OCA MAGAZINE #20 Autumn 2015

society culture travel business

RRP: £ 4.95 €5.95

ISSN 2053-1036

oca fall 2015

Fulfilling Kazakhstan’s Expo 2017 Promise Astronauts Return as Heroes from Orbital Watch Savitsky: An Improbable Museum “Open Eurasia and Central Asia Book forum and Literature festival - 2015” Announced First Central Asian Arts Festival Azerbaijan * Kazakhstan * Kyrgyzstan * Tajikistan * Turkmenistan * Uzbekistan

www.ocamagazine.com

2

www.ocamagazine.com

‘With the story of economic migration featuring almost relentlessly, it can be difficult to bring a fresh and engaging voice to the subject, yet Davlat Tolibshohi achieves this in Cranes in Spring.

It is as though he is telling the immigrant’s story for the first time, and his narrative hooks the reader throughout. The sincerity of the author and his protagonists shines through.’

ISBN 978-1-910886-06-9

9 781910 886069

— Paul Wilson is a long-time writer on the Silk Road and author of The Alphabet Game.

RRP: £14.50

Available on Amazon Now!

contents Fall 2015 (#20) 4 editions per year Cover image: Brigade to the fields, Alexander VOLKOV (1886-1957) Masterpiece of the Savitsky Collection, Nukus Museum of Art

Editorial Office Silk Road Media Suite 125 43 Bedford Street Covent Garden London WC2E 9HA Publisher - Marat Akhmedjanov Editor in Chief - Nick Rowan Design - Aleksandra Vlasova Advertising Sales-CA - Anastasia Noskova, Shamil Akhmedjanov Circulation & Subscription - Giljamal Pirenova Admin. & Subscription-UK - Anna Suslova Email: publisher@ocamagazine.com www.centralasia.travel www.ocamagazine.com

4

8 9 10

12 14 18 20 22 26 30 34 38 40

Contact Information United Kingdom Silk Road Media Suite 125 43 Bedford Street Covent Garden London WC2E 9HA

42

Uzbekistan 100100, Tashkent, P.O. Box 3999 (+998 90) 930 87 04,

52 54 56 58 59 60 62 66 68

Kyrgyzstan Bishkek, Suite 343/2. 40, Manas str. (+996) 312 474 175, (+996) 555 20 68 45,

44 46 48

Fulfilling Kazakhstan’s Expo 2017 Promise Interview with the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Rapil Zhoshybayev Astronauts Return as Heroes from Orbital Watch Astana Hosts 2015 Charity Marathon What’s Behind the Berkeley Group’s Property Success?

An Interview with Berkeley Group’s Russia and CIS sales director, Stuart Leslie Astana Hosts the Fifth Summitof the Turkic Council Time to Try Again: Is a second attempt at closer Central Asian possible? Interview with Dr. Farkhod Tolipov Removing the Roadblocks to Safety Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport in Central Asia Water For Life: Outcomes of the International Water Conference held in Tajikistan An Improbable Museum Olympic Memories: Kazakhstan’s London Olympic Volunteers A Sound Outlook on Life As long as there is democracy, there will be people wanting to play Jazz 180 year anniversary Chokan Valikhanov Great Adventures From The Great Game The Beauty of the Bukhara Deer Dates for the Fourth International “Open Eurasia and Central Asia Book forum and Literature festival - 2015” (OECABF-2015) are Announced Around the World in A to Z. Interview with travel writer Paul Wilson Adventures of Khorezm Puppets in Edinburgh Mangilik Festival Takes Kazakhs Back to their Roots Bringing Central Asia’s Latest Authors Into View First Edition of the Literary Almanac “Tvorcheskoe Sorujestvo” (“Creative Collaboration”) Published TheTaste of Central Asia: Iskender Kebab 4th Sabantui Held in London Afghan Cultural Festival Invades London Book review: “Cold War II” Book review: The wormwood wind First Central Asian Arts Festival Finds Plenty of Followers Latest events from The European Azerbaijan Society Events In Memoriam Kazat Akmatov

Disclaimer : The information contained in this publication is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by Open Central Asia and while we endeavour to ensure the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability or suitability of the information, products, services, or related graphics represented for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

All authors provide their own material and any opinions contained within are solely those of the authors and do not neccessarily represent the views or opinions of Open Central Asia. We publish these views as part of our provision of a forum for discussion and readers should be aware that the views may contrast each other in the pursuit of this aim. In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of material contained within this publication.

Special gratitude for cooperation and support to Embassy of Azerbaijan to the UK. Embassy of Kazakhstan to the UK. Embassy of Tajikistan to the UK. Embassy of Kyrgyzstan to the UK.

Open Central Asia is outraged and deeply concerned by this news and the accompanying lack of credible evidence that has been brought forwards in this case. We are fortunate to have the freedom in the UK to openly condemn these actions and demand a full explanation from the Uzbek authorities. Regrettably, we suspect that it is unlikely a response will be forthcoming and fear that the collection, which also includes the largest body of Russian avant garde paintings outside Saint Petersburg, could be stolen, sold secretly and lost for ever.

a warm welcome My opening editorial piece took a drastic change of direction when, as we were preparing the final articles to go to press, news emerged that the Uzbek Ministry of Sport and Culture had forced Marinika Babanazarova to resign from her post as curator of the Savitsky Museum collection without explanation. Claims emerged that she had stolen works from the collection and replaced them with fakes, although Babanazarova and her staff have denied the accusations and have risked further governmental wrath by challenging the authorities in an open letter.

Perhaps Babanazarova’s success in promoting the collection and pursuing independent policies has raised her profile to a level that meant the authorities considered her position as threatening. It is true that a greater number of foreign visitors have been making the trip to the remote region to see the collection, but is difficult to see how this has really had anything to do with the growing separatist movement in the region or with any subversive or suspicious tactics against the authorities. Babanazarova is the daughter of the first president of Karakalpakstan, and her dedication over so many years suggests to us that she has only had the best for the collection at heart.

This magazine has interviewed her and published reviews of her books and the museum and wholeheartedly appeals to the Uzbek authorities to explain their actions fully and, if no evidence is presented, to apologise, re-instate Babanazarova and redouble their efforts to safeguard and promote this wonderful collection of works in Nukus.

Known in international art circles as the “Louvre of the Steppes”, the Karakalpakstan State Museum of Art houses the unique collection of Igor Savitsky, who rescued over 90,000 works of art that were threatened with destruction by Soviet censors. Squirreled away in the remote capital of Uzbekistan’s Karakalpakstan region, Nukus, for years they attracted little attention.

Before Savitsky’s death in 1984 he entrusted the collection to Babanazarova, and she has both guarded and publicized the bequest to the people of Karakalpakstan ever since.

www.ocamagazine.com

Enjoy the issue.

Yours, Nick Rowan Editor-in-Chief

3

interview

Fulfilling Kazakhstan’s Expo 2017 Promise Interview with the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Rapil Zhoshybayev

Although for many the thought of the year 2017 is far away in the distance, for Kazakhstan the hosting of Expo 2017 heralds its first major global event that will be held on its territory as a showcase for more than just politicians or businesses. The Expo marks a turning point in Kazakhstan’s nascent history as a state and with the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rapil Zhoshybayev, visiting London to promote the event, OCA caught up with him on progress.

OCA: How are preparations for Expo 2017 going?

R.Z.: So far so good. Presentations have been held in Austria, Germany and London. I just came back from Spain where about 60 leading companies showed the interest and we made presentations for them.

There is a large interest in our country. We are gradually getting everything in place to host this exhibition.

OCA: How do you assess the level of interest in this event?

R.Z.: The response is very positive. At the moment we have more extensive work to do; we are engaging business partners and tourism organisations. We are presenting our country to the world. In particular, our scientific and technological centre “Parasat”, is looking for their partners and planning to hold a major international conference on the subject of “Energy for the future and the usage of alternative energy sources” in 2016. The scientists who work in this direction will be able to find their partners. They also will go to Cambridge, to Silicon Valley in California, to Singapore, and other places where scientists are working on the real energy of the future. Under the banner of energy of the future, I mean alternative sources of energy - a source of water, earth, wind, all those sources that can replace our traditional ones.

4

www.ocamagazine.com

www.ocamagazine.com

5

OCA: You are heavily involved in the promotion of Expo 2017. Many have criticised these exhibitions as being too expensive for the return they provide.

How and why do you think Kazakhstan’s hosting of the event will be different and really provide a lasting legacy for the country?

R.Z.: If you look at the development of our country since independence, you will see how progressive it was in terms of international initiatives. At the presentation in London, it was shown how much the republic is ready to host such kind of events, including major sporting events, the OSCE Summit, Astana Economic Forum, the Asian Games; we even competed for holding the Olympic Games. It shows the growth of the Republic.

We expect 85% of visitors from Kazakhstan, the remaining 15% will be not only from neighboring countries but we expect strong interest from the Chinese People’s Republic, the Russian Federation, Central Asian countries, and of course the countries where we are connected by air travel. Recently the president announced his open sky policy. We keep not just national carriers, but all the airlines companies that have interest. For example: Austria, United Kingdom, and we already have opened a direct flight to Paris. I have been to Madrid lately and they are interested as well. It gives us a great economic impact. Today we have a visa-free regime for many countries. This is a big plus for the development of tourism and the investment climate. The same applies to the United Kingdom. Thanks to this initiative, London is the number one city attracting tourists. At the moment, a lot of students want to participate in the exhibition. Elderly people from the country-side write letters, that they want to participate as well. And this is very good.

There are certainly skeptics, but every event has them.

I think with such interest and a positive attitude to the event, it will be successful.

OCA: Kazakhstan is emerging as a leader among Central Asia in terms of foreign policy. How would you describe the strategy and aims of Kazakhstan in bringing the region more onto the world stage without making your neighbours feel left out?

R.Z.: Our neighbours understand that this kind of exhibition is being held in a post-Soviet country for the first time. When I visited these countries, they showed a great interest, and congratulated Kazakhstan. Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, all these countries expressed a desire to participate in our exhibition. Many countries take pavilions of 1000 sq.m.

This is the maximum that we provide. As a neighbour we provide support to them. As for international initiatives, we approved the creation of official devel-

6

opment assistance; through it we use the financial resources of the European Union, the United Nations and use it for help in tragic situations, or in the field of education and culture. We created this organisation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and it is also helping our neighbours: Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan etc.

This is another step towards rapprochement.

OCA: How do you see the development of bilateral relations between the UK and Kazakhstan growing over the coming years and what are the key objectives of these?

R.Z.: The current relationship with Britain is very positive. This is indicated by the mutual visits of the heads of our countries. The state visit of the British Prime Minister Mr. David Cameron to Kazakhstan in 2013 became a landmark event that activated economic relations between the two countries. During the visit of Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Mr. Karim Massimov to London this February, key bilateral economic institutions – the British Chamber of Commerce in Astana and the Business Council between “Samruk-Kazyna” NWF and the UK Agency for Trade and Investment started their work. We are looking forward to the official visit of President of Kazakhstan Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev to London this November. This will become President Nazarbayev’s first official visit to a Western country after his re-election and as head of a member state for the World Trade Organisation.

Kazakhstan has always tried to fulfill all the points in the legal economic sector. There was never a big problem. Expo-2017 is a step forward for the development of economic relations between Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom. There is a decision of the Head of State to turn the whole exhibition territory after Expo into an international financial centre, using the example of Dubai’s financial centre. There are English rules and laws. They register 100% of foreign companies, banks, financial institutions. With the implementation of the Dubai centre the economic development rose by 12%. We also want our country to be developed. Here there are certainly great opportunities for Britain’s companies. This special area, with its own law and visa regime, will allow business to be conducted more quickly and efficiently.

Kazakhs are a people striving for the best, so I think we can afford it.

mfa.kz

www.ocamagazine.com

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kazakhstan

Astronauts Return as Heroes from Orbital Watch On 12th September 2015, the “Soyuz TMA-16M” capsule landed back in Kazakhstan. There were 3 astronauts on board: a new space record-holder Gennady Padalka (Roscosmos), the first astronaut of independent Kazakhstan Aydin Aimbetova and the first Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen.

The crew of “Soyuz TMA - 16M” were taken to the Astana International Airport by helicopter, where the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbaev, personally met the astronauts and congratulated them on their successful landing.

The occasion marks a proud moment for the Kazakh people in celebrating their compatriot. The first cosmonaut of independent Kazakhstan, Aydin Aimbetov, went into space on the “Soyuz TMA-18M” spaceship on 2nd September 2015. On 4th of September the “Soyuz” docked with the International Space Station automatically.

Nursultan Nazarbaev noted that despite the large investments in the astronauts flight, he is confident that this will have a positive impact on the development of the space exploration programme.

8

www.ocamagazine.com

Yuri Bekker

Astana Hosts 2015 Charity Marathon On 13th September 2015, the British Kazakh Society organised a charity marathon in Astana.

The event was held with the support of the Rotary club of Astana.

“BKS Air Astana Marathon 2015” was attended by over 500 athletes, more than 100 of which were foreign athletes from 18 countries. Participating in the event were both the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Karim Massimov, and the Mayor of Astana, Adilbek Dzhaksybekov, demonstrating the importance of the event.

Participants had to pay for their place to run and all the money collected is to be allocated to projects of the Foundation “AYALA”. The British-Kazakh Society (BKS) has been organising such events for several years in both Almaty and London. This was, however, the first marathon held in Astana. The Marathon consisted of four distances: 5 km and 10 km, 21 km and 97.5 km.

www.ocamagazine.com

9

interview What’s Behind the Berkeley Group’s Property Success?

An Interview with Berkeley Group’s Russia and CIS sales director, Stuart Leslie

With a varied career spanning from hospitality and hotels to the food industry and property, Stuart Leslie currently heads up the Berkeley Group’s Russia and CIS sales desk. His passion for customer service fits well with the “timeless” industries he has worked in and this is what thrills him about the part of the property business he is now involved with. It Is no secret that the UK has an obsession with property and Berkeley has played a role in satisfying the unending demand for new, high quality properties, so Open Central Asia magazine caught up with Stuart to find out more.

Open Central Asia: Berkeley has been particularly successful through the market peaks and troughs, not posting a loss since it was listed on the LSE in 1984, what do you attribute this resilience to?

Stuart Leslie: We stick to what we know. We buy the best land, employ the best teams and deliver world-class projects. The business is driven by determination and dedication to our core values of looking after our customers, building a sustainable business, delivering fantastic homes and ensuring that our workforce is constantly up-skilling and we find new technology to improve our construction standards.

OCA: You head up the Russia Sales desk for Berkeley Group. What are foreign property purchasers from Russia and Central Asia looking for when investing in or buying property in the UK? Is London the only hotspot right now?

SL: I have heard that New York, Paris, Miami and Hong Kong are also good markets but London is something special. Investors are looking for a safe place to invest where they will get good return on investment but more importantly the political, social and economic indicators suggest that it is a stable and safe investment for the foreseeable future with prime central London outperforming every commodity and financial investment vehicle since Berkeley Group began. Of course it is all about getting a good return on investment and we have demonstrated time and time again that London is not only a sustainable market, but it is so rich in culture, theatre, museums, schools and so much more. London is a world-class destination and we simply cannot build properties fast enough to keep up with demand.

