Eurasianet

Kyrgyzstan's Media Struggles, Electricity Woes, and Uzbekistan's Religious Discourse.

How a bike ride showed the depth of Kyrgyz hospitality, and the places where tensions persist nevertheless. This and more in the latest EurasiaChat podcast.

Also, the danger from glaciers is here now, and growing number of Central Asian labor migrants face the risk of becoming undocumented in Russia.

Staid Uzbek election, futuristic Kyrgyz city plans, and educational squeeze in Tajikistan

Pro-war Russian singers get the door shut in their face, Kyrgyz political infighting, and methane emissions in Turkmenistan.

Cynicism abounds in this edition, from elections to visits by EU dignitaries, but then there's some upbeat talk on trains.

Also, the state of morality in Uzbekistan as the state seeks to curb excess piety and unlawful immorality.

And U.S. officials have been touring the region chiding countries for failing to prevent Russian sanctions-busting.

And can Central Asia’s poorest countries benefit from their new importance to Russia without suffering secondary sanctions?

The official investigation into bloody chaos this summer has yet to deliver. Even the names of the dead remain a secret.

More than a military alliance analogous to NATO, the bloc is a political entity. But analysts have never agreed on its exact purpose.

Echoes of war drowned out talk of peace.

The five presidents could not seal a friendship deal or agree on which challenges face their region.

A fledgling job-creating enterprise offers hope in a troubled corner of the country, where the government talks big and does little.

It is easy to poke holes in the Kazakh government’s official narrative, even as it continues to choke communications with the outside world.

Our regional editors offer their informed predictions for the year ahead.

Isfana is to be renamed after a venerated first secretary of the Kyrgyz Communist Party.

Efforts to stop border trade are causing ethnic Kyrgyz to abandon a remote southern region.

The new parliament is dominated by figures loyal to the president.

At least five people have been killed in the fight over water.

The scale of the current crisis may be making IFIs rethink their long-standing policy of uncritically relaying Turkmen government data.

As the country opens up, citizen journalism is flourishing. In a place unaccustomed to journalists, and with the ethics of the profession not yet cemented, theirs is a risky business.

The journalist faced not only the customary bureaucratic hurdles, but even alleged sexual harassment from an individual possibly linked to the security services.

Our regional editors offer their informed predictions for the year ahead.