A one-stop web site for Turkmen music buffs can be found here. There is a wealth of material on here, most of which is apparently available for download, though the site administrator is keen to stress that the files are under copyright and shoud be erased after listening. My personal highlight, however, must be this, which needs to be heard to be believed.

Kazakhstan is welcoming the New Year with some new music. The old Soviet-era national anthem is being scrapped for “My Kazakhstan,” a classic from 1956 updated by Nazarbayev himself with new lyrics.

ANOTHER UPDATE/CORRECTION
There was some controversy over the nature of the previous versions of “My Kazakhstan” posted here. This one is the actual new version.
Apparently the song I linked to earlier was a “My Kazakhstan” but not the “My Kazakhstan.” Click here to listen to the old version of “My Kazakhstan,” which is the correct melody, but does not contain the new lyrics.

Apologies, and thanks to Disha and Dr. Linden for pointing me to the correct version of “My Kazakhstan.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.4MB)

Quickly after the Central Asian States gained independence in the beginning of the 1990s, they started to shape their identities as nation states.

Kazakhstan was not an exception to this and the desire to revive the religious traditions of the past appeared to be obvious.

According to the estimates of Nationmaster stats, 47 percent of all Kazakhstanis are Muslims, while Russian Orthodox count for 44 percent, and 2 percent are protestants and 7 percent are believers of other faiths or non-believers. It is clear that Muslims over here in Kazakhstan don’t outnumber Christians too substantially.

The coutry itself claims to be a secular one and does not like theidea of Islamic revival due to the fear of religious extremism.

What in reality the country was left with after the fall of Soviet Union is the overwhelming and largely atheist working class layer, which can be found in any former country of the Soviet Union.

As a result, since independence Central Asians associate Islamic religion with traditional ties and statehood.

Even the idea of a stronghold of Islam in Usbekistan, Tadjikistan and Turkmenistan is more or less an illusion, except for some hotbeds of religious renaissance, e.g. in the Ferghana Valley.

It seems like Central Asian Soviet Muslims have been shaped as a second layer between two worlds that is East and West. These Muslims interestingly comprise the characteristics of shamanism that forms part of the Mongolian historical experience.

It is known that the country leaders of Central Asia tend to refer their ties to Ganghis Khan claiming that the nomads once upon a time served the great Mongol emperor, who was not a follower of Islam.

As for being Muslims, Kazakhstani and other Central Asians are predominantly Sunnis, but I’m sure the majority of population doesn’t have an idea about what the difference between Sunnis an Shi’is actually is.

One more significant issue is that Central Asian people recognize their Turkic origin (also in a religious sense) but exhibit little knowledge on ancient Turks.

So, it seems that the revival of Islam in Kazakhstan and in Central Asia is limited to cultural development. However, as seen in Uzbekistan, religion can be a very important valve through which discontent can be voiced. If repression continues, Islam will surely gain weight and significance.

The Turkmen President, Saparmurat Niyazov, has appointed a new oil and gas minister and ordered him to learn English within six months. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty are reporting that Niyazov has appointed Gurbanmyrat Atayev as oil and gas minister. He will succeed Atamurad Berdyev who has become the new minister for the economy. Apparently, according to comments made on national television Niyazov ordered the minister to learn English within six months. Not sure if that is going to help him in the negotiations with Russia over gas supply.

While, according to the state First TV channel, Niyazov has also been shuffling the official ministerial appointments cards again. This time the lucky winner is Annaly Caryyevic Berdinobadov who has been appointed deputy communications minister for a six-month probation period. Apparently, if he fails to meet his duties, he is to be relieved of his post without the offer of another job. Tough luck.

Thanks to Nik’s last post I decided to bring up the issue that is corrupting reports that come out of our region both now and in the past. This problem is the lack of authentic information. Today, nobody can say with any degree of certainty, how many people are below poverty line in Uzbekistan. Other examples abound. Not only that, we can’t even figure out in decent detail the past of our country, especially during the last 120-200 years. There are absolutely no, at least, mildly un-biased sources. Everything one can find about Uzbekistan before, during or after the Red Revolution in 1917 is either inclined towards the communists, the english, or the turks.

