archive

Influence in Central Asia

Robert C. Blitt (Tennessee): Russia’s "Orthodox" Foreign Policy: The Growing Influence of the Russian Orthodox Church in Shaping Russia’s Policies Abroad. From Dissent, the front line in Kyrgyzstan: Who does human rights? As memories of Soviet tests fade, Kazakhstan looks to nuclear future. The state of Russia: Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin are presiding over a system that can no longer change. Will Tajikistan become the next jihadi stronghold? Abubakar Siddique on how Central Asian militants are spoiling for combat. The US is anxious to broaden its influence in Central Asia and limit that of Russia — the result, however, are questionable alliances with some of the strangest despots in the world. A review of To the Tashkent Station: Evacuation and Survival in the Soviet Union at War by Rebecca Manley. A review of Travels in Siberia by Ian Frazier (and more and more and more and more). The Nazarbayev Conundrum: The West needs Kazakhstan for energy, security, and help in Central Asia, but how can it promote democracy when the autocratic president is holding all the cards? From the University of Minnesota Press blog, interviews with Alexander Vashchenko and Claude Clayton Smith, editors of The Way of Kinship: An Anthology of Native Siberian Literature. Martin Sixsmith on why Russia isn’t a democracy. The Tragic Death of the Aral Sea: Large swathes have ceded to what is now known as Aralkum desert — one of the most shocking man-made environmental calamities of the 21st century.