RFE/RL CENTRAL ASIA REPORT
26.11.2012
A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the five countries of Central Asia.For more stories on Central Asia, please visit and bookmark our Central Asia page . |
 Interview: EU's Ashton Lays Out Fears For Georgia, 'Success Criteria' For Central Asia Next week, the European Union's high representative of the union for foreign affairs and security policy, Catherine Ashton, will travel to Georgia before she embarks on her first major tour of Central Asia from November 26-30. RFE/RL Brussels correspondent Rikard Jozwiak spoke with Ashton about the goal of the EU's Central Asia strategy, her approach to human rights in the region, and her message for leaders in Tbilisi since the recent wave of arrests of Georgian political figures. More  With Perks And Privileges, Tajikistan Seeks To Draw Male Teachers Back To Schools Tajikistan's parliament is expected any day to pass a new bill on education that would offer numerous perks and privileges for teachers. The law is widely seen as an attempt to lure male teachers to schools, as many men have left their jobs in the education system, complaining of meager wages. More  A Ringside Seat To A Kazakh Success Story It's a punch that makes even the most grizzled, seen-it-all boxing fans wince the first time they see it. More  Tajikistan Blocks Facebook Again A number of Internet providers in Tajikistan have blocked access to the Facebook social network. More  Fifty Years After 'Denisovich,' Traveling Back To Solzhenitsyn's Gulag A half-century after the publication of one of the most gripping accounts of the Soviet-era Gulag, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's "One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich," we visit one of the labor camps that inspired it: Ekibastuz, in what is now northern Kazakhstan. More  Gulnara Karimova's Hot Yoga The eldest daughter of authoritarian Uzbek President Islam Karimov is also a fashion designer, a jewelry maker, a pop singer, a diplomat, a UN envoy, and a screenwriter. But in her latest effort in self-promotion, Karimova took to Twitter (@gulnarakarimova) to promote the benefits of yoga and to personally demonstrate some of the discipline's more common positions. More  Russia's Best Prison Food, Bar None For one day at least, inmates at Prison No. 18 in the Russian city of Novosibirsk went from behind bars to behind burners in the high-security jail's modest kitchen.More  Kazakhstan Gears Up For 'Nursultan Mania' He's been a fairy-tale hero, had a university named after him, and he can visit countless museums to himself across the country. Now Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev is set to enjoy a new privilege -- his own special holiday. More  Tajik Jailed For Migration Fraud The chief of a Dushanbe-based company involved in arranging Tajik labor migrants' trips to Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. More  Uzbek Prison Shows 'Impostor' To Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross has been trying to arrange a visit with jailed Uzbek journalist Salijon Abdurahmanov for months, to no avail. The most recent time, Uzbek officials took subterfuge to a new level. More  Kyrgyz Plea For End To 'SMS Divorces' A member of the Kyrgyz Parliament has urged the country's grand mufti to ban so-called SMS divorces. More  Uzbek-born artist Jasur Rakhimov and his wife have consistently poked fun at the daily nuisances of life in Uzbekistan since launching their "Uzbekistan Illustrated" Facebook page more than a month ago. More |
