#44: Nooruz and more

Today when I was waiting in line for my propiska (Soviet-era registration), I overheard a dialogue between an ethnic Kyrgyz policeman and an ethnic Russian technician both working in Leninskiy Passport Department. The policeman, in his early 30s, complained that the technician, in late 50s, blocked the passage as he was fixing something. Then the policeman out of nowhere says "You should respect me today. It is our New Year," meaning Nooruz. The technician responds by saying "It is my holiday, too." However, the policeman makes even more laughable and unbelievably stupid statement. He says "Our new year is Nooruz. Your [meaning ethnic Russian] new year is January 1st."

Unfortunately, over 80 years of living side by side most of the ethnic Russians and ethnic Kyrgyz in Kyrgyzstan continue living in two different dimensions - culturally, politically, and socially. To this day, most Russian landlords would not rent apartments to non-Russians. Moreover, they would advertise their apartments in newspapers with a racist note "only for Europeans," meaning whites, as opposed to “innostrantsy” or foreigners. Both Russians and Kyrgyz (and Uzbeks for that matter) regularly discriminate each other based on ethnicity. Some of it based on believes of racial superiority. Each ethnic group has derogatory name for each other. Kyrgyz call Russians “jün bash,” which literally means “woolhead,” and Russians call Kyrgyz (or Central Asians in general) “churka,” a derivative of “cherniy,” which is black in Russian.

#43: Latin Kîrgîz

I came accross a proposed Kazakh alphabet in Latin, which reminds me of the necessity for the Kyrgyz language to switching back to Latin script.

The year I came back from the U.S., I had a T-shirt with names of exchange students printed on the back. My late grandfather, who was then 70, could read them because when he went to school in 30s he was taught the Kyrgyz in Latin script. I was really suprised at that moment. Kyrgyz language was initially written in Arabic script up untill 1929, when the Soviet introduced the Latin. However, in 1940 a Cyrillic script was adopted for the Kyrgyz language.

The Latin script could help the Kyrgyz language to develop independently from the Russian, by introducing Kyrgyz words to replace Russian words used frequently in Kyrgyz. However, the question whether Kyrgyzstan can afford or not such an expensive undertaking is another issue.

Jaşasîn Kîrgîz tili!!!

#42: First day at work

My first working day at a new place is over. I have great impressions so far: interesting colleagues, good assistants, understanding supervisors, and the location of my office, which is one block away from my house. Another advantage of this place is that now I can have lunch in any of the hundreds of cafes downtown. In general, I enjoyed my first day. Had important meetings and talked about organizing one event. Already received a lot info on several other events. Have to plan a trip to the regions. It is always better to start a new job with a big task, instead of taking off slowly.

Well, my new job is very much similar to my previous one. However, the difference between them is like being a small fish in a big ocean and being a big fish in a small pond.

I have to remind that the views and opinions expressed in this blog are my own and do not represent those of my family, friends, employer, or any other person.

Good luck to all.

#41: Childhood items...

Items in this picture - from pins with young Lenin's picture to ninja or Rambo stickers - are all from my childhood. In late 80s and early 90s, when perestroika was going wrong and borders are opening, Kyrgyzstan, as other former Soviet republics, were being flooded with new Western things. Those were the days!!! I wonder if I have any these things lost in some warehouse or kladovka.

#40: Jibbing in Kyrgyzstan

Definition of jibbing: A playful sub-style of freestyle snowboarding that uses all kinds of obstacles such as trees, stumps, rails, etc. Jibbing can also be synonymous with "goofing around" on a snowboard; doing small technical tricks in a playful manner.

Federation of Extreme Sports in Kyrgyzstan organized a jibbfest. I was not there, but Elena Skochilo, a good photographer was and took really great pictures from the event.

I want to go to Karakol!!!

Report #39: Snowboarding in Kyrgyzstan (Part 2)

In search of snow colleagues and I drove to Orlovka (70km east of Bishkek), but after seeing torn-to-mud slopes, we turned around and returned to Bishkek. At 1pm we decided to give it a try at Oruusay, the highest skiing place around Bishkek. Luckily after 4 hours of driving in vain we found snow. A lot of snow.