OCA: It is said that people from economies undergoing turmoil (such as Greece and Russia) are putting their money into safe havens like the UK property market and that this is driving up prices making it unaffordable for locals. Do you agree and what are Berkeley doing to tackle this perception or reality?

SL: People don’t just buy here because it has demonstrated great long-term capital growth or because of London’s great cultural wisdom, there are some of the best schools in the world, we have fantastic museums and theatres and we also have the

10

www.ocamagazine.com

financial capital, which continues to drive demand and opportunity in London.

OCA: Is there space in the Central Asian housing market for a company like Berkeley to expand and grow into? If so, why and if not, why not?

SL: We really do not have any interest in developing anywhere other than the UK. One of our major strengths is as a business is that we stick to what we know.

We established the Russian and CIS desk to service existing clients and interest from the region and that is what we continue to do.

We do not see the market as opportunistic and we simply look to take care of our clients as we always do.

OCA: People in the UK are happy to borrow money to buy their houses (in fact it is a national obsession) but in Central Asia people tend to save up first. How can sustainable and long-term house building work with such a different approach?

SL: We see the London residential housing market as a good opportunity for buying a house, investing and having second home and it doesn’t matter whether you buy with a mortgage or cash. We build on the best land possible and we build great projects.

Whether our clients buy with cash or a mortgage, they have enjoyed a good performance of capital growth and good serviceability of the rental market, which has made it a good investment. We see the market as a long-term opportunity and look forward to sustained growth and future development opportunities.

Telephone. +44 (0) 207 819 4599 www.berkeleygroup.co.uk

www.ocamagazine.com

11

Astana Hosts the Fifth Summit of the Turkic Council On 11th September 2015 Astana hosted the Fifth Summit of the Turkic Council. This was the second summit held in Kazakhstan and the fifth anniversary of the Summit.

The Summit of the Turkic Council is a unique event that brings together countries with a long history, which have common Turkic roots. The main purpose of the event is the development of comprehensive cooperation between Member States. The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States was established with the signing of the Nakhchivan Agreement of 3rd October 2009, and the first summit was held on 20th – 21st October 2011 in Almaty.

The Fifth Summit was attended by the heads of states Ilham Aliyev (Azerbaijan), Almazbek Atambayev (Kyrgyzstan) and by the head of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Ismet Yilmaz. The Deputy Prime Minister of Turkmenistan Sapardurdy Toylyev also participated as a guest host.

The summit was also attended by the General Secretaries of the Turkic Council, TURKPA, TURKSOY and by the presidents of the International Turkic Academy and the Foundation of Turkic culture and heritage.

12

www.ocamagazine.com

During the summit, chairmanship was handed over from Turkey to Kazakhstan.

The heads of member states have approved the report of the Secretary-General of the Turkic Council about its activity in the past year. There was also an agreement signed for the emplacement of the Deputy Secretary General of Turkic Council and President of the Turkish culture and heritage.

The heads of delegations have resumed the activities of the past period and set up perspectives and ways of future development for further strengthening cooperation in economic, cultural, educational, scientific, touristic and information fields. Much attention was paid to the issue of further institutional strengthening of the Turkic world and its role in regional and international security.

The conference, devoted to the 550th anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate, was held as a part of the Summit of the Turkic Council. The conference was opened by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, in attendance of the Heads of States of the Turkic Council. The opening ceremony was held at the Ak Orda Presidential Palace, where Nursultan Nazarbaev made the welcome speech.

The President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev called the Fifth Summit of the Turkic Council “an important step towards the integration of the Turkic world”. The Head of State stressed the need to accelerate the adoption of the concept of integration of the Turkic world as proposed by the Turkic Academy.

The President of Kazakhstan noted that obtaining future observer status at the UN and OIC by the Turkic Council will greatly help to meet the common interests of member states.

The participants of the summit came to a decision that the Sixth Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking states will be held in 2016 in Cholpon-Ata (Kyrgyzstan) and will be devoted to the subject of “National Sport”.

Best equity of «Price & Quality» The biggest hotel in Central Asia – 475 rooms and apartments for business and leisure.

«Weekend rate» – 20% of discount Breakfast – Dinner, VAT, Wi-Fi are included to the room rate Conference halls Business center «Sadaf» restaurant Lobby bar Cigar Bar Laundry & Dry cleaning Room service 24/7 7 Valikhanov Street, 010000 Astana, Kazakhstan Tel.: +7 7172 705 705 Fax: +7 7172 705 192 info@kinghotelastana.com www.kinghotelastana.com

www.ocamagazine.com

13 KINGS HOTEL 70.3X297.indd 2

13/06/2015

interview

Time to Try Again:

Is a second attempt at a closer Central Asia possible?

Interview with Dr. Farkhod Tolipov

Dr. Farkhod Tolipov is a prominent Central Asian scholar. He taught at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy and the National University of Uzbekistan. He was a visiting Fellow at the NATO Defense College, Harvard University and lectured in leading Western academia and international think-tanks including the University of Georgia in Athens, the George Marshall European Center for Security Studies and the Geneva Center for Security Policy.

Dr. Tolipov’s expertise lies within international relations and regional integration in Central Asia, geopolitics and international security studies. His work includes numerous articles on Central Asian topics in leading scientific journals.

Dr. Tolipov is also the author of “Grand Strategy of Uzbekistan in the Context of Geopolitical and Ideological Transformation of Central Asia”.

Currently, Dr. Tolipov heads a non-governmental Research and Education Institution “Knowledge Caravan” in Tashkent.

Open Central Asia went to meet him.

OCA: Why do you think Central Asia could be a successful integration project?

Dr. Farkhad Tolipov: For a number of reasons: first, it was launched in December 1991 as an immediate, relevant and natural response by five Central Asian states to the abolishment of the Soviet Union and creation of the CIS, reflecting therefore a preexisting and frozen regional community. Second, the post-Soviet period has already registered an impressive record of successful integration, which lasted from 1991 till 2005 when it was again frozen artificially. Third, nowadays we observe the revitalisation of the integration idea, now on the public level, the process that displays the great hidden potential of those who can be called the bearers of the integration value.

OCA: Do you think integration should start economically first followed by a spillover into other fields of cooperation? Could there be other fields to start with?

14 14

www.ocamagazine.com

FT: Given the very specific history of the region and contemporary geopolitical realities, integration may not necessarily take a form of sequence of cooperation fields with a spillover from one field into another; it can start with any possible sphere including cultural cooperation. At the same time, I would give more priority to the security sphere.

OCA: What do you think is the main problem about political integration in Central Asia?

FT: There are at least two main problems of political integration, to my mind. They are, first, the vulnerability of all Central Asian countries to geopolitical trends, and second, the obsession of all Central Asian states’ leaders with nationalism and sovereignty. The first problem creates impediments for integration from outside the region; the second one erodes it from the inside.

OCA: Given the diverse economic levels of Central Asian countries, where could the actual integration begin?

FT: As I mentioned before, integration can begin in any sphere. But when it comes to the economic realm, I would give priority to joint functional projects on transport, trade, energy and food.

In the 1990s when the integration process was proceeding rapidly and successfully, the countries of the region really comprehended the potential in common economic activity and decided to set up joint consortiums in the field of energy, food and

transport as well as announcing the creation of a common economic space. Moreover, I do not share the perception about the diverse economic levels of Central Asian countries. The European countries also have diverse economic levels but managed to integrate into the Union.

OCA: Would you agree with the statement that some make, saying that without a large scale war there can be no significant basis for integration?

FT: Of course, not! Let me remind you that the successful advancement of the integration process in the 1990s until 2005 was due to its natural and historically predetermined character. Yes, it wasn’t free from tensions and mutual mistrust, but Central Asians managed to establish relevant institutions to resolve/prevent possible conflicts. The integration was interrupted only due to an exacerbation of the geopolitical environment. So, I would say I disagree that without a large scale war there can be no significant basis for integration. I would rather argue that without a large scale integration there could actually be a basis for a war or a conflict.

OCA: People nowadays do not talk much about Central Asia’s own unique integration, but there are reports of a Eurasian Economic Union, which includes Russia. Is Central Asian integration possible without Russian involvement?

www.ocamagazine.com

15

FT: Yes, it is possible. It deserves mentioning that it is just Russia’s involvement/membership in the Central Asian Cooperation Organization (CACO) in 2004 which finally led to the complete abolishment of the CACO and its merger with the then Euro-Asian Economic Community (EAEC) under the false pretext that these two organisations duplicated each other. Central Asian integration has always been underway of its own accord and is unique. The artificial acceleration of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) by Russia and Kazakhstan’s, Kyrgyzstan’s and possibly Tajikistan’s membership in the EEU can further deform and strain the natural Central Asian community.

OCA: What is, in your view, the most important security threat for Central Asian countries?

FT: The most important security threat for Central Asian countries is hidden in the scenario of further fragmentation of their region and its falling into the sphere of exclusive dominance of one great power. These countries are obsessed with what they call national interests without defining those interests precisely. The result is that their “interests” lead them to one or another form of extra-regional dependence from a great power and to one or another form of intra-regional “independence” from each other.

16

OCA: Where do you think successful integration begins? Is this always a top-down initiative?

FT: Theoretically, it is both a top-down and a bottom-up process. In Central Asia it was predominantly, so to speak, a state-run process. The remarkable success of the European integration was to a great extent due to the essential civic inputs in the process. In Central Asia the topdown process must be complemented by the civil society’s activism towards integration. I think now when over a quarter century passed since gaining independence, it is time to bring the idea of regional unification to the public, in all five Central Asian countries. To begin with, experts and public activists as well as politicians, might raise this topic in front of the wider audience and start discussions on integration.

OCA: Do personalities play roles in successful integration projects?

FT: Definitely. Let’s again recall European personalities such as Charles de Gaulle, Konrad Adenauer, Winston Churchill, Jean Monet, and many others at the onset of the European integration, let alone subsequent and contemporary leaders.

Central Asia is not an exception in this respect and much depends on personalities. Today many point out to the leaders of states of Central Asia to say that they mistrust each other and are, therefore, the main barriers for integration. This is true, but

www.ocamagazine.com

let’s not forget that it is the same leaders (especially the two veterans – Islam Karimov and Nursultan Nazarbaev) that first proclaimed regional integration in 1991. Today, new leaders and activists are needed to pick up the project and follow on the integration way.

OCA: Could integration be beneficial for some but highly costly to others?

FT: Integration by definition should be beneficial for all participating countries. It is always a voluntary choice of participating states based on strong assessment of all pros and cons. However, the benefits of integration should not be considered only in the economic realm; it has at the same time a strategic and a normative dimension. While it cannot be always a smooth process free from impediments, the long-term vision of benefits should prevail over short-term costs calculations.

OCA: Would you agree that there is a need in a major external funding for the project? Do you think there are parties interested in a “Marshall Plan” for Central Asia? Will it not be a very expensive enterprise?

FT: I absolutely agree. Time and again, the European model could be recalled. The European integration started with the Marshall Plan. The similar impetus might be given to the Central Asian integration. At the same time, the “Marshall Plan” for Central Asia can be, let’s say, multilateral: it can be not simply USled or US-initiated, but should be inclusive in terms of contribution to this mega-project from great powers and international organizations interested in supporting it. The UN, OSCE, NATO, World Bank, EBRD, ADB, United States, European Union, Japan, Turkey, India, China can be parties of this “Marshall Plan”. When it comes to Russia, the current political regime in Moscow is not interested in the unification of Central Asia without Russia and, as we know, it spurs a Eurasian model which will be detrimental to the Central Asian model. The most interesting and important aspect of this question is that the European Union, erstwhile recipient of the Marshall Plan assistance package from the United States, can provide its own Marshall Plan jointly with above mentioned stakeholders to Central Asia.

THE KASHMIR SONG

by Sharaf Rashidov Translation: Alexey Ulko Editor: Robin Thomson “Romantic novel «Kashmir Song» (1956) by Sharaf Rashidov reflects the struggle for liberation of the Indian people,” says a brief encyclopedic definition of «Kashmir Song», coming from the Soviet era. It does not correspond, however, to either the content or genre of the work, which in reality is a deeply dramatic, oriental-stilted and sophisticated narration of the legend of the traditional Kashmiri cyclical change of seasons and the annual triumph of the forces of life over the forces of decay and death. This is a story of all-conquering love between the king of bees, Bamburi, and a spring daffodil, which was the perfect embodiment of Nargis, surrounded by other equally beautiful and cheerful colours.

Their antagonists are severe winter storms and the mysterious, death carrying Horud, which falls on the blooming valley with all its rage and strength, but in the end gets defeated and retreats, not being able to break the love and life-affirming force that carry the flower, bees, trees and the sun that shines on the valley.

ISBN: 978-0-9930444-2-7 Zaynab Dost

OCA archive

www.ocamagazine.com

17

action

Removing the Roadblocks to Safety Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport in Central Asia

Members of the EASST team including its patron Lord Robertson and celebrity ambassador Nikki support the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety

Every six seconds someone is killed or seriously injured on the world’s roads. Road traffic collisions account for 1.3 million deaths annually and by 2030 are forecast to be the fifth leading cause of death globally at 2.4 million fatalities a year unless measures are taken. Over the last two decades, EASST’s founder, Emma MacLennan, has been a regular visitor to the beautiful and diverse region of Central Asia and its neighbouring countries – building a vast network of friends and professionals spanning from the west of Ukraine through to the bustling hub of the South Caucasus and extending as far as the eastern reaches of Siberia. As a result of her extensive travel, Emma felt that much more could be done to make transportation in the region safer, particularly regarding the high risk of road traffic collision and the dangers to pedestrians and children.

Keen to halt the trend of rising road fatalities in the region, Emma decided to take action to make road travel safer and in 2009 established the UK charity

18

Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport. As a result of her efforts, a vibrant and effective network of road safety NGOs and activists has been developed which has been highly successful in implementing an array of legislative reforms to improve road safety and has resulted in this vital issue becoming an increasing focus for governments and members of the public.

The key to many of EASST’s successful activities is the forging of effective partnerships – locally, regionally and internationally – by uniting organisations, individuals and expertise across sectors to work towards the shared goal of casualty reduction and reducing road risk. An example of this is EASST’s ‘Safe Villages’ campaign in Azerbaijan. Following the success of this project in Ukraine, EASST and its local partner in Baku – the Hayat International Humanitarian Organization – developed a similar project along the regional roads of Azerbaijan funded by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). This coalition of non-profit and

www.ocamagazine.com

An EASST grant and mentoring has made possible the establishment of the first road safety NGO in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. The organisation called ‘Road Safety’ has been appointed to the new government Road Safety Commission chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister and is successfully promoting road safety in cooperation with schools, universities, the traffic police, government ministries and international organisations. Recognised for their expertise, EASST partners from Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have been selected for a major EU project working across ten ‘Silk Road’ countries to promote best practice and raise awareness.

