Central Asia's week that was #32
Putin gets red carpet in Astana, assassination attempts and plots, Turkmen activist blocked. Also, Kazakhstan sticks to guns on time, vaping ban, and Turkmen leader writes another book.
So this happened…
Russian President Vladimir Putin embarked on a two-day state visit to Kazakhstan, where he was received with considerable pomp by his counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Following lengthy bilateral talks — reportedly lasting around two hours — the two leaders spoke of the longstanding alliance between their nations. Over 20 agreements were signed, including initiatives on energy infrastructure and cross-border projects. Questions were raised about the extent of Astana’s fealty to Moscow last month, when Tokayev’s office announced that Kazakhstan would not seek membership in BRICS, a multilateral club championed by the Kremlin as a way to dilute Western hegemony. Some in Kazakhstan have expressed irritation at the number of Russian flags put out in preparation for Putin, who was in Astana to attend a Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) summit. On the day of his arrival, hackers reportedly rigged the LED screen outside the Astana Opera building to display the Ukrainian flag.
The president of Uzbekistan dismissed Abdusalom Azizov, head of the powerful State Security Service (SSS), in what appears to be a response to last month’s attempted assassination of Komil Allamjonov, a former presidential aide and close ally of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s eldest daughter, Saida. Azizov, who had led the SSS since 2019, is one of several high-ranking security officials ousted in a sweeping shake-up. The reshuffle comes amid claims that suspects in the attack on Allamjonov are linked to Uzbek criminal networks and even to Mirziyoyev’s son-in-law, Otabek Umarov, the former overseer of the president’s security detail. Umarov himself appears to have been sidelined, reassigned to a role in the National Olympic Committee.
Tashiyev holding up a folder containing what he said was a written threat against his life. The head of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security (GKNB) revealed what he claimed were details of a planned assassination plot against him. Kamchybek Tashiyev identified the alleged mastermind as a former military pilot with combat experience. The suspect purportedly sent an anonymous letter threatening Tashiyev and his family. Investigators allege the letter was part of a broader plan to destabilise Kyrgyzstan. The announcement adds to a year marked by would-be coup plots. Just days earlier, the Interior Ministry claimed to have thwarted another conspiracy, involving a former deputy prosecutor general and a stockpile of weapons.
Kazakhstan’s tenge slipped past the symbolic 500-per-U.S. dollar threshold on the domestic stock exchange, a milestone long regarded as a psychological barrier. This reflects mounting pressure on the national currency, driven by the dollar’s global strength and domestic fiscal challenges. Exchange rates in Almaty’s currency exchanges climbed as high as 510 tenge. Economists warn that the depreciation could worsen inflation and place further strain on Kazakhstan’s budget, already under pressure. The government’s growing reliance on international loans to address fiscal deficits has fuelled concerns about the sustainability of its spending.
An appellate court in Kazakhstan has begun reviewing a case brought by the state’s Asset Recovery Committee against Timur Kulibayev, a billionaire businessman and son-in-law of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The case is part of broader efforts to reclaim assets allegedly acquired through opaque means during Nazarbayev’s rule. Earlier this year, Kulibayev’s attempts to counter-sue the committee were dismissed, with officials refusing to disclose details of the contested property. The Asset Recovery Committee claims to have recovered over 900 billion tenge ($1.9 billion) this year alone. It says it is directing funds toward public projects such as schools and rehabilitation centres. Kulibayev, a former oil executive, has also been accused by investigative journalists of profiting from Kazakhstan’s natural resources through questionable deals with foreign energy firms.
Veteran journalist and human rights advocate Soltan Achilova, 75, was released from a hospital in Turkmenistan after being forcibly detained earlier in the month in a move widely seen as an effort to stop her from attending a human rights award ceremony in Geneva. According to a report in Vienna-based Chronicles of Turkmenistan, Achilova was poised to travel when men in medical uniforms arrived at her home. The officials cited suspicions of an infectious disease as grounds for hospitalising Achilova, who was not permitted to contact her family or bring along her phone. This is not the first time Achilova has been prevented from leaving the country. Last November, her passport was deliberately damaged at the airport to block her departure.
And there’s this too…
A senior Kazakhstan government official said the unified national time zone introduced this year will remain, despite sustained public opposition. Science and Higher Education Minister Sayasat Nurbek said that the authorities are earmarking around 100 million tenge ($211,000) for a study on the impact of the time on health and productivity. Nurbek indicated that whatever the findings, however, no policy change is envisioned. Kazakhstan unified its national time to UTC+5 in March, transitioning from its previous use of two time zones: UTC+5 in the west and UTC+6 in the east. Critics complain that this arrangement means that in winter some areas of the country are already dark by the early mid-afternoon.
Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov approved a ban on vaping that will take effect on July 1, 2025. The legislation prohibits the import, sale, and use of electronic cigarettes and imposes significant fines for violations. Individuals caught using vapes will face fines of 10,000 soms ($115). Selling vapes to individuals will be punishable with fines of up to 65,000 soms. The ban has its critics. One lawmaker, Dastan Bekeshev, argued that costly fines could lead to increased corruption, as law enforcement officers might solicit bribes from offenders to overlook violations. The author of the bill was the MP Shairbek Tashiyev, the brother of the head of the security services, Kamchybek Tashiyev, who has in his guise as president of the Kyrgyz Football Union become something of a champion of healthy living among young people.
Tashiyev claimed that 125 billion soms ($1.4 billion) in cash and assets have been returned to state coffers between 2020 and 2024 as part of what he cast as a wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign. Tashiyev said that in the past corrupt officials often avoided jail time by paying fines, but under current practices, they face both fines and imprisonment. This process, dubbed kusturizatsiya in public discourse, involves recovering funds from individuals implicated in corruption cases in exchange for reduced penalties. While this approach has garnered public support in some quarters, questions remain about the transparency of how the recovered funds are used.
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates identified three Uzbek nationals as suspects in the abduction and murder of a prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbi based in Dubai. The suspects, aged between 28 and 33, are in custody in the UAE. Emirati officials, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned the killing of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, 28, as a terrorist act. Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry circulated a statement expressing its dismay over the murder and said it was committed to an “unwavering dedication to promoting inclusivity and combating all forms of nationalism, antisemitism, and extremism.” Uzbekistan is typically circumspect on developments outside its borders, but President Mirziyoyev has been outspoken in his criticism of Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
Uzbekistan has enacted a law allowing digital material, including screenshots, video recordings, instant messaging, and audio files, to be used as admissible evidence in court. The legislation defines procedures for submission: original files can be presented directly, while copies must be notarised and undergo authenticity checks to prevent forgery. This legal update is designed to streamline judicial processes, enabling citizens to use digital evidence more effectively in cases such as slander, fraud, and copyright infringement. Examples include using screenshots to confirm defamation on social media or video footage to document traffic violations.
Berdymukhamedov senior shows off his latest book. Turkmenistan’s former president (and father of the current incumbent), Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, announced that he has completed writing yet another book – his 61st – during recent vacations. Hakyda Göwheri (translated by the publisher as Jewel of the Mind) was described by its author, who in effect serves still as a co-leader of the country in his capacity as chairman of the Halk Maslahaty, a Senate-type institution, as a reflection on the legacy of the 18th-century Turkmen poet Magtymguly Pyragy. Berdymukhamedov dedicated the book to his son, Serdar. It is not known for certain that the former president actually writes all the books under his own name, or if they are ghost-authored. His oeuvre covers a wide range of topics, from horses and dogs to culture and traditional medicine.