Let’s talk about the “basmach movement”. The interpretations are so controversial that one could label it both anti-communist, and therefore, beneficial; or radically panturkist, consequently, horrible for any further development of the region. The movement collided not only with the communists but with Jadidists. So what final judgement do we give to the people in the basmach movement? Well, we can’t because we know so little about it…

I guess the only side that had no reason to write biased records about Central Asia would be India. Indians have rather deep interest in the history of Central Asia, and Indian academics have a lot of research material in this field. Sadly, very little information about that is published on the internet.

It is aleady over 15 years since Soviet Union started to disintegrate, leaving behind eight new independent states in Central Asia and in the Caucasus.

The republics gaining independence in 1991 believed they got it for real. But the reality shows that no country can live on its own, there is always the need for some integration with other countries and most choose to be an ally with someone anyway.

The ties of the Central Asian countries to Russia are obvious. Not only did the Russian culture leave a deep mark on all Central Asian societies due to centuries of a ‘mutual’ history, the migration flow back and forth is also a reminder that there is still a lot of interaction between the two entities.

In Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan you wouldn’t get lost if you spoke only Russian and the schools on every level function mostly in Russian. However, there is usually some alternative to study the subjects in our native languages.

But the question is: How much is it worth to study in our language in order to become a good specialist in one profession. What kind of schools are there for the citizens of the region?

There are of course private schools that may offer a varied number of subjects, but I really wonder what kind of problems are solved by the ministries of education in the countries of Central Asia, when it is quite unclear what kind of educational system the countries follow. So, what is it with the Russian influence?

In public we still speak Russian. English is not available for the majority of the population since it needs, besides a strong commitment, money to learn it.

So, is going to Russia for education the way forward for citizens of Central Asia in order to catch up with advanced subjects. Can they become best specialized in the field like that?

What can the Russian educational system offer to Central Asian citizens studying in Russia?

I believe they still offer the Soviet way of passing the exams, putting grades on “zachotka,” and learning most of the assignments by heart. Is this a really effective way of accumulating knowledge? This what we had at schools in the Soviet Union and for most still have at higher education institutions.

For sure, it is quite costly to study in an English-speaking institution, most of which are obviously abroad.

Could Central Asian citizens face an alternative to that in the East, in rapidly developing China? I believe it is not available over there since the “Chinese Wall” is still in place, by which the Chinese want to protect themselves from outsiders. It is clear so far that China is not going to be open to share the knowledge they possess.

Then, can we develop our own standards of education and not further rely on any other systems? What can the citizens of Central Asia do in order to understand that educational system is by and large ignored due to issues like oil and gas?

But isn’t it dangerous if only some people can afford to get the best education on how to sell oil and gas while the rest remains with a mediocre understanding of the issues at stake, mostly due to an unreformed education system?

I’ve been talking to a lot of students and asking if they want to change anything in our republic. Of course, I was interested in which spheres they wanted to change and exactly what changes they wanted to see. Then I decided to interview foreign students as well. My teachers told me that it was a waste of time. They couldn’t even imagine that our students would really be interested in this interview.

Students worry about future of our country. During the first meeting students decided to organize a club of students. In this club students wanted to share our ideas and programs for developing our country. We wanted to co-operate with the government and organize meetings with deputies, but unfortunately it wasn’t as easy as we thought, especially since at that time even the government was not permanent.

But we were able to organize one meeting with some deputies where were discussed the rights of students to participate in the future of Kyrgyzstan. First of all we separated out the main problems of the country. Students were very active in discussing the problems. I was very glad when foreign students showed interest in discussing these issues and even initiated their own program for the development of Kyrgyzstan.

I think students have full rights to live in a peaceful and developing country. Just so we can see our Kyrgyzstan develop and become a better place to live in the future.

