Destruction in the Heart of Old Samarkand

Forced evictions began in the spring in the neighborhood adjacent to the modest al-Maturidi mausoleum. Then the demolition began.

13.11.2025 10

Catherine Putz

Uzbekistan: A Silk Mirage

An interview with Joanna Lillis on the contrasts between "new" and "old" Uzbekistan.

13.11.2025 3

Catherine Putz

A C5+1 or 5 C1+1s: The New Math of US Central Asia Policy

The focus of the C5 1 has narrowed to the economic realm, yielding big deals and sidelining big challenges.

11.11.2025 7

Catherine Putz

When Central Asia Came to Washington

The Trump administration’s transactional style was on fully display, with savvy Central Asian businessmen just as keen to get in on a deal.

08.11.2025 20

Catherine Putz

Growing Trust – and Trade – Between the US and Uzbekistan

An interview with Uzbek Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Laziz Kudratov on U.S.-Uzbekistan economic relations.

05.11.2025 10

Catherine Putz

Uzbekistan to Introduce Visa-Free Entry for US Citizens From January 1

Meanwhile, Uzbek citizens face one of the highest visa-refusal rates in the United States.

05.11.2025 4

Catherine Putz

Inside China’s Struggle for Influence in Central Asia

For Beijing, Central Asia is a testing ground for its foreign policy innovations – and a challenge.

01.11.2025 2

Catherine Putz

Kyrgyz Court Declares Temirov Live and Kloop Extremist

Another dark turn for journalism in Kyrgyzstan.

29.10.2025 20

Catherine Putz

Indian Revolutionaries in America and the Fight to Overthrow the British Raj

In his new book, Scott Miller explores a bit of overlooked history.

28.10.2025 4

Catherine Putz

Washington to Host Central Asian Leaders on November 6

Presumably U.S. President Donald Trump will join them.

28.10.2025 3

Catherine Putz

Under New Leadership, What’s Next for Japan?

It’s a been crazy few months in Japanese politics.

25.10.2025 3

Catherine Putz

More Central Asian Banks Sanctioned by the EU

Central Asia's banking and crypto sectors have been increasingly targeted by the EU, U.K., and the United States for sanctions.

24.10.2025 5

Catherine Putz

Afghan Allies File Lawsuit Against Trump Administration’s Barring of Their Families

The travel ban policy specifically states that it does not apply to asylees or refugees, and yet the families of asylee Afghans, who fought alongside...

23.10.2025 4

Catherine Putz

For the First Time, Central Asia’s Defense Ministers Meet

Security cooperation at the military level is a further step down the regional cooperative road.

23.10.2025 4

Catherine Putz

US Congressional Representatives Urge Trump to Host a C5+1 Leaders Summit, Soon

With little more than two months left in the year, time is running out to mark the C5 1’s 10th anniversary with a summit.

21.10.2025 10

Catherine Putz

Will Reinstating the Death Penalty Protect Kyrgyz Women?

“[T]he death penalty is not the solution” to Kyrgyzstan’s gender-based violence problem, a group of human rights organizations argue.

16.10.2025 20

Catherine Putz

Uzbek Ambassador Furqat Sidikov on the US-Uzbekistan Relationship

“Uzbekistan remains firmly committed to strengthening its strategic partnership with the United States, recognizing substantial potential for...

08.10.2025 10

Catherine Putz

Kazakhstan Aligns Itself With Trump, Calling Climate Change ‘Fraud’

Kazakhstan's leaders once characterized climate change as an existential crisis. Now they're quoting Donald Trump and calling it a "fraud."

08.10.2025 8

Catherine Putz

Kyrgyz Parliament Dissolves Itself, Early Elections on the Horizon

The Jogorku Kenesh voted to dissolve itself, setting the stage for elections in late November.

26.09.2025 20

Catherine Putz

Central Asia Shows Up at the UN: What Did the Region’s Leaders Say?

Once again, all five Central Asian presidents attended the U.N. General Assembly to lay out their perspectives on an increasingly conflicted world.

25.09.2025 3

Catherine Putz

Trains and Planes: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan Sign $12.2 Billion in Deals With US Companies

Kazakhstan has agreed to purchase 300 freight locomotives to the tune of $4.2 billion; Uzbekistan will buy at least 14 Boeing jets, in a deal said to...

24.09.2025 3

Catherine Putz

First Direct Akim Election on the Horizon for Kazakhstan’s Semey

Semey, the center of Kazakhstan’s Abai Region, will hold it’s first ever direct election for akim on October 12.

23.09.2025 10

Catherine Putz

In Early 2026, Uzbekistan Aims to Conduct First Census Since 1989

It would be independent Uzbekistan’s first full general census, if it happens.

18.09.2025 4

Catherine Putz

Kloop Cameramen Sentenced to 5 Years For Videos They Didn’t Make

An thus ends a bizarre trial that serves to illustrate a distressing pattern of Kyrgyz authorities targeting media whose work focuses on government...

