This is just to give an interesting link. Gazeta.kg reports that it discovered the copy of the photo of the voting ballot posted by Edil Baisalov. You can view it here.

Way back in 2005, one of the “black PR” tricks that were launched on anti-Akaev groups such as Kel-Kel was having their websites cloned to discredit the organisations.

Seems like someone’s trying a similar trick on Edil Baisalov, as Mirsulzhan reports (RUS).  In addition to Edil’s real LiveJournal blog,  baisalov, there is now a very obvious fake LiveJournal online: edilbailsalov. Coming hot on the heels of the  scandal surrounding Edil over a photo of a ballot paper that he allegedly posted on his blog, it’s not difficult to think there might be a connection.

Given how eloquent Edil’s posts usually are, I don’t think anyone’s going to have any trouble distinguishing the real blog from the clone – especially because at the time of writing the clone only had a grand total of 6 posts, whilst Edil’s archive shows posts going back 2 years.

Mirsulzhan and fellow bloggers are urging LJ users to “flag” the clone and report it for offensive/hate content. Looking at the LJ policy on “conflicts with other users”, however, I suspect Edil will have to contact LJ to try and get the site taken down. Even so, flagging the site is a good first step, as is simply ensuring people know that this has happened.

Looks like Mars Saraiev may well be correct in thinking the incident at the printing press was staged [garbled English] (though his logic that the aim is reducing Ata-Meken support is more far-fetched I reckon). The fishy smell sourrounding the whole thing is made stronger by reports that almost 3 million ballot papers are to be destroyed and reprinted at the expense of the Social Democratic Party, of which Edil Baisalov was a candidate. Got to get rid of the opposition one way or another…

Recently President Rahmon visited Japan. It was his first official visit to this country. He was attending the first Water summit which gathered forty six countries for discussion about water problems in the Asia-Pacific region. It seems like Tajikistan was considered as a strategically important country which has huge resources of water. Most of the countries in Asia-Pacific region have a lack of clean and affordable water and Tajikistan is one of the few, which have big water resources.

I was surprised to see the figures below:

At least 700 million people among Asia-Pacific’s 3.7 billion population, don’t have access to safe and affordable water, and more than 1.9 billion don’t have adequate sanitation, according to the United Nations and other agencies.

Country representatives hope to reduce those figures by half by 2015, and then to zero by 2025, according to a closing statement released by summit organizers today.

I can hardly believe that these goals are to be achieved because the global warming has already affected the glaciers of Tajikistan and they are melting at a quick pace. I think by 2025 there will be less clean water than we have it now, but I hope this does not happen.

A lot of people in Tajikistan believe that soon Tajikistan is going to be a water exporting country and it will have such revenues as the OPEC countries have from oil. It means that we are going to live in a prosperous country. Naïve. Water is not oil and even if Tajikistan gains from the export of water, I’m sure it is going to be a small group of people who will enjoy those gains. The rest of the population will live in poverty.

Yesterday Rauan on the Kazakh version of our blog wrote that while all casinos have been closed in the cities, people in rural areas play cards for money bets. Perhaps, it’s really incredible and crying phenomenon in the traditional villages. But in the cities, illicit gambling is full speed ahead – and sometimes not too illicitly.

Ban on casinos was introduced on the Fool’s day, April 1, 2007, and has led to some changes in the city life. In Almaty the gambling machines have disappeared from food stores and kids, students and pensioners stopped spending their scarce money on them – which is, certainly, very good. The cabmen don’t get tired of complaining – now they have far less clients in the nighttime. Common people earlier used automats to change money – now they utilize vending machines with this purpose; by the way, vending machines business is booming these days. Companies that used to produce gambling automats now cooperate with the city administration and manufacture socially useful fast-payment terminals. Casinos are replaced with new cafes (by the way, the legendary – in Soviet times – Mirage café is now being reborn as Coffedelia) and stores.

Meanwhile, many people’s passion for gambling has not vanished after administrative decision of the government. It’s hard to accuse them – playing cards was not declared illegal whatsoever, and playing cards is not more sinful than playing billiards. Many Almatians have already seen how quiet cafes with separate rooms are visited by good-looking people with cards or a portable roulette. Now, smart guys, here are a couple of questions: should the owner of a café bear responsibility for hosting players? And the second one: whether we should expect a rise of criminal statistics soon – you know, gambling in a cozy company can raise some questions to the croupier, who doesn’t formally belong to casino?

The main issue on the local blogosphere’s agenda are politics again – Kazakhstan with its controversial, more and more Soviet-alike political system and continuously poor human rights record, has won the top post in the Europe’s leading democracy promoting institution, OSCE.

There are many speculations concerning the so-called “autocrats’ club of CIS countries”, in which its members allegedly exchange their experience and share practices – in treating media or conducting elections. Interestingly, b-ryskulov notes that during the televised hotline of President V. Putin several weeks ago, the Russian leader twice distinguished Kazakhstan specifically in a very praiseful context, utterly supporting President Nazarbayev.

“For some reason, Putin wanted to highlight Kazakhstan as compared to other neighbors, because I doubt that in such thoroughly-orchestrated event as TV show there could be any improvisations”, he says [ru].

Read the full story »

One of the most striking things about Turkmenistan is the difference between the older and the younger generation. Unlike in Western countries, it is not so much the way they behave, dress or spend free time that distinguishes the young from the old ones. Naturally, such differences are visible, but not as much as for example in Russia or countries of Eastern Europe.

