Kazakhstan’s Capitals: Two Cities of History and Modern Business
I. Almaty – The Old Capital Almaty is a beautiful city perched among the mountains in Southern Kazakhstan. Its name comes from the Kazakh word “alma” which…
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Responding to the Dual Threat to Kazakhness: The Rise of Alash Orda and its Uniquely Kazakh Path
In 1917, following the fall of the Russian empire, Alash Orda, a provisional Kazakh government formed by members of the Alash nationalist party, partially filled…
Nationalism as a Political Factor in Late-Soviet Kazakhstan
“Nationalism is a political principle which maintains that similarity of culture is the basic social bond.” – E. Gellner[1] “Казахстан в современных границах исторически был территорией…
Introduction to Conflict in the Post-Soviet Space
As the Soviet Union crumbled, it left behind ethnically, linguistically, and culturally diverse successor states. As these states tried to form domestic policies and governing…
Tradition, Stigma, and Inclusion: Overcoming Obstacles to Educational Access in Tajikistan
Learning to See Invisible Children: Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Central Asia (Excerpt) Full book available in print and Kindle versions Firuza always knew that her son had…
Creating a Dam National Space: Rakhmon’s Socialist Realist Promotion of Roghun
What we have inherited is the nation state as conceptualised later on in the Soviet period. It is an ethnic nationalism centered on statehood, the…
A Sovereign Surge, Not a Soviet Resurgence: The Mutualism of Eurasian Reintegration
With the creation of the Eurasian Economic Community’s customs union (“Customs Union”) in 2010, total trade among Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan skyrocketed.[1] Emboldened by such…
“Against All”: Protest Voting in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan
In the months leading up to Russia’s most recent state Duma elections, ‘Just Russia’ party leader Sergei Mironov demanded that the country have the option…
The Varieties of Capitalism Dichotomy (and Beyond) in Post-Communist States
The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 gave rise to fifteen independent states, as well as a challenge for those who study national political…
Recurring Themes in the Kyrgyz Revolutions
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan became an independent nation. Its independence, however, was not the result of a struggle for self-governance by…
From the Silk Road to Chevron: The Geopolitics of Oil Pipelines in Central Asia
Kazakhstan has received much press recently as a result of the success of the comic film Borat. However, that movie got everything wrong in its depiction…
Kyrgyzstan’s Energy Alternatives: Between Scylla and Charybdis
Russia has often been accused recently of “energy blackmail,” using its large hydrocarbon reserves to gain political influence in countries which are dependent on energy…
Security Forces Sweep Bishkek Clean
Bishkek entered its ninth straight day of protests on April 19 with the promise by opposition leaders to dramatically increase the number of demonstrators in…
Kyrgyzstan’s Latest Revolution
The March 2005 overthrow of President Askar Akayev in Kyrgyzstan did not immediately revolutionize Kyrgyz politics. The Kyrgyz people initially heralded their “Tulip Revolution,” but…