Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from October, 2012
Halloween an ‘Alien’ Holiday in Tajikistan
We should teach the younger generation that Halloween is alien to Tajiks and all Muslims. Proud Tajik boys and girls who love their nation should never celebrate alien holidays. Blogger...
Tajikistan: Students Forced to Love President
As the president of Tajikistan tours the country's northern province of Sughd, blogger Teocrat reports [ru] that thousands of students were mobilized to greet the president wherever he goes. This has...
Tajikistan's ‘Million Dollar Baby’ Hangs Up Her Gloves
Mavzuna Chorieva, Tajikistan's female boxer who brought the country its only medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, has married and hung up her gloves, at least for a year. While...
Facebook Donations Support Volleyball in Tajikistan
A new Facebook page, Volleyball for Tajikistan, has recently been launched to raise funds for two volleyball teams created in the country's south. Within eight days after the launch, people from across...
Central Asians Treated ‘Like Crap’ at Moscow Airport
I realized that once you find yourself at [the Moscow airport] Domodedovo, you start feeling like you are [crap]. And you feel so not because you are actually [crap], but...
Turkmenistan at Twenty-One: Double Holiday and Thaw with Russia
As Turkmenistan marks the 21st anniversary of its independence today, the celebrations coincide with a major Islamic holiday. Also, Turkmenistan's Independence Day this year comes at a time of an...
Afghanistan Post-2014: Will the Dark Days Return?
With two years to go until NATO troops leave Afghanistan the country’s netizens have mixed feelings about the eventual withdrawal. While many are terrified at the prospect of the return...
Kazakhstan: Misused National Symbols
People should be punished for displaying the coat of arms on garbage trucks and for using the national flag as a construction tool or toy bag.
Kyrgyz Music Fridays
Kyrgyz Music Friday is a weekly feature in which I post a pop music video from an artist in Kyrgyzstan… [It] is not trying to appeal to your musical taste, but simply...
Mongolia: Goodbye, Lenin
The last bronze statue of Vladimir Lenin in Ulan-Bator, the capital of Mongolia, was recently taken down. Alec Metz on Registan.net explains what this means to Mongols and why many of...
Kyrgyzstan: Bride-Kidnapping Prevented
You know what shocked me most of all? The people in the street. They were just standing there and watching [an attempt to kidnap a girl], as if it was...
Kyrgyzstan: Child Abduction Caught on Tape
A spine-chilling video caught on a CCTV camera in a small provincial town in Kyrgyzstan appears to depict an abduction of an 11-month-old child in a crowded market place. The...
Tajikistan: Russian ‘Migrant Guide’ Deemed Insulting
A new 'migrant worker's guide' to the city of St. Petersburg depicts foreign labor migrants as brooms, paint brushes, trowels, and paint rollers. The leaflet has provoked widespread anger in...
Kazakhstan: The Accidental Nationalist
To Son Pascal, I say that if you really believe that Kazakhs should stop using Russian language in favor of Kazakh, if you really feel that you, a foreigner, can...
Turkmenistan: Build Athletes, Not Stadiums
My countrymen appreciate the new [sports] infrastructure..., but they generally feel that what really needs to be built aren’t facilities, but actual athletes.
Central Asia's Water Stories
How is it possible that in Central Asia, a region with abundant water resources, safe drinking water is still a luxury for many people? On his blog, Bakhrom Mananov features...
Kyrgyzstan: Lake Son-Kul in Photos and Prose
The lonely beauty of Lake Son-Kul has long caught the imagination of foreign visitors to Kyrgyzstan. At the beginning of October when the grazing season ends, when yurts are packed...
Tajikistan: Mixed Reactions Over Russian Base Deal
Russian President returns from a visit to Tajikistan with a deal that extends Moscow's lease on its military base in the Central Asian country for another three decades. Within Tajikistan,...
Kazakhstan Joins the Ban on Anti-Islam Film
Kazakhstan has joined a number of other countries in banning the controversial anti-Islamic film "The Innocence of Muslims." The ban has sparked debates in the country about the effectiveness of...
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