At the bottom of the Aral Sea, in what is now a desert of salt and dust, EurasiaNet Central Asia news editor David Trilling gets uncomfortably close with the two-humped camels. Named for a former province of the Persian Empire, Bactrian Camels were the workhorses - so to speak - of the Silk Road.
For a generation, Toko and his extended family have grown tomatoes, apples and strawberries along the Mailuu Suu River in southern Kyrgyzstan. Their little plot was a form of insurance, looked upon as a reliable food source that could help feed the family and produce some income amid the post-Soviet era’s economic uncertainty.
With a fast-growing population, teacher shortage and an outdated curriculum, Tajikistan is confronting an educational crisis that, if not quickly addressed, could leave an entire generation of Tajiks ill-prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century, experts say.
The gas-blast row between Turkmenistan and Russia shows that the geopolitical balance in the Caspian Basin energy contest may be shifting. The Kremlin, along with its energy appendage, Gazprom, now appears to lack the power and the resources to call the shots.
Keller and her neighbors descend from a group of Mennonite believers who arrived in Kyrgyzia in the late 19th century looking for a place to freely practice their faith. They scattered across the Chui Valley, founding places such as Kant and Lyuksemburg. By the 1980s, Rot-Front "was absolutely German; there was only one Kyrgyz family," says Keller.
Named for the father of Tajik literature and the first president of the Tajik Academy of Sciences, the Sadriddin Aini State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, or "Opera-Ballet" in local parlance, reopens after a five-year, $5 million total refit and refurbishment. Completed in 1942, the theater was originally built as a gift from Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin to the people of Tajikistan.
It is a meeting place and a source of local pride. Boulevards lined with sycamore trees and parks containing giant maples radiate outward from its gold and white neoclassical façade, sparkling in late afternoon.
As another winter of power shortages draws to a close in Tajikistan, the long-planned Rogun dam is a hot topic among Tajiks. But one country's blessing is another's bane in Central Asia, and the dam project remains a source of acrimony.
As another winter of power shortages draws to a close in Tajikistan, the long-planned Rogun dam is a hot topic among Tajiks. But one country's blessing is another's bane in Central Asia, and the dam project remains a source of acrimony.
Lev Babenko broke his collarbone five years ago. At the time, he was an intravenous heroin user, and he told the doctor that, due to his habit, he needed a higher dose of anesthesia to be administered and monitored. He had already had bad experiences at the dentist, he explained. The doctors agreed, accepted an additional payment, and began the procedure.
