Luxury Brands Must Keep To Best Practice

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Photo by Johanne Pold Jacobsen on Unsplash The global expansion of luxury brands outside of the US, UK and EU is being fuelled by the opening of new markets, particularly in emerging economies in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.  China has emerged as a critical player in the luxury goods market, with other countries like India, Malaysia,…

Kazakhstan’s New Gambling Law

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Photo by Carl Raw on Unsplash The betting industry has suddenly found itself in the international spotlight – and not just in the European Union. Moves are afoot in Europe to raise standards in a sector – betting – that rarely finds itself on the political agenda. But it is not just in the EU that such reform…

Kazakhstan’s new gambling regulation: A step too far?

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Photo by Cleyton Ewerton on Unsplash Laws regulating the Kazakh gambling and betting market are being hit with big changes.  It is argued that the new amendments and laws will prohibit a large circle of people from participating in gambling and betting.  Such concerns are particularly timely as they come at a time with efforts being made in…

Central Asian Integration

Photo by Dmitriy Altynnikov on Unsplash The international community, including the EU, has been urged to throw its weight behind closer integration between Central Asian countries. Specifically, the West is asked to support the creation of a Central Asian Union to foster closer relations between the various countries, such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, in the region. The demand…

Kazakhstan’s Journey from Soviet State to Global Partner

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Photo by Travel With on Unsplash The end of each year serves as a poignant reminder of the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991.  Over the past three decades, many post-Soviet countries have shed their Soviet legacies to emerge as modern and progressive states. A case in point is Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest nation.  As the country prepares to…

Kazakhstan’s Green Economy

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Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash Kazakhstan is totally committed to the goals and objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement.  This was stressed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov at the Summit of World Leaders of the Global Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt last November. Smailov has highlighted that Kazakhstan has set…

Freedom of Faith in Kazakhstan

Currently, representatives of 130 ethnic groups and 18 religious denominations live in Kazakhstan, including Muslims, Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and Buddhists. There are many mosques and temples operating and being built all over the country, which are actively visited by believers. Religious freedoms in Kazakhstan are guaranteed by article 14 of the country’s Constitution, which…

The Sofa Analyst

Mukhtar Ablyazov

“Politician, Kazakh entrepreneur and former owner of BTA Bank, the organiser of the DVK and the candidate for the post of Prime Minister of Kazakhstan” – such a description is flaunted on the YouTube channel of the world’s richest fugitive – fraudster Mukhtar Ablyazov, who is wanted in Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine on charges of…