Author: Mathieu Lemoine 
Mathieu Lemoine
Written articles:
Bunyodkor Tashkent: the prestige project that tried to put Uzbek football on the world map
Special series – The Clubs Behind Uzbekistan’s World Cup Dream As Uzbekistan plays in its first-ever FIFA World Cup after a historic qualification campaign, Novastan looks at the… [...]
Neftchi Fergana: the oil-workers’ club that dominated early Uzbek football
Special series – The Clubs Behind Uzbekistan’s World Cup Dream As Uzbekistan plays in its first-ever FIFA World Cup after a historic qualification campaign, Novastan looks at the… [...]
Navbahor Namangan: the Fergana Valley’s football heartbeat
Special series – The Clubs Behind Uzbekistan’s World Cup Dream As Uzbekistan plays in its first-ever FIFA World Cup after a historic qualification campaign, Novastan looks at the… [...]
Nasaf Qarshi: the club that put Uzbek football on Asia’s map
Special series – The Clubs Behind Uzbekistan’s World Cup Dream As Uzbekistan plays in its first-ever FIFA World Cup after a historic qualification campaign, Novastan looks at the clubs… [...]
Pakhtakor Tashkent: The Club That Carries Uzbek Football’s Memory
Special series – The Clubs Behind Uzbekistan’s World Cup Dream As Uzbekistan plays in its first-ever FIFA World Cup after a historic qualification campaign, Novastan looks at the clubs… [...]
Almira Saifullina: “The steppe is an archive of violence, memory and silence”
Documentary filmmaker and visual anthropologist Almira Saifullina explores how landscapes preserve traces of Soviet violence, forced displacement and family memory. In this interview with Novastan, she discusses her new… [...]
What lies beneath Central Asia? Rare earths, critical minerals and the new race for resources
Central Asia is often described as the next frontier in the global race for rare earths. The reality is both more promising and more complicated. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and their… [...]
Bukhara Before the Border: Aini and the Politics of Tajik-Uzbek Memory
Some books are interesting because they tell a story. The Sands of Oxus: Boyhood Reminiscences of Sadriddin Aini is interesting because it captures an entire world at the moment… [...]
Uzbekistan at the World Cup: The White Wolves Enter the Global Stage
For its first-ever appearance at the FIFA World Cup, Uzbekistan arrives in North America with more than a football story. Around Eldor Shomurodov, Abdukodir… [...]
Rinat Bekchintaev: “Almaty has an authentic cinematic image that cannot be repeated anywhere else”
From Almaty to Moscow and Paris, filmmaker and editor Rinat Bekchintaev has built a creative identity shaped by movement, memory and displacement. In this interview with Novastan, he discusses… [...]
“Disability is a Mirror for the Development of Societies” – A Conversation with Dilmurad Yusupov
Dilmurad Yusupov is an Uzbekistani researcher, civil society activist and international development consultant advocating for the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities. He co-founded NGO… [...]
Through roads, markets and silence: Tolomush Zhanybekov films Kyrgyzstan’s unseen lives
Kyrgyz director Tolomush Zhanybekov turns his camera toward the people and places often left outside the frame: cemetery guards, pensioners selling their belongings, children facing humiliation, brothers bound by… [...]
Translated articles:
Kazakhstan’s AI Ambitions Face an Energy and Water Test in Ekibastuz
Kazakhstan wants to turn Ekibastuz into a major hub for AI computing. But as its Data Center Valley could eventually reach 1 GW, questions are mounting over electricity, water and… [...]
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. [...]
Edited articles:
Kazakhstan’s AI Ambitions Face an Energy and Water Test in Ekibastuz
Kazakhstan wants to turn Ekibastuz into a major hub for AI computing. But as its Data Center Valley could eventually reach 1 GW, questions are mounting over electricity, water and… [...]
Nothing to Waste: Dildora’s Science of Peanuts
In Uzbekistan’s Andijan region, researcher and entrepreneur Dildora Nurmatova is building a family peanut business around a simple principle: waste nothing. From snacks and milled kernels to animal feed made… [...]
Far from home, behind the wheel: A Kyrgyz truck driver on Europe’s roads
A truck driver from Kyrgyzstan describes life on Europe’s roads, from recruitment costs and salary deductions to sleeping in his cab, supporting his family and saving for a future back… [...]
From the Aral Sea to eco start-ups: Uzbekistan’s young climate generation
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… [...]
From Development Partner to Strategic Supplier: What Seoul’s First Central Asia Summit Really Signals?
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… [...]
“A Fourth Political Reset?”: An Interview with Kyrgyz Political Scientist Emil Dzhuraev
An assessment of President Sadyr Japarov’s tenure, the political realignment following the dismissal of the head of the security services, and growing economic dependence on China… For Novastan, prominent… [...]
In the Country of Özbeg: Photographing Uzbekistan 136 Years After Paul Nadar
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… [...]
Who Made the Nations of Central Asia?
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… [...]
How Uzbek Composers Made the Violin Their Own
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… [...]
From Q-pop to Hip-Hop: Kazakhstan’s Multilingual Sound
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… [...]
China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway: Who wins from Central Asia’s new trade route?
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… [...]
The Hidden Weight of Divorce in Kyrgyzstan: Why Its Social Consequences Remain Gendered
This article is published as part of a partnership between AUCA and Novastan, which brings graduate students’ academic work to a wider readership. Through this collaboration, Novastan aims to… [...]
“I only needed a passport” : In Ukraine, Central Asian prisoners of wars caught between loyalty and regret
Citizens from Central Asia now represent the largest group of foreign nationals fighting in the Russian army. Novastan spoke with several of them after their capture by Ukrainian forces. [...]
In Tajikistan, daughters-in-law face a hidden system of control
This article is published as part of a partnership between AUCA and Novastan, which brings graduate students’ academic work to a wider readership. Through this collaboration, Novastan aims to… [...]