Via the Central Eurasian Studies Society mailing list:
Have you written a research paper on the country of Turkmenistan?

Friends of Turkmenistan, an affiliate of the National Peace Corps Association, is seeking academic papers relevant to Turkmenistan, the Turkmen people and/or the former Soviet Republics of Central Asia for its first annual student paper […]

The Western mainstream media are not exactly known for their comprehensive, well-informed and balanced reporting of events in many parts of the world, and, unsurprisingly, stories from Turkmenistan are no exception; there’s got to be something a little exotic, dare I say even bizarre, for a story to warrant interest (supplying humanitarian aid is […]

Hot on the heels of Turkmenistan’s self-proclaimed international reputation make-over comes news that Turkmenistan is sending humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
According to the Journal of Turkish Weekly,
The friendship caravan, put together by the government and people of Turkmenistan, is carrying 1000 tons of wheat flour, 500 tons of diesel oil and 9000 tons of clothing […]

Former Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov was not known for his love of external foreign influences, and his reign saw the republic isolated not only politically but also increasingly culturally, as Turkmenbashi sought to distill the essence of Turkmen-ness.
As part of this process, in April 2001 Niyazov banned foreign opera and ballet. He justified his […]

Editor’s note: This is a translation of Abdulgamid’s post, which is part of the neweurasia cross-blog survey about humour in Central Asia. In keeping with the subject, the article contains words and phrases that some people may find crude and/or offensive.
Epigraph
“There’s already a sense of wonder in the growing itchiness…”
Sasha Blo in Generation P, […]