If you would like to know more about how EASST is promoting safe travel in the region please contact Julie@easst.co.uk and visit our website www.easst.co.uk

private sector organisations worked together to raise public awareness of road safety along certain regional roads identified for reconstruction by the EBRD. The campaign covered the Agjabadi, Barda, Beylagan, Bilasuvar and Imishli regions and focused specifically on the R18 and R42 roads. Road safety training and events for villagers were held and booklets, highvisibility materials such as reflective jackets, and reflective belts for farm animals were distributed among villagers with the aim to keep them visible and therefore safer.

Similar work is being conducted in Tajikistan where EASST funding of its new local partner ‘Young Generation Tajikistan’ has enabled the training of young road safety advocates in Dushanbe focussing on 5 at-risk schools. This has increased awareness among children of the rules of the road by 14% during 2014-15 in the city’s Firdavsi district, the area with the highest road risk for young people. Early results show a decrease in the number of road injuries for the under 16s living in Firdavsi by 17 cases during Jan-March 2015 compared with the same quarter in 2014.

EASST’s work in Tajikistan focuses too on the response to road traffic collisions and other emergencies, not purely the prevention of such incidents. EASST is a founding member of FIRE AID (www.fire-aid.org) – an association of UK organisations who deliver fire and rescue aid to communities lacking emergency rescue equipment, particularly tools to respond to road traffic collisions. In Tajikistan, EASST is part of the team working with the emergency services to improve their rescue capacity to respond to emergencies.

www.ocamagazine.com

THE GODS OF THE MIDDLE WORLD

by Galina Dolgaya The Gods of the Middle World tells the story of Sima, a student of archaeology for whom the old lore and ways of the Central Asian steppe peoples are as vivid as the present. When she joins a group of archaeologists in southern Kazakhstan, asking all the time whether it is really possible to ‘commune with the spirits’, she soon discovers the answer first hand, setting in motion events in the spirit world that have been frozen for centuries.

With a lifetime of first-hand knowledge of the region in which the story is set, Galina Dolgaya has published a number of novels and poems in Russian. The Gods of the Middle World won first prize at the 2012 Open Central Asia Literature Festival and is her first work to be published in English.

ISBN: 978-09574807-9-7 Available on Amazon, Amazon Kindle www.discovery-bookshop.com

19

environment

Water For Life:

Outcomes of the International Water Conference Held in Tajikistan On June 25th the Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan in London conducted a round table discussion devoted to outcomes of the High-Level International Conference on the implementation of the International Decade for Action “Water for Life”, which was held in Dushanbe from June 9th to 11th.

The round table was attended by the representatives of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, representatives of the embassies, which are accredited in London, mass media, experts and specialists from leading organisations in the UK which deal with the related theme.

Ambassador of Tajikistan to the United Kingdom H.E. Mr. Erkin Kasymov informed the participants of the main results of the conference, the provisions of the Dushanbe Declaration adopted at the conference, and the proposal of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan on announcing the new international decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”. The high level of international participation at the conference was emphasised, which was attended by the official high-level delegations from about 50 countries and international organisations. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon personally took part in the conference.

In the course of the round table, the Second Secretary of the Embassy Mr. Asliddin Rakhmatov acquainted the participants with the presentation of global water initiatives of Tajikistan. It was noted that Tajikistan is one of the leading centers of “water diplomacy” in the world where in recent years a number of major inter-

20

national events of water related issues were held with the support from the United Nations. In addition to the international initiatives of Tajikistan the participants were also provided with the information on the role of the country in the regional cooperation relating to the preservation of water resources and the environment in the Central Asian region.

Mr. Richard Taylor, the Executive Director of the International Hydropower Association, made a presentation on the impacts of climate change on sustainable development. Mr. Taylor presented an analysis of the impact of climate change on the conservation of water resources required for the electric energy generated by the hydro power plants in the world. Taking into account the huge potential of Tajikistan in hydropower development, the important role of the country in providing the region with clean and cheap energy in future was emphasised.

Upon completion of the presentations the participants of the round table discussion exchanged opinions on the above subjects related to the conference.

The participants highly appreciated the Conference organisation. In particular, Craig Fulton, Deputy Head of Eastern Europe & Central Asia Directorate, Foreign and Commonwealth Office who personally participated in the conference, noted with satisfaction the high level preparation and organisation of the conference.

The High-Level International Conference on the implementation of the International Decade for Action «Water for Life», 2005 -2015 was held in Dushanbe in

www.ocamagazine.com

accordance with the General Assembly Resolution and provided an effective platform for comprehensive discussion of the implementation of the main goals of the Decade. The Government of Tajikistan has organised the Conference in close cooperation with the United Nations and other development partners. The Dushanbe Declaration has become an outcome of the Conference,

reflecting the key points of the discussions and a number of important conclusions and recommendations. The Conference also supported the new initiative of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan on the announcement of a new International Decade ÂŤWater for Sustainable DevelopmentÂť. The Government of Tajikistan will submit the Dushanbe Declaration to the UN General Assembly at its 70th session.

Asliddin Rahmatov

www.ocamagazine.com

OCA archive

21

Evening at Koy-Krygan. Only the corner of the fortress with walls is portrayed, as if hanging over the sea of sand. Long shadows and, in particular, the golden, shining color of the sunset, presages imminent dusk. One can almost feel the silence that is characteristic of these places

22

www.ocamagazine.com

SAVITSKY: AN IMPROBABLE MUSEUM

www.ocamagazine.com

23

message

One of the world’s greatest collections of Russian avant-garde art is housed in an unlikely place: the remote city of Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan – a depressed and desolate area, including the now dried-up Aral sea, that is in the westernmost part of Uzbekistan. ​ he Savitsky Karakalpakstan art museum holds about T 90,000 artworks, paintings from the 1920s and 1930s along with archaeological finds and examples of Karakalpak folk art. Since the death of its founder Igor Savitsky in 1984, its director has been Marinika Babanazarova, a woman of extraordinary dedication. ​Babanazarova has recently been fired from the museum and accused of stealing its treasures; there is no doubt that these charges are false. There are probably several different reasons why vested interests might wish to remove Babanazarova. She has, no doubt, created enemies by her persistent refusal of the many offers, from businessmen and art collectors, from all over the world, to buy individual items. And her success in promoting the Savitsky Museum has evoked jealousy; it is likely that many important people would like to see all or part of the Savitsky collection relocated to Tashkent, the Uzbek capital.

24

​ ore generally, the Karakalpaks are a minority within M Uzbekistan. The Uzbek authorities, paranoid about the possibility of unrest, tend to resist any initiative that focusses attention on the region. Sue Richardson, co-author, with her husband David, of a recent book about the region, writes, “The Uzbek authorities do not like to see attention focussed on the Karakalpaks, as we know to our cost – we were not granted a visa to return once they knew we were writing a book celebrating Karakalpak art and culture.”

The history of the Savitsky museum is itself the stuff of legend. After visiting the region in the 1950s, as an artist accompanying an archaeological expedition, Igor Savitsky left his flat in a fashionable district of Moscow and settled in Nukus. There he obtained permission to set up a museum of Karakalpak popular art: jewellery, carpets, musical instruments, yurt furnishings and camel trappings. Sometimes he found bits of precious carpet being used to block sluices in irrigation canals. ​ Later he began to collect the work of 20th century Uzbek artists and of Russian artists who had settled in Central Asia and in 1966 he established a Fine Arts Museum. Most remarkably of all, he went regularly

www.ocamagazine.com

to Moscow and Leningrad, visiting the heirs of avantgarde artists from the 1920s and 30s and acquiring a huge collection of still-banned work. He would travel back to Nukus – a three day train journey – with enough paintings to fill two or three compartments.

Only because Nukus was so far from the centres of power was he able to do this. Many works were donated to the museum, but his purchases were funded by the Karakalpak and Uzbek governments, which had little understanding of what he was doing with their money.

Savitsky was, evidently, endowed with unusual powers of persuasion.

When I visited Nukus in 2004, the energy and intelligence of the staff was almost as striking as the collection itself. Aigul, who showed me the Karakalpak folk art, had first worked there as a cleaner. While doing her work, she would listen to Savitsky speaking to visitors about the paintings. Inspired by this, she went on to study, with his encouragement, for three degrees. It is no surprise to me that the museum’s staff, at considerable risk to themselves, have signed a collective letter in support of Babanazarova.

Without a director of Babanazarova’s integrity and dedication, the Savitsky Museum is certain, one way or another, to be downgraded. This would be tragic - for the culture and economy of Karapalkakstan and for lovers of art worldwide. Babanazarova has been dismissed at an important time. Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the Museum’s foundation in 1966. More immediately, August 4 was the centenary of Igor Savitsky’s birth. The official celebration of this anniversary took place in Nukus on September 4, in the absence of Babanazorova. Babanazarova was, of course, more conspicuous by her absence than she would have been through her presence. Not once in the course of ceremonies lasting several hours was her name even mentioned. The US and French both boycotted the celebrations and posted statements of support for Babanazarova on their websites.

It can only be hoped that Bahodir Ahmedov, the Uzbek Minister of Culture and Sports, will realise that the high international reputation of the Savitsky Museum brings credit not only to Babanazarova and her staff but also to the Uzbek government, which, despite the country’s economic difficulties, has continued to fund the museum, enabling them both to increase their exhibition space and to carry out crucial re-

www.ocamagazine.com

25

message

search and restoration work. By attracting tourists to Karakalpakstan, the museum also helps to ensure the region’s peace and prosperity.

“Homage to Savitsky: Collecting 20th-Century Russian and Uzbek Art”, was published earlier this year by Arnoldsche Art Publishers, with the help of The Friends of the Nukus Museum. The original Russian version was published in 2011 by the Galeyev Gallery.

Robert Chandler’s translations from Russian include Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate and Hamid Ismailov’s novel The Railway, set in Central Asia. He has compiled three anthologies for Penguin Classics: of Russian short stories, of Russian magic tales and, most recently, (with Boris Dralyuk and Irina Mashinski), The Penguin Book of Russian Poetry. He published a longer article about this wonderful museum in the Times Literary Supplement on 26 Nov 2004. A shorter article by him about the current controversy can be found on the Guardian website: http://tinyurl.com/pncnb7c

26

This petition was inititated by the art historians Nicoletta Misler and John Bowlt, two of the most prominent western experts on Soviet art: http://tinyurl.com/pqfa52u And here is the website for the Friends of the Nukus Museum: http://www.savitskycollection.org/friends.html If you can access the archive of the TLS archive (you have to be a subscriber), I published a long article about this wonderful museum on 26 Nov 2004: http://tinyurl.com/oydr9zl Or one can write to the Minister of Culture and Sport: Bahodir Madjitovich Ahmedov minister@mcs.uz 700129, Узбекистан, г.Ташкент, ул. Навои, 30 700129, Uzbekistan, Tashkent, 30. Navoi Street

Robert Chandler

www.ocamagazine.com

Museum Archive

Unnoticed by the international art world until recently, the Karakalpakstan State Museum of Art - located in Nukus, Uzbekistan - houses the second largest collection of Russian avant-garde art in the world (after the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg). This extraordinary museum is the life’s work of Igor Vitalievich Savitsky, a Russian painter born in Kiev who first visited Karakalpakstan in 1950 as a member of the famous Khorezm Archeological & Ethnographic Expedition led by Sergei Tolstov. Subsequently, having moved from Moscow to Nukus, Savitsky began collecting the works of the Russian avant-garde - including of such well-known names as Falk, Mukhina, Koudriachov, Popova, and Redko - whose paintings were banned during Stalin’s rule and through the 1960s because they did not conform to the officially prescribed Soviet ‘socialist realism’ school of art. The current English language publication, already issued in Russian in 2011, helps make the Savitsky Collection accessible to a broad international audience for the first time.

RRP: £35.00

Available on Amazon Now!

www.ocamagazine.com

27

story

Olympic Memories: Kazakhstan’s London Olympic Volunteers

With the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games coming up in 2016, we take a look back to the Olympic Games which took place in London in 2012, and which were judged by many as the most successful. Many people also said it was thanks to the thousands of volunteers. With the Kazakhstan team at the Games supported by 7 volunteers, we tell the stories of 2 of them, Alexandra Ivanova and Jeff Temple.

Alex is originally from Yakutsk, Russia, studied and worked in the United States for 12 years and moved to London in 2008 where she works at a large Investment Management Company as a fixed-income investment analyst overseeing institutional client portfolios. Jeff lived in Shymkent from 2001 till 2009 where he was a manager in PetroKazakhstan, and now returns to Shymkent to support new business.

Alex and Jeff now tell their story.

28

www.ocamagazine.com

Preparations The Olympics are truly massive and the largest sporting event in the world. In the London Olympics volunteers took on many functions from showing people to their seats, acting as guides, as drivers, as first-aid helpers, and assisting the athletes and their delegations. In London there were a total of 204 Olympic and 170 Paralympic delegations. The smallest size delegation had only four people and the biggest had almost 800.

That meant a total of over 20,000 athletes and officials to be assisted! Ability to drive, to speak different languages, to commit time, and to use initiative and common sense were all the skills required to fulfil the “assistant” role.

Our journey as Olympic volunteers started back in 2010 when the London Organising Committee of Olympic Games (LOCOG) opened the registration process for potential volunteers around the country. Over the next 2 years we were selected and trained for our jobs.

Out of 250,000 applications received, about 2,500 were selected to work directly with the delegations.

We underwent substantial training that lasted many months and were fully prepared for our roles at the Games time. It was an incredible opportunity to meet interesting people and give something back to the community while gaining invaluable skills, experiences and memories to last a lifetime. We both considered ourselves very fortunate to be selected to work alongside the team of Kazakhstan.

Our training started with the heritage of the Games and gave some insights into how actual working days would look like with interviews with the contractors, organisers, former Olympic champions and experience from previous Games. We learned the different components of the Games, and how we should be looking after the athletes and the delegations.

Transport was provided between all Olympic venues, so our job was limited to special missions to help the Kazakhstan delegations. Above all, we were taught that our job was to ensure the athletes performed to the best of their abilities in their events.

During the games we were based in the Olympic village – that was one of the greatest perks of the job! When the Kazakh delegation arrived, the assistants were to help with transportation, guiding the delegations through the village, and making sure each and every room was fully equipped. We learned that the Athlete’s Village would be much like an independent residential area with its own post office, hair dressers, jogging area, restaurants, cafes, and its own emergency and fire fleet, but above all was to be an area where the athletes could relax, away from public attention, their sanctuary. To give you one piece of information which sums up the size of the Games - the main Olympic

dining hall is the largest on the planet, holding 5,000 seats and serving up to 60,000 meals a day.

The Delegations Arrive Our first official shift as Olympic volunteers started on Sunday, 15th July, two weeks before the start of the Games, with the arrival of the first official members of the Kazakhstan delegation. We met the representatives at around 7pm, and helped them settle into their residence. One of the tasks for us was to help out with the inventory check-in where every room, piece of furniture, key, bed, towel, even hanger, had to be checked and signed off. That’s a lot of counting!

