A number of potential candidates for the upcoming Presidential elections were not registered because they failed to pass the Kyrgyz language exam – one of the official requirements for the Presidency.  The law requires that …

BarCamp 2011 was certainly the topic of the past weekend among so called Internet activists of Kyrgyzstan and some countries of Central Asia.  People who usually do their communication through chats, skype calls, comments, tweets …

For the past ten years, around this time of the year, more than 30 thousand high school graduates participate in the National Testing – a set of written exams necessary to enroll in universities. …

Recently, Bishkek hosted an “international” exhibition titled “Kyrgyzstan 2011″. As far as I understood, the exhibition was supposed to display goods produced by 75 Kyrgyzstani companies.  However, it turned into a temporary market in …

Starting from a small market in the outskirts of Bishkek, Dordoi has grown into a huge distribution center for chinese goods (mainly textile) almost for entire Central Asia and partially Russia.  Some estimate that around …

I have already mentioned briefly about a rising scandal around one of the largest markets in almost downtown Bishkek – Osh bazaar (Google map link).  New mayor of Bishkek, Isa Omurkulov, set out to clean …

In connection to my previous post regarding making business in Kyrgyzstan, I would like to share this video that went viral via social networks and blogs.   It’s a commercial of one of the Russian …

Here are very interesting photo-stories (my favorite format of blogging) from zyalt (of livejournal.com) on the life of illegal migrant workers in Moscow, Russia.  Unfortunately, they are all in Russian, but I am sure you …

For the last several days, one of the largest cellular operators and taxpayers of Kyrgyzstan – MegaCom (Alfa Telecom) – has changed its CEO three times.  The company has fallen victim of the nationalization process …

“Yet without organised change from above, there is a growing risk of chaotic change from below.”
International Crisis Group published a special report on Central Asia on February 4th.  The grim title speaks for itself: “Central Asia: …