· October, 2012

Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from October, 2012

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 of the Taliban, others look forward to the end of the NATO mission.

27 October 2012

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...

26 October 2012

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...

25 October 2012

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 video has become a focal point for discussion among Kyrgyzstani netizens, with many blaming the child's mother for neglect and even complicity in the abduction.

24 October 2012

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 Tajikistan, with many internet users and officials describing the representation of migrant workers in the guide as 'insulting'.

23 October 2012

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 tell Kazakhs how to feel pride in their background, you’re playing with fire. And it’s not your fire to play with.

21 October 2012

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...

17 October 2012

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 up and the herders head for their homes, Son-Kul fades into myth, its existence recalled only by the surreal photography and prose it has inspired.

9 October 2012

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, reactions to the arrangement differ from praising the authorities for a "win-win situation" to criticizing them for a "national humiliation".

6 October 2012

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 this measure and its potential implications.

5 October 2012

Turkmenistan: An Introduction to Dutar

One can’t think of Turkmen art and culture without thinking about the dutar. Khan on the NewEurasia.net blog offers an ‘introduction’ to the traditional musical instrument that is also widely...

3 October 2012

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.