Latest Articles about Central Asia
Russia and Tajikistan Settle Differences Before Crucial Deadlines
On August 1, Tajikistan’s President Emomalii Rahmon paid a working visit to Moscow where he met with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Their meeting took place less than a year after the Russian leader had visited Dushanbe last October and a few months before the... MORE
Quarter of Polled in Tajikistan See Uzbekistan as a Threat
It used to be said in the region that Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are one nation that speaks different languages. However, over the past several years, animosity between the two has been growing.To an outsider, the grievances of either government directed against the other sound reasonable.... MORE
Radicalization of Migrant Workers in Russia Could Threaten Stability in Tajikistan
On July 19, General Dzhurakhon Zoirov, head of Tajikistan’s Anti-Organized Crime Division of the Ministry of the Interior, announced that Amriddin Tabarov (a.k.a. Dumullo Amriddin) has been placed on Interpol’s international wanted list (Ozodi, July 20). Tabarov is purportedly the leader of Jamaat Ansarullah an... MORE
A Look at Tajikistan’s Jamaat Ansarullah Leader Amriddin Tabarov
General Dzhurakhon Zoirov, head of Tajikistan’s Anti-Organized Crime Division of the Ministry of the Interior, announced on July 19 that Amriddin Tabarov (a.k.a. Dumullo Amriddin) has been placed on Interpol’s international wanted list (Ozodi, July 20). Tabarov is purportedly the leader of Jamaat Ansarullah an... MORE
Asian Neighbors React to Mongolian Presidential Election
Mongolia is in the midst of its traditional summer holiday slumber following its national naadam celebration from July 9–11. But the fact that Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj of the Democratic Party won a second term as president of Mongolia on June 26 (see EDM, July 8) has... MORE
Central Asia’s Unresolved Bilateral Disputes as a Challenge to Fruitful Security Cooperation
On July 23, a new border incident took place between two groups of border guards from Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the former’s Aksay district of Jalalabad province. According to Kyrgyzstan’s border protection service, the violent clash, which subsequently led to the death of two Uzbekistani... MORE
Is Uzbekistan’s President ‘Testing the Waters’ for a New External Policy?
On July 6, the pro-government website 12news.uz published an article by Uzbekistani Professor Rustamjon Abdullaev entitled, “Uzbekistan must join NATO and stake territorial and other claims against some former Soviet Union countries.” In his article, Abdullaev articulates Tashkent’s strong opposition to the construction of hydroelectric... MORE
Zhanaozen’s Economic Prospects Improve
A strike by 200 workers at the Kashagan oil field on July 7–8 went almost unnoticed because the dispute was resolved in record time. When 200 employees of CAPE Industrial Services demanded severance payment for their ending employment, high-level officials from Atyrau in Western Kazakhstan... MORE
Water in Central Asia: Divides or Unites?
The visit of Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbaev to Uzbekistan on June 14, 2013, and the positive rhetoric accompanying the outcome of this visit—the two countries’ leaders signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement—highlighted the two Central Asia republics’ deepening cooperation (see EDM, June 19). This visit was... MORE
Gulnara Karimova, Daughter of Uzbekistan’s President, Reaches out to Potential Electorate via Social Media
Although characterized by some inside and outside Uzbekistan as “the most hated person” in the country, Gulnara Islamovna Karimova has apparently mastered the art of social networking—in particular, Twitter. The medium is serving to promote and bring more visibility to her professional activities, providing a... MORE