Stories about Russian from April, 2008
Kazakhstan: Bloggers Discuss Elites and Economics
Plitical intra-elite battles and anti-corruption crusades both remain hot topics on the agenda of Kazakhstani blogosphere, but speculations over the looming global food crisis and its implications for Central Asia made the bloggers cover this issue in their discussions. Ehot wonders, what will Kazakhstan be looking like if the food...
Kyrgyzstan: An Anxious April
A next to last week of April started from the unexpected fall of temperature. A lot of bloggers posted the photographs of the frozen greenery and the trees under snow. Yanagi presented the beautiful photos of the leaves under snow in her blog. red_ptero called [ru] this fall of temperature...
Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan: Lenin's Birthday
On April 22, Vladimir Lenin would have turned 138 - and quite a few Russophone bloggers still remember the date.
Uzbekistan, Ukraine: Tashkent Blacksmith and His Children
A monument to an Uzbek family that adopted 15 children during WWII has recently been dismantled in Tashkent. Below is a Ukrainian blogger's moving story of how her father helped one of these adopted children find his biological family.
Russia: Chechnya Photos
LJ user mnog posts photos from Chechnya: Grozny; Terek-CSKA football game (and the first anniversary of Ramzan Kadyrov's inauguration); Shali, Argun, Makhkety.
Kazakhstan: Political Players Reshuffled
Kazakhstani political field may only seem still and silent against the background of a one-party parliament and a long-ruling president. But in its depth it is very lively – passions and intrigues are brewing both within the state apparatus and in the opposition's camp. The competition between groupings is not...
Kazakhstan: People Get Poorer Amid Economy Boom and Corruption
As the Kazakhstani economy continues to grow – although much slower now – thanks to petrodollars inflow, the resource nationalism and state expansion tendencies get stronger. Private business has to fight against the credit crunch consequences themselves, but both sectors suffer from flagrant and endemic corruption.
Tajikistan: Unjust Distribution of Wealth
It is almost impossible to have a profitable business in Tajikistan if you follow all rules and regulations set by the state. People bitterly joke that the easiest way to become a wealthy man is to become a governmental official or a person close to the government. Perhaps, it is...
Russia: “Presumption of Guilt”
Moscow bloggers share their views on xenophobia, hate speech - and cab drivers from the Caucasus.
Russia: Ramzan Kadyrov's Motorcade
The video of what is described to be a motorcade of Chechnya's president Ramzan Kadyrov has been viewed over 100,000 times (plus, the clip has been re-posted by a number of other YouTube and RuTube users). Below are several bloggers' reactions to what they've seen.
Uzbekistan: Yusuf Juma, a Martyr Poet
Today, in Uzbekistan, where free voices are being severely silenced, practically no one dares not even to promote, but just to express anti-governmental ideas. But this is not the case of dissident poet Yusuf Juma, as his poems are full of passion and concern about his country and martyr nation,...
Southeast Europe, Russia: War, Peace, and Shared History
Veronica Khokhlova translates some Russophone bloggers' views on shared history and conflict in Southeastern Europe and the Caucasus.
Uzbekistan: Blogging fosters freedom of speech
Recently, the U.S. State Department has ranked Uzbekistan among “top ten” of the most authoritarian countries in the world. During almost two decades of his reign, president I. Karimov and his clan have taken control of all spheres of life in the country – political, economic and social. Civil society,...
Kazakhstan: Celebrating Nauryz
Nauryz, a Central Asian non-religious celebration of the spring equinox, symbolizes a renewal of the nature. Originating from ancient Mesopotamia, the holiday’s name derives from the Persian, where – just like in Tajik language – Novruz is translated as a “new day”. In Soviet times Nauryz was declared ideologically inconsistent...
Ukraine: Kyiv Protest Photos
LJ user eagle_x posts photos from Kyiv (UKR), where a few hundred people protested on the day of George W. Bush's visit.