JAN. 23 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A judge in Kazakhstan upheld a damages claim against police who beat Aleksandr Gerasimov while he was in custody in 2007. The decision was a rare victory for the human rights lobby in Kazakhstan over the authorities.
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(News report from Issue No. 169, published on Jan. 29 2014)
JAN. 27 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Canadian train and plane manufacturer Bombardier plans to open an office in Astana, local media reported. By moving into Kazakhstan Bombardier highlights potential as a client. Bombardier makes passenger planes and Kazakhstan wants to bolster its air transport sector.
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(News report from Issue No. 169, published on Jan. 29 2014)
JAN. 23 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Alliance Bank asked its creditors to accept a so-called haircut to keep the bank solvent. In financial terms a haircut is when creditors agree to reduce repayments. Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna and billionaire Bulat Utemuratov are Alliance Bank’s biggest stakeholders.
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(News report from Issue No. 169, published on Jan. 29 2014)
JAN. 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The release from prison of Maksat Usenov, son of an executive working on Kazakhstan’s showcase EXPO-2017, triggered a rare show of online dissent.
Despite killing a man, prosecutors dropped the criminal case against Mr Usenov and converted his sentence into a fine after his father paid off the family of the dead man.
More than 16,000 people signed an online petition on the grassroots Avaaz.org website against Mr Usenov’s release.
This is a classic case of the children of the authorities having a more lenient ride than ordinary citizens.
In December 2013, Mr Usenov was speeding through Almaty in his luxury BMW X6 (prices start from around $75,000). He crashed at a busy intersection — there are many in Almaty — killed a bystander and injured five others.
Police detained Mr Usenov and were going to charge him with dangerous driving and manslaughter. Instead, his father, Kazhymurat Usenov, was able to pay off the family of the man he’d killed. The family dropped charges against Mr Usenov and the police let him free.
The whole episode gives a valuable insight into modern-day Kazakhstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 169, published on Jan. 29 2014)
JAN. 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh defence minister Adilbek Dzhaksybekov flew to Tel Aviv to sign a military deal with his Israeli counterpart Moshe Ya’alon. Media reported the two states would hold joint military exercises and that Kazakhstan would buy various Israeli-made weapons. Kazakhstan has said it wants to modernise its military.
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(News report from Issue No. 168, published on Jan. 22 2014)
JAN. 16 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — China and Russia have agreed to lend $400m for the modernisation of the Ekibastuz power plant in Kazakhstan, media reported. The coal-fired power plant in the northern region of Pavlodar is one of the biggest in Kazakhstan, generating an estimated 12% of the country’s energy.
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(News report from Issue No. 168, published on Jan. 22 2014)
JAN. 15 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev sacked the head of the government’s budgetary committee Aslan Musin. Mr Musin used to be head of the presidential administration, one of the most powerful jobs in the country.
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(News report from Issue No. 168, published on Jan. 22 2014)
JAN. 15 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev sacked Aslan Musin as head of the government’s budget committee, completing the fall from grace of the man once dubbed the Grey Cardinal of Kazakhstan.
A few days later Mr Nazarbayev wielded his axe again, this time taking out Marat Tazhin, Secretary of State, and Ghalym Orazbaqov, the Kazakh ambassador in Moscow.
These were serious power plays by Mr Nazarbayev. He may have been looking to bolster his supporters as he decides how to deal with the thorny succession issue.
The risk for Mr Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan and investors, is that he may also have created powerful enemies.
Mr Musin’s decline has been fast. In 2012 he was the head of Mr Nazarbayev’s presidential staff and one of the most influential people in the country. Analysts discussed him as a potential presidential successor, building his power-base in the west of the country.
In September 2012, that changed when Mr Nazarbayev replaced Mr Musin with Karim Massimov, the PM. Mr Musin, who had been the head of the presidential administration for four years, was sent to head the government’s budgetary committee, a relative backwater.
Now Mr Musin has dropped out of government entirely. He was replaced by Dzhanburchin Kozy-Korpesh, who worked under Nurtai Abykayev, head of the National Security Council and an adversary of Mr Musin.
The sacking of Mr Tazhin also demonstrates the power of Mr Massimov. Mr Nazarbayev delegated the responsibilities of the Secretary of State temporarily to Mr Massimov.
Neither Mr Tazhin nor Mr Orazbaqov had strong links with Mr Musin but what comes next, and who replaces them permanently, is important.
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(News report from Issue No. 168, published on Jan. 22 2014)
JAN. 21 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — In its annual report on human rights across the world, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Kazakhstan’s record worsened in 2013. It said the authorities overused rules governing freedom of speech and the freedom to gather in order to crush dissent. Torture, HRW said, also remains prevalent in prisons.
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(News report from Issue No. 168, published on Jan. 22 2014)
JAN. 16 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — As part of its stated strategy to boost energy production, Kazakhstan intends to auction the right to explore eight or nine oil and gas fields this year, media reported quoting energy minister Uzakbay Karabalin. In 2013, Kazakhstan auctioned off three exploration blocks after a moratorium lasting a few years.
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(News report from Issue No. 168, published on Jan. 22 2014)
