· September, 2008

Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from September, 2008

Kazakhstan: Above and Beyond

  29 September 2008

Joshua Foust wonders if the retirement of the U.S. space shuttle will make Baikonur space launch site in Kazakhstan even more important than it already is.

Afghanistan: Surge East

  29 September 2008

Joshua Foust thinks that long-term development goals are a critically missing piece of the Western agenda in Afghanistan.

Mongolia: Brain Drain Remains Harsh Problem

  29 September 2008

Asian Gypsy reports that brain drain problem Mongolia faces is more evident now than ever, as overseas Mongolian online communities sprout and more Mongolians are active online, whose locations are mostly outside of Mongolia.

Tajikistan: Real number of people in trouble

  29 September 2008

Vadim uses statistics, open source data, news articles and logic to come to the conclusion that more than 20 percent of Tajikistan’s population is going to be in trouble if no assistance comes from international donors.

Kazakhstan: New landmark of Almaty

  29 September 2008

Adam posts pictures of Esentai district, which will include Mariott hotel, residences, offices, retail etc – a projects that changed the Almaty cityscape.

Kyrgyzstan: Head of Central Election Commission resigns

  29 September 2008

Genderstan reports that Klara Kabilova, former head of the Central Election Commission of Kyrgyzstan, made a statement about receiving threats from Maksim Bakiev, son of President Kurmanbek Bakiev. In her statements she mentions that he swore at her and threatened her safety.

Tajikistan: Another Journalist Targeted

  29 September 2008

Ian says that another journalist has become the target of the Tajik government’s ire: the state prosecutor is charging him with slandering the president and destabilizing the country.

Afghanistan: Students on Hunger Strike

  29 September 2008

Azar Balkhi reports that following the language dispute in the Balkh province of Afghanistan, in which students of the local university entered into a clash with the police, the protesters went on a hunger strike.

Azerbaijan: Urban Development Blog

  26 September 2008

Social Science in the Caucasus comments on a new blog established to monitor urban development in Baku by two German researchers. The blog includes commentary and photography and is at http://urbanchange.wenedeux.com.

Armenia: Cultural Control

  25 September 2008

Unzipped says that there is a link between the decision to remove the screening of a film by well known director Tigran Khzmalyan from the programme at Yerevan's main cinema and his political activities. The blog also says that Khzmalyan and other academics have also been dismissed from their positions...

Kazakhstan: Who Lives Well in Kazakhstan

  23 September 2008

As long as Kazakhstan still aspires to enter the top 50 most competitive states of the world (although these efforts have so far resulted in decline of its competitiveness, as the World Economic Forum’s annual reports show), the republic has managed to enter another list of countries, unfortunately, a shameful...

Tajikistan: Talco Attacks Journalist

  22 September 2008

You might recall an article from a while back about how the government of Tajikistan was forming a unit to deal with that country's image problem, because, god knows, that's the country's biggest problem these days. Well, for the first time, there's something to show for that unit.

Tajikistan: Electricity crisis

  22 September 2008

Vadim reports that the mayor of Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, has promised that the electricity crisis throughout the country will not hit Dushanbe this year.

Kazakhstan: Shell + KMG

  22 September 2008

Adam reports that Kazakhstan’s state oil-and-gas company KazMunaiGas would create a joint venture with Royal Dutch Shell Plc to handle the production segment of the Kashagan oilfield.

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.