Author Archives: KazakhSTAN 2.0

Forecasting Transition

Forecasting Transition

As we demonstrate in “Nazarbayev’s Pyrrhic Victory and the State Policy Failure”, there are currently no drivers to stimulate and strongly influence the Kazakhstan economy and these drivers are unlikely to appear any time soon. With what, then, Kazakhstan must live at present?

On Maylybaev’s сase and dirty tricks against Akorda

On Maylybaev’s сase and dirty tricks against Akorda

The arrest of the former deputy head of the presidential administration of Kazakhstan, Baglan Maylybaev, for the disclosure of government secrets, had caused an explosive effect in the country. For the first time, a government official of such high- rank, has been arrested for a political crime. Moreover, he was not an ordinary government official for that matter, but one who for the longest time, was almost solely responsible for the implementation of all ideological and domestic policy work in the republic. This fact alone calls for a detailed analysis of a nature and results of his work.

A Giant Alliance. Halyk and Qazkom in One Bank

A Giant Alliance. Halyk and Qazkom in One Bank

The Kazakhstan banking circles vividly discuss a possible merger between Halyk Bank and Kazkommertsbank. Supposedly, it will happen before the end of this year.  So far, neither of the banks has released any official information. So, at the moment, we are unable to analyze the details of the transaction and its possible outcomes. Therefore, in this article, we will limit ourselves to investigating the reasons for this merger and the personae behind it.

At the Cusp of Transition. The Power Shift Scenarios

At the Cusp of Transition. The Power Shift Scenarios

The reign of President Nazarbayev is ending. Everyone in Kazakhstan realizes it now. To see that, one only needs to look at the last year discussion in the Kazakh press and the Internet. The discussion was about a possible Nazarbayev’s successor(s) and how the state regime could (should) change after the so called “leader of the nation” parts from this life. What is more, on the background of Islam Karimov’s death and all the related internal political events in the neighboring Uzbekistan, this discussion took an especially topical turn.