Author: Wm Walton

The Moscow City Court has sentenced Firuz Dadoboev, a Tajikistan-born Russian citizen, to 13.5 years in a strict regime penal colony on charges of high treason (under Article 275 of Russia’s Criminal Code) for actions benefitting the United States. According to reports, Dadoboev, an IT specialist at a Moscow-based company, allegedly obtained classified information unlawfully. Investigators claim he intended to pass this information to a U.S. intelligence representative, having reportedly contacted the CIA. The Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that Dadoboev confessed and expressed remorse. Along with the prison term, he was fined 300,000 rubles (about $3,000). On October 29, TASS released a…

Talk of closer cooperation among Central Asian countries has ebbed and flowed as far back as the period after independence from Soviet rule in the early 1990s. The goal of a more unified region is a work in progress, though one promising area of collaboration is a plan to restore and protect damaged ecosystems in border regions. The first regional meeting on the topic, held this month in Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital, brought together government officials from the host nation as well as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The portfolios of the delegates were nature preservation, protected areas, emergencies, agriculture, and forestry. They…

Kyrgyzstan’s presidential spokesperson Askat Alagozov has urged Kyrgyz citizens who have gone to work in Russia to return and work at home. However, only some people share the government’s position on the issue. Alagozov noted that the country desperately needs construction and textile workers. “Of course, the salary you expect will be the same as what you get in Russia. But, most importantly, it is better to work in your homeland and near your family. Come and work in your own country,” Alagozov wrote on social media. Alagozov published the Ministry of Labor and Social Development hotline number, where citizens can get…

On August 13, Kyrgyzstan’s Ustatshakirt Ensemble, a five-piece group of traditional musicians, gave its first ever performance at Edinburgh’s International Festival. Following a mesmerizing, sell- out concert, Kyrgyz author Shahsanem Murray spoke on behalf of TCA, to musicologist Razia Syrdybaeva about Ustatshakirt , its origins, aims and future plans. TCA: Razia, please tell us a little about yourself and the Ustatshakirt Ensemble. I am a musicologist, producer, and researcher of Kyrgyz culture, and hold a PhD in Philology. Twenty years ago, I established Ustatshakirt; an NGO educational organization with a mission to preserve Kyrgyzstan’s centuries-old musical heritage. The name Ustatshakrit…

A village in a remote corner of southern Kyrgyzstan is experiencing a shocking rash of suicides among married women. According to reporting by the BBC Kyrgyz service, all the women who took their lives in Andarak, a settlement of around 8,000 people in the Batken region, were ethnic Tajiks with Kyrgyz citizenship. Determining the ultimate causes of the despair that drives people to such desperate measures is complicated. Members of the community highlight the social and economic difficulties shared by all the victims. “The other day I was in Andarak to attend the funeral of a young mother to two children who…

The Anti-Terrorism Centre of the State Committee for National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic (ATC SCNS KR), in co-operation with the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, organized a roundtable on implementing the Programme of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic on countering extremism and terrorism for 2023-2027 and its Action Plan. The event brought together high-level representatives of the Kyrgyz government. The participants discussed the outcomes of the 2017-2022 Programme for countering extremism and terrorism and were introduced to the objectives of the new 2023-2027 Programme, along with its Action Plan. The focus was on implementation mechanisms, anticipated…

The tourism agencies of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan plan to develop cooperation in several directions, Azernews reports, citing Kun.uz News Agency. Jamshid Abdusalomov, the first deputy head of the Tourism Committee of Uzbekistan, met with Abilqasim Sherniyazov, the president of the Kyrgyz Tourism Development Fund. Opportunities for cooperation in the field of transport were discussed at the meeting. One of the main topics was the launch of Tokyo-Tashkent-Bishkek joint flights. However, the details of the plans in this direction were not given. In addition, as previously reported, the parties discussed the possibility of establishing additional bus routes from Osh to the…

Shares in Chaarat Gold Holdings rose 17% after the company said its subsidiary Chaarat Zaav has signed a $82.8 million construction deal for its Tulkubash gold project in Kyrgyzstan. At 0950 GMT, shares were up 0.70 pence at 4.80 pence. The gold-mining company said Wednesday that its subsidiary has signed an engineering, procurement and construction deal with the local venture of Chinese state-owned company Power China under which it will oversee the design and construction of the Tulkubash project. “This is a key contract that fixes the majority of the project cost and materially de-risks the delivery of the Project,”…

At the end of July 2023, wheat imports to Kyrgyzstan increased 1.6 times compared to last year. The National Statistical Committee provided such data, Azernews reports, citing 24.kg news agency. At least 181,200 tons of wheat were imported into the country for the first seven months of this year. In the same period of 2022, the figure was 71,600 tons less. The main amount of wheat was imported from Russia — 176,200 tons. In addition, there were supplies from Kazakhstan (4,900 tons) and Turkey (200 kilograms). Earlier, the Antimonopoly Regulation Service reported that it had set purchase prices for food wheat grain.…

Kyrgyz-Indonesian business forum will take place in Bishkek on September 11, Sunaryo Kartadinata, Ambassador of Indonesia to Kyrgyzstan said during his meeting with Kyrgyz Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aibek Moldogaziev, Trend reports. Kartadinata mentioned that the forum is part of the celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Kyrgyzstan and Indonesia. Representatives from both countries’ governmental bodies and businesses will participate in the event. During the meeting, the parties discussed key topics on the agenda of Kyrgyz-Indonesian cooperation. This included discussions about the prospects for further collaboration in the halal industry, patent law, and the strengthening of…