18.09.2025 3

Catherine Putz

Did Kazakhstan Import a Commercialized Version of China’s Great Firewall?

Geedge Networks has commercialized China’s Great Firewall for export, and Astana was an ideal customer.

16.09.2025 20

Catherine Putz

Closed-door Embezzlement Trial of Former Uzbek Agriculture Minister Ends

Aziz Voitov was found guilty but won't serve prison time, reportedly on account of having paid "full compensation."

16.09.2025 10

Catherine Putz

Looking Back at a Hot Railroad Summer for Central Asia and Afghanistan

In July, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan all signed agreements with Afghanistan related to the development of railways.

12.09.2025 10

Catherine Putz

Kloop Trial Underway in Kyrgyzstan: Witnesses, Experts Can’t Find ‘Calls for Mass Unrest’

The case appears to rely on video materials published by an outlet the defendants didn’t work for, which prosecution experts have testified don’t...

10.09.2025 6

Catherine Putz

Trump Holds Call With Uzbek President, a Shouted Question About Kazakhstan Steals Headlines

As Uzbekistan’s fervor to share the momentous event of its president’s call with Trump demonstrates, it’s a big deal.

09.09.2025 20

Catherine Putz

In Annual State of the Nation Address, Tokayev Proposes a Unicameral Parliament for Kazakhstan

He urged the parliament not to act in “haste” to fulfill that proposal, floating 2027 as a date for yet another constitutional referendum.

09.09.2025 10

Catherine Putz

Will the Kyrgyz Parliament Dissolve Itself?

Following an overhaul of Kyrgyzstan's electoral system in June, there is talk of dissolving parliament and holding early elections.

05.09.2025 4

Catherine Putz

Date Set for Uzbekistan to Sign Enhance Partnership Agreement With the European Union

On October 24, Uzbek President Mirziyoyev is expected in Brussels for the signing of the long-awaited EPCA with EU leaders.

04.09.2025 9

Catherine Putz

What Did Central Asia Get Out of the SCO?

For Central Asia, the SCO has become a venue for deepening relations with China and managing relations with Russia.

03.09.2025 5

Catherine Putz

Napon Jatusripitak on How the Cambodia-Thailand Tensions Spiraled Into Conflict

“These flashpoints alone cannot account for the speed or scale of the escalation, or the intensity of the nationalist fervor it has unleashed.”

02.09.2025 10

Catherine Putz

Did the United States Choose Defeat in Afghanistan?

An interview with Paul D. Miller about his upcoming book “Choosing Defeat: The Twenty-Year Saga of How America Lost Afghanistan.”

30.08.2025 7

Catherine Putz

Tajikistan Signs Onto Central Asian Friendship Treaty

Three years after the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan signed the Treaty of Friendship, Good-Neighborliness, and Cooperation for...

29.08.2025 10

Catherine Putz

Underground Mining Starts at Kyrgyzstan’s Infamous Kumtor Gold Mine

The Kyrgyz government says the nationalized mine's new underground project will operate for 17 years and provide 147 tonnes of gold.

29.08.2025 6

Catherine Putz

Despite ‘Stable’ Outlook, Credit Rating Agency Highlights Risks of Funding Delays at Tajikistan’s Rogun

The remaining cost to complete the Rogun project by 2035 is now estimated at $6.4 billion. And Dushanbe faces delays in security enough financing.

28.08.2025 3

Catherine Putz

US Hosts Annual Bilateral Consultation With Turkmenistan

The consultations produced only a brief statement, and there were no public comments on the travel ban question.

22.08.2025 2

Catherine Putz

UK Rolls Out Fresh Sanctions Against Another Kyrgyz Bank

The announcement marks the latest move in an ongoing battle that often resembles a game of sanctions whack-a-mole.

22.08.2025 3

Catherine Putz

Why Was a Kazakh Military Attache’s Assistant Detained in Poland?

Official details are sparse, but Kazakhstan has confirmed that one of its citizens was detained by Polish authorities.

15.08.2025 20

Catherine Putz

Survey Work Begins in Kazakhstan for Russia-Built Nuclear Power Plant

A groundbreaking ceremony marked the formal start of the project, which could take a decade to complete and require investment of $15 billion.

11.08.2025 6

Catherine Putz

Diplomatic Maneuvering Intensifies Ahead of US-Russia Alaska Summit

As Ukrainian officials look to Europe for backing, Putin looks to Asia and BRICS; Trump keeps his eyes on the spotlight.

11.08.2025 6

Catherine Putz

Assessing Religious Freedoms in Central Asia, USCIRF Delegations Visit Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan

Overly broad and vague laws restrict freedom of religion or belief in the Central Asian states says USCIRF Chair Vicky Hartzler.

