Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Central Asia Report 24.09.2012 A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the five countries of Central Asia. For more stories on Afghanistan, please visit and bookmark our Afghanistan page .

 

Tashkent Mayor Seeks To Tone Down Extravagant Weddings Planning a lavish wedding? Then it's best to avoid the Uzbek capital. Tashkent's mayor has imposed strict new regulations on weddings, funerals, and other family celebrations. More   Russian Lab 'Not Behind Sheep Deaths' The director of a major Russian laboratory has denied his institute is the source of a smallpox vaccine that is thought to have wiped out thousands of sheep in Central Asia. More   Quick Shuffle Ushers In New Kazakh PM Kazakh lawmakers have unanimously approved Serik Akhmetov as the country's new prime minister. More   Vaccine Blamed In C.Asia Sheep Deaths Authorities in Uzbekistan and neighboring Kyrgyzstan are investigating a rash of sheep deaths that they say appear to have been caused by a tainted vaccine. More   Kyrgyz Writer's Historical Cottage Under Threat In Russia Relatives of Chingiz Aitmatov say they are facing eviction from the Moscow cottage where the celebrated Kyrgyz writer lived and worked for two decades. Aitmatov's wooden cottage is located in Peredelkino, a historical writers' retreat in the outskirts of Moscow that locals say is being threatened by real-estate developers. More   Silly Dictator Story #21: 'No Soccer Match, So Let's Practice Cheering' On September 20, thousands of Turkmen state employees and students were ushered to Ashgabat stadium for the kickoff of Turkmenistan's President's Cup, an annual international football tournament. The soccer fans, clad in their sports uniforms and present in their seats, waited and then waited some more. The match never began. More   A Portrait Of Writer Chingiz Aitmatov Relatives of Chingiz Aitmatov say they are facing eviction from the late Kyrgyz writer's villa in Peredelkino, just south of Moscow. The case has fuelled concerns that Peredelkino, a cottage complex established in the 1930s as a literary retreat for Soviet writers, is under threat from aggressive construction. More   Family Says Dead Inmate Was Tortured Relatives of an inmate who died this week in the central detention center in Dushanbe claim that 27-year-old Hamza Ikromzoda was tortured. More   Russia, Tajikistan Talk Troop Presence Russian Deputy Prime Minster Igor Shuvalov has arrived in Dushanbe to discuss issues with Tajik officials including a possible extension of a troop deployment in Tajikistan beyond 2014. More   Kazakh Riot Police Surround Prison At least 200 relatives of convicts gathered in front of the penitentiary AK-159/18 in Kazakhstan’s central Qaraghandy region on September 20, demanding to meet with their loved ones. More   Kyrgyz-Russian Cooperation 'Crucial' President Almazbek Atambaev says that cooperation with "the great nation of Russia" is crucial for Kyrgyzstan. More   Kazakh Ex-Mayor Goes On Trial Again The former mayor of the restive town of Zhanaozen, in Kazakhstan's west, has gone on trial for the second time. More   Will Tajikistan's Restive East Explode Again? The rugged eastern region of Gorno-Badakhshan in Tajikistan has been the scene of violence in recent months, with about 70 people having been killed in a government operation lasting to late August. More   Tajik President Visits Restive East Tajikistan's president, Emomali Rahmon, has started a working visit to the country's restive eastern region of Gorno-Badakhshan, weeks after a special operation there by security forces left some 70 people dead. More   Kyrgyz Woman Made Top Judge Feruza Jamashaeva has been officially named chairwoman of Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court. More   Nazarbaev Featured In 'Largest Post-Soviet Painting' Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev is being revealed as the central figure of the biggest painting in Kazakhstan, and according to the artist, the biggest in all the former Soviet region. More   Climbing Kyrgyzstan's Mount Putin In 2011, Kyrgyzstan officially named a mountain after Russian President Vladimir Putin, then prime minister, in a bid to promote friendly relations between the countries. Putin is now scheduled to visit Kyrgyzstan on September 20. Although he has a history of publicity stunts demonstrating his love of nature, there has been no indication that the Russian president intends to climb his namesake peak. More   Kyrgyz Deputy Held On Graft Charges The Kyrgyz Prosecutor General's office says a lawmaker has been arrested on charges of fraud and corruption. More   Kyrgyz Anticorruption Official's Son Arrested Eldar Madylbekov, son of the chairman of the Kyrgyz parliament's anticorruption committee, is suspected of illegally obtaining property that used to belong to ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev. More   Touchdown! Soyuz Capsule Lands In Central Kazakhstan A Russian Soyuz TMA-04M capsule with two Russians and an American onboard landed safely on the cloudless Kazakh steppe on September 17 after 123 days at the International Space Station (ISS). More   Soyuz Space Capsule Lands In Kazakhstan A Russian Soyuz space capsule landed in Kazakhstan early on September 17, bringing two Americans and one Russian back to Earth after a four-month stay at the International Space Station. Three other crew members remain at the station, and are due to be joined by another three next month. (Reuters) More