· November, 2008

Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from November, 2008

Afghanistan: Explosion in Kabul

  30 November 2008

Baktash Siawash, Afghan journalist and blogger, wrote that “a suicide bomber killed four Afghans in a blast near Afghanistan's parliament in Kabul on Sunday”.

Armenia: World AIDS Day & the Armenicum Fiasco

  29 November 2008

Armenia: Higher Education & Sciences prepares its readers for the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day and highlights the situation with HIV infection in the country. The blog also notes that this year marks the 10th anniversary of Armenicum, a locally produced drug which the authorities initially announced could cure...

Armenia: Chess, Karabakh and Turkish Relations

  29 November 2008

West of Igdir comments on the latest developments in Armenia including a second victory for the country in the International Chess Olympiad, speculation over negotiations to resolve the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh and last week's visit to Istanbul by the Foreign Minister.

Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan: Calling Attention to Tragedy

  29 November 2008

Window on Eurasia writes: “Kyiv’s efforts to call attention to Stalin’s terror famine on the 75th anniversary of that tragedy and especially its moves to gain international recognition of it as a genocide against the Ukrainian people has generated much criticism by Russian officials from President Dmitry Medvedev on down...

Armenia: Bloggers Throw Funeral at Georgian Embassy

  27 November 2008

Carrying a black casket labeled “The Newborn Georgian Democracy,” a group of bloggers in Yerevan have marched toward the Georgian Embassy protesting what they call the destruction and desecration of Armenian cultural monuments in neighboring Georgia. Bloggers tell the story.

Georgia: Armenian Church Scandal

  27 November 2008

With the ever strengthening power of the Orthodox Church in Georgia causing concern for democracy and human rights activists, bloggers were first to report on attempts to seize a derelict Armenian church in the capital, Tbilisi.

Armenia: Eurovision Contenders

  26 November 2008

Esctime.com reports on speculation that Armenia's entry for next year's Eurovision Song Contest will either be U.S. rock band System of a Down or local pop singer Aramé. Meanwhile, in a post made at the beginning of the month, Unzipped: Gay Armenia says choosing a singer such as Aramé would...

Azerbaijan: Eurovision Concerns

  25 November 2008

IN MUTATIONE FORTITUDO expresses it concern with recent local media reports speculating who might represent Azerbaijan in next year's Eurovision international song contest. The blog says that public money should not be wasted on such a competition, especially if the name of a late famous singer is being used to...

Afghanistan: Meeting Sayed Pervez Kambakhsh

  25 November 2008

Nasim Fekrat, an independent Afghan journalist, met with imprisoned journalism student Sayed Pervez Kambakhsh in Pul-e Charkhi prison. He seemed disappointed and desperately waved at me. Only for a few seconds I got closer to him, closer to hear him, which was difficult because of the noise. Suddenly my left...

Nagorno Karabakh: Compromise Necessary For Peace

  25 November 2008

Blogian provides background information and analysis on the latest developments in efforts to resolve the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh. The blog says that peace would be beneficial for both sides, but notes that compromise will be necessary.

Georgia: Junior Eurovision Success

  23 November 2008

Unzipped comments on this year's junior Eurovision international music competition and says that Georgia's win was well deserved. The blog notes that Russia gave full points to the country it was recently at war with, but also expresses disappointment with Armenia's entry.

Armenia/Azerbaijan: Journalists Under Attack

  23 November 2008

Beaten in Armenia and imprisoned in Azerbaijan, journalists in the ex-Soviet South Caucasus know the price of freedom. Some of them are even fighting from prison cells, wrestling state persecution and challenging societal intolerance for dissent. Bloggers tell the story of free speech in the South Caucasus.

Kazakhstan: Political Economy and Blocked Blogs

  20 November 2008

It has been more than a month since Kazakhstan’s telecom monopolist blocked access of the users to Livejournal, the most popular blog platform in the Central Asian country. At the same time, the networks of online discussions did not get bleaker, still providing speedy reaction to the socio-political and economic...

Afghanistan: A Slice of Life at FOB Kalagush

  19 November 2008

Not your typical embed: Andrew Klavan spent a few days with Forward Operating Base (FOB) Kalagush. It's quite well-written: despite the requisite Kipling shout outs (though they make much more sense here, this being the literal setting of a famous Kipling novel and actual biography), he explains well the challenges the U.S. faces.

Afghanistan: Mired in Combat

  19 November 2008

An interesting pair of stories in the New York Times illustrate brilliantly just how complex the problems facing the United States in Afghanistan and Pakistan really are. The first is CJ Chivers' look at an embattled outpost in Nuristan...

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.