The delegations of athletes, trainers and officials slowly started to arrive during the coming days, and our lives built up into a hive of activity. Although most athletes stayed in the Village, the Minister of Sport, Mr. Talgat Yermigiyayev rented a private residence near the Tower of London for the most gold-hopeful athletes in weightlifting and their coaches, where they had free accommodation and personal chefs cooking special dietary meals for them. This included Zulfia Chinshanlo, Maya Maneza, Svetlana Podobedova and the legendary Ilya Ilyin. It was our job to drive these legends to and from their house, and what an honour

www.ocamagazine.com

29

story

and a pleasure it was! We learned from these athletes the science of weightlifting, and how to play strategically with the starting weight to psychologically influence the opponents. To spend time chatting with world renowned athletes and who ultimately went on to win gold medals makes all the work and effort we put in worthwhile. Zulfia is a very young girl who seems to not quite comprehend what an extraordinary athlete she is. Alex remembers one journey when she needed to have someone sit in the back of the 7-seater with all the luggage one day, Zulfia quickly told her two lightweight weightlifter colleagues to play ‘rock, paper, scissors’ to decide who will be lucky enough to ride with all the bags. Also, living at a private residence, with all its amenities, she longed to stay with other athletes in the Olympic Village, and when finally she won her gold-medal she was all smiles all the way to her new accommodation where she could communicate with other athletes and just experience dynamic life of the Village.

The day before the Road Cycling competition, after helping Alexander Vinokurov and his team-mate with the set-up of the GPS, so they could head into the right direction the next morning, Alex helped the coach with fixing the bikes on the racks. At the technical meeting, she also helped with translating the details of the race, logistics, and timelines of the Road Race the next day. On the way back she asked the head coach

30

what were our chances of winning, and he confessed that he considered Team GB as the main contender for the gold, but said it all depended on what happened on the day of the race. “The chances are there - it is whether we will be able to use them or not.” Vinokurov did use his chances, winning the first gold for the Kazakhstan team on the first day of the Games.

From the very first days we were busy with our translating tasks, doing the inventory check in, accompanying the athletes and officials to the Rowing Village, helping familiarise the athletes with the Village, and ensuring that all the equipment was in the right place at the right time, not always easy! Another of the translating tasks was to help the sport officials and coaches during their technical meeting which took place a day before the actual competition. Jeff also had to make sure that the correct flag was being used, as well as the correct national anthem was played at ceremonies. We had to help out the artistic gymnastics coach with translation, helping find out which mats the athletes could use for warming up, which training hall apparatuses were available for competitors and when they could use them. All these activities were new to us volunteers, but with our training we felt we had the required competence.

The Olympic spirit was present all around us, with friendship and a shared feeling of camaraderie. To

www.ocamagazine.com

encourage the athletes to see other sports, each day we applied for free tickets for the athletes to see sports other than their own, and each day we passed these tickets to the administrators for distribution.

After winning a Gold medal, it was again our turn to pick up the gold medal winners from the anti-doping tests, and to drive them with their entourage to the Kazakhstan press centre. Alex and Jeff both had their share of having Gold medallists sit in their cars!

The day of the closing ceremony was the greatest event anticipated by the Kazakhstan delegation - the final competition day in boxing. There were three medal hopes in three difference weight categories. It was one of the best days for the Kazakh team since they won three medals, a bronze in Super heavy weight by Ivan Dychko, a silver in light heavy weight by Adilbek Niyazymbetov, and a gold in welter weight by Serik Sapiev, who was also named the Best Technical Male Boxer of the 2012 London Olympic Games.

first-hand. The whole experience was truly inspiring and very emotional. The Kazakhstan delegation made also very clear to all of us assistant volunteers that we had played a part in their team’s very successful performance at the London 2012 Olympic Games and that we have also ‘won’ a part of their gold medals along with them.

The last day of the Games, after the excitement of the final medals, we had to assemble the athletes for the closing ceremony. Once they had gone off to the stadium, we came back to an empty office space, and at that moment, sitting in an empty room with only the TV on, we suddenly realized it was all over. It was sadness combined with physical exhaustion but with emotions of great accomplishment all bundled together.

Someone said after the Olympics: ‘tiredness passes but memories last’. We were so grateful to the LOCOG for giving us this unbelievable opportunity to be a part of something great and everlasting, and to the Kazakhstan Olympic Team for allowing us to be a part of their team’s greatest Olympic performance ever!

Alex and Jeff both think the best part of being a volunteer was being able to see first-hand how worldclass athletes get ready for their competitions and being able to share their joy in winning their events.

We were fortunate enough to be present at five events where “our” athletes won gold medals, and we witnessed world records being made by Zulya and Ilya

www.ocamagazine.com

By Jeff Temple

31

story

A Sound Outlook on Life

As long as there is democracy, there will be people wanting to play Jazz

It’s 11:30 PM, Bishkek. A muggy Thursday night in a scorching hot August. The streets sing with this city’s lullaby – the rattle of patched-together Soviet-era Ladas, the rumble of immense tractor trailers heavy with cheap Chinese goods, and the hum of the glitterati’s sleek Lexus SUVs. The night breeze scratches my throat with the rockdust of the Alatoo mountains, which radiate a serene menace under the stark moonlight. These nights, though, there’s another sharp edge in the air.

Parliamentary elections are coming up. The government’s just cancelled a treaty with the Americans and thrown the country’s fate in with the Russians, signing up for the new customs union. A hard roll of the die, and the anxious silhouettes in the brightly-lit windows of the new prime minister’s office know it.

Political gambling’s a dangerous addiction in a city that likes its frustrations served like a shot of Bohemian-style absinthe – sweet and on fire.

I’m standing outside Studio 247 on Erkindik, waiting for my date. We’re late for the show, which started half

32

an hour ago. The daughter of a painter from the southern countryside, she’s a born-and-raised city-girl who still runs on Kyrgyz time. But when she finally arrives, she doesn’t disappoint – wearing a short black dress dotted by white grinning skulls, the girl’s a masterpiece. “Am I late?” she asks. I lie and say she’s right on time.

Inside we’re greeted by dim lights, the soft murmur of expats and locals huddled around tables, and the deft melodies of the jazz band on the stage. I immediately steal a glance at the small ensemble: Eldiyar Bakchiev seems trancelike as he strums the strings of his contrabass, and Aziz Gapar pours the audience a smoky 12-year-old Lavagulin through his sax. Nourgiz Chekilova, her voice full and velvety, glistens like a shard of moonlight. And just off to the side, grooving on the electric piano, is Steve Swerdlow, the real reason I’m here.

We take a seat at a table in the dead centre of the room.

The waiter, a nervous village boy with Russian worse than mine, offers us an alcohol menu. We order a chainik of green chai and three piyalas, not including

www.ocamagazine.com

the extra one that’s usually served to help the steeping. He gives us a befuddled look, then hurries away.

My date slips me a devilish smile then slowly shuts her eyes, letting the music slide over her as my arm slides around her waist.

I scan the room while pouring us two cups. There’s a pair of men to our left, three tables over. Hulking shoulders and biceps that strain the fabric of their fake designer blazers, and jaws much too square for a joint like this. A vague tension permeates the way they’re leaning back in their chairs, not to mention the distinct lack of any kind of beverage on their table. No, these gentlemen are not here because of their love of jazz. Their gazes, steady and predatorial, are fixed on Swerdlow.

The band is closing out a set with “On the Sunny Side of the Street”, with Swerdlow giving his best Louis Armstrong. A surprisingly upbeat tune for this downbeat city, but then, I’ve gathered that Swerdlow’s a surprisingly optimistic kind of guy – that is, despite his day job as Human Rights Watch’s Central Asia Researcher.

University. While there, he volunteered with civil society organisations that were monitoring xenophobia and ethnic discrimination against migrants. This was when he began to learn about Central Asia, as many of the migrants in that part of Russia came from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

An enthused round of applause and the band bows out for a break. I catch Swerdlow’s eye just before he descends from the stage. After a few pumping handshakes and thank-you-so-much-for-coming’s, he pulls up a chair at our table. My date beams as I introduce her, and while Swerdlow briefly chats her up, I take the opportunity to glance over at his fans again. Sure enough, their eyes are locked onto me with the eidetic gaze of a CCTV camera. Well, this is going to make renewing my press accreditation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs an interesting process.

By 2001, Swerdlow was studying international human rights, Central Asian languages, and Georgian at Columbia University’s School of International Public Affairs and the Harriman Institute. Along the way he had managed stints in Ukraine and Russia working for Project Harmony and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

As intended, my date’s charmed the heck out of Swerdlow. He pours himself a cup of tea and downs it with a boyish shyness. “I focus mainly on Uzbekistan and...”

A pause, then an uncomfortable shift in his seat. “I’m a Central Asia researcher. But I also consider myself a human rights advocate.” Another pause. “And I’m also a lawyer by training.”

“But you have this ‘other thing’ you do on the side...”

My date remarks with an exquisitely piqued eyebrow.

Swerdlow leans back in his chair and permits himself a grin. “Yes, I’m also a Jazz pianist.”

How he found his way to Bishkek playing Jazz and working in human rights is just the background to the story I’m here to get. Swerdlow takes us through it. He studied history and Slavic languages and literature as an undergraduate in Berkeley-California, and also spent a year in Krasnodar studying anthropology and ethnic minorities in the Caucasus at Kuban State

“Then I went to law school.” Swerdlow pauses and laughs, as though still surprised by his own choice so many years later. He returned to Berkeley-California and studied more international human rights law, as well as branched off into migration law, refugee law. He also made few more furloughs to Russia and Georgia. However, once Swerdlow had his law degree in hand, “I took a little detour by working on human rights in the United States.”

That detour took him to Los Angeles and then San Francisco, as a law clerk for a federal judge and then as a civil and consumer rights lawyer for three years representing mostly injured individuals against American corporations. Swerdlow and his colleagues also took a case concerning torture of Iraqis in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison, as well as a case relating to abuses by multinationals during the apartheid era in South Africa.

“It was a really good experience, but I felt myself wanting to use my language skills and be on the field again,” he remarks. And sure enough in 2010, along came an opportunity to work for the Watch in Tashkent. He leapt at the chance and has been with them ever since,

www.ocamagazine.com

33

story

having also worked in Almaty, Berlin, San Diego, and now Bishkek.

As he talks, Swerdlow checks the chainik. It’s empty, but he’s still got a lot to pour out. I promptly wave over the waiter and order another round. My date puts the first tough question to him, asking why he got involved with human rights work in the post-Soviet world to begin with.

“Well, you know, I guess for a kid from West Los Angeles who was searching for meaning, there was something about Dostoevsky that caught my interest. I just felt there was a wisdom, a depth, and cliché as this sounds, a true exploration of the question of the soul in Russian literature that opened a new world for me.”

He takes a moment to meditate upon a tiny puddle of cooled tea at the bottom of his cup. “I think Dostoevsky’s writings touched on matters of faith but also politics and the sources of injustice in the world. I had to understand the milieu that such depth came from.”

The waiter returns and pours Swerdlow a cup of steaming fresh chai. “A little bit later, there was a recognition. I think it happened when I got to Russia as a student and was witnessing a society in transition.

I came across activists and dissidents from organisations such as Memorial, and this whole intelligentsia that was not indifferent to the direction of their country. I think their courage was inspiring, and it became important for me to get involved, to try to both understand and contribute to the extension of basic human rights in the former Soviet world.”

After taking another grateful swig, Swerdlow continues. “But even when I was practicing law formally, I didn’t feel as much like a real advocate as when I got this position, and now I really do feel like I’ve found my dream job, you know, found an organisation and a role that allows one to truly advocate on behalf of those that could use the help to protect their rights.”

“I think the opportunity to truly advocate for human rights positions, whether it’s with diplomats or foreign government officials, is more liberating and more fulfiling than litigation.The realm I’m dealing with now, like not being beaten and not being tortured, or being able to cross a border, or being allowed to speak or write one’s mind, is foundational.”

Swerdlow nods, more to himself than to us. “In the human rights advocacy context, we use the media, more traditional methods of going to meet the policy-makers, and different methods like making films. We’re not constrained by the conventions of litigation, and we’re able to be creative.”

34

There’s my cue. “So, why Jazz?” I ask.

Now Swerdlow lights up. “Jazz musicians are some of the most interesting, creative thinkers. They’re often socially-minded non-conformists and innovative, like Charlie Parker or Billie Holiday, and I think the whole music form rises from a milieu of social disenfranchisement on the part of the African-American community in the United States, and of course also to some extent is influenced by Eastern European Jewry and Roma.”

A veritable cascade of musicians and songs pours out from Swerdlow like the tea from the pot, and it’s no surprise to hear Django Reindthart’s name, as well as Adalgiso Ferraris’ version of “Ochi chyornye” (“Dark Eyes”) by the Ukrainian poet Yevhen Hrebinka, which was famously covered by Harry Parry’s sextet in 1941.

“I think that fusion, especially in New York, of Ashkenazi and African-American music, shows a deep link musically and spiritually between the post-Soviet region and the United States, and I think Jazz was really not only popular during the Soviet period but it was a movement of non-conformism within the Soviet Union.”

My date tilts her head with surprised fascination.

“Wait, Jazz was here?”

“Definitely! To people like Josef Stalin, Jazz represented a bourgeois capitalist imperialist artform, but to people who loved it and listened to it, Jazz represented underground culture, freedom, non-conformity. One of the really interesting things from the Soviet context was that you had local iterations of Jazz, like Azerbaijani Caz-muğam, a fascinatingly free and creative artform.”

Swerdlow gets back on track, continuing his story: in 1997, while still an undergrad, he found himself in St. Petersburg, where he says he looked for jobs playing piano so he could keep practicing his craft. Remarkably, he got gigs in no-nonsense joints like the Grand Hotel Europe on Nevsky Prospect and Sadko Restaurant.

He’s got fond memories of St. Petersburg. “During the Soviet period, Sadko was this free beacon of cosmopolitan music. What it was for me to play Jazz in Russia at that time was to gain entry into situations that a normal American student or expat couldn’t get. You know, I was privy to bars and establishments where the Russian mafia was hanging out. It was a way to observe Russian life, learning about their musical taste.”

www.ocamagazine.com

certain balance between respect for what comes before and space for what’s new, sort of egalitarian rather than nihilist. There has to be some intergenerational respect, there has to be an acknowledgement of the achievements of the past, with an openness to what can come next and to improve upon it. Ideally, that’s what democracy is: room for innovation, rather than “I think that Jazz is first and foremost freedom,” he de- exploitation.” clares with a conviction as clear as a note from his electric piano. “Improvisation is about expressing familiar Chekilova and her boys are back on the stage, prepping idioms in a creative and new way. It’s about ‘speaking’ their instruments for the next set. It’s time to get back with other musicians freely in a non-conformist style, at it. Swerdlow takes a final swig of chai and thanks innovating on the spot. Jazz takes a lot of skill and re- us for coming by to listen to him play. My date nearquires reflection, space, patience, and tolerance, a lot of ly swoons as he leaves. With a surprising smoothness, qualities that I think are pretty essential to any kind of he weaves his way through the tables and sits back besuccessful human rights work one will engage in. And hind his piano. Just then, Swerdlow smiles and gives actually, these are necessary preconditions for not only his two ominous fans in the fancy blazers a wink, and human rights work, but for a flourishing human rights without further ado, starts to play.

