EurasiaNet provides information and analysis about political, economic, environmental and social developments in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in Russia, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. The web site also offers additional features, including newsmaker interviews and book reviews.



Fergana Valley: Relations Cooling, Uzbek-Kyrgyz Border Growing Increasingly Violent (Mar 9)
BY JONIBEK KADAMJAYOV The deteriorating relationship between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan is giving rise to violence along the countries’ shared frontier. Adding to the tension, Tashkent has unilaterally closed one of the largest border crossings between the two countries.


Georgia: Amid Democratization, Village Elder Tradition Survives in Mountainous Svaneti Region (Mar 9)
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY TEMO BARDZIMASHVILI In the remote mountain villages of Georgia’s northwest region of Svaneti, 84-year-old Bauchi Qaldani of Adishi is universally regarded as a wise man. And Qaldani, a village elder now in his fifth decade as a mediator and matchmaker, is still ready to dispense his wisdom whenever called upon. "I was born for others," he says.


Armenia: US Congressional Committee Adopts Resolution Recognizing Armenian Genocide (Mar 4)
BY JOSHUA KUCERA A US congressional committee narrowly passed a resolution on March 4 officially to term Ottoman Turkey’s 1915 massacre of ethnic Armenians as genocide. The move is likely to complicate relations between the United States and Turkey, and could bring the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process to a halt.


Afghanistan: President Karzai Modifying Election Law in His Favor -- A EurasiaNet Q & A with Grant Kippen, former Chairman of the Electoral Complaints Commission (Mar 4)
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR President Hamid Karzai has taken action to substantially curtail the independence of Afghanistan’s Electoral Complaints Commission before parliamentary elections scheduled for this September.


Kyrgyzstan: US Intends to Construct Military Training Center in Batken (Mar 4)
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN The United States intends to build an anti-terror training center in the southern Kyrgyz province of Batken. The exact location of the facility, which is projected to cost $500,000, has not yet been determined.


Afghanistan: Does Brazil Hold the Key to Afghan Stabilization? (Mar 2)
A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY MOHAMMAD ASIF RAHIMI AND M. ASHRAF HAIDARI The development of Afghanistan’s agricultural sector has been overlooked by the international community, despite the fact that roughly 80 percent of the Afghan population lives in rural areas and scratches out a meager existence from the land. In trying to rectify the existing situation, the international community would do well to look to Brazil for answers.


Kazakhstan: Astana Finding that Running the OSCE is a Constant Challenge (Mar 2)
A EURASIANET VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH VLADIMIR SHKOLNIKOV The responsibility of running the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe may be having a moderating effect on Kazakhstan, Vladimir Shkolnikov, an expert on the workings of the Vienna-based multilateral organization tells EurasiaNet. For one, officials in Astana are finding that it is not so easy to impose their own political preferences on a group that comprises 56 member states, and which requires consensus to get anything done.


Armenia: Parliamentary Vote Deals Blow to Turkish Reconciliation Chances (Feb 25)
BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN Armenia is ready to back out before it enters into a binding reconciliation agreement with its long-time foe, Turkey.


Report: Azerbaijan Bans Koran, Islamic Symbols in Government Offices (Feb 25)
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV Following violent clashes between police and Islamic activists in Baku in mid-February, the government has ordered all state employees to remove Islamic symbols from their offices, a source in Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs tells EurasiaNet.


Uzbekistan: Sting Stung Amid Media Swarm (Feb 25)
An electronic media feeding frenzy is taking a bite out of Sting, the British rocker and self-styled defender of the environment and the downtrodden. In recent days, British newspapers and blogs have savaged the musician for playing a concert in Uzbekistan, which is home to one of the world’s most repressive governments. Sting may have exacerbated his image crisis by appearing unrepentant over his appearance in Tashkent, for which he reportedly received over $1 million.