Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from June, 2006
Mongolia: 800 Years
Luke Distelhorst reports on Mongolia's efforts to boost tourism for the 800 year anniversary of Chinggis Khan's founding of the Mongolian state, and he notes that the country is not attracting uniformly positive reviews.
Armenia: Dreams About War
Anxieties about the possibility of resumed war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh are spilling over into the dreams of Christian Garbis, who says that he thinks the resumption of hostilities is inevitable.
Turkmenistan: A Lesson to Others
Breed discusses the foolishness of doing business in Turkmenistan as a foreign investor.
Armenia: Notes from the Blogosphere
Onnik Krikorian has a brief roundup of the Armenian blogosphere.
Armenia: Mom Called Me Khachik
Nessuna has a public service advertisement and a translation of the ad that was produced by an Armenian radio station for distribution throughout the CIS to combat xenophobia in Russia.
Azerbaijan: The State of Play
New blog Memo from Breed reports on the state of play in Azerbaijani politics, focusing on the efforts of the opposition to find a raison d'etre.
Afghanistan: Restricting the Press
Afghan Warrior protests a document from the Afghan intelligence service that restricts media freedom.
Azerbaijan: Aziza Mustafa Zadeh
Onnik Krikorian writes about Azeri jazz musician Aziza Mustafa Zadeh, an album of whose he picked up for a friend. He remarks that it is “good to see that music can actually cross geopolitical borders, especially when the two countries in question are Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
Azerbaijan: Statue Protest
In light of a protest in Moscow against a statue of Heydar Aliev, the first Turkic Politburo member and the former President of Azerbaijan, Denise of neweurasia argues that Russia must take steps to treat its Azeri residents better to ensure a good image in Azerbaijan, if for no other...
Afghanistan: Karzai & Problems
Once Upon a Place talks about the difficulties that the Afghan President is facing. The blogger says Karzai has long been between a rock and a hard place. He has to be seen clearing out the corruption and taking a hard line with extremists at the same time as keeping...
Armenia: Garni & Geghard
Jeremy in Armenia writes about visits to Garni and Geghard, the former of which is a magnificent pre-Christian temple.
Uzbekistan: Longer Andijon Video
Nick of neweurasia discusses the release of a longer video showing the events of the Andijon uprising and what it means for interpretations of the day's events.
Uzbekistan: German Prosecution
Registan.net questions the usefulness of calls to prosecute Uzbek officials for human rights violations using Germany's courts’ universal jurisdiction over such matters.
Armenia: Yerevan Photos
Christian Garbis offers random photos from Yerevan, many of which are of old buildings set for demolition.
Kazakhstan: Kazakh Blogosphere Roundup
Leila rounds up the Kazakhstani blogosphere at neweurasia.
Georgia: An Armenian in Tbilisi
Zarchka writes about Tbilisi and Georgia, remarking on the difficulties associated with trying to speak Russian there, noting the parks and scenery in the capital, and contrasting the country with Armenia.
Mongolia: MP S. Oyun Interview
Luke Distelhorst inteviewed a member of Mongolia's parliament who says that the country needs a clear vision for reform.
Turkmenistan: Enemies of the Motherland
Peter of neweurasia writes about accusations from the Turkmen government that implicate the French government and the OSCE in a plot to overthrow the Turkmen government.
Armenia: Saving Forests
Oneworld Multimedia reports on efforts to save Armenia's forests.
Mongolia: Taylor's Escort
…yuu bna? has a short update on the activities of Mongolia's peacekeepers in Sierra Leone.
Tajikistan: Social Obligations
Elizabeth writes on mosque, pod'yezd, and social obligations in Tajikistan.