Word: kazakhstan
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Claiming to be a Kennedy School applicant from Kazakhstan, one event goer asked Gates if he would pay his tuition to the school. Another attendee inquired about Gates’ “vacation” plans for the doomsday date in the Mayan calendar...
...shielded business monopolies owned by friends and family and cracked down on journalists who pried into allegations of corruption - all the while, Kyrgyzstan's economy floundered, its Soviet-era industry and agriculture withering away while tens of thousands quit the country for low-paying jobs in resource-rich Kazakhstan or Russia. In February 2005, after a round of allegedly rigged elections, popular sentiment boiled over and precipitated mass protests the following month dubbed the "Tulip Revolution" that saw Akayev step down and leave for exile in Moscow...
...Then, on Jan. 19, three weeks into the dispute, Kazakhstan stepped in with a game-changing offer. It said that if Russia refuses to provide oil to the Belarusian refineries, it would be happy to take Moscow's place. The Kazakhs also said they would be willing to buy a stake in Belarus' Naftan refinery, which Russia's largest oil companies have coveted. "The demands of Belarusian refineries will be filled by Kazakh oil," said Anatoly Smirnov, Kazakhstan's ambassador to Belarus, adding that the two nations' Presidents have already discussed the idea and "no one has refused...
...partnership between Belarus and Kazakhstan, two of Russia's most loyal allies, does come to pass, it could further weaken Russia's influence in the region. But considering the dependence of both countries on trade with Russia, this still seems like a distant prospect, and some analysts say Kazakhstan's offer to Belarus is most likely a bluff. It would be costly and difficult for Kazakhstan to ship oil to Belarus, and Belarus could not afford to pay fair-market prices anyway, says Denis Borisov, an analyst at Bank Moskvy, one of Russia's largest banks. Kazakh companies could, however...
...thing is for certain - Russia is now watching both countries carefully. If Belarus and Kazakhstan go ahead with a deal, Moscow may need to find new ways to contain the rumblings of mutiny in its neighborhood...