Stories from Quick Reads and Kyrgyzstan
“Dreamlike Kyrgyzstan” As Seen by a Photographer
Kloop.kg presents [ru] a collection of photos from “dreamlike Kyrgyzstan” by Russian photographer Danil Korzhonov.
Things to Love about Kyrgyzstan's Capital
While social media users in Kyrgyzstan often discuss what they don't like about the country's capital, they seldom talk of what they do like about Bishkek. Breaking up with the tradition, blogger Amina Suleyeva offers [ru] a list of qualities that make the Kyrgyz capital a city she loves. These include...
Kyrgyz Scholar: Marijuana Legalization Keeps Governments in Power
As US President Barack Obama's recent comments on marijuana reignite the liberalization debate across the world, including in Kyrgyzstan, a Kyrgyz scholar offers a non-mainstream explanation for the decriminalization of marijuana in a number of countries. In a blog post on kloop.kg, Dr. Rustam Tukhvatshin claims [ru] that legalization helps governments...
Czechoslovakia's Architectural Heritage in Kyrgyzstan
Karina Ditkovskaya writes [ru] about a unique architectural heritage left by volunteer construction workers from Czechoslovakia in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan: In the 1920s a commune of volunteers from Czechoslovakia built a whole district of Bishkek. Now, after almost one hundred years, this area of Kyrgyzstan's capital city stands out due...
Life in Kyrgyz Prisons Through Camera Eyes
Photographer Eric Gourlan spent over a month in prisons in Kyrgyzstan, documenting the life of both inmates and guards. Photographs he took there provide a rare “view from the inside” the country's prison system. Kloop.kg publishes some of the remarkable photos that are now displayed at a museum in Bishkek. The documentary...
Young People Revel In Halloween Fun in Kyrgyzstan
While debates over the appropriateness of participating in Halloween fun rage in Tajikistan, young people in the neighboring Kyrgyzstan revel in Halloween festivities. The country's most popular blogging platform has published [ru] a map of all venues organizing Halloween festivities in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan's capital. Dozens of people dressed up in zombie...
“Without Papers You Are Nobody” in Kyrgyzstan
Hundreds of people living in Kyrgyzstan do not have the country's identity documents. This makes these people ‘invisible’ to the authorities, as Diana Rahmanova writes [ru]: In essence, you can say, “Here I am. I exist. I live. Here. Here is my body, my face. Look at me. I am not...
Kyrgyzstan: “It is Impossible to Propagandize Homosexuality”
Prominent Kyrgyzstani blogger Bektour Iskander reflects [ru] on on the recent law banning gay ‘propaganda’ in Russia and speculations that some Kyrgyz human-rights NGOs are engaged in such propaganda: It is impossible to propagandize homosexuality. Because a heterosexual cannot turn into a gay, even if she/he communicates with hundreds of...
“Central Asia is Watching [Syria] Too”
As the United States and Russia spar over the way ahead in Syria, the governments in Central Asia are following the situation closely, writes Nathan Barrick on Registan.net: Russia chooses to focus on the perspective that the Syrian government is fighting a battle against Islamic extremists and this message likely resonates...
Kyrgyzstan to Become a ‘Beam of Light’ in the ‘Dark’ Region?
Blogger Bektour Iskender suggests [ru] that “free” Kyrgyzstan should allow citizens of the less free nations in Central Asia, particularly Turkmenistan, to stay in the country visa-free: OK, we have [visa-free regime] for citizens of 44 developed nations. This is great. However, I believe that Kyrgyzstan as the most free country...
Young Kyrgyz and Tajiks Learn to Blog
More than 20 young activists from the Central Asian nations of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are learning the basics of blogging at a summer school in northern Tajikistan. Rustam Gulov reports [ru] on Blogiston.tj that participants at the summer school learn to use social media to contribute to public debates on...
Women's Struggle for Clean Water in Kyrgyzstan
UnitedKyrgyzstan blog tells [ru] a story of the daily struggle for clean water faced by women and children in many parts of rural Kyrgyzstan: It is the task of women and children to queue up for drinking water and then carry home heavy tanks with water through hundreds of meters of...
Domestic Violence in Kyrgyzstan
Most girls and women in Kyrgyzstan are afraid of leaving their homes alone when it gets dark, believing that a dark street is the most frequent crime scene in the country. In reality, as SQ blog suggests [ru], four out of five crimes against women in the country take place...
Traditional Kyrgyz Clothing
Personal appearance can tell a lot about a person and his nation. Traditional clothes of the Kyrgyz people is important part of material and spiritual culture of the nation, and it is closely linked with the country’s history
Disabled Persons ‘Disrespected’ in Kyrgyzstan
Blogger Dmitry Efremov writes [ru] about the negative attitudes that people with disabilities confront in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan: It is terrible to realize that some people among us disrespect persons with disabilities.
Parliament Restricts Kyrgyz Women's Rights
After lengthy debates, the parliament in Kyrgyzstan has adopted legislation banning young women from travelling abroad without parental consent. On Registan.net, Alisher Abdug'oforov suggests that the new legislation not only violates the country's constitution, but is also unlikely to solve any problems it is designed to address.
Central Asia's ‘Weird, Sad’ World Records
As Turkmenistan celebrates a recent Guinness World Record award for the highest density of white marble buildings, Caravanistan writes about the “weird, sad, and revealing” world records held by other countries of Central Asia.
Wikipedia to Appear in Shughni
“Good news Pamiris,” writes [ru] Bektour Iskender, President of Kloop Media, a Kyrgyz news portal and blogging platform. “Wikipedia has provided permission to begin a version of the site in Shughni.” Shughni is one of the main languages spoken in Gorno Badakhshan province (GBAO), a remote, eastern part of Tajikistan...
Avoid Mycetism, Mushroom Pickers!
“Never eat overripe, clammy, flabby, wormy or spoiled mushrooms,” writes Ian Claytor, translating advice from Kyrgyzstan's Department for Disease Prevention and Expertise in his blog, Postcard from Bishkek. With the mushroom picking season underway in the former Soviet state, the Ministry of Health have come up [ru] with guidelines to help pickers enjoy the pastime safely.
Cartoon: Girls Prevented from Leaving Kyrgyzstan
A father had a bad dream which now troubles him. So, he decides that his daughter will not travel anywhere. He takes away her passport and air tickets while she is sleeping, but the daughter takes the documents back. Finally, the father decides to lock his daughter at home to prevent her from leaving.
Migration a ‘Tragedy’ for Kyrgyzstan
About 2,000 young and well-educated professionals leave Kyrgyzstan every year. Begimai Sataeva on NewEurasia.net calls the outward migration of the bright and skilled young people a ‘real tragedy’ that affects Kyrgyzstan's economy and international competitiveness.
