Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from October, 2007
Russia, Serbia, Georgia: Kosovo Implications
TOL's Steady State writes that “if the application of the ‘Kosovo formula’ to the post-Soviet frozen conflicts takes place, then it will be cooked up in Moscow – that is certain.”
Tajikistan: Cultural Starvation
C opines on the cultural environment in Tajikistan after visiting a concert of the new pop-band and says that cultural life in this country is stewing in it own juice and lacks diversity.
Kyrgyzstan: One-Party System Looming?
The Azamat Report reviews recent developments on the eve of parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, saying that the authorities are seemingly trying to establish a one-party system, similar to Kazakhstan with Nur-Otan and Russia with United Russia today.
Kyrgyzstan: Modern Horse Games
CXW takes a look at the new type of sports entertainment in Kyrgyzstan, a horseball, which is a modern version of the local traditional sport of kok boru.
Kyrgyzstan: Police Stopped a Car with Oppositionists
Bboyd informs about an incident that followed the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry’s roadblock to catch armed criminals, in which police stopped a car with three opposition party officials instead.
Afghanistan: Karzai Wants U.S. to End Airstrikes
Afghanistan Watch quotes reports on the President Karzai’s primetime appearance on CBS last Sunday, where he repeatedly called for a rollback of airstrikes in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: Private Military Contractors
Afghanistan Watch quotes an online foreign policy daily World Politics Review, which has published a piece devoted to the private security contractors in Afghanistan. As reported, the media has generally interpreted the authorities’ actions to shut down the contractors as a “crackdown”, but apparently the truth is more complicated.
Armenia: Trade with Russia
Oneworld Multimedia looks at two conflicting opinions on trade between Armenia and Russia. On the one hand, the Jamestown Foundation says that increasing trade between the two countries is political whereas an Armenian economist blogger believes that it is far from its full potential and cites the example of neighboring...
Azerbaijan: Economic Growth
Steady State examines Azerbaijan's record growth and says that it looks as though the country will register the strongest economic growth worldwide for the fourth year in succession. However, a note of caution is also sounded. Economic growth recorded in just a few sectors also has its problems.
Azerbaijan: Presidential Preferences
TOL's Steady State reports that a possible candidate for the 2008 presidential election in Azerbaijan is accusing the current authorities of “selling out” territory currently under the control of ethnic Armenians. The blog also notes that Eldar Namazov has attacked the Azerbaijani government for apparently not favoring the nomination of...
Azerbaijan: Terrorist Attack Foiled
As the international media reports that the Azerbaijani authorities foiled a planned terrorist plot to attack government offices and diplomatic missions in Baku, Carpetblogger says that the U.S. and U.K Embassies were yesterday closed as a precaution. However, the blogger doesn't sound too impressed or convinced by official reports that...
Armenia: Homophobic Advert
Blogian posts a photograph of an advertisement for a rap party in Yerevan named after a historical Armenian site in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan. Hrag Vartanian says that the advert depicting an American girl in a Stars & Stripes bikini with the words “Homosexuals and Animals Not Welcome” would...
Kazakhstan: Olympiad, Central Asian Style
Xxrock reports on the Kazakh government’s barely explainable step to modify the conditions of Asian Olympics-2011, which are to be held in Almaty. Now the officials want it to take place in Astana, the president Nazarbayev's “pet capital”, too.
Turkmenistan: Monetary Reform
Abdulgamid reflects on the announced plans of the Turkmen government to carry out a monetary reform with denomination of the national currency. Increased liquidity will inevitably be marred by increase in prices for all types of commodities and services, he concludes.
Uzbekistan: Requiem to Slain Journalist
Bboyd's post in memoriam to Alisher Saipov, an Uzbek journalist brutally murdered in Osh (Kyrgyzstan), says that Saipov was a strong critic of Uzbek regime and published an independent newspaper in the Uzbek language, which was printed in Kyrgyzstan and smuggled over the border.
Afghanistan: NATO Leases Out?
Afghanistan Watch reports on the NAYO decision to lease cargo helicopters (perhaps, from Russia and Ukraine) because members of the alliance again refused to provide airlift out of their own military assets.
Armenia: Gender Politics
With several examples in mind elsewhere around the world, Unzipped: Gay Armenia wonders if Armenia shouldn't have a woman president. Despite the patriarchal nature of Armenia and the Caucasus itself, the blog says that a female head of state might succeed in easing “tensions in our society and act as...
Armenia: The Numbers Game
After Friday's opposition rally during which Armenia's first president, Levon Ter Petrosian, said he would run again for office, Oneworld Multimedia raises concerns with how different media outlets reported the number of people in attendance. Interestingly, the blog notes that bloggers at the rally came up with roughly the same...
Turkey: An Armenian in Istanbul
Despite warnings from fellow Armenians, Lara Aha at Life in Armenia visited Istanbul in Turkey last week to attend a seminar on women in conflict zones. The Diasporan blogger now resident in Armenia says not only did she feel more at home in Istanbul than Yerevan, but that she also...
Georgia: “Radical” Opposition
TOL Georgia takes exception to a recent article published by the Jamestown Foundation on what the publication terms the “radical opposition.” The site questions why the author, well-known analyst Vladimir Socor, is using such phrases and challenges many other points made in the article.
Armenia: Parliamentary Killings Anniversary
The Armenian Observer remembers the 27 October 1999 terrorist attack on the Armenian National Assembly which left the prime minister and seven other senior officials, including the Soviet era leader of Armenia, dead. Eight years after the incident which allowed the incumbent president to consolidate power in the country, many...
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