with electric power,…

Voters in eastern Ukraine took part in the hastily organized referendums, organized to grant legitimacy to the separatist militias that have taken over cities like Donetsk and Luhansk. The militias have been apparently fueled by hope for re-absorption into the Russian Federation, similar to Crimea. Roman Lyagin, election chief of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic,…

The government of Azerbaijan sentenced eight opposition activists to 6-8 years in prison for protesting the death of Jeyhun Gubadov at a barracks in January. A conscript of the Azerbaijani military, he officially died from a heart attack but photos shared with the press indicate otherwise. The ruling party of Azerbaijan, “Yeni Azerbaijan” (YAP) endured…

The International Monetary Fund recently released a series of predictions in its annual Regional Economic Outlook Update for the Caucasus and Central Asia, in which it details expectations which largely show economies in Central Asia slowing throughout the remainder of 2014, from 6.5% to 6%. The economic downturn in Central Asia can be ascribed chiefly…