Much has been made of the political aspects of the Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute. However, a thoughtful scholarly paper at the Council on Foreign Relations offers an alternative explanaiton: Moscow…has resorted to bullying, blackmailing and otherwise interfering in the sovereignty of its neighbours. In some cases, the motive is simply money: Ukraine owes Russia nearly […]
Yesterday, I was able to attend a lecture and Q & A by Professor William Wood from Point Loma Nazarene University hosted by the World Affairs Council of San Diego. Wood is a Central Asian regional expert who has done much research throughout the region, including during the period just before the CA states gained […]
Best wishes for 2009 and apologies for the long absence! I’m back, reading up copiously and will return to pressing Russia topics, including the gas crisis, within days! Meanwhile, take a look at these amazing Soviet holiday cards…
In the early 90s, I used to listen to a Radiohead song called "Electioneering" from their groundbreaking album, OK Computer. The song bitterly bemoans the UK/US electoral process and vote getting tactics by politicians and parties. Though the song brilliantly and rather accurately portrays some of the unfortunate truths of our electoral system, it is […]
As the worldwide economic downturn continues it is showing its frightful face in many ways. The World Bank has just reported that worldwide remittances, money sent from immigrants back to their homeland, are drammatically slowing down and causing further impoverishment for the families back home. This is especially serious for the Central Asian states as a […]
I am currently working on a longer piece for the Foreign Policy Association's main page and newsletter on the spread of terrorism and extremism in Afghanistan and Central Asia. It will concentrate on the recent influx of Islamic militants from the Stans’ into the Pakistan-Afghanistan shared border region. The recent make up and activities of […]
In 2006, Kazakh President Nazarbayev made an impressive speech promoting the idea that the country he ruled would continue to grow in the years ahead and soon be among the world's top 50 economically competitive nations. Unfortunately, the economic downturn and lowering of energy prices have made this promise unfulfilled as of yet as Kazakhstan […]
In early December, Kyrgyzstan's state radio took off the air US-funded Radio Free Europe ‘Radio Azattyk’ without providing any explanation. It has also been reported that BBC programming was also taken off the air. It appears that the Kyrgyz state is clenching a vice on domestic and international media outlets, forcing its citizens to only […]
I apologize for my absent of late as I was spending the holidays way up in Alaska with my family, including my new niece. There has been much happening in our Central Asian region of the world and I will try to discuss all the recent happenings as soon as possible. Before the holidays took […]
Russia fugitive and international dissident Mark Ames has written an inspired first hand account of the media's coverage of the Russia-Georgia war. His searing tale of Western media incompetence during the conflict has been published both in his zine Exiledonline and The Nation. Required holiday reading!
“Russia is on the brink of a social revolution!” shouted the writer, prompting his critic to reach for a gun. Passions are running high in a society groaning along its socioeconomic faultlines from the financial crisis. Yet, predictably for a country as proudly bookish as Russia, last week's altercation occurred not on Red Square but […]
It is amazing how one incident, at times, can symbolize so much. Weeks ago, on November 27, in northwest Afghanistan, Taliban forces ambushed a large convoy of Afghan soldiers and policemen, killing 14, wounding 27, kidnapping another 20, and destroying or stealing over 20 vehicles. How could such a successful attack occur against soldiers and […]
As the Kyber Pass and other transportation lanes through Pakistan into Afghanistan have become increasingly subjected to Taliban and insurgent attacks, NATO has looked to alternative routes. In just the last week or so there have been at least 3 separate attacks on NATO supplies inside of Pakistan, including one incident where hundreds of NATO […]
The foreign minister of Afghanistan met with his regional counterparts on Sunday in Paris to discuss closer cooperation in terms of narcotics trafficking, counterterrorism measures, and how to stabilize the country. The conference was brought together by France's Foreign Minister Bernard Koucher who asserted: "There is a consensus that there can be no peace, security […]
On Sunday, the a reported 94% of the people of Turkmenistan participated in the nation's 4th Mejlis (parliamentary) elections. Turkmenistan's government run Central Election Commission called the vote a great success and ‘historic.’ The election is supposed to represent a more open and democratic Turkmenistan, as the country's President Berdymukhamedov earlier this year reformed the […]