Bruce Pannier is a Central Asia analyst and appears regularly on the Majlis podcast for RFE/RL.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov (file photo) (AFP) February 1, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Two Uzbek human rights activists are facing legal difficulties: rights activist and independent journalist Umida Niyazova is in detention for illegally entering Uzbekistan and possessing literature from a banned Islamic group, and the wife of Uzbek rights activist Jahongir Shosalimov was detained by police after an article by Shosalimov criticizing Uzbekistan's Constitutional Court was published.
Reaction among the public and the political elite to newly confirmed Prime Minister Azim Isabekov has been cautiously optimistic.
January 22 should have been a big day in Uzbekistan. It's the day that President Islam Karimov's term expired.
A country that has never had a competitive presidential election is getting a taste of something completely new as six candidates hit the campaign trail.
Although the country's new constitution trims presidential powers, many believe President Kurmanbek Bakiev is not ready to give in.
The May 2005 violence in Andijon created hundreds, possibly thousands, of refugees. Where are they now?
December 22, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The change in leadership that will follow the death of President Saparmurat Niyazov offers Turkmenistan many opportunities, but also brings with it many dangers -- including struggles for succession, potential foreign-policy shifts, and whether the new leadership will be accepted by the public.
The Otan party has dominated the political scene since it was founded in early 1999, and as it absorbs other pro-presidential parties, this seem unlikely to change.
December 21, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov's death today leaves many questions about his country's future.
The death of Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov ends an era and begins a period of great uncertainty in Turkmenistan.
Geography and economics are increasingly pulling Astana and Beijing closer together.
December 19, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The government of Prime Minister Feliks Kulov has resigned.
Kazakhstan remembers a bloody crackdown on protesters in the early days of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika reforms.
The government is accused of trying to dilute the influence of ethnic Uzbeks by resettling ethnic Tajiks in the west of the country.
The Kazakh president finds a few choice ways to say his country does not want lectures and advice from the West.
November 3, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Thousands of protesters in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, are vowing to continue a rally today to demand the resignation of President Kurmanbek Bakiev.
A major opposition-led demonstration in the capital includes a vow to stay as long as it takes.
PRAGUE, October 26, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- With Tajikistan's presidential elections less than two weeks away, none of the five candidates -- aside from incumbent Imomali Rakhmonov -- is well known to the public. So all four, accompanied by a presidential representative, have hit the campaign trail in unconventional fashion: together.
(RFE/RL) PRAGUE, October 25, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The government of Turkmenistan has for years practiced a domestic policy that can only be described as "Turkmenization." Most non-ethnic Turkmen officials have been purged, and authorities have gone further in insisting, unofficially, that residents speak Turkmen and dress in what is regarded as a Turkmen fashion.
On the sidelines of one of Europe's largest human rights conferences, observers noted the Niyazov regime retains some of the worst traits of the Soviet Union.
Load more
