Respublika is a Kazakh newspaper frequently critical of the government, which was ordered to closure in May 2005 by the Ministry of Culture, Information and Sports.

The newspaper has been plagued by lawsuits and harassment, including a firebombing of its offices. It was closed down in mid-2005 for 'inciting ethnic hatred'. This followed the publication of an article in which a leading Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n politician made offensive comments regarding Kazakhs.

It is largely supportive of the opposition

Opposition (politics)

In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government , party or group in political control of a city, region, state or country...

. Respublika is one of the few publications to report on a long-stalled U.S. court case involving the nation's President

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

, prosecutors have alleged that Nursultan Nazarbayev

Nursultan Nazarbayev

Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev has served as the President of Kazakhstan since the nation received its independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union...

 received more than $60 million in bribes from a businessman acting as a go-between for Western oil companies.