| Summary/Abstract |
On June 5, 2016, a group of armed militants attacked National Guard weapons depots and barracks in the city of Aktobe, north-western Kazakhstan, some 253 kilometers from Russia's Orenburg. Several dozen people, including the attackers, died in the clash. Siloviki, a term commonly used in post-Soviet countries for security and law enforcement agencies, did not hide their perplexity over what had happened, and foreign observers commented that the situation in Kazakhstan, long seen as a model of stability among the southernmost former Soviet republics, might deteriorate sharply. These events highlight the need for a discussion on broad international cooperation to ensure regional stability, create new institutional formats, and foster collaboration among CSTO and SCO structures.
|