The video below is me. Come to Kyrgyzstan!!!

Report #38: Younger Me

I found a picture of myself from 1999, when i was 17. It was my first experience in elections monitoring. So far I have done at least 5 of them.

Report #37: Apocalypto

... is a great movie. I will add it to my list of favorite movies (Shawshank Redemption, American History X, etc.). Yesterday Boris&Asyla, Meder&Eleonora, Nadya, Lena, and I went to Oktyabr to see the movie. It is another Gibsonesque movie similar to The Passion of the Christ. I could say many good things about the movie, but I am still under a strong impression from the movie and I need some time to digest it. Although anthropologists have found many inaccuracies and colonial depictions of the "uncivilized" people in the movie.


Also had a training for first responders in case of a chemical attack. Here is a picture of me in a mask.

Talk...

... to your loved ones. Always!

Report #36: Steretypical Faces in Russia

I received this “fact sheet” of stereotypical faces reportedly used by the police in Russia. From my experience with and observations of the militsia in Moscow, I suspect that they really have a similar fact sheet.

Report #35: Snowboarding in Kyrgyzstan

On weekends I went snowboarding again, but this time with a camera. I took some pictures. Not much snow, but it was enough to enjoy a perfect day.

This everyone who went on the trip. It was an interesting group of skiers, snowboarder, and butt-riders.

The chairlift taking us to the top of the world.

Report #34

Starting my life from a blank page.

Report #33: Happy Holidays!!!

It is a great time - all the great holidays are celebrated at around the same time: Christmases (Western and Orthodox), Eid ul-Adha (Kurman Ait), and New Year.

Jañí jílíñízdar menen! Aytíñar maarek bolsun! (Kyrgyz should eventually switch back to Latin.)

Report #32: Earthquake in Bishkek

At around 2 am Bishkek time as I was going to bed, there was an earthquake of 5.7-point magnitude. It shook pretty strongly for about 4-5 second. Book shelves, lamps, my table with a computer were rattling. I even got up and stood in the corner of my room, as we were all tought during earthquakes.

Report #31: March of Dictators

Joke of the Day: Today (Dec 21) Joseph Stalin is organizing a Birthday party in hell. He asked Pinochet to help out with the organization and wanted Turkmenbashi to be his guest of honor. He departed first thing in the morning.

Report #30: 24th Birthday

On December 2nd I celebrated my 24th birthday. It was a good day. In the morning I went to open the snowboarding season in Bishkek. By 4 pm of non-stop snowboarding, I could not feel my legs. But, it was great. Then we had a family dinner with plof. Afterwards, I went to listen to rock in a new bar in Bishkek. Thanks for all the friends who wrote, called or personally congratulated me on my birthday.

Report #29: Borat - Cheap Advertisement for Kazakhstan

On weekends I downloaded Borat! Cultura Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Well, the move actually makes fun of Americans and their ignorance of the world. Kazakhstan and Kazakhs should not be upset at all. In fact, no country in the world likes the way it is represented abroad. It is the cheapest advertisement for Kazakhstan. In five years everyone will forget Borat, but the name "Kazakhstan" (and Azamat, Borat's friend in the movie...) will stick.

In general, the movie is worth downloading off the internet, but does not worth paying for it.

Question #1: Who is next?

First it was Anna Politkovskya. Now it is Aleksandr Litvinenko. Who is next?

Report #28: Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Yesterday Aisuluu and I went to Nazgul and David's house for a Thanksgiving Day dinner. Great turkey! Met up with many friends I had not seen in awhile.

It has been snowing for a few days in Bishkek. I also heard that several skiing places are opening coming week. Big goal for this winter is go to Karakol, at least 3 times.

Some of you know Aida Sulaimankulova. She has great pictures. Here is one of Elnura, the new movie star.

Remember Boris took some pictures in Alamedin Gorge? Pictures below.

Report #27: A trip to mountains I missed

I should have gone on this trip. Instead I slept. It was a perfect day for a hike. Meder shared pictures from the Alamedin Gorge to make me even more jealous. He succeeded.

As you can see, it was a perfect day.

This is Elya, Meder's girlfriend. Boris, in the back, is going crazy with his Nikon. I hope he shares his pictures with us.

