Vladimir Rozanskij

According to data from the country's Hydrometeorological Agency, the phenomenon has increased more than tenfold in the last thirty years as a result of climate change and intensive access to water sources. The dust worsens air quality and accelerates glacier melt. Urgent measures are needed, such as those taken by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which are planting a million shrubs at the bottom of the Aral Sea.

Gold smuggling is on the rise along the border with China as a means of earning money in one of the poorest areas of the Russian Federation. No licences are required in the People's Republic: any citizen can sell the extracted material to banks in any form, receiving more than double the price quoted in Moscow.

Kazakhstan will sign an agreement with Moscow by the end of the year for the construction of its first nuclear power plant, but it already has plans for a second one to be built together with the Chiona National Nuclear Corporation, which could be completed more quickly. And Tokaert is also leaving the door open to Western consortia for a third plant.

A country where 65% of the population is made up of young people under the age of 30 sees the enhancement of its cultural heritage as a resource for the economy. Promoting major projects such as the Bukhara Biennale and the new State Museum of Arts in Tashkent designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando.

At the second Forum held in Kazakhstan after the one in Xi'an in 2023, China and the five countries in the region signed 58 trade agreements with investments of over $24 billion. Among the priorities are transport routes and energy, but also the processing of rare earths. On the political front, Xi Jinping gained support for his condemnation of all forms of ‘trade wars involving tariffs and sanctions’.

The Moscow Academy of Sciences points the finger at migrants and specific groups such as gypsies and Orthodox Jews for the increase in the spread of infectious diseases such as measles. Low vaccination coverage is also felt in Russia. Epidemiologist Poznjakov: ‘It should rise to at least 95% to avoid epidemic peaks.’

Throughout Kazakhstan, work has begun on renaming streets, considered essential for “the revival of folk traditions and the strengthening of social unity”. The northern city is a prime example of this, as its name already expresses its close historical ties with the tsars. Here, the names of 28 streets in the Birlik district have been changed with the aim of harmonising the Russian and Kazakh spirits.

The St Petersburg International Economic Forum, personally conceived by Vladimir Putin, was the usual arena for proclaiming the “bright future” of the Russian economy. Alongside Kremlin bureaucrats, this year's event was notable for the presence of Putin's daughters and other relatives, as well as other high-ranking officials. Rather than heirs to top positions, they appeared to be influencers for the younger audience.

Azerbaijan is on the front line of the conflict between Israel and Iran, with its ambivalent role as a strategic partner of Tel Aviv and complex and contradictory relations with Tehran. But neighbouring Armenia also openly expresses fears that the conflict could be protracted, involving other countries in the region.

Some hostile words towards Islam uttered by Hegumen Gavriil seem to have given voice to widespread discontent among the most intransigent Orthodox Christians, who see the ‘Muslim army’ as a danger. Controversy reveals a crack in the “Eurasian” course of Russia's state and religious policy today

Not only articles but also social media posts are increasingly targeted by the law punishing ‘insults to state officials’, approved by the Georgian Dream-dominated Parliament. According to many commentators, this could be the prelude to the total closure of Facebook in the country.

The autonomous republic in the westernmost part of Uzbekistan was the focus of a national investor forum. Natural gas deposits, a climate suitable for wind power generation, excellent prospects for agricultural production and its location facing Europe and the Middle East have led local authorities and financial analysts to predict annual growth of 6%.