Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from April, 2010
Kyrgyzstan: President Bakiev fled, resigned
Michael Hancock describes the details surrounding the escape and resignation of ousted Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiev.
Kazakhstan: Long-Awaited Almaty Metro
Michael Hancock tells about the project of long-promised metro system in Almaty, the biggest city in Kazakhstan. It is currently nearing completion, voices concerns over seismic activeness of the region and viability of the new metro.
Afghanistan: Grapples with drug problem
Nasim Fekrat says that there are more than two million drug users in the country, and this number has doubled over the past two years.
Kazakhstan: Birds, Polish tragedy and Governance
Discussions of the Kazakhstani bloggers this week were centered around three topics, all related to the deep-rooted problems of governance in the country.
Azerbaijan: Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli update
Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines says that the local media in Azerbaijan reports that imprisoned video blogging youth activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli have been moved to separate prisons for reasons unknown.
Central Asia: Writing “About Each Other, For Each Other”
Sarah Kendzior of Registan.net writes about the significance of Kyrgyzstan's and Central Asian social media and points out some external observers’ distorted view of them: “There is another internet, a secret internet, in which meaningful political conversations take place in Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Turkmen, and Tajik, yet the majority of...
Kyrgyzstan: A Photo Report From Bishkek
Photos and commentary (RUS) on the recent unrest, looting and poverty in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan – by LJ user zyalt (Ilya Varlamov).
Kyrgyzstan: Social Media Create and Fight Information Overload
The coverage of recent bloody events in Kyrgyzstan by online and traditional media caused information overload that made it very difficult to create a consistent picture. That is why bloggers who focused on monitoring the information, checking its credibility and creating consistent picture of events, played an important role in an adequate coverage of the protests.
Kyrgyzstan: The “Archived” Revolution
On April 6th, Kyrgyzstan was hit by mass protests which eventually led to the overthrow of the government as well as many deaths. While the internet did not play a major role in mobilizing the protests, it has been used to document what happened in detail.
Kyrgyzstan: Photos of Bloody Protests
LJ user drugoi published a selection of photographs from the recent violent protests in Kyrgyzstan.
Kazakhstan: Uranium World Bank Becomes A Reality?
Joshua Foust weighs the perspectives of Kazakhstan’s plans to serve as the primary global “bank” for refined uranium products.
Afghanistan: Some Tricky Numbers
Joshua Foust analyzes the latest freshly released numbers about opium seizures in Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan: Black market currency trade
Nathan says that serious economic trouble in Uzbekistan is represented by the proliferation of black market currency trading, as the value of the national currency rapidly decreases.
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan: Rights Activist's Extradition Pondered
Dushanbe writes that the authorities in Tajikistan say they are still pondering whether to extradite Kyrgyz human rights activist Nematullo Botaqoziev, who was detained in Dushanbe in late February.
Uzbekistan: HIV-outbreak is covered up, anti-AIDS campaigner is sentenced
About 150 Uzbek children were infected with HIV in hospitals of Namangan, the third-largest city of Uzbekistan. Although the incident was registered in 2007-08, the issue became public only in March 2010, when the opposition-minded Ferghana.ru website (blocked in Uzbekistan) leaked a documentary [rus], which had been shot by the...
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