Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from June, 2012
Mouth-watering Recipes and Pictures from Turkmen Cuisine
One Turkmen Kitchen is a must-visit blog for gourmands. A native of Turkmenistan now living in Prague uses the blog to share recipes from the Turkmen cuisine. Warning: the recipes come with pictures that look so stunning that you'll want to fork your computer monitor.
Tajikistan: Is There ‘National Unity’ in the Country?
As Tajikistan marks an anniversary of peace accords that put an end to the civil war and brought about ‘national unity’ in the country, blogger Ilhom writes [tj] about his recollections of the war. Another blogger, Jovid Muqim, suggests [tj] that there can be no ‘national unity’ in the country where...
Tajikistan: The Role of Intellectuals in Running a Country
Should poets have a bigger say in how the countries they live in are run? Adash Istad writes [tj] that Tajik intellectuals have stayed out of government affairs too long. The blogger argues that it is time for intellectuals to understand that they have a particular ‘mission’ which consists of educating...
Armenia: Intolerant Society
Unzipped: Gay Armenia posts a video animation produced by the Civilitas organization illustrating how intolerant society in the virtually mono-ethnic Republic of Armenia can be. The blog also notes that according to the data compiled from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Caucasus Research Resource Centers...
Georgia: Men Can Wash Their Own Feet
Making Connections not only posts a recent video by Georgian bloggers against homophobia, but also one calling for gender equality in the South Caucasus country. The blog notes that the second video, featuring Georgian men saying they can wash their own feet, is in response to a comment by the...
Armenia: Online Petition to Support LGBT Rights
Following the recent firebombing of a gay-friendly bar in Yerevan as well as homophobic comments from government officials and politicians setting the scene for the aggressive disruption of a diversity rally in the Armenian capital two weeks later, Unzipped draws its readers attention to a new online petition calling for...
Kyrgyzstan: Incident in Batken Highlights Cross-border Ethnic Tensions
Passions flew high in the southwestern Kyrgyz city of Batken last week after local residents took a group of Tajik citizens hostage in an attempt to force the release of three locals detained in Tajikistan on smuggling charges. As Matthew Kupfer writes on Registan.net, “such events certainly aren’t helping interethnic relations within...
Afghanistan: More Girls Poisoned for Attending School
Following our recent report on a string of attacks targeting female students at schools in Afghanistan, there have been three new attacks over the last three days in the country's north. About 300 girls have been poisoned. Commenting on the latest attack, Brazilian journalist Maria Stella Soares writes on Twitter: “Ignorance...
Armenia: A Slow Descent Into Fascism?
Following the 8 May firebombing of a gay-friendly bar in Yerevan and the disruption by ultra-nationalists of a march for diversity two weeks later, the Huffington Posts asks if Armenia is slowly sliding towards fascism? In recent months nationalist actions have become more evident in the predominantly mono-ethnic country, including...
Tajikistan: Dushanbe Zoo, from Different Angles
If you ever happen to travel to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, you might think twice before visiting the city's underfunded zoo. Matthew Askaripour, an American student, posted on Twitter a photo of a ‘basically dead’ camel that he took at the zoo. Shocked by the state of the facility, he...
Tajikistan: Blogger Translates Mobile Games into Tajik
Tajik blogger Khurrshed has translated a number of popular mobile games into Tajik. Khurrshed explains [tj] that he did the translation in order to make mobile gaming accessible to young people who have cell phones but do not speak English or Russian. Another Tajik blogger recently wrote about the importance of the...
Nagorno Karabakh: Opposition Presidential Candidate Interviewed
CivilNet posts a video interview with Vitali Balasanyan [AM/EN], a former military commander and candidate running against the incumbent and defacto president of the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh in an election scheduled for 19 July. Although the vote is not recognized by the international community as legitimate, in another...
Tajikistan: The Lost Meaning of National Reconciliation Day
June 27 is celebrated in Tajikistan as National Reconciliation Day commemorating the signing of the peace accords that put an end to the civil war in the country. Journalist Olga Tutubalina writes [ru] in her blog that the holiday has lost its meaning: “Our ruling clique has not reconciled with its former adversaries,...
Sharing Photos of the Afghanistan You Never See
Most media covering developments in Afghanistan carry terrifying images. Through their lens, Afghanistan is presented as a country drowning in the waves of violence and militancy. A number of photographers help people to see the war-torn but beautiful country from a different perspective.
Georgia: Bloggers Against Homophobia
Unzipped: Gay Armenia posts a video by Georgian bloggers against homophobia set to the song F*ck You by Lily Allen. The move comes less than a month after a Gay Pride march in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, was disrupted by priests and conservative elements in society. The same month a...
Azerbaijan: British Embassy Awards 4,000th Facebook Page Member
The British Embassy in Azerbaijan has awarded the 4,000th member of its Facebook page with a certificate and a small prize. With the British Embassy in Armenia and Georgia boasting 1,526 and 2,581 likes respectively at time of writing, the announcement shows how diplomatic missions in the Caucasus are increasingly...
Azerbaijan: Musical Talent on YouTube
Gultekin Garadaghly continues to post her own renditions of well-known songs on YouTube, including those from this year's Eurovision Song Contest held in her native Azerbaijan. The young singer living in Baku, who also covers Azerbaijani folk songs, has even been featured in the local press with 1news.az [RU] reporting...
Armenia: Army Doctors Beaten In Oligarch's Restaurant
Unzipped comments on the severe beating of three army doctors dining out at a restaurant owned by notorious oligarch MP and Armenian Football Federation President Ruben Hayrapetyan. Better known by his ‘Nemetz Rubo’ nickname, the blog notes that the violent assault, allegedly by his bodyguards or security guards, is not...
Armenia: Bloggers Criticize Public TV Eurovision Coverage
Forced to reluctantly broadcast the final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan, Armenia's Public TV used the occasion to continue the ongoing information and propaganda war against its rival in the region. Some Armenian bloggers respond.
Caucasus: Photo Reports by a Belarusian Blogger
Ani Wandaryan (@GoldenTent) links to this photo report [ru] from Armenia by Anton Motolko, a photographer, blogger and traveller from Minsk, Belarus (LJ user toxaby, @Motolko). More of his photos [ru] – from Azerbaijan and from Georgia.
Kyrgyzstan: Cartoons Expose Ills of Patriarchal Society
The Kyrgyzstani art group ‘705’ [ru] has produced a number of hand-drawn animation films [ru] that criticize the conventions and norms of a patriarchal society. Domestic violence and the oppression of women in such a society are two big themes in these films.
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