Latest posts by Chris Rickleton
Take a Lyrical and Visual Trek Through the Back Streets of Almaty, Kazakhstan
Dennis Keen's beautifully written blogs have exposed English speakers to some inaccessible elements of Central Asian culture. So, why is he now waxing lyrical about Soviet-era manhole covers?
Try Being a Female Journalist in Kyrgyzstan. Your Male Sources Hit on You. All the Time.
Kyrgyz journalist Asel Kalybekova explains the pressure female professionals - whether journalists, accountants or government secrataries - face to respond to sexual advances by officials and co-workers.
The World Shouts #FreeAlexSodiqov During Global Vigil
Global Voices' community member Alexander Sodiqov is not a British spy. And #FreeAlexSodiqov is an international movement. This vigil - a month after his arrest - proves it.
His Country Has Never Made it to the World Cup, But Uzbekistan's Ravshan Irmatov is a FIFA Legend
Uzbek football referee Ravshan Irmatov may not be as well-known internationally as Cristiano Ronaldo, but his record at World Cups is decidedly better.
Tributes to Alexander Sodiqov from Toronto, Canada
This post is part of our campaign #FreeAlexSodiqov: GV Author Detained in Tajikistan. Three weeks to the day since Global Voices author Alexander Sodiqov was arrested in Khorog, Tajikistan, his wife, Musharraf, has seen him only once. Although it has been presumed that Alex — conducting academic research at the...
“How I Almost Became a Spy”: This Tajik Editor-in-Chief Considers the Absurdity of Alexander Sodiqov's Arrest
If meeting with foreigners and asking questions constitutes spying, then Tajikistan has a lot of spies, muses Umed Babakhanov, Editor-in-Chief of the independent Tajik news agency, Asia Plus.
‘The Tajik Government Has Made an Honest Mistake': Scholars in Washington DC Discuss Alexander Sodiqov's Detention (+Audio)
On June 27 scholars gathered at different universities as part of an international discussion on the wrongful arrest and detention of Global Voices community member Alexander Sodiqov in Tajikistan.
Solidarity from Ankara for Alexander Sodiqov's Release
This post is part of our campaign #FreeAlexSodiqov: GV Author Detained in Tajikistan. Messages of support continue to pour in for Alexander Sodiqov, the Global Voices community member wrongfully detained by local authorities in Khorog, Tajikistan on June 16, while carrying out academic research. Global Voices is grateful to Dr....
These 5 Experts Explain Why Alexander Sodiqov's Arrest in Tajikistan Is So Troubling
Civic activists and journalists fear the arrest of Global Voices' Alexander Sodiqov could have worrying consequences on research in Central Asia.
Tajikistan's GBAO Region – an Incredible Place
In the last few weeks Global Voices has published and republished several articles about the unlawful arrest of our community member Alexander Sodiqov. Those pieces are here, here, here and here. But the Pamir region (known administratively as Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, or GBAO) where Alex was conducting academic research is not...
Kyrgyzstan's First Full Length Animation to be Released
Neweurasia.net report on the upcoming release of Kyrgyzstan's first animated film, Aku, drawn by Tolgobek Koichumanov. Judging by the trailer Koichumanov's illustrations will offer the perfect introduction to Kyrgyzstan, capturing both the republic's startlingly beautiful nature as well as the less startlingly beautiful aesthetic of its capital city, Bishkek. According...
Tajik Government Silent on “Disappeared” Global Voices Contributor
Tajik authorities have allegedly paraded University of Toronto researcher Alexander Sodiqov, who disappeared three days ago, on television in an apparent attempt to discredit him and an opposition politician.
Why Conducting Academic Research in Khorog, Tajikistan is a Criminal Offense
What does the Tajik government have to fear by arresting scholar and Global Voices author Alexander Sodiqov? Chris Rickleton explains.
9 Quietly Profound Photos From Kyrgyzstan That Foreshadow Central Asia's Water Wars
By 2030, nearly half the world’s population will inhabit areas of “high water stress."
Kazakhstan Has an Antelope That Can Predict the World Cup Winner (or Does It?)
Kazakhstan's most mischievous satirical blog, Kazaxia, is up to its old tricks again, reporting on the saiga antelope that has potentially ruined bookmakers worldwide by predicting the winner of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with its timeless steppe wisdom. As Kazaxia writes: A shaman contacted kazaxia about the psychic saiga – it...
Kazakh “Bloggers” Program Gets to the Real News
Kazakhstan's online program Блогеры (bloggers), presented by Angela Garipova does [ru] a good job of covering socially relevant themes that the country's state-directed media doesn't always get to via funky footage and the views of Kazakhstani social media users. This week the program looked at the decision of the regional government of...
Some Young Soldiers in Tajikistan's Army Are Being Hazed to Death
The Tajik army experience is one of abductions, humiliations and occasionally lethal violence. But many continue to justify these practices in the name of character building.
Goodbye Alexandros Petersen, Prodigious Guide to China in Central Asia
On January 17, a Taliban suicide bomb attack killed sixteen people at a Kabul restaurant. Among them was Alexandros Petersen, an enlightening commentator on Eurasian affairs and a riveting storyteller.
Journalist Sued for Comparing Tajik ‘Intelligentsia’ to Excrement
Tajikistan's state-approved 'intelligentsia' is showing itself to be more thin-skinned than intelligent.
Tajik MP is Against Mixed Marriages “Especially with Chinese“
It is rare that the deputies in Tajikistan's pliant parliament become national talking points, but Saodat Amirshoeva, a female MP with strong views about mixed marriages, is fast becoming a name on everyone's tongues.
YouTube Blocked in Tajikistan After Video of President Dancing Goes Viral
As tensions surrounding elections slated for November continue to poison the political mood in Tajikistan, a video of President Emomali Rahmon singing and dancing at his son's wedding has gone viral, giving opposition figures yet another reason to criticize the excesses of the ruling family and the Tajik authorities yet another reason to block the video-sharing platform YouTube. The wedding took place in 2007, but the video was uploaded to YouTube on May 18, 2013.
