Foreign Policy Blogs

Russia & Central Asia

Uzbekistan: Cotton update– low card and ACE

Uzbekistan: Cotton update– low card and ACE

I am still studying agricultural policies for my follow-up on the Green Revolution, ignored–but in the meantime, a juxtaposition of two recent articles: A.   IWPR reports that several cotton farmers are facing criminal charges for failing to cultivate cotton and growing fruits and vegetables instead–crops for which they can be paid in currency at market value.  […]

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Casual Friday: Uzbekistan's tea sales going up

Casual Friday: Uzbekistan's tea sales going up

Xinhuanet reports that effective May 1, 2007, Uzbekistan's citizens may no longer purchase alcoholic beverages without a permit.  New zoning restrictions have also gone into effect.  The license may be purchased from local administrative departments.  The measure is designed to protect public health.  Failure to comply, the article states, will result in a fine and […]

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Casual Friday: Back in the USSR–gleefully

Casual Friday: Back in the USSR–gleefully

I found this Central Asia album book in my favorite used bookstore.  Original publishing date: Glasnost. Magown, Robin (text) and Gippenreiter, Vadim (photos).  Fabled Cities of Central Asia: Samarkand-Bukhara-Khiva.  New York: Abbeville Press, 1989. This is not the first old book I have become enchanted with, nor will it be the last.  My all-time favorite […]

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Scooped! Cross & jostle at Eurasia Media Forum VI

Scooped! Cross & jostle at Eurasia Media Forum VI

In March, I researched Dariga Nazarbaeva, Kazakhstan's media doyenne, and found out about the Eurasia Media Forum.  I meant to post on this years’ minutes of this worthwhile conference, and even went looking for articles.  I don't know why I couldn't find anything until now, but Ben Paarman over at neweurasia.net blog posted an excellent heads-up article on the […]

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Just the facts, ma'am: PwC audit in Kazakhstan

Just the facts, ma'am: PwC audit in Kazakhstan

Pricewaterhouse report in English (word document) [no longer available] (I have been contacted by PwC who has asked that this be removed May 23, 2007) A few days ago, I wrote on Mark Seidenfeld's incarceration and delayed trial in Kazakhstan. In response, I received two lengthy comments and further research references from both commentators. Since […]

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Uzbekistani journalist sentenced to seven years

Uzbekistani journalist sentenced to seven years

This from today's RFE/RL: After a two-day closed trial, journalist and human rights defender Umida Niyazova was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment yesterday.  The trial had been postponed from its original April 19th date, with no reason given for the postponement. Freedom House, IREX, Pen International and Pen American Center, Human Rights Watch, and fidh.org […]

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Kazakhstan: Celebrating achievement, asking more

Kazakhstan: Celebrating achievement, asking more

Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, met with Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Karim Massimov in order to discuss Kazakhstan's continuing progress on those very rights.  Prime Minister Massimov noted that Kazakhstan has signed and ratified above forty important accords in the human rights sphere including international pacts for civil, political, economical, social, and cultural […]

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Kyrgyzstan crackdown: Opposition down, not out

Kyrgyzstan crackdown: Opposition down, not out

This post is designed to help non-Kyrgyzstanis follow individuals and organizations involved in Kyrgyzstan's current political crisis, as well as report on further developments: Following the constitutional demonstrations of April 11 through 19, 2007, which ended badly:  Arrests were made, and opposition leaders were to be held for two months, in order to "complete investigations", […]

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Mark Seidenfeld update: NYT correction

Mark Seidenfeld update: NYT correction

For those of you who read my post on Mark Seidenfeld's incarceration and trial delay, the article by Ilan Greenberg has been corrected at the NYT site (I linked to the International Herald Tribune version of NYT piece).  As noted by comments received, Mr. Seidenfeld's employer was improperly attributed.   In the details of the legal case, no […]

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Kyrgyzstan crackdown: Bermet Akaeva sidelined

Kyrgyzstan crackdown: Bermet Akaeva sidelined

Bermet Akaeva, the daughter of ousted Kyrgyzstani President Askar Akaev, recently continued her odd-yssey of reinstatement in Kyrgyzstan's political life.  On March 23 of this year, she filed to run as a candidate for national legislature from the northern Kemin district.  More than a month of legal challenges in Kyrgyzstani courts ensued.  On April 27, her candidature was […]

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Dateline, Dushanbe: Focus on 'stateless persons'

Dateline, Dushanbe: Focus on 'stateless persons'

Thirty-three officials representing four Central Asian states, the European Union, and the UN High Commission on Refugees held a meeting called “Institutional and Capacity-Building Activities to strengthen the Asylum System in Central Asia”.  A stateless person is any person living without state acknowledgement.  In underserved outlying areas, these may be children without birth certificates; a great […]

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Casual Friday: Ilya Repin–Wanderer, Artist

Casual Friday: Ilya Repin–Wanderer, Artist

Strictly speaking, Mr.Repin's work does not belong in a Central Asia blog.  Ilya Repin was an ethnic Russian who grew up in the Ukraine and eventually settled in Belarus.  Yet Mr. Repin painted a series of four works that described the conflict between Tsarist secret police and Russian revolutionaries that still resonates today.  For our time, this series shows […]

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Tajikistan: Economic weather report– variable winds, light rain

Tajikistan: Economic weather report– variable winds, light rain

Though Foreign Minister Zafiri has stated that Tajikistan has an “open door policy” to foreign investment, barriers do remain: A. Two official comments from the United States: On April 13, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Evan Feigenbaum announced that Tajikistan's investment climate is hindered by its high level of […]

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Trial delay for telecom exec Mark Seidenfeld

Trial delay for telecom exec Mark Seidenfeld

A universal picture of human rights treats each profession equally in the call for due process of law.  Yet human rights organizations focus upon the treatment of journalists in repressive regimes for good reasons.  First, the treatment of journalists reflects our own belief in the importance of steady, trustworthy information.  Second, examining the treatment of […]

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Uzbekistan: HRW granted 6-month extension

An event that has implications for EU position on Uzbekistan's “softening” of human rights violations; An event which may aid Umida Niyazova in her ongoing trial for border violations and accepting money from foreign news agencies; Human Rights Watch has had their residency re-affirmed for another six months.

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