Articles tagged with: architecture and ideology
Turc Yimpaş commercial center, photograph by Flickr user cercamon (CC-usage).
Most of us have probably heard the magic marketing formula, “turn challenges into opportunities” or, in economic lingo “turn a minus into a plus”. Well, this is what comes to my mind when I wonder about how Turkmenistan was actually affected by the global financial and economic crisis.
The story goes like this: Turkmenistan’s leadership has been insisting that the country was not adversely affected by the global financial. Wow, sounds miraculous. How could this be?
Last week, this rather inconspicuous announcement appeared on the Turkmenistan government’s official website:
The President of Turkmenistan issued the Resolution authorizing the Ashgabat Khyakimlik to conclude the contract with Polimeks Insaat ve Taahhut San.Tij.A.S. (Turkey) for dismantling of the Arch of Neutrality in Ashgabat, design and construction of the Neutrality Monument 95 metres high in the southern part of Bitarap Turkmenistan Avenue at the foothills Kopetdag Mountains with improvement of the adjacent territories and reconstruction of the section of Bitarap Turkmenistan Avenue from A. Niyazov Avenue to Archabil Avenue to the total sum of US$ 217.873,600 (excluding VAT) on terms of starting construction works in March 2010 and putting the facility into operation in October 2011.
Usually Turkmenistan attracts a hair’s worth of attention from international news agencies, but this story exploded like a bomb. I don’t know what to think of that — does international media miss its old punching bag, Turkmenbashi? — but I can hazard a guess about what Berdimuhammedov is thinking: fantastic!
It is always very interesting to see the difference in how people in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan react to similar unpopular and unjust decisions made by their governments. Such differences are very good comparison indicators of to what extent Uzbeks and Kyrgyz enjoy basic rights of democratic society (and both countries position themselves as democratic countries), such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, etc. This time, the difference is in peoples reaction to cutting of old beautiful trees in the center of two capitals – Tashkent and Bishkek.
Bishkek – Youth Alley. It started in early summer of 2009, when residents of the nearby apartment buildings were woken up by the loud noise of petrol-powered sows and crackle of falling trees in the Youth Alley, which is next to Filarmonia building in the heart of Bishkek. People were quick to gather and stop workers from cutting old trees. Later, neighborhood residents found out that some part of the Youth Alley was given for construction of a high building. People started organizing meetings in the Alley and asking authorities to stop cutting of old trees.
Online community of Kyrgyzstan also was against the construction of a building in the Youth Alley. Users of famous Internet forum Diesel created a thread about illegal constructions in Bishkek, where people have actively been discussing and criticizing the construction in Youth Alley.
And it works, the construction in the Alley was suspended.
Tashkent – Amir Temur park (square). In November 11, 2009, Tashkent residents were horrified by the scene of workers actively cutting years old trees in the Amir Temur park in the heart of Tashkent. However, no one could dare to do anything to stop workers, as they had an order from “above”. Some activists could organize a small flash mob in November 21, where they lit candles to mourn the dead trees. However, the event did not change anything and was not widely covered in media, except some blogs and “blocked in Uzbekistan” web sites.
First Monday of October is a traditional architect’s day celebrated worldwide. This holiday was created by the International Architect Union and declared as annual in 1985.
Traditionally during this day architects from all over the world gather for conferences, where they discuss conditions and results of their work, measure and expertise problems of architectural education, set up creative discussions. There are many exhibitions organized during this day. Every year theme is different from the previous, but every celebration has its own theme.
We decided to show you, dear readers, that we have something to be proud of: Astana’s architecture, its monuments – they were created with love and care!
Camera: Natalya Zatcepilova, published by approbation of gazeta.kz
Translation of Bahadir Namazov’s post
Typography street of Samarkand experiences authorities’ new idea of reconstruction.
During the 1980s, private entrepreneurs built their privately-owned shops on this street. Since independence they have been repeatedly compelled by city authorities to renovate so as not to “spoil” the look of the ancient city, in 1991, 2002, and 2005.
U.Barnoev, a new head of Samarkand province, was appointed recently. He hasn’t become an exception and decided to follow up the same tendencies as his predecessors did. Of course not just because of him being so attentive to city’s infrastructure.
