Decline of Russian Rouble Means More Water for Kazakhstan

The collapse of the Russian rouble has lowered the price of water exports to neighboring Kazakhstan, and as a result Kazakhstan is getting an additional 9.5 million cubic from the Volga River, according to Kazbek Kenzhigaliyev, director of the West Kazakhstan branch of state-owned water services company KazVodHoz“This is water from the Volga, which flows under gravity to the Malyi Uzen and Bolshoi Uzen rivers,” Kenzhigaliyev explained. “It just so happened that due to the collapse of the [Russian] rouble, we additionally have received 9.5 million cubic meters of water. Because of exchange difference, when the cost of the rouble fell to 3...