· August, 2009

Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from August, 2009

Caucasus: Peace Corps blogs on Twitter

  31 August 2009

With most bloggers located in the capitals of the three South Caucasus republics, U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) have been indispensible in posting entries from the regions of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. However, with old PCVs being replaced by new ones when their service ends, it's often been difficult to...

Kazakhstan: On the Efficacy of Government

  25 August 2009

How professional is the government? Is it rigorous enough in performing its functions? How often does it interfere in matters beyond its competence? These are among the most popular questions discussed in the Kazakh blogosphere. Izhanov writes a gloomy, ironic post on the “sensitive” subject of bidding in the process...

Uzbekistan: Women banned from mosques

  24 August 2009

Noah Tucker informs that after pressuring women for several months to stop attending mosque on Fridays, Bukhara authorities have officially prohibited them to go to mosques.

Afghanistan: Reportages on Children

  24 August 2009

Onne Parl offers a series of posts about children living in the provinces of Afghanistan, featuring a post about the place of religion in high school education, about regular school for street children and about life of kids in the traditional rural economy.

Afghanistan: Televised Presidential Debates

  24 August 2009

Safrang reviews the Afghanistan's presidential TV debates, organized by the the national TV (RTA) and radio RFE/RL. For the first time in history, the incumbent president together with two contenders were publicly responding to the questions and each other's criticism.

Afghanistan: Independence Day & Elections Eve

  24 August 2009

Safrang writes about celebration of Afghanistan's national holiday (that marks the occasion of its 90th independence anniversary from Great Britain after the 3rd Anglo-Afghan war) the day before the presidential elections.

Armenia: Homophobia turns deadly

  24 August 2009

Even if homosexuality was decriminalized in Armenia in 2002, society remains largely intolerant and traditional in its values. With blogs providing LGBT activists with a medium through which to voice their concerns, such fears can now be highlighted more openly than before.

Armenia: Ultra-nationalist homophobic death threat

  23 August 2009

Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on a death threat made against a prominent LGBT writer by an ultra-nationalist group in Armenia. The blog says that this latest development in what still remains a traditionally homophobic society marks a new move to create internal enemies and hopes that law enforcement agencies will...

Azerbaijan: Eurovision scandal continues

  22 August 2009

Despite attempts by the authorities to downplay the incident, news that the names and addresses of 43 citizens who voted for the Armenian entry in this year's Eurovision Song Contest had been obtained by police in Azerbaijan continues to send out shock waves through the Internet.

Afghanistan: Voting Day

  21 August 2009

Millions of Afghans defied Taliban threats and voted Thursday in the country’s second-ever presidential elections. Afghan bloggers share their experiences and feelings on this historic day.

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.