Category: Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan in the EU’s sights for the twentieth sanctions package against Russia
The visit to Bishkek on 26 February by EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan reflects the European Union’s tougher stance on the circumvention of sanctions targeting Russia in the region. [...]
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. [...]
“If You’re Scared, You do it Scared”: How Bishkek’s Techno Scene Survives State Repression
Last April, Kyrgyzstan’s special forces carried out heavy-handed raids on two of Bishkek’s most popular electronic-music bars. Expecting a hotspot of drugs and illicit activity, officers found instead a… [...]
Dead in the Water: Has the Common Turkic Alphabet Failed to Boost Turkish Influence in Central Asia?
It has been one year since the Organization of Turkic States approved the implementation of a common Turkic alphabet, designed for uniform use in all member states. Under the guise… [...]
Kyrgyzstan’s march to smother the free press
Kyrgyzstan is sliding down to full blown autocracy. The country has traditionally stood out for offering greater protections for free speech, political parties, and NGOs than any other Central… [...]
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Welcome the Shitheads: Bishkek band Vtoroi Ka goes on a European tour
In October and November, avant-garde music duo Vtoroi Ka will be touring Europe, from Istanbul to Reykjavík. This is the first tour of its kind for a popular music band… [...]
Sex, Drugs, and Postpunk – the new album of Bishkek’s Duo Vtoroi Ka
Bishkek musical duo Vtoroi Ka has recently dropped its third album: carnivalesque postpunk in a world where nothing is as serious as it seems. Novastan’s review. “These post-Soviet… [...]
New voices: Central Asian short films at the GoEast Festival 2024
Central Asia’s young filmmakers and their work are extremely diverse. The audience at the 24th goEast film festival in Wiesbaden was able to see this for themselves in various… [...]
Violence against foreign students in Bishkek
On the night of May 17 to May 18, an angry crowd turned against South Asian students and workers in Bishkek. The attack occurred after a video was published… [...]
Leaving the island: Japarov’s campaign to silence independent media
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Kyrgyz Republic has been considered an island of democracy in a largely autocratic region. However, the latest administration has spent the… [...]
Saving Snow Leopards: how scientists fight for the survival of a species
Snow leopards – an exclusively Asian species of large mammals of the cat family – live on the territory of 12 countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan,… [...]
How is Kyrgyzstan celebrating Nooruz in 2024?
Everyone in Kyrgyzstan is looking forward to a warm and sunny spring after a long and cold winter. Nooruz marks the astronomical start of the spring, or spring equinox,… [...]