Voices On Cental Asia

Oxford University historian Peter Frankopan talks to Voices on Central Asia about his latest book, The New Silk Roads, and where Central Asia fits into the complex global jigsaw puzzle…

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12 min

Culture

Uzbek Dance Art: Past and Present – In the Wake of Tashkent Encounters

December 13, 2018

Author Rosa Vercoe Rosa Vercoe is a freelance blogger who has recently started her own blog. She was born in Turkmenistan (Mary) but grew up in Kazakhstan (Almaty). Rosa is…

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10 min

Books

Kyrgyzstan from Belonging to Belief: An Interview with Julie McBrien

November 28, 2018

Julie McBrien’s book From Belonging to Belief: Modern Secularisms and the Construction of Religion in Kyrgyzstan is a detailed ethnographic study of Islam and secularism in post-Soviet Central Asia. Julie…

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17 min

Eurasia on the Move. Interdisciplinary Approaches to a Dynamic Migration Region

November 13, 2018

Eurasia on the Move. Interdisciplinary approaches to a Dynamic Migration region, published by Nazarbayev University and GW’s Central Asia Program, discusses many aspects of migration flows in Eurasia. As Caress…

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11 min

Contemporary art

Saule Suleimenova: A Journey to Find True Kazakhness

November 1, 2018

Saule Suleimenova is a contemporary artist based in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She works with a wide range of media: watercolors, wax engraving, painting on newspaper, archival photos painted over urban graffiti,…

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10 min

Books

Transforming Post-Soviet Tajikistan: An Interview with Hélène Thibault

October 25, 2018

Hélène Thibault’s new book on Tajikistan, Transforming Tajikistan: State-Building and Islam in Post-Soviet Central Asia, takes readers on a journey through the transformation of Tajikistan’s state structures and national ideology since the…

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15 min

Culture

Shashmaqam – Music and Poetry of Central Asia

October 19, 2018

Shashmaqam is a Central Asian musical genre typical of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It is a refined sort of music, with lyrics derived from Sufi poems. Despite this close relation to Sufi ideas and an overall perception of…

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26 min

Video

Assessing the Terrorist Threat In and From Central Asia

October 18, 2018

Through an examination of the available evidence and drawing on fieldwork in the region since 2014, Edward Lemon discusses the threat posed by terrorism in the region and beyond it,…

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3 min

Photo

With Love from New York: Hunza Photographer Searches for Roots in the Pamirs

October 12, 2018

New-York based photographer Nazir Abbas feels himself at home every time he travels to Pamirs. While in search of his roots, Nazir has found numerous friends, skyscraping mountains, honest hearts, and…

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28 min

Economy

Agriculture in Central Asia: Unlocking the Potential. An Interview with Irna Hofman

October 11, 2018

Agricultural production in Central Asia has the potential to profit its millions of rural inhabitants. Yet the sector has thus far failed to diversity its exports, which would allow it…

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11 min

Contemporary art

Artist Talk: “I Protest with My Art”. Interview with Marifat Davlatova, contemporary artist from Tajikistan

September 27, 2018

“I started painting as a child. At first I copied some pictures and understood that this was what I liked—just to paint. Then I went to the children’s artistic school…

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21 min

History

The Last Soviet Mufti of Central Asia: Muhammad-Sodiq Muhammad-Yusuf

September 20, 2018

It was around the end of November 2002 that I first met and spoke with the most famous theologian in Central Asia, Muhammad-Sodiq Muhammad-Yusuf (April 15, 1952–March 10, 2015). Approximately…

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5 min

Culture

Dancing in the Desert

September 17, 2018

The leap from dictatorship to dance fest destination is not one made by many countries, but last weekend Uzbekistan reinvented its image by staging a bold electronic music festival that…

How Does Central Asia Slot into the Global Jigsaw Puzzle? An interview with Peter Frankopan

Uzbek Dance Art: Past and Present – In the Wake of Tashkent Encounters

Kyrgyzstan from Belonging to Belief: An Interview with Julie McBrien

Eurasia on the Move. Interdisciplinary Approaches to a Dynamic Migration Region

Saule Suleimenova: A Journey to Find True Kazakhness

In case you missed it

A Brief History of Collecting Abr Clothing from Uzbekistan

Is Central Asia Moving Beyond Russia? An Interview with Johan Engvall

Why Is Job Insecurity So Widespread in Independent Uzbekistan?

Transforming Post-Soviet Tajikistan: An Interview with Hélène Thibault

Shashmaqam – Music and Poetry of Central Asia

Assessing the Terrorist Threat In and From Central Asia

With Love from New York: Hunza Photographer Searches for Roots in the Pamirs

Agriculture in Central Asia: Unlocking the Potential. An Interview with Irna Hofman

In case you missed it

A Brief History of Collecting Abr Clothing from Uzbekistan

Is Central Asia Moving Beyond Russia? An Interview with Johan Engvall

Why Is Job Insecurity So Widespread in Independent Uzbekistan?

Artist Talk: “I Protest with My Art”. Interview with Marifat Davlatova, contemporary artist from Tajikistan

The Last Soviet Mufti of Central Asia: Muhammad-Sodiq Muhammad-Yusuf

Dancing in the Desert