A recent incident at a school in Uzbekistan between a teacher and a sixth-grader who asked her why she didn’t speak Russian in a Russian class has led to heated statements between Russian and Uzbek officials, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reported. The incident took place at a school in the capital, Tashkent, on September 23. A female teacher in
The Tajik Embassy in Moscow on September 10 warned citizens against traveling to Russia for the time being, citing beefed-up security measures and increased document checks by Russian border guards, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported. Last week, the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry put out a similar statement to its citizens citing the same reasons. Central Asian migrant
Kyrgyzstan’s Culture Minister Altynbek Maksutov in a televised interview on August 27 defended the participation of Russian entertainers who have openly supported Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine in celebrations of Kyrgyzstan’s upcoming Independence Day, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. There has been online opposition to the scheduled performances of Russian singers Filipp Kirkorov, Stas Mikhailov, and
The Keremet Bank in Kyrgyzstan said it suspended money transactions to several major Russian banks, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. Last week, another bank in Kyrgyzstan, MBank, made a similar move. The 24.kg website reported on August 21 that after visiting 16 banks in Bishkek, the news agency’s journalists found that in all, 13 banks have suspended monetary transactions to major Russian
A Moscow court on August 12 sentenced Usman Baratov, a leader of the Uzbek diaspora in Russia, to four years in prison on a charge of inciting hatred online, RFE/RL’s North.Realities reported. Baratov pleaded not guilty to the charge, which stemmed from a post on social media in December related to an abrupt increase of
Tajik Labor Minister Gulnora Hasanzoda said on August 6 that Russia had deported 17,000 Tajik citizens over the past six months, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported. According to Hasanzoda, the deportations have been mostly linked to violations of Russian law. Last month, Tajik officials said some 3,400 Tajik migrant workers had been returned to Tajikistan from
Authorities in Russia have once again proposed sending immigrants who have received Russian citizenship to fight in Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry has increased the size of payments for those who sign contracts to join Russian troops fighting in Ukraine. An article published by Radio Azattyk (RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service) reveals how Russia lures Central Asians
Russian human rights defender Valentina Chupik says new legislation on migration adopted by Russia’s State Duma this week will dramatically restrict the rights of labor migrants, Current Time reported. Thousands of men and women from Central Asia regularly come to Russia as migrant workers and provide a financial lifeline to those back home. Speaking to
Some 3,400 Tajik migrant workers have not been allowed to enter Russia and turned back to Tajikistan from Russian airports over the last six months, the director of the Tajik Civil Aviation Agency, Habibullo Nazarzoda, told reporters on July 24, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported. According to Nazarzoda, Tajik citizens were not allowed to enter Russia
The Central Securities Depository (CSD) of Kazakhstan said on July 11 that it had ordered brokers and management companies to divest Russian securities from their holdings by August 1, Current Time reported. The CSD’s press service said the move was necessary to adhere to U.S. sanctions imposed on the Moscow Stock Exchange (MSE) and its structures. In
A court in Uzbekistan has convicted a 26-year-old man for being a mercenary after he returned to the Central Asian nation following a six-month stint in the ranks of the Wagner group where he was recruited from a Russian prison, RFE/RL’s Russian Service reported. The website Migrant.uz published the July 9 ruling by the Ohangaron City Court,
During a visit to the Russian Federation on July 8, Laziz Kudratov, Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan, participated in the first meeting of the Working Group on increasing trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Russia. Kudratov emphasized the exemplary nature of the development of Uzbek-Russian relations, achieved thanks to the firm political will
During a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan on July 4, the leaders of the SCO member states accepted Belarus as a new member of the Eurasian political and security bloc founded by China and Russia in 2001. With the addition of Belarus, the SCO membership has now expanded from originally
The chief of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Aleksandr Bastrykin, said on June 27 that about 10,000 migrant workers with Russian passports have been sent to the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, RFE/RL’s Russian Service reported. Bastrykin called the move “a good feature that led to the situation when migrants started slowly leaving Russia.” Bastrykin added that his
The Osh regional court in southern Kyrgyzstan told RFE/RL on June 24 that a lower court had sentenced a local man, whose identity was not disclosed, to five years in prison two weeks earlier for joining Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. In January, a Bishkek court handed a suspended seven-year prison
Long-term contracts for Russian natural gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan have been signed between Gazprom Export and Gazprom Kyrgyzstan. Long-term contracts for gas supplies have also been concluded between Gazprom Kyrgyzstan and two large gas consumers in Kyrgyzstan — Electric Stations and the Bishkekteploenergo municipal heating enterprise. Gazprom Kyrgyzstan is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Russian gas giant Gazprom
Systema, RFE/RL’s Russian investigative unit, said on June 4 that it had discovered the name and details of a person who it believes is Yelizaveta Peskova, the daughter of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in the national taxpayer registry of Kazakhstan. Systema said it found personal data in online sources that aligns with Peskova, adding she most likely
On May 27, Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom and the Uzbek government signed an agreement on the construction of a small nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan. The agreement was signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Uzbekistan. The project involves the construction of a small nuclear power plant in the Jizzakh region of
Russia and Uzbekistan have signed an agreement to build a small nuclear power plant in the Central Asian country. The agreement was one of several deals signed on May 27 in Tashkent between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Uzbek counterpart, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, RFE/RL’s Russian Service reported. The Uzbek leader hailed the project as “vital” in a
Major companies from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan have shown interest in investing in Afghanistan’s oil and gas mines, Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews reported citing the country’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum. Homayoon Afghan, spokesperson for the ministry, says they welcome foreign companies to invest in Afghanistan’s oil and gas mines. According to Mr. Afghan, recently two large
