A new glitzy Russian propaganda channel called Nomad TV just launched in Kyrgyzstan. They’ve set up a studio right in Ala-Too square, blocking the view of Chingiz Aitmatov’s statue. The symbolism couldn’t be more in your face youtu.be/T9LR3nHTfL4?...

Thoroughly enjoyed Nurpeisov’s epic trilogy “Blood and Sweat” about Russian colonialism and the Bolshevik revolution in the Kazakh steppes While trying to conform the party lines in terms of the Reds (good), Whites (bad) narrative, I think he got away with a lot more nuance than I expected

A little under a year ago, I was excited to return to Kyrgyzstan to finish my PhD research after receiving a grant from American Councils only to see the Trump admin unilaterally axe the entire Title VIII Research Scholar Program that was going to fund my work. Their website looks like this now 👇

Back in 2023, I bought a USB stick full of Kyrgyz songs from an mp3 vendor (they're a dying breed, but still there for now) close to Osh Bazaar in Bishkek. When I get pangs of nostalgia (like today), I re-listen to my favorite songs and feel like I'm back in a country I called home for two years

I knew that Romania had a large Palestinian diaspora, but was not aware of it taking an active role in evacuating sick and wounded children from Gaza www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnbt...

Since this wound up being a popular thread, sharing an excellent backgrounder on the elections in Kyrgyzstan from @aijanco.bsky.social in The Diplomat: thediplomat.com/2025/11/is-p...

Arrests of Kyrgyz opposition politicians all over the country today ahead of the snap parliamentary elections that President Japarov has assured will be “peaceful and quiet. The current regime is not taking any chances and putting even its mildest opponents behind bars

Part and parcel imo of how social media discourse in large part thanks to context collapse is highly reductive & has no space for nuance. So the general fluidity of culture & normal spaces of influence/borrowing all gets collapsed into an umbrella of 'appropriation' & thus into theft.

Parce qu’on ne le répétera jamais assez, cette fois c’est le ministère des affaires étrangers de Suède qui le dit. L’UE a dépensé 311 milliards d’euros pour des hydrocarbures russes depuis 2022 et soutenu l’Ukraine à hauteur de 187 milliards. Soit 124 milliard de moins.

first-ever claim against a country for wartime emissions www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

just so grim

Daria Krivonos' new book "Race and Labour among Russian Migrants: Reclaiming Whiteness in Europe" seems super interesting and dovetails nicely with my own research on Russian migrants in Kyrgyzstan. Looking forward to reading it bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/race-and-lab...

exactly

Bakr, one of Kyrgyzstan’s most popular rappers, was just banned entry to Russia where he was about to go on tour. He’s a huge star in Kyrgyzstan and beloved by the Kyrgyz diaspora in Russia. No explanation was provided, but his tour is postponed. Most of his tracks are in Kyrgyz, not very political

Former Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev comes out with a scathing public statement against the current authoritarian regime under Sadyr Japarov. Lots of people will roll their eyes because Atambayev contributed to the undermining of democratic institutions kaktus.media/doc/535418_a...

The public uproar against the proposed nightlife curfew was so overwhelming that now all government officials are pretending their draconian raids never happened. According to Bishkek’s deputy mayor, not a single establishment was forced to shut down. Opening hours are back to normal

Super stressed out watching the Ukraine-Iceland World Cup qualifying match on Ukrainian television—and what a relief to see the boys in yellow go through to the playoffs with two late goals.

My contribution to the “it’s not really fascism if there are protests” is that there are *always* protests, in every society, even the most totalitarian. So if your definition of fascism (or totalitarianism) doesn’t admit that possibility, you need to rethink the criteria.

let’s go 🇺🇦🤞

I've had a lot of conversations with journalists in recent months who feel stuck for a variety of reasons. Mostly, it is because the media ecosystem has largely been hollowed out. There are some exciting new initiatives, outlets, etc. but stable jobs are harder to come by & conditions are worse

A lot of the mutual aid and very local “communal” initiatives are incredibly toxic. My idea of community is walkable neighborhoods with friendly small businesses, cordial relations with neighbors and a welfare system that provides quality services. That’s community in my book.

I’ve seen hegemonic suicide before but in that one gorbachev was never accused of fellating brezhnev

We came to LA as refugees from the USSR in 1991. Life wasn’t easy, but we persevered and, I dare say, came to contribute something of worth to this nation. Had I experienced the following when I was a boy, I don’t know what would have become of me. www.latimes.com/california/s...

