Tag Archives: society

Editorial: Tajik place names

FEB. 5 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – National identity for the countries of Central Asia is still a major issue, far more so than for their neighbours in the South Caucasus.

When independence was thrust on the five Central Asian states in 1991, the leaders of these newly created countries had to build a sense of nation- hood from scratch.

And so they turned to their history books. They dug up some famous names from the past and wrote them up as national heroes and icons.

For Tajikistan, the most significant national hero was Ismail Somoni, the founder of the Samanid dynasty. Tajik officials have pinned their national story, the narrative that they use to give people a sense of nationhood, around the Samanid dynasty. A statue of Somoni dominates central Dushanbe and the national airline and currency are all named after him, as are a host of other institutions and buildings.

Branding is important, even for a country, and Pres. Emomali Rakhmon is probably right to pursue it. He has to make sure, though, that branding doesn’t distract from governing.

ENDS

(Editorial from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Food prices inflate in Kazakhstan

FEB. 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Annualised food price inflation in Kazakhstan measured 11.6% for the 12-months to the end of January, the country’s statistics service said. The data highlights just how fast prices have risen in Kazakhstan. It devalued its currency last year, forcing up prices and salaries.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Armenia’s population sinks below 3 million

JAN. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Emigration from Armenia shrunk its population below 3m for the first time since the 1970s, a psychologically-important threshold and a statistic that highlights a population outflow trend across Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

Armenia’s statistics agency said that the population fell in 2015 by 12,000 people to 2,998,600 people — the lowest level since 1977.

It’s also more evidence of a trend which has seen Armenia’s population shrink by 36,000 in the past five years and by 643,000 since 1991 when it became independent from the Soviet Union.

Armenia has large diaspora populations in France, Russia, the United States and across the Middle East. Most of the outflow is driven by people looking to join relatives in these countries and boost their job prospects.

One of the biggest problems for Armenian policymakers is that most of the people leaving Armenia are young and well-educated. This puts pressure on Armenia’s system with its aging population.

In 2013, the government ordered the State Statistics Committee to investigate the causes and results of this declining population.

There has been some inflow into Armenia over the past few years with ethnic Armenians who had previously lived in Aleppo, Syria, fleeing a civil war.

The Armenian government has accepted around 16,000 refugees from Syria.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Soldier pleads guilty in Armenia

JAN. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Valery Permyakov, a Russian conscript soldier, pleaded guilty to assaulting and killing a family of seven in the Armenian town of Gyumri last year. The murders triggered anti-Russia protests outside Russia’s military base, its biggest in the South Caucasus, and threatened to damage bilateral relations.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Azerbaijan’s Central Bank to compensate savers

JAN. 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s Central Bank said it would compensate customers of banks who lost savings in banks which have been stripped of their licences over the past couple of weeks. Legally, the Central Bank is only obliged to compensate up to 30,000 manat ($18,400). Around 6,600 customers will be eligible for the refund.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Swine flu deaths rise in Armenia

JAN. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s health ministry said that 18 people had died in the past two months from the H1N1 strain of swine flu, media reported, up from an earlier death toll of 10. The health ministry denied that the deaths had reached epidemic proportions but neighbouring countries have also started to report deaths linked to swine flu.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Georgian Opera House prepares for new season after $40m renovation

JAN. 29 2016, TBILISI (The Conway Bulletin) — It’s been one of the longest and most expensive renovation projects in Georgia’s history but now the 165-year-old Zacharia Paliashvili Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre, originally called the Tiflis Imperial Theatre, is finally set to reopen its doors.

The curtains will be opened tomorrow night on the theatre’s six year, $40m renovation, a project paid for by former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Cartu Fund.

The first night will be reserved for invited guests only but members of the public can buy tickets for subsequent nights to see for themselves what has been promised has been a lavish renovation of one of the world’s most famous Russian Empire-era opera houses.

A grand and imposing building with a touch of Moorish swagger, the opera house dominates the central avenue running through Tbilisi. It was designed in the mid-19th century by Viktor Schröter, a German architect who lived in St Petersburg.

The main performance at the reopening of the theatre is a rendition of Georgian composer Zacharia Paliashvili’s symphony orchestra.

Standing in line to buy a ticket was, 70-year-old Lia Machitadze.

She wore a fur coat to ward off the January chill, large sunglasses and bright red lipstick. “I couldn’t wait for my aunt to take me to the opera when I was a little girl,”she said as she fluffed her hair up a little. “And now I can’t wait to experience its magical atmosphere again.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Returning Tajik migrants pressure social systems

JAN. 29 2016, DUSHANBE (The Conway Bulletin) — A recession in Russia and the collapse of the rouble has slowed remittances to Tajikistan and forced thousands of migrant workers back home, pressuring jobs, resources and social infrastructure.

Last week, Russia’s migrant service said that there were only 863,000 Tajik workers in Russia, down by a third from last year.

Tajikistan, with its poor, agricultural economy, cannot absorb the increasing number of returning migrants.

Toshboltaev Bozorboy, a 50-year- old man, was one of the returnees. He arrived back in December and said

that he’s been unable to find a job since he flew back to Tajikistan.

“I used to work in construction sites in Moscow earning 20,000 roubles a month ($263) but there is still no other option for me except to leave for Russia,” he said.

The economic downturn started in mid-2014 when oil prices started to fall and Western-imposed sanctions on Russia started to bite. Remittances from workers abroad make up around half of Tajikistan’s GDP and the economic slowdown has had a huge impact. Most Tajiks who lost their jobs in Russia said they were unable to find new jobs in Tajikistan.

Firuz Iskandarov, 23, quit Russia in August 2014. He has been out of work since then.

“Since coming back from Russia, I have done some farming and selling fruits. But that is a seasonal work. I don’t know what we are going to do,” he said, his voice choking with emotion.

For the authorities, returning migrants are a serious issue. A migration expert in Dushanbe said: “For most it will be difficult to find a decent job, and they will not be able to provide for their families. And this can lead to an increase in domestic violence, suicide, and a deterioration in criminal situations in the country.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Investor buys buses in Kazakh city

JAN. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Green Bus Company, a private transport company from Shymkent, has bought a 70% stake in Almatyelectrotrans, the company in charge of public transit in Almaty. Baurzhan Baibek, mayor of Almaty, said the new investor has pledged to buy 200 new buses. Almaty City will retain a 30% share in Almatyelectrotrans. Almaty’s transport network has been mired in controversy after a crash last year injured several people. Dozens of bus drivers have also protested over a new ticketing system.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Kazakhstan’s EXPO-2017 cuts budget

JAN. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) -The organisers of Kazakhstan’s flagship EXPO-2017 event have cut its budget by 53b tenge ($140m) to keep pace with demands from the government to slash spending during this period of low oil revenue. Previously, nothing had seemingly been too expensive or too extravagant for EXPO-2017.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)