Russia's Financial Crisis Casts a Shadow Over Central Asia's Nuclear Future
By Eurasianet - Jul 20, 2026, 1:00 PM CDT
- Rosatom is cutting its investment program by nearly 50% and reducing operating costs amid worsening economic conditions.
- The spending cuts raise concerns about delays to planned nuclear projects in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
- Both Central Asian countries are increasingly exploring alternative nuclear partners, including China and the United States.
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan may soon have to rethink their plans to develop nuclear energy. Rosatom, the Russian nuclear entity that has agreements to build nuclear plants in both Central Asian nations, is experiencing major financial difficulties.
Alexei Likhachev, Rosatom’s boss, has announced the entity is cutting its investment program by nearly 50 percent this year due to “poor economic conditions.” Likhachev also said Rosatom would strive to slash operating costs by 10 percent within the next 18 months.
"We immediately abandoned a number of projects or shifted the deadlines for their implementation to a later date, guided by several criteria, the main of which is efficiency in the horizon until 2030, that is, more profit and revenue per ruble of investment," Likhachev was quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency.
The company’s troubles are widely linked to the Kremlin’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine, which has generally sapped Russia of its financial strength. International sanctions have also hampered Rosatom.
Likhachev did not specify which projects are being slashed or delayed. Kazakhstan awarded Rosatom a contract in 2025 to build the Central Asian state’s first nuclear power plant on the shores of Lake Balkhash. Since then, the project has been hit by delays and disputes, which many observers suspected were linked to Rosatom’s difficulties in obtaining financing. Likhachev’s announcement raises further doubts that the project can meet a tentative completion deadline in the mid-2030s.
Rosatom also has a preliminary agreement in place to build small-scale nuclear plants in Uzbekistan. Company officials in early 2026, seeking to dispel Uzbek worries about financing, offered to expand the deal to create a nuclear cluster. Likhachev’s announcement is likely to stoke further skepticism in Tashkent.
Both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have alternatives to Rosatom. Astana already has an agreement in place for a Chinese company to build two nuclear plants in the country. And both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have expressed interest in working with the United States to develop small modular nuclear plants.
Rosatom, historically a cash cow for the Russian government, is not the only major Russian entity experiencing financial woes. The stock price of the energy giant Gazprom has tanked over the past three months, and the company’s market capitalization now stands at a mere $25 billion.
By Eurasianet
