Vlast provides brave and incisive reporting from the ground, covering major issues in the country, reporting on underexplored topics, and untangling complex matters, now in English too

Последние новости Алматы и Казахстана от интернет-журнала Власть. Новостной портал со своим мнением. Будьте в курсе событий!

Jan 17, 2025 · Timur Suleimenov, the Central Bank’s chairman, told the press on January 17 that the regulator plans to sell the proceeds from gold sales in the currency market. Since 2011, the Central Bank has been buying all the gold in the country to replenish Kazakhstan’s gold and foreign exchange reserves. It then sells some of this gold on foreign markets and redirects the US dollars it earns to ...

6 days ago · Police in Almaty arrested Temirlan Yensebek, the creator of QazNews24, a satirical news site, on the evening of January 17, sparking protests from media and civil society activists. The following day, the court placed Yensebek in pre-trial detention for two months, saying he is under suspicion of “inciting ethnic hatred.” Five activists who separately came out in Yensebek’s support were ...

2 days ago · Kazakhstan’s government announced on January 28 a range of measures that will increase the tax and tariffs burden. Under the guise of a “tax optimization,” officials said that gasoline prices, VAT, and corporate tax will gradually increase. Speaking before the entire government and regional governors, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that the people of Kazakhstan would have to ...

In January 2023, once it concluded a lengthy investigation, the Prosecutor General's Office offered a blunt explanation for Qandy Qantar (Kazakh for ‘Bloody January’, the violent repression of urban protests across the country): it was an attempted coup. This justified the use of weapons and disproportionate force on the part of the security forces …

After a long-standing rejection for the accreditation of 36 of its journalists, Radio Azattyk, the local branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty filed a lawsuit against the ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) on January 30. As a foreign media organization, Azattyk’s work in Kazakhstan is dependent on an invitation from the MFA. Senate speaker Maulen Ashimbayev said on …

Around three dozen people gathered in Almaty’s Republic Square on January 5 to mourn the victims of Qandy Qantar (Kazakh for ‘Bloody January’, the violent repression of countrywide protests in 2022). At least 238 people were killed in the clashes with the security forces. Their relatives held a banner with the names of the victims and asked for justice.

A number of regions across Kazakhstan were affected by a malfunctioning power line between Ekibastuz and Agadyr on February 13. Residents of the Almaty, Karaganda, Kyzylorda, Turkestan, Zhambyl, and Zhetysu regions had to withstand restrictions on electricity use between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Power plants and electricity infrastructure are decaying in Kazakhstan.

On November 23, at a Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) meeting of heads of state in Minsk, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the military alliance should focus on the fight against terrorism and extremism. From January 1, Kazakhstan will take over the rotating chairmanship of the CSTO for one year. Armenia, a CSTO member, did …