Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Central Asia Report  11.05.2015  A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the five countries of Central Asia.

Tajik Ex-Militant Publicly Repents In what has been billed as a first in Tajikistan, a former jihadist has publicly expressed remorse for joining Islamist militants in Syria.

For Victory Day, Post-Soviets Show Their Colors -- Just Not Orange And Black Red, purple, pink, blue-and-gold. Many people in post-Soviet countries are choosing any color, it seems, for their Victory Day symbols -- just not the orange-and-black of Russia's St. George ribbon.

Tajik Teen Earns Thousands By Allegedly Impersonating President's Son A Tajik high school student who allegedly posed as a member of the ruling family was so convincing that he made off with thousands in bribes in return for presidential favors.

Brother Of Wanted Former Osh Mayor Arrested On Fraud Charge A brother of the controversial former mayor of Kyrgyzstan's second-largest city, Osh, has been arrested on fraud charges.

Kyrgyz Migrant To Sue Moscow Police Over Raid In an unusual case, a Kyrgyz migrant laborer is preparing legal action against the Russian police officers who raided her apartment.

Russian Company Wins Disputed Kyrgyz Gold-Mine Tender A Russian company has won a tender for the rights to develop Jerui, Kyrgyzstan's second-largest gold deposit, leading to criticisms that the deal goes against the Central Asian country's interests.

Still One Big Obstacle To Turkmen Gas To Europe “The Caspian Sea is a sea of peace and friendship.” Top officials in the five Caspian littoral states -- Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan -- have been repeating that line for two decades. This mantra is about to be put to the test.

Uzbek Official Charged With Corruption The Uzbek official responsible for confiscating the assets of disgraced presidential daughter Gulnara Karimova has been charged with corruption and abuse of office.

Tajik Workers At Russian Base Fired Seventeen civilian support staff at a Russian military base in southern Tajikistan say they've been fired after protesting about unpaid wages.