The main difference between the middle-aged or older Turkmen and the younger generation is the way they perceive the world. While for the young people Turkmenistan is the entire world, for the older ones it is the former Soviet Union, where they were born and grew up. The latter know a bit about Ukraine, they have been to Moscow, spent their holiday in Crimea, served in the army in Poland or East Germany, whereas young people have no idea about what the world looks like outside Turkmenistan.

When talking to young people, one notices the consequences of brainwashing they were subject to during Turkmenbashi’s rule (mainly at schools). Unable to think independently, they almost never criticize the government. What’s more, they consider the late Turkmenbashi one of the greatest men in the history of Turkmenistan and think that his policy was the only just one. Sometimes it is embarrassing to listen to all the clichés. What’s even worse, they really believe it; it is not that they are affraid or pressed to say it. The only exception are the people who have traveled abroad, at least to Russia: their horizons are much broader.

Surprisingly, it is easier to talk to the „Soviet” people who criticize the government much more freely, especially when talking to a foreigner. This makes Turkmenistan an exception in the post-Soviet region, because, as a rule, it is the younger people who are more open, less suspicious and more eager to make contact with foreigners.

It is not so much the increased income from gas sales and foreign investments that the Turkmen people need in order to develop and keep the country away from falling into a complete stagnation. First of all, they need exit visas to be abolished, borders to be opened and the Ruhnama to be withdrawn from the school curricula. Despite the hopes expressed by many observers and journalists, it is not very likely to happen in the near future.

According to some experts illegal migration remains to be one of the main problems for the Russian government and it has no idea how to regulate it. However, it is unquestionable that Russia benefits more than it loses from hosting illegal migrants.

Countries like Tajikistan (the labor exporting countries) are also benefiting more than losing. Firstly, labor migration is the best way to solve unemployment problem and secondly, they receive a substantial amount of remittances.

As Sergei Blagov at Eurasia Daily Monitor says the “presence of Tajik migrant workers in Russia remains a sensitive issue for both sides.”

The recent developments in Russian – Tajik relations show that migrants have become a big leverage in Russia’s hands against Tajikistan and if something goes wrong, it can be easily used.

Recently, the Ambassador of Russia to Tajikistan announced that Russia is ready to complete the Rogun hydroelectric power station – one of the biggest energy projects in the country. Russia wants to have 50% of share in this project and Tajikistan is not happy with that.

Previously the involvement of Russia in the project was stopped when Tajik government broke up an agreement with Rusal, which was supposed to be the main sponsor. However, the Tajik government has not reacted to the proposition of the Russia yet.

On one hand Russia can pass a new law on migrants and most of the Tajiks will be sent out of the country in 24 hours. The first to be blamed by migrants in this situation is the government of Tajikistan and this is the last thing it wants. On the other hand it is also not easy for Russia to send out all the Tajik migrants because its growing economy needs a labor force.

Shock, horror! Swedish logistics company Sweco has suggested that Santa Claus should leave his traditional home in Lapland and relocate to Kyrgyzstan.

The company drew this conclusion on the basis that:

By starting his journey there [from Kyrgyzstan], Santa can achieve the most efficient around-the-world trip to distribute Christmas gifts. He can eliminate time-consuming detours and avoid subjecting his reindeer to undue strain.

The Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat provides more details about how this startling conclusion was reached after half a day’s (!) calculations:

Santa has to make it to 2.5 billion households in just one night.For the delivery of gifts, Father Christmas can spare a massive 34 microseconds (millionths of a second) per home. And on the round-the-world delivery route Santa’s reindeer sleigh will travel at the modest speed of 5,800 kilometres per second. Logistically speaking, all this would be easiest done from Kyrgyzstan. If Santa lived in Korvatunturi in Finnish Lapland – a place traditionally branded as the location of Santa’s Grotto for Finnish children – the presented figures would be significantly higher.

However, like most people, I doubt Santa will be trading in his trusty reindeer for a herd of shaggy yaks just yet. So does Sweco’s representative, who was quick to reaffirm his belief that Santa’s true home is Korvatunturi. Nevertheless, I’m sure both Sweco and Kyrgyzstan will welcome such good-humoured publicity.

Below if a translation of Marat’s post from the Russian-language blog.

Officially, there are 18,2 per cent of poor people (having income less than a living standard minimum) – i.e. one fifth of the population. Moreover, there are 2,7 per cent of desperately poor people (having income less than cost of the so-called “minimal food basket”) – i.e. 1/40 of the population.

However, the figures vary by regions (tables are in Russian). Read the full story »

[inspic=59,left,,175]With several references to “Canteen Frunze” by Asel (RUS) and Josh over at Registan, some of you might be wondering: “Who on earth is this ‘Frunze’ character.” Then again, you very well might not care. In any case, here is a brief description of the famous Bolshevik.

Born in Pishpek (now Bishkek), Mihkail Vasilevich Frunze was no stranger to Central Asia. Growing up, his favorite general was Tamerlane. He was active in Moscow during the October Revolution and served in multiple fronts during the Civil War. In 1920 Frunze was even sent to Turkey to assist Mustafa Kemal (later Attaturk) against the Greek invasion and occupation. He later went on to take over the position of War Commissar from Trotsky.

[inspic=60,right,,125]Only his death in 1925 from a botched (?) surgery allowed him to keep his good name posthumously. Had he lived, he would have likely been liquidated along with the rest of the “Old Bolsheviks” (Trotsky, Bukharin, Zinoviev, etc.), Bishkek might have become “Molotov” instead of “Frunze,” and there would be no nostalgically named cafes in Bishkek for us to blog about. (The Soviets renamed all sorts of cities; while Trotsky was popular, modern-day Gatchina was “Trotsk”; Dushanbe was “Stalinabad” from 1929-1961. Bishkek got off easy.) Read the full story »