Speaking of observing life, I take another quick look at Swerdlow’s two fans. One of them, the more sullen of the pair, is bent over and typing into his smartphone – a bad sign. The other’s got a bead on the pianist. Either Swerdlow doesn’t notice or doesn’t care, because he downs another cup and really lets his thoughts flow.

environment, too.”

“As long as there is democracy, there will be people wanting to play jazz because nothing else will ever so perfectly capture the democratic process in sound.

Jazz means working things out musically with other people. You have to listen to other musicians and play with them even if you don’t agree with what they’re playing. It teaches you the very opposite of racism It doesn’t attract only Swerdlow. My date leans forward, and anti-Semitism. It teaches you that the world is big resting her graceful chin in her elegant hand, and locks enough to accommodate us all.” – Wynton Marsalis eyes with him. For his coda, Swerdlow doesn’t miss a beat: “But one thing I like about Jazz is that there’s a Christopher Schwartz He goes right for it: “What I think is so attractive to me about Jazz and maybe has a connection to human rights is just its outlook. We need individuality, creativity, and hope. There’s a strain of Jazz which is very optimistic, and that’s something that attracts me.”

www.ocamagazine.com

35

history

180 Year Anniversary Chokan Valikhanov Great Adventures From The Great Game

So many epithets were used to describe Chokan Valikhanov: the “Columbus of Kashgaria”, a “brilliant meteor”, “the last prince of the steppe”… And yet, for all their grandiloquence, at most they only tell us little about all the many facets of the personality of this Russian officer of Kazakh origin. Valikhankov was a traveller, a writer, an ethnographer, a historian, a geographer, a soldier, an intelligence agent, an artist, a cartographer, and simply an adventurer, in the best sense of this word.

Before Kashgar Being a descendant of the Kazakh khan Abylay (and, hence, of Genghis Khan), Valikhanov possessed an uncommon talent and thirst for knowledge since his childhood. His father sent him, aged 12, to the Omsk military school – a place, which made the greatest impact on Valikhanov’s destiny, whether we speak about connections, friends, opinion or knowledge. It was there that he met Grigoiy Potanin, and later, Feodor Dostoyevsky.

Here he began not only desk research on Asian history, but, on graduation from the military school and appointment as adjutant to the governor general of Western Siberia, he became a field researcher as well.

Central Asia, over the open spaces of which he repeatedly travelled up and down during his short life, was undoubtedly the main sphere of his interests. The second half of the 19th Century, the epoch of the Great Game (the period of rivalry between the British and Russian empires for sovereignty in this rather strategically important region) was an interesting time for people like Valikhanov. The Xinjiang area of this “Game” was especially difficult, taking into account that the interests of the vast Chinese empire were also involved. Be as it may, in the 1850s it was possible to meet intelligence agents, geographers, ethnographers, geodesists and other lovers of adventure on the mountainous routes of the Pamir, Karakorum and Kun Lun and in the expanses of the Taklamakan desert, Tibet and Fergana valley. Valikhanov could not keep himself from joining this legendary galaxy of eminent adventures.

The journey of his life The most important element in the career of Chokan Valikhanov, and, probably in his whole life, was his well-known journey to Kashgaria, the southern part of today’s Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. The trip to Kuldzha, during which his first acquaintance with East Turkestan took place, was a prologue to it. His diaries from that time prove that Valikhanov was already a serious and observant researcher.

36

www.ocamagazine.com

Travel to Kashgaria was more than dangerous because almost all foreigners (with minor exceptions like Kokandi and Bukharan merchants) were forbidden access to its territory by the Chinese authorities.

Valikhanov, who was already a lieutenant by the age of 22, went on the risky expedition of the imperial Russian Geographical Society in the guise of Alimbay, a Kokandi subject, “an Andizhan merchant”. Such secrecy, of course, rather hindered Chokan’s work, in that he could not make his normal diaries, records and sketches, which is why he later had to write much from memory.

Valikhanov joined the trade caravan of a merchant, Musabay Tokhtubaev, at the natural boundary of Karamula, near modern Taldykorgan. Ahead, there were more than three months of travel, full of deprivations and dangers. Kyrghyz Syrt, with its extensive and severe upland climate, was a difficult area for travel. Valikhanov wrote the following: “The considerable cold constantly dominates, in summertime there are snow falls, there are long snowstorms which delay caravans for several days; snowstorms are especially dangerous, because there is no fuel on the caravans routes, except dried animal dung,”. Besides natural difficulties, the caravan was also constantly harassed by local thieves: the open spaces of Kyrgyzstan were always dangerous for travellers. Here is an extract from Valikhanov’s diary: “The ancestors of the Kirghiz created methodical, time-honoured rules by which they plunder caravans, but in their own eyes they plunder lawfully, based on ancient customs and rights … a caravan, passing through the lands (uluses) of Kirghiz ancestors, had to pay an obligatory fee (zyaket) … had to give a ransom for an unimpeded journey”. On the way to Chinese territory, Valikhanov buried his first diary at Terekty pass as a precaution, hoping to recover it on his way back.

There were many times on his travels, including the time he was in Kashgar, when Valikhanov was on the verge of failure, but something always helped him to survive. Having returned to Fort Verniy, he was finally able to write with relief: “My journey lasted from the 28th of June 1858 till the 12th of April 1859, 10 months and 14 days”.

Then followed five months in Kashgar, during which Chokan had time to make a rather detailed study of the life of the whole extensive region. He also made many trips on its territory, to make many acquaintances in all possible spheres, to familiarize himself with a great number of books, hitherto unknown in the West, and even temporarily to marry (as was the custom for merchants in those days who were far from home).

The caravan started back home at the beginning of March 1859. And even then Valikhanov did not stop his research, but months of life under cover and the constant stress had exhausted him and he fell ill. Undeterred he still wrote about the ancient caravanserai of Tash Rabat, the fortification of Kurtka and local customs.

www.ocamagazine.com

37

history

After Kashgar On his arrival in St Petersburg, Valikhanov was granted an audience with Tsar Alexander II, was awarded the order of St Vladimir, and received early promotion to the rank of staff captain. His report to the Imperial Russian Geographical Society caused a sensation.

In summary, it was a triumphant period, which was followed by about a year in St Petersburg, meeting the intellectual elite of Russia, working in the imperial Russian Geographical Society on a set of publications on the history and culture of Central Asia, working on regional maps in the General Staff, and also serving in the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Valikhanov’s stay in St Petersburg was accompanied by great longing to return to the steppes. Something of the city bothered him and set him on course for worse times. Having returned home and witnessing the lawlessness there, he had great desire to reform the government system in his homeland and tried to get involved in politics. He even won election to the post of senior sultan of Atbasar District; however, he was not confirmed in this post. Valikhanov returned to military service, but the capture of Pishpek (now Bishek) and Aulie-Ata (now Taraz) caused heavy loss of life in the peaceful population, and he openly confronted Colonel Chernyaev, after which he left the army in protest. Then he married and spent half a year of his life in the foothills of Altyn-Emel and later, died of tuberculosis (if accepting the official version)

38

at the early age of thirty.

Some say that the role of Chokan Valikhanov in the “opening up” of Kashgaria was exaggerated

by Kazakh and Russian historians, in comparison with Adolf von Schlagintwveit, or the outstanding Francis Younghusband. Valikhanov resolutely wrote about everything: about the history and politics, economy and trade, geography and topography, flora and fauna, geology, climate, linguistics and art. It would be easier to list the things he did not write about, since he found a place for everything in his narrative, even for the description of local cuisine, clothes, headdress and sexual customs. He also accompanied the texts with maps, diagrams and drawings.

Poetry instead of Prose Versus modern expeditions (and all the help they have from modern technology) Valikhanov’s writing was utterly uncharacteristic of typical scientists of the time. His notes are interesting to read as literary works in which there is much romanticism and poetry.

Just listen to these lines from his Kuldzha diary: “Boundless as the sea, the steppe is covered by a thousand different grasses. Meagre flowers, delicate and pretty, are spread like a green cloth. As the wind blows, so grasses wave evenly and ripple silently. Life if everywhere bees, butterflies wing from flower to flower. I myself am an inhabitant of the steppe, it is high time to address the subject”.

www.ocamagazine.com

Maybe it was his age that allowed Valikhanov to describe in detailed notes relations with women, their beauty and merits. Who else, except Valikhanov, would dare to bring such things into traditionally dull expedition reports?

*** Nowadays, The institute of History and Ethnology in Almaty is named after Valikhanov, and his tall monument rises up directly opposite the building of the Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences as if to remind modern scientists that “all is as boundless as the steppe – both desires, and affairs”. His works have been translated into many languages, several films have been made about his life, and many books and articles have been written about him. This attention is the least that posterity can show to thank the brave traveller who expanded the frontiers of man’s knowledge of the world.

by Vitaliy Shuptar

www.ocamagazine.com

39

nature

40

www.ocamagazine.com

The Beauty of the Bukhara Deer Large, dense forests, called galleries, riparian forests, extend along the banks of the big and small rivers in the Central Asia. These woods provide shelter and food for many animals, the largest among them being the Bukhara deer of Khangul.

This Tugai deer is endemic to the region, is a subspecies of the red deer and the closest to the ancestral form. In the 19th Century, it lived in the riparian forests across Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, in the reeds to the south of the Aral Sea and in the arid salt desert in the north of Kyzyl Kum. The Turkic name khangul means “imperial flower”. This is a slim and graceful animal with an average height of about 120cm and weight of about 200 kg. Cresting its body is its unparalleled ornament: a powerful set of antlers with five branches placed directly and symmetrically as a sort of crown. These antlers can be 90-110cm long and weigh a hefty 6kg. Antlers start to grow in the second year of life, and ossify within six months, but without branching. For this reason they are called “hairpins” or “matches”. The annual shedding of antlers and regeneration increases the number of branches. The most beautiful crowns are at 7 to 13 years.

In contrast, the hinds do not have antlers, but their marking is alike. Light brown or sandy-grey with smoky-coloured bodies and dark feet that help camouflage the animal in wood thickets. The back of the hips and the underside of the tail are white; this is called a “mirror”. Bordered with a dark stripe, it serves as a “beacon” for the fawns when moving through woods.

Deer are herbivorous animals; they eat more than 30 kinds of plants which they find in the woods and adjacent deserts. Their ability to swim well and cross even large rivers helps them greatly in their search of food or to escape danger. Long, powerful legs allow these animals to take big strides at an easy pace; and if danger threatens, they can jump two metres high and a distance of about 6 metres.

In the autumn, during the rut, stags organize their own tournaments. The winner, having the right to breed, organizes a kind of “harem” of several hind. Pregnancy lasts 34-35 weeks and the fawn are born, one per hind, at the end of spring and beginning of summer. The weight of the fawn is typically 5-6kg and it height is hardly more than half a metre. They have brown fur with yellow-white patches on the sides and a light stripe on the back to hide them perfectly amongst the undergrowth. The fawn spends the first few days lying down, rising only when its mother approaches to suckle it. They grow fast and in a week they follow their mother and a month later they try to eat on their own.

The main enemy of the Bukhara deer till the middle of the last century was the Turan tiger but nowadays it is wolves and feral dogs. The deer is listed in the Red Book of Central Asian countries, but the main causes by which the deer became “rare” and exist “on the verge of extinction” are habitat destruction and hunting by man.

Yuriy Chikin, Candidate of Science in Biology

www.ocamagazine.com

41

coming soon Dates for the Fourth International “Open Eurasia and Central Asia Book Forum and Literature Festival - 2015” (OECABF-2015) are Announced The British Publishing House “Hertfordshire Press”, with the support of the Yunus Emre Turkish Culture Centre, will hold the Fourth International Open Eurasia and Central Asia Book Forum and Literary Festival - 2015 (OECABF 2015) from 6th to 9th November in London & Cambridge.

The purpose of the forum is to draw the attention of readers and experts on the past and present achievements of the Central Asian writers; to introduce writers with representatives of publishing houses and with their readers, libraries, educational institutions and the media; to promote the development of a multilateral dialogue among contemporary writers, critics, editors, publishers.

An awards ceremony of the winners in each category of the literary competition will be held in the framework of the “Open Eurasia and Central Asia Book Forum & Literature Festival-2015”.

The international literary festival OECABF 2015 consists of three parts: 1. A literary competition among writers in the literary work category, among translators in the literary translation category, among the artists in the illustration category, as well as among film directors for films, based on a literary work that took part in any of the previous OECABFs between 2012-2015, in the video film category.

The total prize fund of the contest “OECABF-2015” is $ 35,000. The main prize of the contest “Open Eurasia - 2015” is a grant of $ 19,000, which will be put towards publishing the book of the overall winner with further presentations in London.

In 2015, four prizes have been established: • Nemat Kelimbetov Prize for the amount of $10,000 for the winner of the video category and experimental film “Open Eurasia and Central Asia”; • Marziya Zakiryanova Prize for the amount of $5,000 for the best female work in any category of the competition, which will be put towards the publishing of the book of the winner.

• Arcadiy Bezrukov Prize for the amount of $1,000 for the best work on the subject of mountains.

• Generals Award from the Association of Generals “Generals of the World for Peace”.

The Association’s highest award of the “Dove of Peace” medal for the best work on the topic of strengthening peace, friendship and mutual understanding between peoples.

The “Open Eurasia - 2015” contest received more than 600 applications from 22 countries.

Acceptance of applications in all categories, except the video film category, finished on 15th September of 2015.

42

www.ocamagazine.com

Applications for the video film category will continue to be accepted until 15th October 2015.

The purpose of the video and experimental film category is the further popularisation of Central Asian literature, as well as the promotion of co-operation BOOK AND between writersFORUM and directors in theLITERATURE region.

About the festival: The first Central Asian OECABF literary contest was held on 24th – 25th November 2012 in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), gathering 1300 guests and becoming the first such event since the declaration of independence of the Kyrgyz Republic. The festival was FESTIVAL opened by the former president of Kyrgyzstan, Roza Otunbayeva, and has been praised by both experts and the public.

OPEN EURASIA & CENTRAL ASIA

2. The Literary Festival aims to unite famous and talented young writers belonging to different literary movements and to revive interest in literature among wider sections.

The guests of OECABF 2015 will be writers from Britain (David Parry, Nick Rowan, Hamid Ismailov, Robert White, Faride Heyat), Australia (Paul Wilson), Kazakhstan (Kairat Zakiryanov Elena Bezrukova, Mukhtar Shakhanov), Scotland (Shahsanem Murray), Canada (Maxim Korsakov), Kyrgyzstan (Sultan Raev) and many others.

