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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:

A freight locomotive at the Alashankou border station in China, before reaching the Kazakh border, 2017.

Kazakhstan continues to assert itself as the “key link” in the Middle Corridor

Kazakhstan strengthens its role as a key link in the Middle Corridor… [...]

Kamila Akhunova in the vineyard of the family estate, located a few kilometres from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. © Louise Simondet

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. [...]

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Translated articles:

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:

Dildora in the field Photo: Elyor Nemat, UNDP Uzbekistan

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… [...]

Trucks parked at a motorway rest area in Europe. Long-distance drivers often spend extended periods living and sleeping in their vehicles between assignments. Photo courtesy of Alex.

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… [...]

Gulnaz Abutova, founder of Clean Water (c. Maximum Exposure)

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… [...]

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung with the five Central Asian presidents at the first Korea-Central Asia Summit in Seoul, 16 September 2026. Photo: Office of the President of the Republic of Korea.

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… [...]

Sadyr Japarov, presient of Kyrgyzstan. Credits : UzDaily.uz

“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… [...]

Left: Paul Nadar, Marchand de pastèques sur la place du Registan, 1890. © Getty Research Institute. Right: © Pablo Martínez Muñiz. Registan Square, Samarkand, 2026.

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… [...]

Administrative map of Central Asia following the national-territorial delimitation of 1924. The Soviet reorganisation created new republican frameworks, but the borders and political identities of modern Central Asia emerged through a longer and more complex process. Public domain / Wikimedia Commons.

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… [...]

Irina Antsiferova. Credits: Irina Antsiferova.

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… [...]

Yenlik.

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… [...]

CKU construction in Suzak district, Jalal-Abad region, 29 April 2025.

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… [...]

A depleted irrigation canal in rural Uzbekistan. Water scarcity and unequal distribution can leave smallholder and household farmers without sufficient water for their crops. Photo: Google Images.

When irrigation becomes a nightly struggle for Uzbekistan’s women farmers

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 mural in Bishkek depicting family life and Kyrgyz cultural heritage. While divorce is becoming increasingly common across the country, social expectations surrounding marriage and women’s roles continue to shape how separation is experienced and perceived. Photo: Mathieu Lemoine / Novastan.

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… [...]

Prisoners of war walk towards their cells, April 15, 2026. Credit : Driss Rejichi

“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. [...]

Fatima. AI generated photo.

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… [...]