Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from August, 2023
Prioritizing disability employment in Azerbaijan
A January 2023 survey, found out that a striking 80 percent of respondents were unemployed at the time of the survey and were actively seeking employment as of January 2023.
Central Asian presidents cannot stop appointing their relatives to high-level posts
The most glaring example of this practice is the current president of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimukhamedov, who succeeded his father Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov in 2022.
If adopted, Tajikistan’s draft law on bloggers will do more harm than good
In the last few years, the country has recorded significant backsliding with regards to freedom of expression as well as overall political freedoms.
Kyrgyzstan's national game, kok-boru, continues to attract new fans around the world
The turning point for kok-boru’s popularity beyond Central Asia came with the first World Nomad Games (WNG) hosted by Kyrgyzstan in 2014.
Musicians in Afghanistan live in fear and despair amid the Taliban ban on music
"Taliban have transformed Afghanistan into a place deprived of music and art. They transformed it into a quiet, dumb country."
US band The Killers had a rough crash-course in Georgian politics
The American band, The Killers, was booed off the stage during their much-anticipated concert Georgia after they invited a Russian drummer to join them onstage.
Karakalpakstan is the most obscure and unique tourism destination in Uzbekistan
There are many positive things in Karakalpakstan – people do not want to be known only for an ecological disaster.
In Azerbaijan, couriers are facing intimidation and arrests at the hands of the state
The recent wave of arrests and persecution are linked to the changes adopted to Article 27 of the Law on Traffic in December 2022.
A podcast in Kazakhstan is under controversy for inviting a friend of the Boston Marathon bomber
Critics viewed the episode as an attempt to whitewash a criminal by providing him with a platform and not asking tough questions.
Uzbekistan's list of foreign policy challenges grows larger
Undoubtedly, the war in Ukraine is the most serious foreign policy challenge. In the event of a Russian victory, Uzbekistan would face unprecedented pressure to participate in Putin's geopolitical initiatives.
Zere's new album is a continuation of her fight against gender inequality in Kyrgyzstan
It continues discussing gender inequality while exploring other social and political problems in Kyrgyzstan against the background of her intimate and personal experiences and stories from childhood.
Unfreedom Monitor: Civic Media Observatory findings report
The Unfreedom Monitor is a project to analyse, document, and report on the growing phenomenon of the use of digital communications technology to advance authoritarian practices.
The Loneliest Monument — how activists in Armenia are trying to draw attention to the victims of Soviet repression
Like the history of the Soviet repressions itself, this Cascade Memorial remains largely neglected, which is something a handful of Armenians are now trying to change.
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