Blog
Crossroads Asia
June 08, 2023
What’s in Mongolia’s New Anti-Corruption Strategy?
By Bolor Lkhaajav
The proposed strategy aims to address a perennial issue through increased whistleblower protections, transparency measures, and international cooperation.
June 07, 2023
EU-Central Asia Leaders’ Meeting Latest to Highlight Region’s Geopolitical Centrality
By Catherine Putz
Last year, the EU’s meeting with Central Asian leaders followed their summit with Putin; this year it trailed their meeting with Xi.
June 06, 2023
Hobbled Economic Prospects in Central Asia
By Catherine Putz
Emerging economies are “struggling just to cope,” the World Bank says. The latest Global Economic Prospects report notes slight improvements but many risks.
June 06, 2023
Brooklyn Lawyers Abuse Asylum System in Advising Clients to Fraudulently Claim LGBTQ Persecution
By Catherine Putz
Taking advantage of the very real persecution of the LGBTQ community in Russia and across much of the former Soviet Union, a pair of lawyers conspired to commit immigration fraud.
June 05, 2023
Uzbekistan Supreme Court Issues Ruling on Karakalpakstan Appeals
By Catherine Putz
Tazhimuratov’s 16-year sentence was upheld while terms of others were either reduced or shifted to house arrest.
June 02, 2023
Mongolia’s Constitutional Reform Enlarges Parliament, Advances a Mixed Electoral System
By Bolor Lkhaajav
Mongolia's third round of constitutional reforms in four years added 50 seats to the State Great Khural, 38 percent of which will be chosen by proportional representation.
June 01, 2023
Kyrgyz Opposition Leader Madumarov Again Under Pressure
By Catherine Putz
For the second time in just over a year, Kyrgyzstan’s prosecutor general has sought to strip opposition politician Adakhan Madumarov’s immunity so he can be prosecuted.
June 01, 2023
Could ‘Chicky Cha-Cha Boom-Boom’ Become Kyrgyzstan’s Soft Power Motto?
By Colleen Wood
Much of what is written about soft power in Central Asia focuses on countries like Kyrgyzstan as passive recipients of Russian, Chinese, and American cultural influence. D Billions may flip the script.
June 01, 2023
Kazakhstan Keeps Discussion of Political Repression Firmly in the Past
By Catherine Putz
Kazakh President Tokayev said in tweet that it was the “duty” of all to “learn the terrible lessons of the past and do everything possible so that such events do not happen again in the future.” What about the present?
May 31, 2023
War and Migration: Central Asian Migrant Worker Flows Amid the Ukraine Conflict
By Catherine Putz
The same circumstances that do not dissuade Tajik migrants from heading to Russia drive some Russians toward Kyrgyzstan and beyond.
May 31, 2023
New Wave Authoritarianism in Kyrgyzstan
By Haley Zehrung
Sadyr Japarov represents a shift from old-school authoritarianism to new-wave methods of consolidating illiberal, autocratic power under the guise of popular support.
May 25, 2023
Anatomy of a Sausage Scandal in Kyrgyzstan
By Colleen Wood
Industrialized meat processing is inherently a messy business. In Kyrgyzstan, the politics of regulating the food supply and flows of trade can be just as messy.