(L-R) Asyla, Meder, Boris, Asel (Elya's sister), and Elya.

Report #26: Wasn't there an embargo?

The Guardian: Dissidents blew American 'aid' millions on luxuries for Cuba
Richard Luscombe in Miami
Thursday November 16, 2006

Cuban dissidents who were given millions of dollars by the US government to support democracy in their homeland instead blew money on computer games, cashmere sweaters, crabmeat and chocolates, which were then sent to the island.
A scathing congressional audit of democracy assistance programmes found "questionable expenditure" by several groups funded by Washington in opposition to President Fidel Castro's rule on the communist Caribbean island.

The Miami-based Acción Democrática Cubana spent money on a chainsaw, Nintendo Game Boys and Sony PlayStations, mountain bikes, leather coats and Godiva chocolates, which the group says were all sent to Cuba. "These people are going hungry. They never get any chocolate there," Juan Carlos Acosta, the group's executive director, told the Miami Herald.

He also defended the purchase of a chainsaw he said he needed to cut a tree that had blocked access to his office in a hurricane, and said the leather jackets and cashmere sweaters were bought in a sale. "They [the auditors] think it's not cold there," Mr Acosta said. "At $30 [£16] it's a bargain because cashmere is expensive. They were asking for sweaters."
The audit analysed $65m of spending by the US Agency for International Development (USAid) from 1996 to 2005 and concluded that poor management was to blame for the waste. "There were weaknesses in agency policies and in programme office oversight, and internal control deficiencies," the report states.

None of the 36 groups that received money were identified in the report, but others admitted to the Miami Herald in advance of its publication on Wednesday that they had been investigated.

Frank Hernández-Trujillo, executive director of Grupo de Apoyo a la Democracia (Group for the Support of Democracy), said his organisation received more than $7m from USAid, a programme that has been a central part of President George Bush's policy on Cuba.

"I'll defend that until I die," Mr Hernández-Trujillo said of his decision to spend part of his group's allocation on boxes of computer games. "That's part of our job, to show the people in Cuba what they could attain if they were not under that system."

Most of the items were distributed to dissidents in Cuba by US diplomats in Havana, who were sometimes unaware what was in the shipments. The US government, however, has previously accused the Cuban government of hijacking consignments sent to its mission.

Report #25: Би-2 in Bishkek

After a long week in Bishkek, I decided to go to the live concert of Bi2, a rock band from Russia. I took around 250 pictures at the concert, and this is the selection of best of them. Enjoy!

Report #24: Bishkek protests

The last 7 days were mostly the time of passions. Kyrgyzstan won. I give the opposition credit for making sure that illegal activities did not happen at night. Everybody was expecing lootings, but nothing happened. In fact, only one night closer to the end of demonstration, there was a slight panic. Stored had moved out their good, long lines in groceries, etc.

Although a new constitution was signed, there remain many other issues to be solved. I hope that progressive minds in the opposition and the government will have enough guts and will power to implement deeper reforms.

I took this picture with Kyrgyz special forces and AUCA in the background. It is a keeper - the soldier in the right giving me a finger.

The picture below (courtesy of http://morrire.livejournal.com/) shows how tents and yurts are being removed from Alatoo square.

You can also see some excellent pictures HERE.

Report #23: Another Report?

I came accross an interesting blog - KyrgyzReport. It seems to have been launched very recently. It has a lot of the latest pictures from the current events in Kyrgyzstan.

You can also see live pictures fom Bishkek's Alatoo Square here. Pictures are updated every 4 seconds. Whoever did this is a genius.

Enjoy!

Report #22: Search for Talent

The Economist (October 5, 2006) published an excellent Survey of Talent. This survey (not all the articles are available without subscription) analyzes the lack of educated people who have the talent to lead in the age of globalization. It looks at brain drain and migration, head-hunters, education, corporate management, population, economy, and many other important issues.

I believe everyone - government officials, university faculty or staff, young business leaders, or a talented young person planning to study abroad - will find something useful in the survey. Kyrgyz government needs to translate it into Kyrgyz and Russian and distribute it among government officials, especially the President.

If you do not have access to the newspaper, let me know and I will forward you the 15-page survey in a word file.