Restaurant in Bishkek are finding creative ways to get around the new curfew. “We’re just a Halal restaurant where patrons only eat”—an attempt to distance themselves from the rowdy and “sinful” night clubs and bars of the capital

As always, the ongoing curfew crisis in Kyrgyzstan is generating some stellar memes

President Japarov just came out with a public statement condemning the harsh crackdown on restaurants and cafes. Says officials have been to “ardent” in their efforts. Only night clubs and wedding halls should be closed. Part of the ruling tandem’s good cop/bad cop routine

Friends in Bishkek are pissed. “How long do I put up with this idiocy” one of many messages I’ve received since yesterday Yet the potential for public protest remains low in my opinion. The crackdown on any expression of dissent has been so severe that people are legitimately scared to speak out

Bishkek and Osh are now effectively under a nighttime curfew in an effort to save electricity amidst an energy crisis. An Instagram influencer got detained and questioned by Kyrgyz security services for publicly criticizing the draconian measures. Dark times ahead, both figuratively and literally

“Housing shortage – Jews to blame," letter sticker, German Reich, 1938 zwangsraeume.berlin/en/context

My Instagram feed is just videos of my friends getting kicked out of bars, restaurants and cafés around Bishkek. City officials and police are roaming the city and shutting down businesses as we speak (it is 11PM in Bishkek right now).

Within a few hours of this announcement by Tashiev, Bishkek city hall bans restaurants, wedding halls and cafés (no words on bars and clubs tbd) from welcoming customers after 22:00. Bishkek has some amazing 24-hour food spots, frequented by cab drivers and night workers, that will lose business

With the passing of new anti-LGBTQ propaganda law in Kazakhstan (I think it’s a done deal and will be signed off on by the senate and President), we’re in a strange situation where Tajikistan has the least homophobic legislation in Central Asia.

Hard to keep up with the absurd news coming out of Kyrgyzstan. Tashiev, the head of national security, just unilaterally banned cafes and restaurants from being open past 10pm. Anyone who doesn’t respect these quiet hours will have their electricity cut off kaktus.media/doc/535201_p...

It looks like Aqylbek Muratbai, the Karakalpak activist who fled to Kazakhstan from Uzbekistan for his own safety, has been granted asylum in a third country. He was facing the very real prospect of extradition to Uzbekistan. x.com/muratbaiman/...

Germany desperately lacks a positive narrative of diversity despite the fact that it already has a multiethnic labor force that is either ignored or disenfranchised. Amid all the doom and gloom, there’s something to tap into if only political parties weren’t busy outflanking each other on the right

"If its agents are able to operate [Russia] reaps the rewards from intelligence material & from work to destroy European targets...if its agents are caught, the exile community & some Western European politicians begin to view the presence of Russian exiles in their countries as a potential threat."

how did i go so long not knowing we were literally teaching people to read wrong. i knew something wasn't right but jesus christ www.apmreports.org/episode/2019...

The various estimates of how much damage and destruction the Gaza war has wrought on the Strip all point to widespread destruction at a high rate. One of the most conservative estimates I could find (from Oregon State U) was that 60.2% of buildings had been damaged or destroyed by 2nd October /1

Getting to the endgame: - Turkey's opposition presidential candidate faces 2,352 years behind bars - Head prosecutor of Istanbul province applies for the closure of the main opposition party

For any followers in NYC: Zere, one of Kyrgyzstan’s most talented musicians, will be performing at Ibeam Brooklyn on November 19 at 09:30pm Don’t miss out on a chance to see her live! www.instagram.com/p/DQ8ztCvCFt...

The indictment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is a textbook example of how hybrid regimes operate: elections continue, but the field is tilted beyond recognition. It’s a sobering signal for Turkey — and for other democracies, including the US - that is under threat. apnews.com/article/turk...

As suspected, there was clear cooperation with Iranian officials in the deportation, and a number of people persecuted on ethnic and political bases.

İmamoğlu indictment does not disappoint, the first paragraph describes his alleged criminal organization as having “the arms of an octopus”

When @skhashimov.bsky.social pitched this story, I jumped at the chance to commission it for The Beet. Ivan Bragin’s fascinating life as the lone resident of Tajikistan’s Siyoma Valley offers us a window into the local consequences of a global issue. Read it now! meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Nuremburg trials is the moderate position

The elimination of USAID was an unforgivable moral atrocity that should haunt Trump, Elon Musk and Marco Rubio for the rest of their days and beyond

This is indeed harrowing: brave testimony. (Content warning: traumatic violence.)

Germany, your leader is an extremist. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

Almost a minor footnote in the grand scheme of things, but Kyrgyzstan is set to pass new legislation to grant security services access to telecom operators & block communication in cases of “emergency” The “revolution-proofing” of Kyrgyzstan continues kg.akipress.org/news:2357741...

I have no idea how I am meant to take this book (Varoufakis, _Technofeudalism_) seriously. This isn’t even the most egregious of its inanities but it makes for a sufficiently emblematic example.