Eurasianet

In our podcast this week, Alisher Khamidov and Peter Leonard discuss a Kyrgyzstan man held as a slave laborer in Kazakhstan for 32 years. His plight is party the fault of convoluted working regulations in Kazakhstan, where thousands toil without papers, making them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. This is a problem across the region, yet it rarely makes headlines or draws public indignation.

In our podcast this week, Aigerim Toleukhanova and Alisher Khamidov discuss how reports of a small group of separatists in northern Kazakhstan have outraged Kazakhs. But how credible is the threat? And why has the group emerged now? Regional governments are good at using fears of separatism to argue that citizens must fall into line, to silence protests and democratic movements.

In our podcast this week Aigerim Toleukhanova and Alisher Khamidov revisit the “relokanty” – Russians who fled the war – who are now receiving expedited Kyrgyz citizenship, buying property and opening businesses. But their presence is no longer as controversial as it was last year when the sudden arrival of thousands upset local economies and stoked inflation.

This week on our podcast, Aigerim Toleukhanova and Alisher Khamidov discuss local cynicism about the American commitment to Central Asia following U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit. Russia is more dependent on good relations with Central Asia than ever before, and China gives billions without demanding reforms.

This week on our podcast, Aigul Adzhieva, a documentary filmmaker investigating Kyrgyzstan's epidemic of gender-based and domestic violence, discusses how the scourge is fueled by social fragmentation, the growing wealth gap, and a lack of kindness in Kyrgyz society.

In our podcast this week, hosts Aigerim Toleukhanova and Alisher Khamidov discuss how Central Asians see the Turkish earthquake: a tragedy in a friendly country, first, but also a frightening portent.

In our podcast this week, hosts Aigerim Toleukhanova and Alisher Khamidov discuss attacks on Central Asian journalists, the changing impact of Russian propaganda, and Kazakhstan’s new nameless McDonald’s.

In our podcast this week, hosts Aigerim Toleukhanova and Alisher Khamidov discuss the connection between dangerous air pollution, unusually cold weather, and the regionwide energy crisis. Experts agree on some straightforward causes and solutions, but Kyrgyzstan’s president has his own theory and a proposal.

In our podcast this week, hosts Aigerim Toleukhanova and Alisher Khamidov discuss growing public discontent over Central Asia’s chronic energy crisis. Why aren't authorities better prepared? One reason is that energy subsidies keep prices too low to fund infrastructure upgrades. But governments are reluctant to raise prices, afraid of provoking unrest like what happened in Kazakhstan earlier this year.

In our podcast this week, hosts Aigerim Toleukhanova and Alisher Khamidov discuss the ongoing crackdown on political dissent in Kyrgyzstan and the president's shadow parliament, which he has empowered to muffle the elected parliament.