Book readings, puppet performances from Khorezm Theatre and the first Central Asian Theatre in London, “ORZU ARTS”, film screenings, an exhibition of paintings by Christina Glazunova and presentations of the following authors and works are scheduled during the festival: Dawlat Tolibshohi (Cranes in the Spring) Lenifer Mambetova (My Homeland is Crimea!)

Raushan Bunkitbaeva-Nukenova (Wormwood Wind) Mukhtar Shakhanov, Chingiz Aitmatov (Confession at the End of the Century) Herold Belger (Goethe and Abai) Maxim Korsakov (Treasurer) Kazat Akmatov (Arhat) Charles van der Lew (The Iron Curtain: the Battle for Central Asia) Shahsanem Murray Corporate Digest (100 Impressions About Kazakhstan. The second edition) Sultan Raev (Kara), and others.

3. The Book Forum, which includes seminars, discussion panels and scientific conferences.

A roundtable of writers from Central Asia will be held on 9th November 2015 at the headquarters of the BBC TV and Radio Company.

The festival of 2013 took place from 5th to 9th November in London and Cambridge, providing an opportunity to the British public to get a better idea of the work of Central Asian artists.

Last year the festival was held from 14th to 17th November in Almaty, Kazakhstan. OECABF 2014 was organized by the Publishing House “Hertfordshire Pressæ in conjunction with the National State Book Chamber of the Republic of Kazakhstan, “Helen Bezrukova Center, Training and Consulting” and with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Kazakhstan, Administration of Almaty city and the Kazakh Academy of Sports and Tourism.

In 2014, 38 events were held in the framework of the “Open Eurasia and Central Asia Book Forum & Literature Festival”. The festival was visited by 2,500 people. Reports and presentations were made by more than 65 writers from 10 countries: Australia, Great Britain, Poland, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia, Turkey, the Netherlands.

The festivals have been marked by the presence of stars from world literature, such as Janusz Leon Wiśniewski from Poland, Hamid Ismailov from the UK, Elchin Safarli from Azerbaijan and others.

Connect with us: Bishkek – Representation of the festival in Kyrgyztan 40, Manas Avenue +996555206845 +996555306845 +996312474175 Email: noskova@ocamagazine.com

London – Ann Lari Suite 125,43 BedfordStreet CoventGardenLondonWC2E 9HA United Kingdom Tel.:+44 7479 026 176 Email: konkurs@gorizonti.com

www.ocabookforum.com HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

www.ocamagazine.com

43

interview

Around the World in A to Z Interview with travel writer Paul Wilson Paul Wilson is an acclaimed traveller and travel writer. Hailing from the less well-known town of Macclesfield in the North of England, his background has always been in history, having studied Ancient and Modern History for many years. From a young age he discovered the joys of independent travel, especially to countries with a rich past. This combination was the driving force that led him to travel writing, although it has sometimes been a slow and difficult journey, as the profession is a much sought after and difficult one to break into. Nonetheless, hot off the back of his first novel, The Alphabet Game, and after having become the heralded knowledge on Silk Road travel (with three Trailblazer Travel Guide editions under his belt), OCA caught up with Paul to find out more.

OCA: You’ve written a guidebook on the silk road, something many people imagine means you just turn up and enjoy the location for a few days before writing a few words about it. How does a typical day look when you are working on such a project in country?

Paul Wilson: The life of a travel writer is usually very different from the popular misconception. It’s hard to get your first break if you want to be a full-time travel writer (rather than someone who does the odd holiday article on the side!), so most people end up doing their initial trips unpaid. I spent eighteen months in the British Library researching my first guide before I even set off. Once you are out on the road it becomes a lot more fun, but every day involves as much ‘fact-finding’ as it does sight-seeing. Writing The Silk Roads I’m usually on the road for three or four months at a time, which I love, but it’s not everybody’s idea of a holiday.

OCA: Why did you choose Central Asia as your area of interest, rather than say Australia where you live?

PW: I’m from the UK and my hometown is Macclesfield, a small town famous for its silk weaving industry. When they built a new road near my house they called it The Silk Road, and I knew straightaway that this was one

44

www.ocamagazine.com

route I just had to travel along. There are many different strands making up The Silk Road but they all flow through Central Asia, as this region is at the heart of all the ancient trade routes linking East with West, so in many ways Central Asia chose me! Funnily enough, until I moved to Sydney I had never been to Australia.

OCA: What would you say to somebody who said that by writing guidebooks and encouraging visitors, you are promoting the destruction of the unique and unspoilt region of Central Asia that you write about?

PW: I’m glad you asked me this question as it is something I’m quite passionate about. At the moment we are seeing a real and irrevocable ‘destruction of a unique and unspoilt region’ at the hands of ISIS in Syria and Iraq. So for guidebooks and guidebook-writers to be equated to this depresses me. Last year I spent a week in Kazakhstan for the Open Central Asia Literary Festival, and the most important conclusion we all came to is that we need to promote Central Asia, not keep it in the shadows. This involves two key elements: firstly, we need to ensure that the ‘voice’ of Central Asia’s culture (from literature, to art, to tourism) is heard loudly and clearly on the international stage. Secondly, we need to treat the people and places of Central Asia with the respect they deserve, and feature them in credible works on an international stage; not just Borat movies! I hope my books help achieve both these aims in some small way.

OCA: Your new book is a satire on the guidebook theme - what was your motivation in writing it and who will it appeal to?

stan, wedged into The Pamirs between Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor, southern Tajikistan, Pakistan’s Northern Areas and China’s Xinjiang province (East Turkestan). Until Xidakistan is formally recognised we’re still waiting for a ‘winner’! In the meantime I really want to explore Yemen’s Empty Quarter, which would put me on 25 ‘caps’.

OCA: What are your next projects we should look out for?

PW: This year I am lifting the curtain on my first stage play, Shakespeare Tonight, as part of the Sydney Fringe festival. I’m also working on a new novel, Sold Out. But the Silk Road keeps me busy for at least six months of the year and one of my main commitments is to the UNWTO’s Silk Road Programme, working to provide a united voice for tourism in the region.

I also do work with Macclesfield Silk Heritage back home.

On a personal level, I thoroughly enjoyed cycling the Silk Road with the guys from Tour D’Afrique, and I hope to get out in the saddle a lot more once my children are a bit older. I would also love to spend some time on a Silk Road archaeological dig at some point, plus climb one of the Silk Road’s highest peaks.

Guidebook-wise, I have been with Trailblazer for over fifteen years now, and have started to edit as well as write their books, which in turn has opened new doors such as being included in Mary Dinan’s Global Suitcase.

PW: My plan has always been to be a writer, not just a ‘travel writer’, which means my goal is to write about what interests me, regardless of the format. Alphabet Game is a mix of Around The World in Eighty Days and Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop, with a healthy dose of M*A*S*H thrown in. Hopefully it will appeal to those with as keen a sense of humour as that of adventure, plus anyone interested in the ‘politics’ of Central Asia post 9/11. They say you should write about what you know, so travel and the world of travel-writing forms the backdrop of the story, from the early days of Lonely Planet to our modern desire to race around the world visiting as many countries as we can.

OCA: How far have you got in your own ‘Alphabet Game’ [the counting of countries you have visited starting with each letter of the alphabet] - are you missing any letters that you’d like to visit?

PW: As you have probably worked out there is only one ‘O’, Oman, one ‘Q’, Qatar, and a single ‘Y’, Yemen. The letter you can’t ‘do’ is ‘X’ so Alphabet Game centres the small ‘undiscovered’ kingdom of Xidaki-

ISBN: 978-0-99278773-2-5 Available on Amazon & Amazon Kindle

www.ocamagazine.com

45

arts

Adventures of Khorezm Puppets in Edinburgh

46

On the 12th of August, on a grey London Wednesday morning we met at King’s Cross station, rushing to get to our seats on time. I was going with a theatre group to film their puppet show from Khorezm at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as part of my documentary about the Central Asian Theatre Group - Orzu Arts.

day, many artists and craftsmen of Uzbekistan have preserved the art of making beautiful, traditional puppets with intricately embroidered national clothes.

The heads of puppets are made out of papier-mâché and are painted in oil, and the clothes are hand stitched from local materials, such as vibrant atlas cloth.

It was surreal to see these people from the ancient land of Khiva sitting next to me in the train to Edinburgh, speaking in Uzbek, exchanging jokes and taking endless pictures on their phones. I was filming them in the train, trying to make links between past and present. Khiva, a city on the Great Silk Road, is the motherland of the famous dance, Lazgi, and also the origin of puppetry arts in Central Asia. Puppetry is one of the oldest performing art forms in Uzbekistan. Puppet performances have been mentioned in the history records of Central Asia from the first century A.D. and were always hugely popular among the people. For a long time the markets of the Central Asian cities hosted shows by puppet masters. Puppet shows of the past were known to be subversive as they parodied the ruling classes and brought forth the issues and wounds of society in a humorous form. Till to-

These puppeteers and their wives have been crafting puppets for the past 20 years. They were self-taught and now they are travelling the world, sharing their stories. I tried to picture dedicating my entire life to one vocation and mastering it to perfection. That must take real dedication and passion, not the kind of passion kids on social media exhibit by posting endlessly about their favourite topic at that moment, but a different kind of passion, a real commitment, the kind that swallows you whole, day after day, year after year.

As soon as we arrived in Edinburgh we were swept off our feet by the kaleidoscope of bright colors, characters and sounds. The streets were buzzing with life and excitement. The theatre group changed into their costumes and we distributed leaflets, screaming

www.ocamagazine.com

out joyfully “Puppet show!, as some of our forefathers must have done over the centuries. There was nothing in the world more important than puppets and it was all for them. I felt as though they were alive and had minds and identities and it was the puppets who had come to visit the city.

The next day it was show time. I met the group early at 8 am for the rehearsal. During the rehearsal the director was working together with technicians to coordinate and synchronise sound and lighting. As a film-

maker, I am used to the idea that sound design will come in post-production and the only thing I have to do is monitor the sound levels while recording. Being in a theater made me realise the anxiety and intensity of having to do everything live. It had to be perfect and everyone had to be on the same page.

The performances took place at Surgeons Hall on Nicholson Street later that evening. The puppets were a major success with the children. Yuldosh, the Founder and Director of Orzu Arts, had to be the puppets’ personal translator, because the puppets did not speak English and he had to explain what they were up to: “It’s the wedding anniversary of an old man and old woman and beautiful puppet dancers have come to perform Lazgi. The Lazgi dance originates from a folktale; there lived a king and he had 41 children and the youngest one of all, was the prettiest and his favourite. And that’s why the other wives got very jealous and threw the youngest one off a cliff.

That day she was supposed to dance for her king and although she had her bones broken, the strong woman insisted that she still would dance for her

king. And this is how Lazgi, the broken dance, was performed for the first time.”

Although the tale is sad, the performances were fun.

Yuldosh was making jokes and the puppets were dancing and jumping around. I was surprised to realise that even within the limits of strict coordination and a tight time schedule, the whole group managed to improvise.

The show was highly interactive, children were invited on stage to participate and they all loved making chit chat with Yuldosh throughout the show.

When I found out about the existence of Orzu Arts and their performance at the festival, I took it as an opportunity to continue exploring my main interest, Central Asian art, through the medium of documentary film. As Umberto Eco wrote: “to survive we must tell stories”. I think that stories have the power to transcend cultural boundaries and create a deeper, mutual understanding. The film will screen in December 2015.

More excitingly, perhaps, the puppets and their show are coming to London in November for the Open Central Asia Book Forum and Literature Festival organised

by Hertfordshire Press. So don’t miss out!

Malika Suleymanova

www.ocamagazine.com

47

culture

Mangilik Festival Takes Kazakhs Back to their Roots

There are the dates in every country, which people love, respect and remember and honour. One such date is the formation of the Kazakh Khanate, which occurred 550 years ago. This event served as a great impetus for the development of Kazakh ethnicity and identity. And, of course, half a century later Kazakhs preserve the memory of it.

At the initiative of the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, a festival has been held as a tribute to the Kazakh Khanate.

The aims of the festival were the promotion of national cultural traditions and spiritual-moral values of Kazakh people. It invoked interest in ethnic music, national games and the development of patriotism among the Kazakhs. The festival was held outdoors in the mountains, the “Huns”, located a 30-minute drive from Almaty from the 25th to 27th July.

The first day of the festival opened with a parade of participants followed by lunch in a large yurtlike structure with a shanyrak (the upper dome-

48

like portion of a yurt). After lunch participants could learn pottery, pick up Kazakh national instruments: dombra, kobyz, adyrna, jetygen, etc., and even try to speak in the ancient Turkic language. The yurt was decorated inside with amazing handmade carpets (shyrdak), pillows, wolf skins, leather bags, vests, shields and other heritage of the Kazakh people. This part of festival was called “Khan Tengri”.

Visitors were also offered the opportunity to enjoy ethnic music by the “Alan” group, consisting of young Kazakh boys, playing the dombra in both modern and traditional melodies. The festival was not without foreign musicians – the “Kaya” group, who came from the distant Altai mountains played.

It is hardly a secret that the Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and Altai have common roots, which explains their cultural similarities in music, cuisine, language and even appearance despite the great distance between these peoples.

www.ocamagazine.com

After spending the night in a yurt as a very real Kazakh, guests were in a good mood, despite the rainy weather. The exhibition continued with master classes on making felt, jewellery, wood, leather and trying on the Kazakh traditional clothes.

During the festive dinner, guests enjoyed the music of the Great Steppe. Neo-Ethno-Folk group “Arkaiym”, blended traditional instruments and sounds, with modern beats that attracted a wider audience to the origins of these modern performances.

The performance of an extraordinary artist, shaman Hogavat Tobet Kam, is also worth noting with his exhilarating soundscapes, mesmerising imitations of wolf howling and thunder sounds in his performance, which created a mystical atmosphere.

After the musical part all the attention of the audience was transferred to horse-racing games.

There were competitions in “Atpen Audyraspak”, “Tenge Ilu”, “Kyz Kuu” and “Kok par” national games. However, the most exciting games were “Kok par” and “Kyz Kuu”.

Kok par” involves two teams. Before the game, a goat carcass is put in a circle, which is drawn in the centre of the arena. The aim is for each team to raise it from the ground and take it into their own net. Needless to say, all of this must be done on horseback. The winner is the team that does this the most times and on this occasion the first placed prize of 150 thousand tenge went to the team from Kazakhstan.

“Kyz Kuu” is another national game, which literally means “catch a girl”. In the first half of the game, a boy pursues a girl, and if he is lucky, he kisses her.

In the second half, they change places and the girl seeks to catch up with her partner. If she does this, she beats him with a whip. First place was awarded to a player from the Almaty region, Valikhanova Aidariya.

www.ocamagazine.com

49

Bringing Central Asia’s Latest Authors Into View First Edition of the Literary Almanac “Tvorcheskoe Sorujestvo” (“Creative Collaboration”) Published

The summer of 2015 for the British publishing house, Hertfordshire Press, marked the first official release of the almanac of Literary Festival “Open Eurasia and Central Asia book forum and literature festival” titled “Tvorcheskoe Sodrujestvo” (“Creative collaboration”). Active participants of the most recent literary contest and the members of the organising committee of the festival promoted the idea of creating an almanac to record and reflect on the event as well as promote the aims of the event further.

