Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from May, 2006
Armenia: Remembering Independence
Neesuna remembers achieving independence in Armenia.
Uzbekistan: Andijon Anniversary
James at neweurasia has an event summary of Carnegie Endowment conference on Uzbekistan and the one year anniversary of last year's uprising in Andijon.
Afghanistan: Mafia!
Afghan Penlog is a new collective blog which wants to bring afghan blogs together. On its last writing, we read about freedom of expression and Afghanistan's mafia problem. According to blog, country is on the edge to fall in mafia's trap completely.
Kyrgyzstan: Victory Day in Osh
neweurasia has a photo essay of Victory Day in Osh.
Armenia: Human Rights
Notes from Hareinik notes that Armenia has been named a major human rights violator and says Armenian diasporan organizations should pressure the Armenian government on human rights issues.
Mongolia: Gold
Luke Distelhorst notes that rising gold prices are good news for Mongolia
Turkmenistan: Victory Day
Peter reports on Turkmenistan's events in commemoration of Victory Day.
Russia, Georgia, Ukraine: The Future of CIS
Vilhelm Konnander shares his analysis of the situation around the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Uzbekistan: US Sanctions
Registan.net discusses possible US sanctions against Uzbekistan.
Caucasus: Democracy and the Future
Nessuna reports on a lecture on democracy and the future of the South Caucasus.
Armenia: Uborka
Zarchka writes about all the tasks involved with uborka, Armenian spring cleaning, and all the “oofs” that come with it.
Mongolia: Tuts
Luke Distelhorst writes about “tuts,” Mongolian kiosks, weighing their positives and negatives.
Afghanistan: Famous singer & street kids
According to Yadashthaye Adabi, Farhad Darya, a famous Afghan singer, performed among street kids to attract government's attention to children's misery in Afghanistan (Persian).
Afghan Whispers: To Celebrate or not!
Afghan bloggers talk about anniversary of Kabul's fall in hands of Mujahedin. They disagree about whether or not to celebrate. Why should the Afghan people celebrate this day? Did they get freedom, justice or…. The blogger adds this event just brought more war for another ten years (Persian). He says,...
Kyrgyzstan: Protest Breakdown
CXW of neweurasia breaks down the recent protests in Kyrgyzstan and says that the opposition should look for other ways than more protests to move forward.
Mongolia: Health Minister Interview
Luke Distelhorst publishes an interview he conducted with Mongolia's Minister of Health on HIV/AIDS.
Kyrgyzstan: Constitutional Reform
neweurasia reports on constitutional reform in Kyrgyzstan and the debate over submitting constitutional reforms to public referendum.
Mongolia: Protest Broken Up
Luke Distelhorst reports that Mongolian police forcefully dismantled protesters’ gers (Mongolian yurts) as South Korea's president arrived for a visit. Tom Terry, meanwhile, writes on the reaction of police to Eagle TV reporters’ attempts to film the event.
Armenia: Kurdish Nationalism, Yezidis
Onnik Krikorian writes about Kurdish nationalism in Armenia and has many more posts and photos of Armenia's Yezidis.
Russia: Ban on Georgian Wine and Water
Beginning today, Russia has outlawed Georgian sparkling mineral water Borjomi, a health product that many ulcer patients have been relying upon since the Soviet times. Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's chief health inspector, has ordered the ban allegedly due to the discovery of a batch containing fake Borjomi. A few weeks earlier,...
Georgia: Military Road Photos
Hans has photos from the Georgian Military Road which cuts high through the Caucasus–up to 2,379 meters according to Wikipedia–and is still fairly empty and covered with snow.