I have already read Shirin’s essay, and thought that it could also be interesting for you, readers, to read about youth participation at this stage. One reason why I decided to tell you about this theme will probably become evident, if we try to answer the following question: Is there any help and support from the Government for Youth? Do Youth Organizations in Kyrgyzstan work purposefully for developing youth policy?

Revolutionary events of March in Kyrgyzstan have shown that the major force that overthrew the former Akaev regime was mainly made up of youth and the activists of youth movements as “Birge!”, “Kelkel”. Most of us after March 24 thought that the Kyrgyzstan’s Youth had woken, and would begin to work fully and independently work from then on. But at the present time, as we have realized, political decisions are most frequently prepared and accepted without the active involvement of Youth. The evidence for this is, for example, how the structure of our government was agreed. Most Youth Organizations and Movements were not in agreement with the project, where the Department of Youth Affairs was moved to the Ministry of Education, as it could change nothing. They [youth organisations - ed.] wanted this committee be independent of any Ministries, Committees – it could have been a State Committee (Department) for Youth Policy for example. But regrettably, they couldn’t do anything, as their voices weren’t heard.

Therefore youth organizations face the issue of how to proceed further. They have the potential to become an excellent opportunity for young people in Kyrgyzstan to form their civil position and be actively engaged in the political life of the country. The problem is that effective activity by them requires intellectual and practical experience, which young people often do not have. This means the youth organizations should learn from the experience of foreign, such as European and American and even Russian, movements. Only after gaining more experience from other countries, can they work more effectively. The government should pay much attention to this formational and developmental stage of Kyrgyzstan’s youth movements.

It is also worth mentioning that 2 weeks ago, we, leaders of youth organizations and movements, including “Birge!”, “KelKel”, “Student’s Union of Kyrgyzstan”, “Youth Club of Kyrgyzstan” and others had a meeting in the office of the International Center “Interbilim”, where we discussed increasing the role of youth participation in political processes. Also, we decided to unite in one committee for Democracy defending (working name) and take an active part in formation of the Youth Policy of Kyrgyzstan and control and plan alternative activities of a State Youth Department. (On this question I hope to collect your opinions).

To conclude, I am being honest in saying that currently there are more and more people who understand the necessity of youth involvement in political processes. The argument for this is that young people are the ones who are most inclined to develop and consider new thoughts, fresh ideas, erudition, energy and courage. I hope that the Youth Policy will develop positively from day to day through the support of independent youth organisations.

Warm greetings,

Mirsuljan Namazaliev,
michu.kg@mail.ru
Coordinator of the People’s Youth Movement “Birge!”
Member of Blogger’s team kyrgyzstan.neweurasia.net

P.S. My next blog will probably be about the activity of “Birge!” Youth Movement

This story appeared already some time ago in British papers, but I thought it would be interesting: British star architect Norman Foster, who designed quite a handful of the world’s most famous landmarks, will be applying his skills in Kazakhstan, according to the PR Newswire:

Called the Palace of Peace and Accord, architect Norman Foster’s pyramidal masterpiece will grace the urban landscape of Kazakhstan’s capital city, Astana as a global centre for religious understanding, renunciation of violence and the promotion of faith and human equality.

The Palace of Peace and Accord – that sounds rather reminiscent of this man (who commissioned the ‘Arch of Neutrality‘).

A little search on Foster’s website brings us to this staggering draft:

In addition to representing all the world’s religious faiths, the Palace houses a 1,500- seat opera house, a university of civilisation, and a national centre for Kazakhstan’s various ethnic and geographical groups. This programmatic diversity is unified within the pure form of a pyramid, 62 metres high with a 62 x 62-metre base. Clad in stone, with glazed inserts that allude to the various internal functions, the pyramid has an apex of stained glass by the artist Brian Clarke.

I guess this building will cost some $??? million.

Its cost is guarded as a state secret. Were it built in the UK, it would run into hundreds of millions of pounds.

What a sad waste of money.

Read the full story »

Hi. I’m Nick Walmsley, and I’ll be joining Olesya and Ali as contributors to this blog. I’m new-ish to this game, so please bear with me. Normal service will resume shortly.