The almanac shows contemporary Central Asian literature, as a rule, created by young writers and including the winners of the contest, all of whom represent the post-Soviet countries.

The development of national literature helps to reduce conflicts, strengthen peace, friendship and mutual understanding, because this process introduces to people the culture of their neighboring peoples, their world view, customs and values. Many years ago the publishing activity of CIS countries was done in isolation from the international industry. Communication of writers of these countries with their colleagues from around the world was purposefully minimised. The publication of this kind of material will enrich literary life and help writers of the post-Soviet space to take their place among the world’s bestsellers.

Training and Consulting”, as well as the Ministry of Culture of Kazakhstan, Almaty city Akimat and the Kazakh Academy of Sports and Tourism.

The almanac contains excerpts from works by festival guests, the finalists and the winners as well as literary criticism, information about events and news from the publisher, Hertfordshire Press.

Presentations of this unique literary almanac, “Tvorcheskoe Sodrujestvo” (“Creative Collaboration”), were held in cities including Bishkek, Almaty, Tashkent and Shymkent. The purpose of the events is to unite Central Asian artists, members of the literary festival and share their work and experiences. Book readings were also held in the framework of the presentation of the literary competition “Open Eurasia and Central Asia Book Forum and Literature Festival”.

“Tvorcheskoe Sodrujestvo” (“Creative collaboration”) is a hardcover edition, consisting of 500 pages, which includes a reporting digest on the Third International Literary Festival and Book Forum «Open Eurasia and Central Asia book Forum and Literature Festival - 2014”. The festival was held on 14th – 17th November 2014 in Almaty (Kazakhstan), with the support of the National State Book Chamber of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Association of Publishers and Booksellers of Kazakhstan, “Helen Bezrukova Centre for

50

www.ocamagazine.com

Bishkek:

Amaty:

The first presentation of the literary almanac “Tvorcheskoe Sodrujestvo” (“Creative Collaboration”) was held on 7th July 2015, in Bishkek. The event was attended by the “Hertfordshire Press” publisher, Marat Akhmedjhanov, chief editor of the almanac, Professor of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, Alexander Katsev, as well as literary editor, Catherine Bashmanova.

Another presentation of the literary almanac “Tvorcheskoe Sodrujestvo” (“Creative Collaboration”) with the support of the “Helen Bezrukova Center” held on 9th July 2015, in Almaty. The event was attended by the “Hertfordshire Press” publisher, Marat Akhmedzhanov and a representative of the Kazakh Chamber of Book, Kyrmyzy Baizakov.

Tashkent:

Shymkent:

The next presentation of the literary almanac “Tvorcheskoe Sodrujestvo” (“Creative Collaboration”), which also included book readings of Literary Festival OCABF participants, took place on 9th August 2015 in Tashkent. The event was held in a co-working centre called “STOP” and was organized by the British publishing house, “Hertfordshire Press”. The presentation was attended by over 30 people.

The British publishing house “Hertfordshire Press” held a presentation of the first edition of the literary almanac “Tvorcheskoe Sodrujestvo” (“Creative Collaboration”) together with the publishing house “Baspa Samruk” and educational center «Edu-Gen» on 12th August 2015 in Shymkent. The presentation was attended by about 40 people.

Artists, participants of the festival Literary OCABF, aspiring writers, lovers of prose and poetry, and even artists were among the guests.

www.ocamagazine.com

51

London On 3rd September 2015 London hosted the presentation of the almanac “Tvorcheskoesodrujestvo” (“Creative Collaboration”) with the participation of the guest of honour, a permanent member of all festivals “Open Eurasia and Central Asia Book Forum & Literature Festival”, the author of such bestsellers as the “Railway”, “The Dead Lake”, “A Poet and Bin-Laden”, the head of the Central Asian service of BBC in London, Hamid Ismailov. In addition, the author of “Everyday life in Victorian England”, a member of the International Union of Writers and Journalists APIA, Tatiana Dittrich, was also in attendance. The event was held at the restaurant “Adras” and was organized by the British Publishing House “Hertfordshire Press”.

The purpose of the event was to strengthen inter-ethnic cultural ties, promoting the growth of creative manpower, the development of literature in Central Asia and the entire European Union, sharing their work and experiences as well as presenting a unique literary almanac “TvorcheskoeSodrujestvo” (“Creative collaboration”).

Astana On 10th September 2015 British publishing house “Hertfordshire Press” held the book launch of the almanac «Tvorcheskoe Sodrujestvo» (“Creative Collaboration”) in Astana, Kazakhstan. The event was organized in conjunction with the Higher School of Economics and the Department of “Translation Studies” at KAZGUU University.

During the presentation there a number of book readings. The welcome speech was made by the director of the Higher School of Economics, Dilbar Gimranova, and by the Head of the Department of “Translation Studies”, Aizhan Kashkenova. The students of the “Translation Studies” department also read the poems of world-renowned poets.

Samarkand On 16 August 2015, the Aysel Art gallery located in the centre of the ancient city of Samarkand, hosted a presentation titled “Creative Collaboration Almanac” for members of the city’s intelligentsia and connoisseurs of literature and arts. Alex Ulko, the winner of the OCABF 2014 translation competition, talked about Hertfordshire Press, the OCA Book Forum and the literature competition, while Dmitry Kostushkin, a finalist of OCABF 2014, described his own experience of being a participant of the literary competition. The audience had the opportunity to read some Hertfordshire Press and Silk Road publications, including books and the Discovery and Open Central Asia magazines.

52

www.ocamagazine.com

www.ocamagazine.com

53

food corner For too long now, Central Asia has been overlooked as a viable travel destination. Despite being at the heart of the ancient Silk Road trade for millennia and profoundly shaping the world we live in today, Central Asia remains one of the earth’s most misunderstood places. This book seeks to use food to provide you with a unique window into these fascinating, and largely unexplored cultures, and then equip you with the knowledge to cook up a little of Bukhara or Mary in your own kitchen. I want to help you use your taste buds to explore the richness of Central Asian history and tradition, and provide a gastronomic tour around cities that have played, and will continue to play, a key role in the region’s drama-laden narrative.

54

www.ocamagazine.com

TheTaste of Central Asia

Iskender Kebab You might be thinking, “Hang on, isn’t that Turkish?”, and given that the dish takes its name from its Turkish creator, Iskender Efendi, you would be right. The fact that a dish so quintessentially Turkish has gained such popularity in Azerbaijan’s capital says a lot about the extent of the cultural influence exerted from the west. Make sure you order this with a frothing glass of Ayran.

Ingredients 450g beef tenderloin/steak 4 medium tomatoes 2 green chili peppers 1 cup tomato sauce (or can of crushed tomatoes) 2 tbsp of melted butter Salt, pepper and garlic (to taste) 3-4 pieces pita bread Yogurt Method Season the meat with salt and pepper and fry with butter on medium-high heat. Leave in the pan when done.

Turn your grill to medium-high heat (or preheat the oven to 205°C). Cut tomatoes in half and grill with the chili peppers. Put canned tomato sauce in a saucepan, add salt, pepper, one tablespoon of butter and two finely chopped roasted tomatoes.

Cook over low heat (5 minutes).

Take the meat out of the pan, and slice it as thin as possible. Place pieces of meat back in the frying pan and mix well with the residual juice.

Crush the garlic, and mix into the yogurt with salt.

Mix well.

Warm up the pita and cut into diamonds before layering on plate. Spread the meat evenly over the layer of pita. Pour the tomato sauce on top and place a few spoons of yogurt on the side. Garnish with the grilled tomatoes and chili peppers.

www.ocamagazine.com

55

4th Sabantui Held in London 27th June 2015 in London, the UK Tatar Association held another celebration of Sabantui. This year the festival was dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War in 1941-1945. On behalf of the Republic of Tatarstan, Ravil Akhmetshin, visited the event.

Welcoming remarks were made by Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Alexander Yakovenko; Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Republic of Tatarstan in the Russian Federation, Ravil Akhmetshin and Uzbek Ambassador to the UK, Otabek Akbarov. Additionally, the Ambassador to UK of Tajikistan, Erkin Kasymov and organizer of Sabantui, chairman of the Association of Tatars in the UK, Ramil Rifmiruly Minullin, made speeches.

Ravil Akhmetshin delivered the message of the President of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, whreupon the special guests and the organizer of the festival under the national anthem of the Republic of Tatarstan took part in the Sabantui flag-raising, which marked the official opening of the festival.

One of the events of the evening was the opening of an exhibition titled, “Friendship of Peoples - the Dialogue of Cultures�, which presented paintings by Rinat Kuramshina and Albina Kuramshina. The themes of these paintings were devoted to such significant dates as the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War in 1941-1945., 175 years since the birth of the composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky and the Year of Literature in Russia.

56

www.ocamagazine.com

Themes, so stated, clearly explored in my own work and unexpectedly shared by the remarkable poetess Lennifer Mambetova. In which case, introducing My Homeland, Oh My Crimea in its first English language edition is not simply an honour, but equally a reminder of our common human concerns. Moreover, as the first Crimean-Tartar poetry collection ever published in the English-speaking world, it is an extremely rare privilege to represent her work to my countrymen.

Certainly, Lennifer’s terse and highly evocative style will delight new readerships. Reminding them through politicized image and lamenting symbol that writer’s “learn” prose, although they “express” poetry. The latter being an act of healing, along with the possibility of genuine transcendence.

All in all, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to everyone interested in listening to one of the leading versifiers from Central Asia translated into our native tongue.

—David Parry

www.ocamagazine.com ISBN 978-1-910886-04-5

RRP:17.50 GBP

57

culture

Afghan Cultural Festival Invades London

On a crisp, sunny Sunday morning in the middle of a pleasant British summer, Afghan Association Paiwand opened the gates of its first ever independently-run Afghan Cultural Festival to scores of queuing families, anxious to get into Allianz Park before midday to witness the official opening of the Festival.

Eight hours of musical performances, family activities and athletics demonstrations began with speeches from the Mayor of Barnet, a spokesperson from Stop the War Coalition and Afghan Association Paiwand’s Chairman, who welcomed the public to enjoy the array of activities available at this year’s event.

housed nineteen charity and commercial information stalls, a children’s storytelling and performance stage and a traditional Ghazal stage, complete with a rich afternoon of performances by renowned classical musicians, including Professor John Bailey and Veronica Doubleday, Milad Yusufi, Khair Muhammad Chavosh, Karim Haqdad, Clem Alford and Sirish Manji.

The Festival was the first of its kind in London: an inclusive event that succeeded in bringing together singers, actors, classical musicians, fine artists and photographers of different Afghan backgrounds to showcase their work – both amateur and professional, local and international – to 5,000 members of the UK’s Afghan community.

Upon entering the Park, visitors were met with a dizzying variety of Afghan and Central Asian food stalls scrawled across the Piazza, and were wooed by enthusiastic restauranteurs into deciding which dish to consume, many of which reminded the elder attendees of their childhood meals taken with families back home in Afghanistan. After feeding the family, guests were invited to wander through the indoor portion of the Festival, a massive hall which

58

Across from the stage, three fine artists displayed and sold their works in an elegant exhibition space.

Afghan illustrator, Sadaf Ahmadi and Afghan painter, Mr. Hadid, showcased their pieces alongside Iranian photographer, Shahriar Khonsari, whose work depicts the plight of Afghan refugees in Iran.

www.ocamagazine.com

Meanwhile, throughout the rest of the park, children flew kites, played on fun fair rides and circus equipment, had their faces painted and watched falconry displays, while 350 Afghan footballers played an all-day, seven-a-side tournament.

volunteers who did a great job. It was the first time that my children told me they had enjoyed an Afghan event in 20 years.’

As performances on the main stage progressed, the crowd on the pitch grew into a massive sea of dancing, eating and celebrating audience members. Three well-known presenters led the crowd through children’s choir and theatre performances, and a number of opening acts, including Uzbek singer Khair Muhammad Chavosh, Scottish-born Clem Alford, Bahir Amiri, Arash Barez, London-based Elaha Sroor, Tawab Arash, rapper Bejan Zafarmel and Bashir Maidani. Finally, the beautiful Mozhdah Jamalzadeh, a Canadian-Afghan singer and activist waltzed onto the stage in a striking yellow dress before a cheering crowd of young girls and long-time fans, performing a number of her well-known favourites. As the sun began to set, headliner Sediq Shabab appeared onstage to close the festival with an hour-long performance of his best hits.

Veedda Mall

The cheery faces of children and adults alike beamed throughout the day as they enjoyed what was on offer at the event. One Festival-goer from the community said, ‘The venue, the music, the food, the stalls, the security and overall the environment was very enjoyable.

Thank you to the hard-working and responsible

www.ocamagazine.com

59

book review

paranoia among the general public in the Americas and Western Europe. But there is also a nascent anti-movement taking shape, consisting of analysts and commentators trying to resist the Washingtonorchestrated brainwash and trying to find, mostly through online channels, its way to public opinion.

The book offers a rich anthology of samples how media play into the hands of the US-led “war party” as well as those who try to expose such manipulations.

Special attention is given to the civil war in Ukraine and the way it is exploited by the west for its own geopolitical goals, and to Kyrgyzstan which remains at risk of attempts to topple Central Asia’s sole parliamentary democracy and replace it by a US “client regime”.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cold War II: Cries in the desert, or how to counterbalance NATO’s propaganda from Ukraine to Central Asia

by Charles van der Leeuw NEW BOOK SHEDS LIGHT ON WESTERN MEDIA CAMPAIGNS TO CREATE ANTI-RUSSIAN WAR MOODS

Charles van der Leeuw was born in The Hague, The Netherlands, in 1952. He started working as an independent reporter on cultural issues in a wide variety of publications back in 1977. Ten years later, he settled down in war-torn Beirut as an international war correspondent, following a first experience in Iraq in 1985 which resulted in his first book on the Iraq-Iran war. After his kidnapping and release in 1989, his second book “Lebanon the injured innocence” came out, followed, in early 1992, by “Kuwait burns”. Later in the year, he settled down in Baku, Azerbaijan, as a war correspondent.

“Storm over the Caucasus” on the southern Caucasus geopolitical conflicts, came out in 1997 in the Dutch language and two years later in the first English edition. It was followed by “Azerbaijan - a quest for identity” and “Oil and gas in the Caucasus and Caspian - a history”, both published in 2000, and “Black&Blue” published in Almaty in summer 2003 (second edition published in 2007) about the stormy rise of Russia’s present-day oil and gas companies.

It was followed in 2011 by a study on Kazakhstan’s mega-fraudsters who deprived the country’s banking system both of more than ten billion in US dollar and if its investors’ confidence. His latest publication before this work was a bipartite book about the histories of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

The English publishing house Hertfordshire Press is pleased to announce the publication of the new book by the Dutch author Charles van der Leeuw “Cold War II: cries in the desert – or how to counterbalance NATO’s propaganda from Ukraine to Central Asia”.

