Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from September, 2008
Georgia: Frontline Photos
Popular Photography's blog features photos and an account of the war between Georgia and Russia by New York-based photojournalist Jonathan Alpayrie.
Kazakhstan: Above and Beyond
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
Joshua Foust thinks that long-term development goals are a critically missing piece of the Western agenda in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: How to Win
Joshua Foust takes issue with an essay about how to “win” in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: What kind of government
Joshua Foust notes some of the problems with the American conceptions of Afghan society, and how that is influencing bad policy.
Mongolia: Brain Drain Remains Harsh Problem
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
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
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
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.
Kazakhstan: Measures to Support Banks
KZBlog says that Kazakhstan’s government is considering raising $6 billion in funds to bail out domestic banks, should they be unable to pay back their loans.
Tajikistan: Another Journalist Targeted
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
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
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
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...
Poland, Russia, U.S.: A “New Cold War” or Not?
The beatroot hosts a discussion of the Polish-Russian-American relationship in the aftermath of the Russian-Georgian conflict.
Kazakhstan: Who Lives Well in Kazakhstan
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...
Russia-Georgia: Reports on military and civilian death tolls
Wu Wei comments on and links to reports on Georgian military and civilian death tolls in the recent Russo-Georgian war. She also posts an interesting overview of demographic developments in Georgia, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia.
Tajikistan: Talco Attacks Journalist
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.
Uzbekistan: Investing in Soccer
Tolkun tells about the first goals of world-renowned football player Rivaldo in Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor FC and embeds a video of the game.
Tajikistan: Electricity crisis
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
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.
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