NOV. 17 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Giorgi Margvelashvili took the oath to become the new president of Georgia, ending a decade dominated by Mikheil Saakashvili, leader of the 2003 Rose Revolution. Mr Margvelashvili is an ally of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, Mr Saakashvili’s biggest rival. Mr Margvelashvili has pledged to improve relations with Russia.
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(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)
NOV. 7 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Incumbent Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon won re-election with 83.1% of the vote in a presidential election. Mr Rakhmon didn’t face any genuine opposition in the election which observers have described as a sham. Mr Rakhmon, who consolidated his power in the mid-1990s after a civil war, will now rule until 2020.
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(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 10 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s President-elect Giorgi Margvelashvili said he might attend the 2014 Winter Olympics Games in Sochi, Russia. His attendance would be a major boost to Russia-Georgia relations which were strained to breaking point by a personal feud between outgoing President Mikheil Saakashvili and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
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(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 7 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Fuel shortages and a power struggle in Uzbekistan appear to have claimed another major scalp in Shavkat Majidov, the long-serving first deputy chief of Uzbekneftegaz. Although no official information has been made available, media reported Uzbek President Islam Karimov sacked Mr Majidov over continued fuel supply problems.
Mr Majidov was a powerful man, in charge of oil-related affairs in Uzbekistan and closely linked with Gulnara Karimova, Mr Karimov’s elder daughter.
Ms Karimova had once been considered a potential presidential successor but more recently she has come under pressure from rivals. Prosecutors in Europe and Uzbekistan have opened investigations into her business affairs; her supporters are being targeted.
Mr Majidov’s removal, according to a media report, is linked to an investigation into shortages at the Ferghana Oil Refinery. Ms Karimova’s ally Akbarali Abdullayev had controlled the refinery until police arrested him in October. This arrest, it appears, left Mr Majidov vulnerable. It has also allowed outsiders another glimpse of the interwoven world of politics and business in Uzbekistan.
Sultan Alisher, a member of parliament loyal to Mr Karimov, and director of the Shurtangaz chemical plant, has taken over as deputy head of Uzbekneftegaz. He’s a safe pair of hands that Mr Karimov can rely on as the power game in Uzbekistan unfolds.
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(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 6 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev promoted the deputy chief of the presidential staff, Bakhyt Sultanov, to finance minister as part of a cabinet reshuffle. Mr Sultanov, 42, replaces Bolat Zhamishev who moves on to become regional development minister, considered an important role in Kazakhstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
OCT. 31 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Talking to Reuters, Ian Atkinson, CEO of Toronto-listed mining company Centerra Gold, said shareholders would reject a demand from the Kyrgyz government that they reduce their stake in the Kumtor gold mine to 33%. A tentative 50-50 deal had been agreed but Kyrgyzstan wants a bigger stake in the country’s main economic asset.
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(News report from Issue No. 159, published on Nov. 6 2013)
OCT. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Grigory Marchenko, the former chairman of the Kazakh Central Bank, told Russian media that he is considering moving into the private financial sector. Mr Marchenko also denied speculation that he was sacked from the Central Bank earlier this month. Instead, he insisted that he had quit for family reasons.
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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)
OCT. 16 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev appointed Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, a seasoned politician and diplomat, to be the Speaker of the Senate. Speaker of the Senate is one of the highest ranking positions in the Kazakh government and Mr Tokayev’s appointment triggered succession chatter.
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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)
OCT. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — At the annual conference of the ruling Nur Otan political party, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he supported the introduction of a wealth tax and wanted more people to learn English. The Nur Otan conference and Mr Nazarbayev’s pronouncements are a decent weather mast for future policy in Kazakhstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)
OCT. 22 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Ilham Aliyev replaced his long serving defence minister, General Safar Abiyev, in a cabinet re-shuffle at the start of his third term as Azerbaijan’s president.
It’s a brave move by Mr Aliyev.
Gen Abiyev, 64, is one of most powerful figures in Azerbaijan and had been considered a vital component in building the Aliyev political dynasty. Gen Abiyev has been Azerbaijan’s defence minister since February 1995 and had served under Mr Aliyev’s father, Heydar Aliyev, who was president between 1993 and 2003.
He has built up a large power-base during his 18 years as a minister and overseen a military budget that has soared alongside the country’s economy.
But opposition figures have accused Gen Abiyev of massive corruption and blamed him for the deaths of recruits and the general poor morale among the military. They’ll celebrate the apparent downfall of Gen Abiyev.
Mr Aliyev appointed Zakir Hasanov as defence minister, previously in charge of the interior ministry forces. It’s still unclear what Gen Abiyev’s new role is.
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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)