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Author: Mathieu Lemoine

Mathieu Lemoine

Mathieu Lemoine est président de Novastan France. Spécialiste des questions de gouvernance, de société civile et de droits humains, il travaille depuis plus de dix ans sur l’Europe orientale, le Caucase et l’Asie centrale, notamment avec l’OSCE, les Nations unies, l’Union européenne et des programmes soutenus par l’USAID. Il a vécu et travaillé en Ouzbékistan, au Turkménistan, en Bosnie-Herzégovine, en Macédoine du Nord et en Russie. Passionné par l’Asie centrale, il souhaite contribuer au développement de Novastan comme média indépendant de référence sur la région, en renforçant ses partenariats, son audience et son ancrage européen.

Written articles:

Hana Sexton at an event organized by the Federation of Korean Associations in the United States. Photo courtesy of Hana Sexton.

From Central Asia to America: The Koryo-Saram Diaspora Finds a New Voice

Support Novastan, the European Central Asia magazine By supporting Novastan, you are supporting the only English, French and German-language media specialising in Central Asia. We’re independent and we need your… [...]

Oktyabr Dospanov aboard one of the abandoned ships in Muynak, once a major fishing port on the Aral Sea. Photo: Ernest Kurtveliev.

“My Childhood Was Spent on the Shore of a Sea That No Longer Exists”

Exposed shoreline along the Caspian Sea at Awaza, Turkmenistan. Photo: Mathieu Lemoine.

The Caspian Sea Is Retreating. Central Asia Is Not Ready

2023 Dialogue of Women Leaders of Central Asia. Credits: Gazeta.uz.

More Women in Central Asian Politics – But Where Is the Power?

Bukhara Synagogue. Credits: Mathieu Lemoine.

From Bukhara to Queens: The Global Journey of the Bukharan Jews

A memorial in Seoul Garden, Tashkent, commemorates the 1937 deportation of Koreans to Uzbekistan. The relief shows a deportation train and a Korean family being welcomed by an Uzbek elder. Photo: Mathieu Lemoine.

How Central Asia became home for the Koryo-Saram

Beyond the Counter: Uzbekistan’s Public Service Reforms and the Hidden Infrastructure of the Digital State

For most citizens, the state is not first encountered through laws, strategies or official speeches. It is encountered in practical moments of need: registering a birth, obtaining a passport,… [...]

MTZ. By Dgolnik - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30231624.

Minsk’s Eastern Bet: Why Central Asia Matters More Than Ever

As Uzbekistani President Shavkat Mirziyoyev prepares to travel to Minsk on 8-9 July, the visit is expected to produce another series of agreements on trade, industry… [...]

Independence Square, Astana. Ken and Nyetta, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.

The Vocabulary of Reform: Why Central Asia Is Reimagining Its Political Traditions

From Kazakhstan’s Kurultai to Uzbekistan’s Mahalla, governments across Central Asia are increasingly framing political reform through institutions rooted in local history rather than imported political models. For much… [...]

Mäjilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.

Kazakhstan’s Next Elections: Between Reform and Managed Competition

Kazakhstan’s next parliamentary elections are unlikely to determine who governs the country. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s political dominance is not seriously in question. Yet the vote matters because it will… [...]

Money, boxes and absent men: the hidden economy reshaping Central Asia

At Central Asian airports, remittances do not always look like money. They can look like taped cardboard boxes arriving from Istanbul, oversized suitcases from Moscow, bags of clothes bought… [...]

Children playing football in Tashkent. Credits: Mathieu Lemoine.

Beyond the big clubs: the football map behind Uzbekistan’s World Cup dream

Uzbekistan’s first World Cup appearance is often told through the players who carried the national team there: Eldor Shomurodov, Abbosbek Fayzullaev, Abdukodir Khusanov, Oston Urunov and the rest of… [...]

In Uzbekistan, one family wants to support the revival of wine production

Once known for its grapes, Uzbekistan saw many vineyards destroyed after the fall of the USSR. The Akhunov family is now helping revive the country’s wine culture. [...]

How Central Asia is trying to protect the snow leopard

From Kyrgyz volunteer rangers to strict penalties in Uzbekistan, Central Asia is stepping up efforts to protect the rare and emblematic snow leopard. [...]