Have you gotten a “Friend Request” from O’zbekiston Respublikasi Bosh vaziri, Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Facebook yet? His personal page has 1,818 Friends, explains him to be a 100% Conservative believer in Islam, interested in Women and Married, inspired by various Westerners politicians and so on. There are even some professional photos, both uploaded and tagged, on his profile. But is this all real?

To debate this – weather or not Mirziyoyev’s Facebook page is actually authentic –  is pretty silly and ridiculous, considering Uzbekistan is a country whose press freedom and online activity regulations especially in terms of political interactions, are far from socially free and enjoyable… but lets enjoy examining the suspicious question of “to be (a real Facebook page) or not to be” anyway.
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Last week I gave a lecture at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven on whether or not an “Arab Spring”-style revolution could happen in Eurasia and more specifically in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. My answer was: probably not in the immediate term (say, before five to seven years from now) and not as part of a “chain reaction” from the current Arab Spring. In the long term, some of the regimes will bite the dust, however. The reason for the both likelihoods is actually the same: a combination of youth bulge, social mobility and delayed/stunted social change, modern ICT penetration, and rigidifying first-family regimes. These factors are creating the conditions that keep a revolt at bay for now but could also eventually make an explosion or a coup of some sort inevitable.

A key element of my presentation concerned comparing/contrasting the Arab and Eurasian states. Ultimately, if one lesson from the Arab Spring (and Kyrgyzstan) applies to Eurasia, then it is this: that things at some point can go unexpectedly fast, and that internal dynamics, both within the regimes and within the wider society, are much more important than whatever geopolitical designs or “Great Game powers’ desire for stability” can actually control.

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Uzbek Parliament’s decision to pass amendment to article 90 of the Constitution, which reduces the length of Presidential term from current seven to five years, is, most probably, the sexiest topic to discuss within different levels of communities in Uzbekistan.

The honorable head of state thought that people’s attention would be drawn to the news on amnesty, not to his political decision to withdraw from the Oksaroy (the Uzbek White House). In fact, amnesty was discussed so many times that it was not an “in-trend” topic of people’s discussions.

On the other hand, political activity in Uzbekistan is so low that people do not really talk much about issues around them, being afraid for their own and relatives’ safety.

When during the 2002 referendum to prolong Presidential term from former four years to nowadays seven years, official propaganda and President himself were calling it a democratic reform to make sure the main reformer would be in power and able to realize all the ‘creative plans and aspirations of the people of Uzbekistan.’

“The practical application in our life of the matters raised in the referendum will be a worthy step in the road of further liberalization of political life. They are an important factor in improving the state administration and political system.”

President Islam Karimov’s interview to local and foreign media, January, 2002

Now, when Presidential initiative to reduce the term of office has passed the puppet Parliament, official mass media calls it a phenomenon that “reflects an objective reality, logics and consistency of the realized reforms; Read the full story »

U.S. Embassy Tashkent invites people to participate in a few events dedicated to honor Human Rights Day celebrated on December 10, the day when United Nations General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) back in 1948.

For those who want to share their thoughts on “What Role Human Rights Play in Your Life?”, essay contest open to all residents of Uzbekistan, aged between 15 and 25, has been announced.

Essays must be typed in English, Uzbek or Russian and be 500 words or shorter. The deadline for submitting essays is 17:00, December 7, 2011. Winners will be announced and awarded with branded U.S. Embassy gifts at the Chai Chat Club on Friday, December 9, which is also dedicated to the Human Rights Day.

Participants must send their entries to Embassy of the United States of America, 3 Moyqorghon Street, 5th Block, Yunusobod District, 100093 Tashkent; or email to Tashkent-IRC@state.gov.

There is also a quiz for those who want to check their knowledge in international and national human rights history.

The same day Transparency International issued its annual Corruption Perceptions Index 2011 (CPI) that ranks countries/territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be, and where Uzbekistan is in a group of six most corrupted countries — Uzbek State Property Committee and Prosecutor General’s office hosted a seminar dedicated to UN’s Convention Against Corruption: realities and challenges of its implementation in Uzbekistan.

OSCE, which is one of the main financial supporters of this sort of nominal events, was also represented by a guy, who talked about general situation with corruption in the world.

One of the main points of the State Property Committee was that a Plan of Action and Code of Conduct was elaborated to fight corruption in Uzbekistan.

To me, the results of a poll on Olam.uz web site “What measures do you propose to take towards currupted [officials]?” impressed me more than useless statements of officials during the seminar. Read the full story »

Corruption in Post-Soviet Central Asia is something very familiar to people living in the region. Without bribing, one is destined to see their case be delayed for a long time, very often beyond time limits defined by laws.

Be it application for a new passport, or registration at a new place of living, or even finding a day care for your kid — bribing is the easiest way to get it all done faster and without a hassle.

Transparency International (TI) has released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index 2011 (CPI) that ranks countries/territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. According to TI, it is a composite index, a combination of polls, drawing on corruption-related data collected by a variety of reputable institutions. The CPI reflects the views of observers from around the world, including experts living and working in the countries/territories evaluated.

