By Mina Muradova (3/21/2012 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Khadija Ismayilova, an outspoken Azerbaijani journalist with a reputation for investigating the “secret” business of President Ilham Aliyev’s family, has been targeted by threats and blackmail. She believes that ruling circles are behind the smearing campaign aiming to silence her, whereas officials deny any connection to the blackmailing.

By Alexander Sodiqov (3/7/2012 issue of the CACI Analyst)

On February 23, Tajikistan’s Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) announced that a group of Iranian companies had agreed to build an industrial town in the country. According to the ministry, the massive project will entail the construction of about 50 industrial enterprises including aluminum, cotton, and fruit processing plants, in Rudaki district near the Tajik capital Dushanbe. Experts suggest that the remaining enterprises might include plants producing construction materials, solar panels, power transformers, electricity usage meters, and light bulbs.

By Georgiy Voloshin (3/7/2012 issue of the CACI Analyst)

On March 2, President Nazarbayev addressed members of the diplomatic corps at an annual gathering used to unveil Kazakhstan’s foreign policy priorities for each coming year. In a long speech delivered before the country’s political establishment and foreign ambassadors, Nazarbayev shared his strategic vision about the future of the Central Asian region and the role of Kazakhstan in international affairs.

One of the most surprising highlights in the Kazakh president’s statement was his harsh criticism of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which Kazakhstan chaired in 2010, even managing to hold a summit after an 11-year impasse.