Majlis

The Kremlin’s decision to recognize the independence of the Russia-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine, then launch an invasion of Ukraine, created new tensions between Kazakhstan and Russia. The remarks of Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev and Russian President Vladimir Putin when they were sitting together in St. Petersburg on June 17 showed the differences in opinion between the two governments on Ukraine and other issues. This week’s Majlis podcast looks at the growing rift In Kazakh-Russian ties.

A video of a groom striking his bride at a wedding reception in Uzbekistan, a Kyrgyz deputy’s proposal to ban young women from traveling abroad without permission, and the growing restrictions on women’s appearance and clothing are among the latest examples of the problems women in Central Asia are increasingly facing. This week’s Majlis podcast looks at the roots and manifestations of gender discrimination and violence in Central Asia.

The Tajik government is continuing what it calls a counterterrorist operation in the eastern Gorno-Badakhshan region. Tales of brutality continue to circulate on social media, but the lines of communication to the region were cut immediately after violence broke out in mid-May, so it's very difficult to know for sure what is happening there. This week’s Majlis Podcast takes a look at events in the remote region and the history behind them.

On June 1, Uzbekistan banned the export of cooking oil. The same day, Kyrgyzstan banned the export of sugar. Sugar is in short supply in areas of Kazakhstan and generally across the country and prices for meat, vegetables, cereals, and sugar in Kazakhstan have increased by some 15 percent since June 2021. This week’s Majlis podcast looks at food security in Central Asia and what governments there are doing to ensure their populations have enough to eat.

Kazakhstan is holding a national referendum on potential amendments to the country’s constitution on June 5. This marks the first referendum in Kazakhstan in 27 years. The amendments, as proposed, would alter more than one-third of the current constitution. Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has said that the changes would bring an end to the “super presidential” system established by Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbaev, and would create a Second Republic. Here we take a look at the key amendments and what exactly they signify for Kazakhstan’s future.

Tensions have been simmering in Tajikistan’s restive Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast since November, when security forces killed 29-year-old Gulbiddin Ziyobekov. A brief period of unrest followed. Investigations into the incident have gone nowhere. On May 16, fighting started. Government forces backed by helicopters moved to crush local resistance. At least 30 people were killed. Why is Gorno-Badakhshan such a volatile area and are there any prospects for a peaceful solution to the problems there?

On May 7, the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) group fired rockets from Afghanistan into Tajikistan. The Taliban says it controls northern Afghanistan, but IS-K is not the only armed group battling the Taliban in this area. Not far from the Tajik border, the National Resistance Front under the command of ethnic Tajik Ahmad Masud is also fighting to wrest control of areas from the Taliban. What is happening south of the Tajik border and what connection does Tajikistan have to this latest violence?

The Islamic State-Khorasan (ISK) claimed to have launched rockets at Uzbekistan from a border town in northern Afghanistan. Uzbek and Afghan officials denied it, but there is evidence that a failed attack did happen and evidence of other IS-K attacks in northern Afghanistan. Meanwhile, IS-K has been making threats on social media against Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. This week’s Majlis podcast looks at the increasing violence in northern Afghanistan and what it means for Central Asia.

Central Asian governments have never respected press freedom. But in today's new era of media, in which YouTube channels, blogs, and social networks are among the most popular means of obtaining information, Central Asia's authorities have been playing catch-up. But they are, indeed, catching up, crafting new laws and rules on what people in the region can post.

The armies of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan fought brief but destructive skirmishes along their frontier at the end of April 2021. Tensions had been building for years before that, and despite efforts to build trust and calm emotions after last year's conflict, three people have been shot dead since March in clashes between border guards. Has any progress at de-escalation been made, or is more conflict on the horizon?