· November, 2012

Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from November, 2012

Virtual Game Leads to Real Job as Football Manager in Azerbaijan

A 21-year old university graduate who's favourite past-time is playing the computer game Football Manager was confirmed as the new manager for Azerbaijan side FC Baku's reserve team earlier this month. In an unprecedented move this gamer pipped former footballers including Frenchman Jean Pierre Papin to secure the job.

30 November 2012

Tajik Official Blocks Facebook and Summons its CEO

The chief of the state-run telecommunications service in Tajikistan has ordered Facebook blocked and asked the social network's CEO to travel to the Central Asian country and meet with him. Tajik internet users now ridicule the official.

29 November 2012

Time to Change Tajikistan's Flag?

Thousands of flags are flown across Tajikistan today as the Central Asian republic celebrates the Flag Day. Meanwhile, some bloggers suggest that it might be time to change the country's flag.

24 November 2012

Kazakhstan as Seen by Camera Phone Users

Sometimes you don't need to be a professional photographer or have fancy cameras and lenses to take great pictures. Vox Populi is now featuring pictures of Kazakhstan taken by camera phone users and...

22 November 2012

Bridge Blog for Afghanistan and Pakistan: ‘Understanding the Neighbor’

In a fellowship program 22 journalists from Afghanistan and Pakistan gathered together twice, once in Islamabad and once in Kabul to understand each others, share value and make cultural exchanges. The documented their experiences in a blog titled ‘Understanding the neighbor' and are ready to challenge the decades old established narratives about their neighbors.

14 November 2012

Lenin in Tajikistan: ‘Better Hitler’ or ‘Real Hero'?

Since independence, Tajikistan's authorities have taken down almost all Soviet-erected statues of Vladimir Lenin across the country. The removal of these monuments is quite controversial in Tajikistan, where some bloggers call Lenin a 'better Hitler' while others consider him a 'real hero'.

14 November 2012

Tajik Police Explained

We can criticize the law-enforcement agencies as much as we want and argue that police is not doing its job properly and that police officers are not to be trusted... But problems with the police are just a reflection of problems in our society as a whole.

12 November 2012

Being Pregnant in Kyrgyzstan

On Ivory Pomegranate, an expat blogger shares her experience of being pregnant in Kyrgyzstan. She writes that seven months of prenatal care in a good clinic in Bishkek costs about...

9 November 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.