Kyrgyzstan’s Elkart Interbank Processing Center said that the Central Asian country’s banks will stop processing transactions with Russian Mir payment cards as of April 5 due to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, RFE/RL reported. Last week, another former Soviet republic, Armenia, announced a similar move. In September 2022, the U.S.
Russia is deporting hundreds of foreigners for immigration violations in the wake of the deadliest terrorist attack in nearly two decades. Meanwhile, many Tajik migrant workers are leaving the country on their own accord, fearing an increase in xenophobia, RFE/RL reported. Russian law enforcement has carried out sweeping checks of immigrants in the country after
Uzbekistan has urged its citizens who work in Russia to comply with the stepped-up security measures that Moscow introduced following last week’s deadly attack at a concert hall near Moscow, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reported. Central Asian migrant workers in Russia have found themselves under enormous pressure and faced a backlash after Russian officials announced they had detained
Kyrgyzstan has called on its citizens not to travel to Russia, where Central Asian migrant workers and visitors are facing enormous pressure following last week’s deadly attack near Moscow that left 139 people dead, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. Russian officials said earlier that 11 suspects, including four men who allegedly attacked the Crocus City Hall entertainment center,
The death toll of the March 22 attack on a Moscow concert venue claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group has reached 133 and Russian security officials said four suspected gunmen had been detained in connection with Russia’s worst terrorist violence in nearly two decades, RFE/RL’s Russian Service reported. Russian officials said the suspects
Kazakhstan on March 9 confirmed that two of its citizens were shot dead in Russia in what the Kremlin said was an antiterrorism operation that prevented an attack against a synagogue in the Moscow area, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. “The media published reports about the killing of two Kazakh citizens by Russian law-enforcement agencies during an attempt
Earlier this month, Tajik migrant workers in the Russian city of Samara were scared after Sunatullo Nazriev, the leader of the local Tajik diaspora, called on Tajiks who have Russian citizenship and those who want to get Russian passports in an expedited way to join Russia’s armed forces fighting in Ukraine. According to the migrant
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has said his country has frozen its membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) as Yerevan continues to distance itself from Moscow amid a souring of bilateral relations, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported. Pashinian said in an interview with France 24 television channel on February 22 that the move comes after
The recent summoning of the Uzbek ambassador to Russia over remarks made by the rector of the University of Journalism in Tashkent highlights the escalating tensions surrounding language politics in the region. Sherzod Qudratxoja’s statement labeling Uzbek citizens who speak Russian but not Uzbek as “occupiers or idiots” has sparked a diplomatic outcry from Russia,
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on February 14 that it summoned the Uzbek ambassador to Russia, Botirjon Asadov, over a recent statement by Sherzod Qudratxoja, the rector of the University of Journalism in Tashkent, who called Uzbek citizens who speak Russian but do not know Uzbek “either occupiers or idiots,” RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reported. The Russian
A meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council was held in Almaty on February 2, attended by heads of government of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) member countries — Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. Kazakhstan Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov reminded that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of the EEU Treaty. Today
A Moscow court on January 19 sent a leader of the Uzbek diaspora in Russia, Usman Baratov, to pretrial detention for at least two months on a charge of inciting hatred with his online posts, RFE/RL’s Russian Service reported. Baratov pleaded not guilty to the charge, which stemmed from a post last month related to
Today, Russia and Kazakhstan have no problems either at the political level or in the economic dimension. But it seems that not everyone likes it. And then provocations begin to sound for completely far-fetched reasons, independent expert Nurlan Alniyazov wrote in the following article. A deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Alexey
A court in Kyrgyzstan has sentenced another Kyrgyz citizen to a prison term for his participation in Russia’s war against Ukraine. The Naryn regional court sentenced Beknazar Borugul uulu to five years in prison for participating in the war in Ukraine as part of the Russian private military company Wagner. The court announced on January
Around 3,000 migrants were detained in St. Petersburg on New Year’s eve as part of a series of mass detentions across Russia, RFE/RL’s Russian Service reported on January 2 citing local media. The Fontanka news outlet said more than 100 of those arrested in St. Petersburg are going to be deported. The SOTA news website
