“We still have no answers to millions of questions,” said Vyacheslav Abramov. “It’s important for the future of the country to understand what happened.”
Central Asia
In the summer of 1998, I traversed the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia, from the Caspian Sea to the Pamir Mountains. Every day was a new adventure evading plainclothes policemen, barefoot border guards and bumbling thieves. A decade later, I returned to cover the region’s oil-and-gas industry.
Halfway between Europe and Asia, Central Asia is the only place in the world where I look like a local, thanks to my Swiss and Korean origins. Once, a drunk in Almaty took a swing at me because I had answered him in Russian, not Kazakh. The last time I applied for a Turkmen visa, the consul asked why I had failed to indicate on the application form that I was born in Turkmenistan.
Unlocking Turkmenistan
President-for-Life Saparmurat Niyazov harangued ministers, asking them why it took a foreigner to run a successful chicken farm.
Uzbeks Try to Blunt Islam’s Rise
“The government itself is creating fundamentalism,” says Mikhail Ardzinov. “We say we need to conduct a dialogue with religious people. Now it’s become dangerous.”
Distant Germans Feel Pull of ‘Homeland’
“I don’t say that I live badly. I have my husband and sons. I live with God,” says Zina Ida Leipi. “When a person has bread, water, and peace, then he is happy.”
At World Crossroads in Central Asia, Identity Is Submerged
The reality of life makes ethnic identity secondary to the main task of getting by. The monthly wage on the cotton farm is less than $20, and many villagers look back wistfully to the days when Chairman Kim made it rich and famous.
Oil-and-Gas Rich Country Swallows Money, Still Needing More
“You have to swim somewhere,” says one girl who emerges from the murky water. “We live here, so what choice do we have? Our hair and teeth haven’t fallen out yet.”
Bringing Peace to Tajikistan’s Mountain Fiefdoms
In the mountains of Tajikistan, allegiances are based on localities and clans, many affiliated with neither the government nor the opposition.
Russia Sets Rampart Against Islam in Case It Runs Rampant
“The Russians were here before, they’re here now, and they will be here in the future. To us it makes no difference who stands there, Tajiks or Russians.”
Taliban Jars Central Asia
Moscow’s futile attack on Afghanistan was launched from this scorching border town 20 years ago. Now it’s bracing itself for an invasion in the reverse direction.
