#Azerbaijani President Ilham #Aliyev’s met with the usual array of top #Georgian officials during his brief visit to Tbilisi. But it was his short conversation with a man who holds no formal government position, billionaire #Ivanishvili, that generated the most buzz 🔗 eurasianet.org/aliyevs-tbil...

#Kazakhstan and #Uzbekistan have cracked the top 30 countries, in terms of percentage of citizens who engage in some form of charitable giving, according to data compiled by the World Happiness Report (WHR).

A flurry of recent deals and announcements suggest significant new reserves of natural gas are contained in the Ustyurt Plateau, which spans western sections of #Kazakhstan and #Uzbekistan.

On February 4, 2026, the #Georgian Parliament adopted amendments to the Law of Georgia On Higher Education. The controversial reform triggered mass protests from the academic community and broader society.

#Armenian Prime Minister Nikol #Pashinyan and #Russian leader Vladimir Putin were not in a jesting mood during an April Fools’ Day meeting in the #Kremlin. 🔗 eurasianet.org/pashinyan-an...

#Azerbaijan’s Supreme Court has upheld the conviction and nine-year prison sentence of a prominent opposition activist concluding a more than two-year legal process that one rights group has characterized as “a serious departure from the rule of law.”

#Kyrgyzstan is playing catch-up in a regional race to embrace artificial intelligence, lagging behind #Kazakhstan and #Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan ranks 119th out of 195 countries in the Government AI Readiness Index 2025. 🔗 eurasianet.org/more-carrot-...

#Kazakhstan and #Uzbekistan have quietly competed for years for unofficial recognition as Central Asia’s economic and political leader in the eyes of the outside world. But that rivalry seems to be coming to an end, as the two states show an increasing willingness to cooperate rather than compete.

A #Georgian company has struck a deal to import coal, metals and chemical products from the Russian-occupied #Ukrainian region of #Donetsk, a move that raises fresh questions about sanctions enforcement and underscores Tbilisi tightening economic ties with #Moscow.

#Armenians will head to the polls on June 7 to elect all 101 members of parliament, a vote with critical regional and geopolitical consequences.

A new era for soccer has kicked off in #Kazakhstan after the ownership of several clubs recently moved into private control and the country’s main league expanded to sixteen teams. 🔗 eurasianet.org/kazakhstans-...

A #US governmental commission is recommending the redesignation of #Tajikistan and #Turkmenistan for “systematic, ongoing, [and] egregious violations” of religious freedom, potentially exposing the Central Asian states to US sanctions.

#China’s leading international broadcaster, CGTN, aired an interview March 24 with #Turkmenistan’s paramount leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, touting how “mutual trust and centuries-old exchanges” shape present-day bilateral relations.

A fast thaw in relations between the #Kremlin and #Azerbaijan has occurred in March, enabling a strategic link connecting #Russia and Iran to keep functioning, despite the ongoing #US-Israeli bombing campaign in #Iran.

This essay is part of a series by American diplomats sharing their impressions of the dramatic early years of Central Asia’s independence from the Soviet Union.

All the bombs dropped by the #UnitedStates and #Israel over the past four weeks on Iran have not disrupted a key trade route with #Russia that both #Tehran and Moscow rely on to help keep their respective war efforts going.

#Georgia has morphed into an authoritarian state over the past two years, but it retains its status as having the most favorable business environment in #Eurasia, according to an annual survey published by the Heritage Foundation.

A flare-up in violence along #Tajikistan and #Afghanistan’s winding 854-mile border in recent months has helped spur shifts in Tajik foreign policy.

#Azerbaijan is increasingly stepping away from #Russian influence as #Russia’s military dominance in the #Caucasus slips due to its involvement in the war in #Ukraine.

In the wake of recent efforts by #CentralAsian leaders to open new trade routes to #Pakistan, #India is stepping up its diplomatic engagement with regional governments.

The #Georgian Orthodox #Church is preparing to select a new patriarch following the death of Ilia II, the longest-serving prelate of the world’s oldest Christian denomination. 🔗 eurasianet.org/georgia-mour...

Central Asian states, notably #Kazakhstan and #Uzbekistan, are striving to open up their economies to be more globally competitive. But their respective political systems remain steadfastly authoritarian, according to an annual assessment by the #US watchdog organization Freedom House.

Fresh off a disappointing trip to the U#nitedStates, #Turkmenistan’s paramount leader, Gurbanguly #Berdymukhamedov, has made a quick, and seemingly more satisfying pivot to #China.

The adoption of a new constitution in #Kazakhstan that downgraded the status of the Russian language has animated debates in neighboring #Kyrgyzstan about de-emphasizing Russian. The #Kremlin is taking note.

