· January, 2007

Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from January, 2007

Uzbekistan: Handling Succession

  31 January 2007

Sean Roberts examines how Uzbekistan will handle succession. President Islam Karimov is 70 and currently in the “bonus time” of his final term. With elections on the horizon, Uzbekistan may have a new leader soon.

Kazakhstan: German Relations

  31 January 2007

Ben Paarmann reports on the meeting between the leaders of Kazakhstan and Germany during which Germany offered support for Kazakhstan's bid to chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Kazakhstan: James Giffen

  31 January 2007

Leila translates a post on James Giffen, an American businessman facing trial in the United States for bribing Kazakhstan's president, something he says that he did with the knowledge of the US government. The case has been used by opposition politicians in Kazakhstan against the president.

Kazakhstan: Queuing for Profit

  30 January 2007

Ben Paarmann reports on a business so suited for post-Soviet countries that it's a wonder no one had already launched it in Kazakhstan: standing in line for cash. A new company launched by Ruslan Akkuzhin will allow people to hire someone to stand in lines for them. The person in...

Tajikistan: Protest Against Judiciary

  30 January 2007

Alexander reports that a small protest took place in front of Tajikistan's Supreme Court to draw attention to what protesters characterized as corrupt decisions by courts on land disputes.

Caucasus: iPod Purchasing Power Index

  30 January 2007

Social Science in the Caucasus posts on the idea of an iPod Purchasing Power Index and wonders why there is such a range of prices in Caucasus states. Onnik Krikorian responds to the post and looks at possible answers to why iPods are so expensive in Armenia.

Kazakhstan: Destination Kazakhstan

  29 January 2007

neweurasia reports that Kazakhstan has ranked third most popular destination among European countries for gap year backpackers. Borat is believed to be the cause for the jump in popularity.

Kyrgyzstan: Searching for Snow

  29 January 2007

The Azamat Report goes in search of snow around Bishkek and finally manages to find some for a bit of snowboarding. Video evidence is provided.

Armenia: Election Monitor

  29 January 2007

Onnik Krikorian has a roundup of the latest news on Armenia's upcoming parliamentary election with a particular focus on efforts to provide transparency and to educate voters, something that blogger Zarchka is participating in herself.

Kyrgyzstan: The New PM

  29 January 2007

Yulia writes about Kyrgyzstan's new prime minister, noting his lack of experience relative to his predecessor and saying that the parliament would have voted for a donkey for the position just to avoid the president dismissing the parliament.

Crime and Punishment in Kazakhstan

  29 January 2007

Blogger's Trial Kazis Toguzbayev, a journalist who uploaded his articles on KUB, a group blog, was tried in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 22 January. In his article, Toguzbayev implied that the President was covering the murders of the opposition figures. He got a two-year suspended sentence for violating the Criminal Code...

Armenia: Skipping “The Priestess”

  26 January 2007

The Priestess is a new Armenian film with high production values. Rhyne of Armenia Blog wants to see the movie, but skpped out on doing so due to ridiculous ticket prices.

About our Central Asia & Caucasus coverage

Nurbek Bekmurzaev
Nurbek Bekmurzaev is the Central Asia editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.

Arzu Geybullayeva
Arzu Geybullayeva is the South Caucasus editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.