Kazakhstan Under Russian Pressure: Why the West Is Not an Alternative

Kazakhstan, now an independent state and formerly one of the republics of the USSR, has the longest land border with Russia. It stretches for 7,600 kilometers, a significant distance that necessitates Kazakhstan's constant balancing act in Russian-Kazakh relations. The war in Ukraine temporarily weakened Russian influence in Central Asia, but now things are returning to their previous state.

Kazakhstan Debates Changing the Coat of Arms — a Symbol of Departure from the Soviet Past

The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has given Kazakhstan a new impetus in terms of diversification. Kazakhstan’s role as a key country in the Middle Corridor project is huge. The volume of freight traffic along this route doubled in 2022 and increased by another 65% in 2023 to 2.7 million tonnes of freight.

Sociopolitical Dynamics of the Russians in Kazakhstan: Political Participation and Potential Risks

In the months after 21 September 2022, when the Kremlin announced military mobilization, nearly a million Russian citizens entered Kazakhstan; though, two-thirds had already left the country before January 2023. The reason for the unexpected rise in popularity of migration to the Central Asian state was that Russian citizens do not need a visa or even a “foreign travel” passport to go there.

Israel and Kazakhstan: Assessing the State of Bilateral Relations

Economic, cultural, political, military and strategic interests (including the confronting of Iran) undergird the three-decade-old and growing relationship between Israel and Kazakhstan

Russian Policies During the Israeli-Hamas War Since October the 7th

While Russia may have gained politically from the war – because of the close US-Israeli relationship—its influence in the conflict was quite limited and the deterioration of Russian-Israeli relations may yet change the Israeli position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

BESA Post-Soviet Conflicts Research Digest No. 7 (April 2024)

In April 2024, the PSCR program’s materials covered the conflictual dynamics in and around Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Estonia.

Besa Geo Energy Insights

The Challenging Task of Armenia’s Multi-vector Policy: How to Prevent the Transfer of Western Nuclear and Missile Technologies to Iran?

Armenia, like other post-Soviet countries, particularly in the southern region, traditionally pursues a multi-vector foreign policy. The aim of such a policy is to utilize different options to maximize foreign assistance and support. This often involves addressing unconventional tasks to balance conflicting foreign policy vectors. Armenia faces a similar task of balancing in the new configuration.

BESA Post-Soviet Conflicts Research Digest No. 6 (March 2024)

In March 2024, the PSCRP program of the BESA Center covered in its materials the regional developments in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, as well as particular problems related to Ukraine and Russia.

Terrorist Act in Moscow Region: Causes and Potential Consequences

Terrorist act was most probably organized by ISIS-Khorasan. For Israel it is important that the Moscow synagogue was originally the primary target. Russian security services demonstrated very low effectiveness during the “Crocus city” events.

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