#Tajikistan, Central Asia’s poorest state, appears to be the regional leader in providing humanitarian aid to Iran. Russia, meanwhile, is working to both alleviate human suffering and prolong Iran’s fighting ability, according to a report published by the Wall Street Journal.

Ousted former #Kyrgyz security services boss Kamchybek Tashiev, a former boxer who was once President Sadyr Japarov’s right-hand man, is on the ropes.

Read #Caucasus- #CentralAsia weekly roundup.

Energy interests are helping to fuel fresh efforts aimed at normalizing #Armenian-Turkish relations.

#China Railway Construction Engineering Group has signed an agreement with a joint venture, formed by state-owned #Uzbekistan Railways and #Kazakhstan’s PTC Holding, to build one of Central Asia’s largest logistics hubs.

“Through our united efforts we will free #Georgia from the autocratic rule of [Georgian Dream founder] Bidzina Ivanishvili, restore the country’s Euro-Atlantic path, guarantee democratic governance, national security and the well-being of the Georgian people,” the parties said in a joint statement.

According to preliminary figures, 87 percent of votes cast supported the adoption of the new constitution, #Kazakhstan’s third since the country gained independence in 1991. Turnout hit 73 percent, according to Mukhtar Erman, the commission’s deputy director. 🔗 eurasianet.org/snap-referen...

Opinion polling indicates that voters will approve a new constitution for #Kazakhstan in a referendum on March 15. The draft that citizens will vote on represents a near total rewrite of the existing constitution, which dates to 1995.

As the music blared over the loudspeakers of a hearing room, members of parliament looked at each other quizzically, shuffled papers and scrolled on their phones as they began listening to three finalists in late January in a competition for #Kyrgyzstan’s new national anthem.

Pakistan’s ongoing military campaign against #Afghanistan, initiated by airstrikes in late February 2026 targeting hideouts of the Tehrik-e-Taliban #Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State–Khorasan Province (ISKP) in Nangarhar, Paktika, and Khost, has escalated into a declared “open war.”

As #Kazakh citizens prepare to vote March 15 on a new constitution, the buzzwords flashing up on billboards and at glitzy campaign events are “just and progressive.” 🔗 eurasianet.org/kazakhstan-p...

As #Armenia gears up for a parliamentary election in June, initial public opinion survey results contain encouraging news for Prime Minister Nikol #Pashinyan’s hopes of retaining power.

#G7 powers and #China are battling for influence over the development assistance agenda for #CentralAsia. The rivalry is reflected in the growing attention paid to the region by proxy development institutions, the G7-led Asian Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

#Azerbaijan has assumed what can be described as an aggressive-defensive posture as the government seeks to prevent a repeat of the March 5 Iranian drone strikes in the #Nakhchivan exclave.

The #Asian Development Bank is on a spending spree in #CentralAsia, authorizing billions in support for states in Central Asia and the #Caspian Basin. The bank’s primary aim appears to be stimulating the development of the Middle Corridor trade route.

A recent #Tajik government report on living standards indicates that many households are hovering on the edge of the poverty line. The published results reaffirm #Tajikistan’s status as Central Asia’s poorest country.

#Azerbaijan risks getting sucked into a widening Middle East conflict after #Iran conducted a drone attack March 5 on the #Nakhchivan exclave, wounding four civilians. 🔗 eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-t...

A attack earlier this year by the Islamic State of #Khorasan Province (ISKP) on a #Chinese restaurant in a supposedly secure district in the #Afghan capital, Kabul, is a setback for the #Taliban regime.

#Kazakhstan will hold a referendum on March 15 on the adoption of a new constitution. More than a technical legal reform, the vote represents a test of the country’s institutions, political culture, and societal readiness for gradual transformation.

At a March 2 news conference in #Yerevan, Khalil Shirgholami, the Iranian envoy to Armenia, cautioned that the #US-Israeli attack on Iran can heighten the chances of renewed instability in the Caucasus.

Largely overlooked because of the burgeoning conflict in the Middle East, “open war” has erupted between Pakistan and #Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership. The fighting all along its southern rim represents a major setback for Central Asia’s global trade agenda. 🔗 eurasianet.org/pakistan-afg...

#European agricultural products companies are reportedly considering setting up operations in #Kazakhstan to facilitate more efficient trade with #China.

#Russia is worried that the #US-Israeli air campaign against #Iran will result in significant disruption to the North-South trade network, a key conduit used by the Kremlin to keep its war effort in #Ukraine going.

#Armenia and #Azerbaijan are on edge, worried that #TRIPP potentially could be upended by the US-Israeli attack on Iran.

#Georgian story is not one of passivity. It is one of motion without consolidation, of courage without sustained deliberation, of repeated beginnings without shared conclusions.

#CentralAsian states increasingly acknowledge a need to change the way they manage their rapidly dwindling water resources.