Interviews

Irina Osipova 02.05.23

In the last five years, social media of Kazakhstan were filled with dozens, hundreds of scary stories about rapes in public places, atrocities committed by domestic tyrants, paedophiles who hurt children both physically and morally. The social disapproval policy has led to the increase of violence in the country. But statistics show otherwise. In 2022, compared to 2018, the number of sexualised crimes in the country reduced two times – from 1.9 thousand to 980 criminal cases. (more…)

Navruz Karimov 28.04.23

Central Asia became more attractive for Beijing since the Russian invasion of Ukraine made the northern trade routes unavailable to use for China. Growing vacuum of influence in the region is going to be filled by China, believes Brian Carlson, the head of the Global Security Team at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) think tank. (more…)

Natalia Lee 17.04.23

Akylai, voice assistant speaking Kyrgyz, is to be introduced in Kyrgyzstan. A team of Kyrgyzstanis from across the world is working over this project and they promise to provide a pilot working model in a year. Co-founders of The Cramer Project Timur Turatali and Ulan Abdurazakov said to CABAR.asia how it will work and why the voice assistant should be taught the Kyrgyz language. (more…)

Amid strengthened discourses about the processes of political decolonisation, the term “decolonial feminism” can be heard more often. However, feminism per se in Central Asia is still the subject of bitter debates: on the one hand, it is considered as the liberation of women from patriarchate,  on the other hand, it is criticised over intervention into the national culture and traditional values. (more…)

Ulyana Fatyanova 30.03.23

Bagatoz Temirbayeva is known as pastor Batagoz to her parish. She has worked as pastor with the Evangelical  Christian Centre “Presviterianstvo” (Presbyterianism) or simply put, the Presbyterian church in Kokshetau, for 15 years already. How the daughter of the Soviet faith fighter has become the preacher, how female pastors are treated, and the difference between men’s and women’s sermons are described in the material by CABAR.asia. (more…)

Marinin Sergey 27.03.23

CABAR.asia talked with the esteemed UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Ms Mary Lawlor, to explore potential avenues for safeguarding and upholding human rights in Central Asia. The rapporteur emphasized her people-centred approach, focusing on the most vulnerable defenders. The rapporteur encouraged anyone with reliable information about human rights defenders’ rights violations to contact her office. We discussed the importance of UN mechanisms in protecting human rights and holding governments accountable, despite the challenges of “democratic backsliding” in some countries of the Central Asian region.

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Zlata Teter 22.03.23

Have you ever thought what would towns of Central Asia look like if the Soviet Union did not affect the culture of peoples living here? Is it possible that towns would be more comfortable and scenic than they are today? (more…)

How do US-Chinese contradictions affect the geopolitical picture of Central Asia? Are there any concerns in the US about the growing role of China in the regional security of Central Asian countries? How do the US experts assess China’s soft power? These and other questions were discussed with Johns Hopkins University Sinologist and Professor Andrew Murtha, exclusively for CABAR.asia. (more…)

In Kyrgyzstan, decolonisation has gone beyond the academic and scientific sphere to the public: the issue is being discussed both on online and offline platforms, influencers set the new tone in the language issue, while creative people show in intuitive language the narratives of full sovereignty.

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Larisa Chen 01.03.23

A shocking forecast made for Kazakhstan back in 2018 has come true: the country has entered the phase of man-made disasters because of the wear of public utilities. CABAR.asia together with the honoured power engineer of the Republic of Kazakhstan and author of the Telegram channel “Haırýshev energy”, Zhakyp Hairushev,  are figuring out why disasters have become possible and how the country should recover from the crisis. (more…)