Nazarbayev, Tokayev and Kazakhstan’s continuing political reform journey

 Kazakhstan is a central Asian republic with a long, storied history dating back to prehistory, through the Mongol era, the Kazakh Khanate, the Russian Empire, and subsequently the Soviet Union. Thirty-one years after regaining the statehood that was lost when the Kazakh Khanate was absorbed by Russia 180 years ago, Kazakhstan

The status quo is over: Kazakhs want real change

 ABOVE: With the ongoing violence and the loyalty of some security forces being questioned, President Tokayev called in the Russian-led CTSO to restore order. As people worldwide rang in the New Year, Kazakhstan experienced an outbreak of political violence unparalleled in the country’s post-independence history. Kazakhstan is a peaceful, developed

Kazakhstan’s Nur-Sultan: where East and West meet on the steppe

 ABOVE: The capital city of Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan with landmark Baiterek tower. (PHOTO: iStock) The Republic of Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world by land area and is the world's largest landlocked country, covering a vast territory of 2,727,300 square kilometres. It is larger than Western Europe. Kazakhstan shares

Kazakhstan — the continued long march to liberal democracy

 Above: President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (centre) celebrates the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of Kazakhstan, August 2020. It has been nearly two years since the first president of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, resigned from his office and transferred power to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, chair of the Senate and

Kazakhstan President Tokayev announces more democratic reforms

 June 2019 was a turning point in Kazakhstan’s history. It was the first time since the collapse of the former Soviet Union, over thirty years ago, that the larger-than-life former President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, did not run for election; he resigned earlier in the year. His appointed successor and Nur Otan party candidate,