By Kevin Daniel Leahy (2/3/2010 issue of the CACI Analyst)

On January 19, President Dmitri Medvedev finally made good on his pledge to invest one particular official with ‘personal responsibility’ for overseeing the situation in the Northern Caucasus. Alexander Khloponin is the president’s plenipotentiary representative to the ‘North Caucasus Federal District’, a new jurisdictional entity created by Medvedev, and has also been awarded the rank of a deputy prime minister in the federal government. Given that Medvedev has identified an underperforming economy as the main reason for the instability in the region, how does the new envoy propose to stimulate the economic situation there? 

BACKGROUND: The new North Caucasus Federal District (SKFD) will include Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Karachaevo-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia and Stavropol Krai.

By Robert M. Cutler (2/3/2010 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The opening of the first segment of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline last month is only one in a series of recent events in Caspian Sea basin energy developments. It signifies Turkmenistan’s first real moves to break its dependence upon Gazprom and the Russian state for international sales of its energy resources. These developments are to the detriment of Europe, which remains dependent upon Russia and Turkey as transit countries and has been unable to push forward the implementation of its Nabucco pipeline project.

By Rafis Abazov (2/3/2010 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Established as a firm presence in the information space in Kazakstan, the new media is increasingly embracing Western-style entertainment and social networking and even Western media content. Though Kazakhstan still lags behind many countries in terms of the number of internet users per capita, the arrival of smart phones, twitting, and file and photo sharing over the mobile-phone networks has helped to change the media landscape, making new media content accessible even in small cities and towns. These changes have intensified the discourse within the country about the future of the media culture: will Kazakhstan’s media be able to compete with the forces of globalization?

BACKGROUND: With the rise of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) literacy, the younger generation of students and professionals in Kazakhstan has begun actively using ICT not only for uncritical adaptation of Western-style entertainment, social networks and Western media content, but also for producing their own cultural and information content using various new media platforms.