While the Central Asian governments either walk the diplomatic tightrope trying to stay neutral towards Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or retreat from public comment on the matter altogether, the effects of the conflict are having a severe impact on Central Asia’s people.
Whether it is the decreasing value of national currencies and the accompanying rapid increase in prices for goods, or the realization that several million migrant laborers from Central Asia working in Russia will be sending less money back home this year, or one of at least a dozen other problems caused by hard-hitting sanctions on Moscow, the people of Central Asia are already feeling the spillover effects of their countries’ close bonds with Russia.
On this week's Majlis podcast, RFE/RL media-relations manager Muhammad Tahir moderates a discussion on how Russian aggression in Ukraine is impacting everyday life in Central Asia.
This week’s guests are: from Kyrgyzstan, Asel Doolotkeldieva, a senior lecturer at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek; originally from Kazakhstan but currently in Cyprus, Assel Tutumlu, a lecturer at the Department of International Relations and Political Science at the Near East University in Nicosia; from Prague, Hamid Ismailov, the regional director of RFE/RL’s Central Asian services; and Central Asia analyst Bruce Pannier.
Listen to the podcast above or subscribe to the Majlis on iTunes or on Google Podcasts.