Construction and reconstruction is one of the main sources of authorities’ unofficial income in Uzbekistan and in Samarkand in particularly. The times of altruism are over; our reality is mercantilism. Read the full story »
Translation of Adam’s post.
Construction time in Astana is in decline, and crisis proved that the larger is the project, the fewer are its chances to be completed. Therefore, the second reason why Asian Winter Games (so-called Asiad) will partially be held in Astana is, probably, to justify extra budget funding for completion of grand projects (the first reason for moving some parts of the Games to Astana was to “show our capital to the world” and to save costs for construction of sports venues in Almaty). Read the full story »
Translation of the post by thousand-pa
It seems to me that one of the main troubles in our country is the lack of even progress and balanced approach to solution of the problems. For some reason, the most popular approach is the “breakthrough”, a Soviet type of ideology, infected with “giantomania” and “microphobia”.
For example, if we need a hydropower station, then we must put a damb on Yenissey. If we need a metallurgical plant, then we are to have the one that will produce 10 per cent of the global metal output (I don’t speak about the capital city now – it is meant to become one of the most beautiful ciities on Earth).
Consequently, the resources are distributed unevenly. They are not invested in gradual and consistent solution of the current problems in as many spheres as possible. We concentrate the maximum of resources in one place and throw them to one project, while other sectors have to survive in a “residual mode”.
For instance (to put it roughly), the rural sector lacks money for qualitative development (new technologies, equipment etc.) – we will give them the money! We will be giving them money for 3 years in a row! We’ll forget about health care, education, army and others – we will give all to the rurals! 3 years pass away, and the agriculture is effectively forgotten (and there was no breakthrough whatsoever, except for increased number of latifundists).
After the rural area it is high time to find something new. Roads? Rarther not – they talk about roads for 15 years already, but all to no purpose. The new superhit is construction of power plants and grids. Now we will perform shock work in the energy supply sector! But it is yet to be seen 10 years later – how much of that will be actually built.
The country keeps going hot and cold – industrialization, agriculturization, cosmic research… In result, the millenium’s first decade is coming to its end, and our industry is still the same extractive one. Our cosmic program is a complete disaster. And if our rural area has had any progress, it was not thanks to the state policy, but due to high commodity prices.
Here is one reasonable question. If it is obvious that “breakthrough” projects are void, the huge expenditures have catastrophically low effectiveness, then why don’t we try another strategy? Let’s call it a strategy of slower (yet permanent) investment of smaller (yet sufficient) funds in order to give an impetus to development of the problematic fields?
Sure, it is impossible to build a nuclear power plant (or a new capital city) for little money. But it is possible to solve millions of other problems on lower levels. The unhealed caries may lead to lethal heart attack. In Kazakhstan, they can spend millions for heart transplantation, but they won’t give a buck for tooth filling.
(This is a continuation of my previous post on my trip to Astana, capital city of Kazakhstan.)
We took a cab from the sparkling new city across the river to the Right Bank, where most of the city lies. Before the beginning of the current remont Tselinograd was a fairly standard Kazakh/Soviet city. From all the pictures/materials that I’ve seen (mainly the odd ‘Akmola Encyclopedia’ published in the mid-1990’s) it had the same square, theater, roads etc that you’d find elsewhere. So heading to the older neighborhoods I was very eager to find that familiarity lost in the plastic grandness of the Left Bank. Read the full story »
Is it because of some deeply-held inferiority complex when regional leaders compete against the Middle East and other autocracies to erect the world’s tallest flagpole? Turkmenistan will hold the official record, as certified by the Guiness Book of World Records, for a mere few weeks, only to be beaten to it by Azerbaijan later this year. See photos here.
This is a story of serious heights and a clever American businessman: David Chambers founded his company Trident Support some years ago and continues to beat one world record after the other. Recent super-size flagpoles were erected in Jordan and the UAE, but now Central Asia and the Caucaus are catching up fast.
Ilham Aliev, president of Azerbaijan, wants to see a massive 532-feet (162 meters) Azeri flag fly over Baku, dwarfing all other buildings around it. The flag will be the size of half a football-pitch, weighing several hundred kilos, and the construction will need mega foundations to keep the pole upright also when a strong gust waves ashore from the Caspian. Read the full story »
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