Kamshat Z.Private profile: Upwork shows its earnings only to signed-in members, so we check it every few weeks, not daily. MRR here is a rough estimate (Upwork's six-month earnings ÷ months active). Last read Nov 5, 2026.

I’m a researcher covering Central Asia, the Caucasus, Russia and China. Co-founder and lead analyst at Steppe Intelligence, where I publish Steppe Brief, a weekly briefing for investors and compliance teams. Previously ran the banking and finance desk at Kursiv (a Kazakhstani business weekly); in 2023 co-authored two pieces for The Diplomat, one tracing a $10 billion gap in Kazakhstan’s trade data to parallel imports into Russia. Countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Russia, China. What I do: - Corporate due diligence: ownership structures, court records (portal-sot.kz and national court portals), sanctions exposure - OSINT and SOCMINT: adverse media, Telegram and local-language media monitoring - Market and country entry briefs - Policy and industry research - Trade and transport corridor analysis - Media landscape mapping - Academic and archival source work: locating publications, building bibliographies and indexes - Fact-checking and source verification Background: MA in Economic Governance and Development (OSCE Academy), BSc in Finance; OSINT certification (Basel Institute on Governance), SMIA (McAfee Institute), Bellingcat’s online investigation workshop. Languages: Kazakh and Russian bilingual, English (IELTS 7), Chinese HSK 5 (reading).