The 60th plenary meeting of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS member states took place in St. Petersburg. One of the main topics was the Year of Health Protection in the Commonwealth.
Saule Bazarkhan (Saule Yermakhanova), a well-known Kazakh blogger and entrepreneur aged 53, has died during a planned liposuction procedure in Almaty.
On May 23, 2021, Belarusian authorities forced a Ryanair plane traveling from Athens to Vilnius to land in Minsk, arresting opposition journalist Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega. The incident sparked global outrage and led to EU and US aviation bans over Belarus.
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has entered the trust rating of Russians towards leaders of former Soviet states, scoring 8%. The data comes from a survey by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) conducted in April 2026.
The Human Rights Commissioner of Russia's Sverdlovsk region, Tatyana Merzlyakova, has proposed making Russian language education free for migrant children. Currently, such classes are typically paid for by parents.
Kazakhstan is considering restricting social media registration for children under 16. The relevant norm has been included in a package of amendments currently being discussed by the government.
Uzbekistan and Belarus have begun developing a joint program aimed at increasing bilateral trade turnover to $2 billion by 2030. This was announced following the 12th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Bilateral Cooperation, co-chaired by Deputy Prime Ministers Jamshid Khodjaev of Uzbekistan and Yuri Shuleiko of Belarus.
A court in Kazakhstan has authorized the compulsory enforcement of an arbitration award requiring Russian energy giant Gazprom to pay Ukrainian state-owned company Naftogaz approximately $1.4 billion. The announcement was made by Naftogaz CEO Serhiy Koretsky.
Starting May 20, three key border checkpoints in Kyrgyzstan's Batken region — Kadamjay, Chechme, and Ak-Kyya — have begun operating 24 hours a day. The decision was made ahead of the summer tourist season, when the flow of citizens traditionally increases.
Uzbekistan has become a key driver of foreign business growth in Kazakhstan, according to data from the Bureau of National Statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan. As of May 1, 2026, 8,275 companies with Uzbek founders were operating in the neighboring country.
Academician Vadim Pokrovsky, one of Russia's most prominent specialists in HIV infection and AIDS prevention, has died at the age of 72.
Azerbaijan and Georgia have agreed to resume passenger railway service on the Baku-Tbilisi-Baku route starting May 26, 2026. The decision was announced following Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's visit to Azerbaijan over the past weekend.