08.08.2025 3

Catherine Putz

Kyrgyz President Signs New Media Law, Making Registration Mandatory

In the three years it has taken for the Japarov government to see through its desired new media law, the country's reputation as an "island of...

08.08.2025 3

Catherine Putz

The Landlocked Gather in Turkmenistan to Confront an Age-old Conundrum

At the opening of the Awaza conference, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres proclaimed that “Geography should never define destiny.”

06.08.2025 6

Catherine Putz

Ahmede Hussain on Bangladesh After the Monsoon Revolution

“The most significant challenge facing Bangladesh right now isn’t from the street or the public, but from the ruling elites themselves,...

01.08.2025 10

Catherine Putz

New Trump Tariffs Target Kazakhstan With 25% Rate

A letter to the Kazakh president stated, "Starting on August 1, 2025, we will charge Kazakhstan a Tariff of only 25% on any and all Kazakh products...

09.07.2025 3

Catherine Putz

What Does It Mean to Be Kazakhstani?

An interview with Diana T. Kudaibergen on power, identity, and nation-building in Kazakhstan.

03.07.2025 3

Catherine Putz

CSTO Foreign Ministers Meet in Kyrgyzstan

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan was absent, as Yerevan continues to weigh formally leaving the organization after having frozen its...

02.07.2025 20

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Destruction in the Heart of Old Samarkand

Catherine Putz

Uzbekistan: A Silk Mirage

Catherine Putz

A C5+1 or 5 C1+1s: The New Math of US Central Asia Policy

Catherine Putz

When Central Asia Came to Washington

Catherine Putz

Growing Trust – and Trade – Between the US and Uzbekistan

Catherine Putz

Uzbekistan to Introduce Visa-Free Entry for US Citizens From January 1

Catherine Putz

Inside China’s Struggle for Influence in Central Asia

Catherine Putz

Kyrgyz Court Declares Temirov Live and Kloop Extremist

Catherine Putz

Indian Revolutionaries in America and the Fight to Overthrow the British Raj

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Washington to Host Central Asian Leaders on November 6

Catherine Putz

Under New Leadership, What’s Next for Japan?

Catherine Putz

More Central Asian Banks Sanctioned by the EU

Catherine Putz

Afghan Allies File Lawsuit Against Trump Administration’s Barring of Their Families

Catherine Putz

For the First Time, Central Asia’s Defense Ministers Meet

Catherine Putz

US Congressional Representatives Urge Trump to Host a C5+1 Leaders Summit, Soon

Catherine Putz

Will Reinstating the Death Penalty Protect Kyrgyz Women?

Catherine Putz

Uzbek Ambassador Furqat Sidikov on the US-Uzbekistan Relationship

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Kazakhstan Aligns Itself With Trump, Calling Climate Change ‘Fraud’

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Kyrgyz Parliament Dissolves Itself, Early Elections on the Horizon

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Central Asia Shows Up at the UN: What Did the Region’s Leaders Say?

Catherine Putz

Trains and Planes: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan Sign $12.2 Billion in Deals With US Companies

Catherine Putz

First Direct Akim Election on the Horizon for Kazakhstan’s Semey

Catherine Putz

In Early 2026, Uzbekistan Aims to Conduct First Census Since 1989

Catherine Putz

Kloop Cameramen Sentenced to 5 Years For Videos They Didn’t Make

Catherine Putz

Did Kazakhstan Import a Commercialized Version of China’s Great Firewall?

Catherine Putz

Closed-door Embezzlement Trial of Former Uzbek Agriculture Minister Ends

Catherine Putz

Looking Back at a Hot Railroad Summer for Central Asia and Afghanistan

Catherine Putz

Kloop Trial Underway in Kyrgyzstan: Witnesses, Experts Can’t Find ‘Calls for Mass Unrest’

Catherine Putz

Trump Holds Call With Uzbek President, a Shouted Question About Kazakhstan Steals Headlines

Catherine Putz

In Annual State of the Nation Address, Tokayev Proposes a Unicameral Parliament for Kazakhstan

Catherine Putz

Will the Kyrgyz Parliament Dissolve Itself?

Catherine Putz

Date Set for Uzbekistan to Sign Enhance Partnership Agreement With the European Union

Catherine Putz

What Did Central Asia Get Out of the SCO?

Catherine Putz

Napon Jatusripitak on How the Cambodia-Thailand Tensions Spiraled Into Conflict

Catherine Putz

Did the United States Choose Defeat in Afghanistan?

Catherine Putz

Tajikistan Signs Onto Central Asian Friendship Treaty

Catherine Putz

Underground Mining Starts at Kyrgyzstan’s Infamous Kumtor Gold Mine

Catherine Putz

Despite ‘Stable’ Outlook, Credit Rating Agency Highlights Risks of Funding Delays at Tajikistan’s Rogun

Catherine Putz

US Hosts Annual Bilateral Consultation With Turkmenistan