Spotlight on Central Eurasia Series // Stacy Closson argues that Central Asia is an energy and water rich region that, if cooperative, could cover their annual shortages of electricity, which range roughly around 25%, as well as decrease costs of energy, and protect the environment. Instead, the leaders have engaged in hostile practices that not only cause problems across borders and waste foreign investment and assistance, but also limit their developmental possibilities. Gregory Gleason notes that inherently non-transparent and centralized fixed energy infrastructures such as oil and gas pipelines and electric grids obscure financial transactions and are susceptible to political manipulation. Gleason, in his analysis of "power politics," explains why he sees the rapid pace of technology-driven market volatility in Eurasian markets as swiftly shifting Central Asian trends.

Sparked by Stalin’s brutal policies, the Kazakh famine of 1930-1933 devastated Soviet Kazakhstan, leading to the death of more than a quarter of the republic’s population. Today, competing portraits of this disaster play a crucial role in the politics of history across the former Soviet space, particularly in Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. In her talk, Dr. Cameron will examine the causes and consequences of the Kazakh famine, with particular emphasis on the catastrophe’s reverberations today.

William Veale, Executive Director, U.S.-Kazakhstan Business Association

The biggest protest wave since collapse of the Soviet Union will be discussed with Oleg Kozlovsky, a Russian democratic activist and Director of Vision of Tomorrow Foundation.