Eldor Shomurodov’s success making it into one of Europe’s most important national football leagues has generated a fresh flurry of ambition among young Uzbek players.
A new documentary on a Soviet soccer star also tells the story of Central Asia’s ethnic Korean community, which was deported en masse to the region by Stalin.
Reliving ancient glory, exaggerating modern accomplishments, and introducing ATMs that demand to see birth certificates: This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.
Today celebrated for blending classical music with Turkish folk tunes, Anjelika Akbar’s education was strictly Soviet, intolerant to non-classical styles.