This year Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have proved that they can also have stablility in something — if not positive and progressive, then at least something not really desirable by leaders of developed countries. That something is the abuse of public power. Read the full story »

Uzbekistan authorities have freed a journalist whose professional reputation could be doubted due to his relative connection to the family of the President of Uzbekistan.

Jamshid Karimov, a member of the Djizzak regional branch of Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan and President Karimov’s nephew, was released from a psychiatric hospital in the beginning of November. Pulling apart the mystery why there was no news about that from the very beginning, and why late first news about his release were mostly unconfirmed, the fact that he was finally released after a bit more than five years of forced treatment at the Samarkand psychiatric hospital gives a hope that government’s easened policy towards human rights and political activists will not shut down in 2012.

Fergananews.com’s Alexei Volosevich, journalist known for critical reporting on the situation in Uzbekistan and one of a few media workers who witnessed Andijan tragic events of May 13, 2005, wrote a piece on Jamshid.

” Jamshid Karimov is a son of Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s older brother Arslan. He is now 43. It’s know that uncle President distanced from his relatives and, with an exception of minor privileges, Jamshid’s family, his mother, as well as brother and sister were left on their own in provincial Djizzak. Jamshid is married to Nargiza with a daughter, who is 13. Read the full story »

“On stage, the leader of the nation treks into a nighttime magical forest and begins talking to the trees, which turn into his opponents.” (Associated Press)

On November 24th, a new play proud of autonomy and self-government premiered at Astana’s Palace of Peace, in Kazakhstan. Associated Press describes the play as “…the latest example of the mythologization of the man…”.

“Teren Tamyrlar” (“Deep roots”), written by Playwrite Erkin Juasbek and directed by Nurlan Jumaniyazov, is the new feature presentation that tells the story of 71-year-old Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Through theatrics, the story of how — for the past two decades — the leader has risen and developed a nationalized Kazakhstan independent from the former Soviet Union, is told. This is the first time that the Kazakh head of state has appeared in a theater play as a character.

A press release by the National Ministry of Culture, about the play, says:

“Our goal is to communicate to the audience the role of the head of state in the development of Kazakhstan’s independence”.

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Our friends over at the Registan are running a guest post from an American Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) regarding the sudden departure of the Peace Corps from Kazakhstan. I must say, this is really news to me, not least of which because, as I understood the situation, Kazakhstan is one of the Peace Corps’ biggest countries of deployment. Apparently rising violence and ongoing suspicions of PCVs as intelligence assets are key factors in the decision from the American and Kazakh sides, respectively:

[M]any of us have been attacked and assaulted — according to our Country Director, Kazakhstan has earned the highest rate of any country in Peace Corps – and they know exactly what pressures have begun emanating from oblast- and national-level governments. Volunteers will never be privy to all of the information, but we have enough of a patchwork network that we can piece together a picture of what serving in Kazakhstan is like. KNB agents sitting in classrooms. Upper-level ministers all but booting volunteers from numerous oblasts. Questions of espionage and revolutionary tactics. The shooting in Taraz, which saw eight Kazakhstanis die, taking place only a block from two volunteers’ houses. Brass knuckles, attempted break-ins, bizarre opium plant-and-frisks — to say nothing of the near-daily harassment, and worse, for the female volunteers — all added up to a setting those DC-based officials deemed far too dire to pursue.

It’s pretty chilling in my opinion. Read the rest of it by clicking here.

Photograph of the two Russian pilots in question provided by a friend (CC-usage).

Editor’s note: Two Russian pilots have been incarcerated in Tajikistan, prompting a huge backlash from Russia’s political class, and all but drowning out Tajik views on the matter. Alpharabius gives his two somoni, including a little research about the pilots’ mysterious employers.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is demanding an “explanation” from the Tajik government over the imprisonment of two Russian pilots in Tajikistan on the charges of smuggling, illegal border crossing, and violation of international aviation regulations by the provincial court of the Khatlon region of southern Tajikistan, which borders Afghanistan. In a televised meeting with Russian bloggers on November 8th, Medvedev remarked:

“The decision on this case raises many questions not only about the nature of the crime committed, but also the process that took place… Yesterday itself, I instructed all government agencies — the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, law enforcement agencies — to engage in this. They need to contact their respective counterparts in Tajikistan… We will wait for an official response from the authorities of the country, with whom we have alliances, and only then make a decision. But, these solutions, depending on the response, could be symmetrical or asymmetrical.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry also called the decision “extremely severe” as well as “politically motivated”, and warned that the ruling could have a negative impact on relations between Moscow and Dushanbe.

These remarks out of the Russian executive branch echo sentiments made by Russian politicians and media after the verdict of the Tajik court. The Russian parliament’s upper house speaker, Valentina Matviyenko, remarked,

“We did not find any legal evidence of the pilots’ fault; the guilty verdict is based on speculations and ungrounded suggestions.”

She also did not discount sanctions against Tajikistan, noting,

“If our voice is not heard, Russia reserves the right to take appropriate measures.”

While speaking to journalists in St. Petersburg, Matviyenko emphasized that “everyone” in Russia was outraged over the Tajik court’s ruling. I must say, my impression is that this isn’t far from the truth: from the extreme right to the extreme left, virtually the entire political spectrum of Russia has responded passionately:

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