· April, 2010

Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from April, 2010

Azerbaijan: Dozens reported detained at anniversary commemoration

  30 April 2010

Twitter and Facebook users, as well as local news agencies, report that dozens of youth activists were today detained in Azerbaijan as they attempted to mark the first anniversary of shootings in Baku's Oil Academy which left 12 dead. Although not related to their online activity, among those detained were...

Kyrgyzstan: Keeping the Calm

  26 April 2010

The role played by online independent media organizations such as Kloop.kg is crucial to separating fact from disinformation in Kyrgyzstan.

Afghanistan: Kabul’s Restaurant Raids

  25 April 2010

Kabul expat writes that last week four of most popular alcohol-serving restaurants in the capital of Afghanistan were raided in quick succession, sending chills through the expat community.

Azerbaijan: Nationalist propaganda

  21 April 2010

Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines recounts being verbally abused by a fellow countryman after co-presenting with Global Voices Online's Caucasus regional editor at a recent conference. The blogger notes that the reason for being cornered and harassed was her belief in tolerance and democracy in Azerbaijan as well as peace...

Azerbaijan: Act of revenge against bloggers

  20 April 2010

Following news that imprisoned video blogging youth activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli have been moved to separate prisons, Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines says that one media outlet reports that the two prisons are among the worst in the country and alleges the move is nothing more than an...

Caucasus: Social Innovation Camp

  19 April 2010

Although Internet penetration remains low in the South Caucasus, all indications are that new and social media has an increasingly important role to play in the area of democratization and activism. With that in mind, the first Social Innovation Camp in the region took place in Tbilisi, Georgia on 8-10 April.

Kyrgyzstan: The aftermath of public uprising

  19 April 2010

In the past week, the attention of Kyrgyzstani bloggers has been very firmly centred on political events in this small, mountainous Central Asian country. All over the country, memorials have been held for those people who died in clashes between government and opposition on April 7 and April 8. Sergei...

Tajikistan: The scandalous lawsuit backpedaled

  16 April 2010

Alpharabius keeps an eye on the developments around a multimillion lawsuit that had been launched by the three judges against 3 leading independent newspapers in Tajikistan. The judges have offered the defendants talks to finish what they describe as “the unprecedented and widespread media campaign against the whole justice system”.

Kyrgyzstan: Resignation faxed

  16 April 2010

Kyrgyz blogger writes about the details of the resignation of ousted Kyrgyz president Bakiev. The author also attaches scans of the resignation fax from the former head of the state, as well as its translation.

Turkmenistan: Healthcare system in shadow of secrecy

  16 April 2010

Turkmenistan’s healthcare system is decrepit but veiled in totalitarian secrecy, says a report by humanitarian organization MSF. “Trying to scare off criticism by baring its teeth will not save our government from decline,” writes neweurasia’s Annasoltan.

Kazakhstan: Internet Users Love Opera

  16 April 2010

KZBlog informs that Opera 10 is the most popular browser in Kazakhstan. As journalists allege, this might be due to the feature which compresses web pages on a remote server. While this feature is meant to speed up browsing, it also means that the it allows to access banned websites.

Afghanistan: Forgotten Hindus and Sikhs

  16 April 2010

Afghanistan is home to many ethnicities and religions, including small communities of Hindus and Sikhs, Nick Fielding says and tells some facts about the history and culture of these groups.

Mongolia: Earthquake in Ulaanbaatar

  16 April 2010

Radigan Neuhalfen writes a story about the most recent earthquake in Ulaan Baatar, the capital of Mongolia, and also provides a background of seismic research in this country.

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.