The Week in Kazakhstan: You’re Fired
Tokayev dismisses defense and transport ministers, salaries grow slower than inflation
Murat Nurtleu, Kazakhstan’s minister of foreign affairs, visited the US on June 13, on a mission to foster diplomatic and commercial relations. Nurtleu met his counterpart Marco Rubio and pledged to further the two countries’ Enhanced Strategic Partnership. Senate and Congress representatives told Nurtleu that they intend to push for a repeal of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, a 1974 regulation that denies “normal trade relations” and has long applied to Kazakhstan and other post-Soviet countries.
Asset Nussupov, the vice minister of trade, said on June 12 that Kazakhstan invested more than $35 billion in transport and logistic infrastructure over the past 15 years. The government has laid out a tentative plan for a renewed effort in infrastructure modernization, although it did not disclose its details.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev fired on June 8 the minister of defense and the minister of transport. Dauren Kosanov was appointed to replace former defense minister Ruslan Zhaksylykov. Tokayev has yet to name a substitute for Marat Karabayev at the ministry of transport.
Authorities in Kazakhstan’s western region of Mangistau recorded a methane leak at the Tolkyn oil field on June 6. The Regional Ecology Department said the leak was eventually contained and sealed on June 7. [Read more here.]
Average salaries in Kazakhstan increased by only 1.2% in the first quarter of 2025, the Eurasian Economic Commission reported on June 9. The year-on-year increase represents the slowest growth compared to other countries in the Eurasian Economic Union. In comparison, according to Kazakhstan’s Statistics Committee, inflation stood at 9.4% in the first three months of the year, compared to the same period last year.
A local court rejected on July 13 a request to shorten Muratkhan Tokmadi’s prison sentence. In 2018, Tokmadi was sentenced to 10.5 years for the manslaughter of banker Yerzhan Tatishev in 2004. For the past few years, Tokmadi has repeatedly tried to be granted parole. The courts have repeatedly rejected his requests.
Emin Agalarov, the businessman behind Agalarov Development, visited the western Mangistau region on June 12 and announced his intention to build a hotel near Bozzhyra, a range of rock formations that has become a must-visit tourist destination. A 2021 proposal to build a hotel complex in the area was met with popular protests. Agalarov is the son of a Russian billionaire and used to be married to Leyla Aliyeva, the daughter of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
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