“Cold War II” is the result of almost two years of intensive monitoring and collecting information and comments from various angles concerning US-led campaigns to surround the Russian Federation with enemies. The author signals an initial successful mass-mobilisation of western news media, including traditionally critical ones, to create anti-Russian

60

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

Hertfordshire Press 9 Cherry Bank, Chapel Street Hemel Hempstead, HP2 5DE www.hertfordshirepress.com

www.ocamagazine.com

book review

The

Wormwood Wind

This candid collection is clearly the literary outpouring of a planetary citizen. A woman equally at home on the Steppes of Central Asia as much as the Capital cities of Europe. To my mind, a far from trivial verity once we recognise the innate femininity of her versification. Similarly to Sappho (5th Century BC), Nukenova allows everyone access into a woman’s world, wherein seductive complexities of thought becomes manifest through wit and rhetoric.

Admittedly, her images are often sharp—carefully elaborated for their own jovial sake. Moreover, she has the habit of quoting conversations (imaginary or real) to gain an almost naked immediacy in front of her readers. Yet, in a myriad of manners dissimilar to the Greeks (who apparently prized an unbalanced, one-sided, or exaggerated, mode of perfection), Nukenova stands shoulder to shoulder with Viking peoples when they contend only heroic lives can deal with apparent antinomies. For us, “To Be” is “To Do” and “To Do” is “To struggle” ….. a sense of fated destiny we apparently share with our Kazakh brothers. Either way, Nukenova seems to believe battling for an honest personal “Becoming” is the hardest of all wars to win.

— David William Parry

Illistrations by Kristina Glazunova

Raushan Nukenova poetry edited by David Parry

www.ocamagazine.com

61

ORZU ARTS FESTIVAL OPEN CENTRAL ASIA

First Central Asian Arts Festival Finds Plenty of Followers

62

www.ocamagazine.com

On 20th September 2015 ORZU Arts and their partners, brought the sights and sounds of the Central Asian republics to their local community in South East London in an all-Central Asian Arts Festival.

Fortunately the rain clouds parted and the sun shone through a blue sky on the TeachSport Community Centre Fields in Catford, London SE6. A Kazakh yurt, kindly lent by SOAS at London University, beautifully decorated in the Central Asian style was the eye-catching focal point. It provided a traditional space to greet guests, with tea, Uzbek bread, typical sweets and have conversations. Her Excellency Gulnara Iskakova, the Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan, was the guest of honour at the event.

Later a crowd settled on the carpets inside the yurt to listen to Dr. Rachel Harris from SOAS giving an illustrated lecture about her research into Uyghur culture. Otherwise, the cosy yurt quickly became a favourite place for children to play.

Throughout the afternoon, the fields outside rang with music from distant lands and many festival visitors danced. From Uzbekistan, the soulful voice of Guljahon Baiz, who had flown in from Sweden specially to perform; from the London the Uyghur ensemble who played traditional music, accompanying Rahima Mahmut who sang and danced. There was music and singing from a Kazakh dutar group and from Sevara Yakubova who performed a captivating Tajik dance, dressed in a glittering traditional silk costume and headdress. Nazgul Zhuzumova & Aizada Israilova danced to traditional Kyrgyz music adorned in their colourful national costumes.

The London Gypsy ensemble also performed, as did Verdat Kafkasyali’s duo with vigorous music from Azerbaijan.

Surrounding the yurt were stalls presenting more of the cultures of Central Asia, including Pasha Restaurant serving delicious traditional food all afternoon, London’s Uyghur community group had a stand presenting cultural information and selling traditional crafts. OCA Magazine, in conjunction with Hertfordshire Press, presented a host of reading material on Central Asia.

The good news is that second, larger, festival is also planned to take place in September 2016 across a number of Central London venues.

www.ocamagazine.com

63

Latest events from The European Azerbaijan Society

The European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS) is a UK-registered pan-European foundation dedicated to raising awareness of Azerbaijan and fostering closer economic, political and cultural links between that country and the nations of Europe.

In addition to promoting the positive aspects of Azerbaijan, TEAS also highlights the plight of the 875,000 refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) within the country.

These people are unable to return to their homes and lands due to the illegal occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions by Armenia’s armed forces – in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions.

TEAS was launched in November 2008, having initially been established as the London Azerbaijan Society four years earlier. The organisation now has offices in the UK, Belgium, France, Germany and Turkey, along with a representative office in Azerbaijan.

The sensational Emil Afrasiyab demonstrated remarkable synergy with the other members of his quartet – Antoine Katz (bass guitar), Alexandre Madeline (tenor saxophone) and Raphaël Pannier (drums) (Photo: Stylin’CO)

Emil Afrasiyab headlines the Festival Jazz à Saint-Germain-des-Prés Leading Azerbaijani jazz pianist Emil Afrasiyab has dazzled 380 jazz aficionados in Paris with his dexterity and innovation on the second night of the prestigious 15th Festival Jazz à SaintGermain-des-Prés. On 29th May, the audience included H.E. Elchin Amirbayov, Azerbaijani Ambassador to France; bass guitarist Kyle Eastwood, son of legendary film star Clint; author Michel Contat, a leading literary and jazz critic; and Alain Kassimatis, the renowned jazz producer. TEAS France sponsored the concert, having done so at the previous edition of the festival, when the spotlight was directed towards pianist Isfar Sarabski.

TEAS has three main facets to its operations: Culture – TEAS raises awareness of Azerbaijan’s rich and vibrant culture to a worldwide audience by organising cultural events and operating as a networking centre.

Business – TEAS supports its membership of European and Azerbaijani businesses.It provides a platform for organisations to establish links and strengthen their existing business relationships via a programme of networking opportunities across the regions.

Public Affairs – TEAS works to increase awareness about Azerbaijan amongst key opinion-formers, key decision-makers and other political, academic and civil society stakeholders.

For more information on all TEAS events, both past and future, go to www.teas.eu

64

Born in Baku in 1982, Emil is a major artist amongst the new generation of Azerbaijani jazz performers. He specialises in the synthesis of jazz with Azerbaijani mugham, both of which feature a high degree of improvisation and provide great scope for personal expression. His work is notable for its contrasts in intonation, and fluctuating harmonics and rhythms, more commonly found in classical music.

The set began with Emil’s self-penned Two Worlds. After a delicate and rhapsodic solo introduction, Emil increased the tempo, running up and down the piano keyboard, his music incorporating the Eastern harmonies and microtones found in mugham, being carried along by the propulsive polyrhythmic drumming of Raphaël Pannier. This was followed by a version of Azerbaijani jazz-mugham pioneer Vagif Mustafzadeh’s March, which included Alexandre Madeline on tenor saxophone. Emil then performed Aziza, his own composition, dedicated to Vagif Mustafazadeh’s daughter of the same name, who is renowned as a jazz singer/pianist in her own right.

www.ocamagazine.com

events As an encore, the audience were rewarded with variations on the main theme of the Azerbaijani traditional dance Shalakho, written in the challenging time signature of 6/8. This saw Alexandre’s saxophone take on the role of the traditional balaban flute, before wildly entering the realms of free jazz and calland-response dialogue with the percussion of Raphaël.

Initially, Emil’s pianistic skills were solely heard in the borders of his home country. However, this changed in 2011, when he received the Public Prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and in 2012 he went to study performance and composition at the Berklee College of Music in the US, where he now resides.

The second half of the concert comprised a performance by the septuagenarian jazz-rock pioneer Aldo Romano and the other members of his trio.

The concert came in the middle of a three-date French festival tour by Emil’s quartet that began on 27th May with a performance at the inaugural Sunnyside Festival in Reims, attended by around 150 people, including Pascal Labelle, Deputy Mayor of Reims in charge of Culture and Ayaz Gojayev, Cultural Advisor to the Azerbaijani Embassy in France. The tour concluded on 7th September with the opening concert of the Colmar Jazz Festival.

TEAS France sponsored Emil’s participation in all three festivals.

To see and hear Emil performing Aziza at the 2013 Baku International Jazz Festival, go to http://bit.ly/emilaziza.

Tale Heydarov, Chairman, TEAS opened the reception, watched

by Bob Blackman MP, Secretary, Azerbaijan APPG and H.E. Tahir Taghizadeh, Azerbaijani Ambassador to the UK (Photo: Andrew Wiard)

UK Parliament showcases Baku2015 The Baku2015 European Games were celebrated during an official reception for around 120 people in the Churchill Room of the UK Parliament on 3rd June. Attendees included Baroness Uddin, Lord Addington, Lord Kilclooney, Lord Risby, Lord Foulkes, Lord German, Lord Brookhaven, and the MPs Judith Cummins, Stephen Hammond, Christopher Pincher, Bob Blackman, Roger Godsith, Damien Green, Mike Gapes, together with diplomats, representatives of UK and Azerbaijani sports federations and

friends of Azerbaijan. The reception was organised by TEAS and hosted by Lord Addington.

During the Games, which ran from 12–28 June, Baku hosted more than 6000 athletes from over 50 countries, competing in more than 20 sporting disciples. Of these, 16 sports offered qualification opportunities for the Rio2016 Olympic Games.

Tale Heydarov, Chairman and Founder, TEAS, said: “The fact that the first European Games were granted to Azerbaijan proves that the country is worthy to host them. During the past decade, the economic level and infrastructure of my country has developed considerably. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has chaired the Azerbaijani Olympic Committee for some years, which has given a great boost to the development of sports in Azerbaijan. We are now reaping the fruits of these developments.”

In a video address, Simon Clegg, Chief Operating Officer, Baku European Games Operations Committee (BECOG), said: “We have had to compress all that is required to host a Games into just 30 months – this normally takes seven years. This has been an immense undertaking, and resulted in a coming together of both the expat community and the talented people of Azerbaijan.”

Lord Addington commented: “Games are a celebration of sport, and provide a valuable opportunity for the cross-fertilisation of ideas and cultures. Azerbaijan has given a new platform for Games to Europe; this will be a festival of sports, and will be something very special.”

Saida Zulfugarova and Sahib Pashazade blended Azerbaijani and western musical traditions across a range of musical styles (Photo: Philippe Afantchawo)

European and Eastern musical traditions brought together at the Sorbonne University Azerbaijani classical pianist Saida Zulfugarova, who is no stranger to the stage of the Sorbonne, has duetted with Sahib Pashazade – a leading exponent of the Azerbaijani tar – to dazzle more than 200 Parisian musical connoisseurs with a concert entitled Les Traditions en mode classique. The concert took place on 8th June in the historical Amphitheatre of La Sorbonne.

www.ocamagazine.com

65

Following the concert, Sonia Mendieta de Badaroux, Former President of the Executive Board of UNESCO, and Member of the Association of Friends of Azerbaijan, wrote: “We would like to congratulate you most sincerely for the extraordinary and wonderful concert… we had the privilege of listening to the great pianist Saida Zulfugarova and Sahib Pashazade, performing on a traditional instrument acknowledged as part of Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. Thank you – Azerbaijan has a gold mine of artists – and we are discovering this by virtue of the collaboration between TEAS and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in France.”

These two diverse instruments performed duet arrangements of Astor Piazzolla’s languorous Oblivion, Georges Bizet’s evocative Carmen Overture and Vittorio Monti’s exhilarating Czardas. They also played some works from the Azerbaijani classical repertoire, including Farhad Badelbeyli’s Shusha and Ramiz Rzaev’s Chahargah Rhapsody. Ms Zulfugarova concluded with Beethoven’s Sonata No.17 ‘The Tempest’ and Liszt’s Grande Etude Campanella, and the concert received a standing ovation.

about the Khojaly Massacre to be published in the West in English.”

He went on to say that: “Armenia has refused to accept responsibility for what happened, going as far as to say that Azerbaijanis killed their own people in order to make the international community turn against Armenia. This is why it was so important for us to produce as much evidence as we could. The book includes interviews with witnesses of the events in Khojaly, materials published in the international press, the views of foreign researchers, reports from international organisations and rare pictures taken by international photographers.”

H.E. Tahir Taghizade, Azerbaijani Ambassador to the UK, said: “There are people who share military, moral and legal responsibility for what occurred in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Until they are brought to justice, we will have no guarantee that something like this will not happen again in the future.”

Fiona Maclachlan, joint editor of the book, sadly passed away last year. Alastair Maclachlan, her husband, spoke on her behalf. He said: “When Fiona came back from having interviewed the survivors of Khojaly, she said she was honoured and very moved. Fiona genuinely hoped that this book would make a difference to the people who had suffered and that it would do the same for those who read it.”

Co-editor Ian Peart explained the justification for the new book

Landmark book on Khojaly Massacre launched in the UK Parliament On 1st July, the book Khojaly Witness of a War Crime: Armenia in the Dock was launched in the House of Lords.

The event was hosted by Lord Kilclooney and organised

by TEAS. Those attending included Lord Foulkes, Lord Addington and Bob Blackman MP. The book launch commemorated the victims of the Khojaly Massacre in 1992, the worst single atrocity of the Armenian–Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

On the night of 25–26 February 1992, 613 civilians were brutally murdered. The death toll included 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly people.

Ian Peart, Project Co-ordinator, TEAS, who co-edited the book, stated: “The book, Khojaly Witness of a War Crime: Armenia in the Dock, is the first independent publication

66

Leading photographer Philipp Rathmer outlines his experiences in the IDP camps alongside Marc Verwilghen, Director, TEAS Benelux

Stark photos of Azerbaijani IDPs and refugees come to the Belgian Senate Following a landmark decision by the President of the Belgian Senate, the stark photos of Azerbaijani IDPs and refugees went on display for one week amidst the neoclassical surroundings of the Belgian Senate in Brussels on 16 June in commemoration of UN World Refugee Day. This emotionally-charged exhibition, organised by TEAS Benelux, served to capture the ongoing plight of some of the refugees and IDPs from the Armenian-occupied ter-

www.ocamagazine.com

ritories of Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven surrounding regions.

The renowned German photographer Philipp Rathmer said: “In July 2012, I spent one week visiting IDPs and refugees in the Azerbaijani towns of Takhtakorpu and Guzanli, near the Armenian border, and Darnagul and Gizigum, located north of Baku. Throughout, I aimed to represent the suffering of these people by focusing on their faces in extreme close-up. Each subject was shot in exactly the same way, against a black background, lit in indirect sunlight, emphasis being placed on capturing the faces, sufferings and stories of the people. You can see the problems in their eyes and wrinkles.

“The focus was on the human situation – I noted each subject’s name, age, occupation, name of the camp in which they lived and the town from which they had been displaced. They also spoke of their experiences, some very candidly, some with reticence. These photos show one side of the conflict – the side that had to flee and give up their homes. They therefore represent all those who are displaced in the world’s many wars. One aspiration was common to all – they wanted to take one of the five roads leading back to the occupied regions – one of the Five Roads Back Home.” To date, Five Roads Back Home has been exhibited to wide acclaim in Berlin, Paris and Istanbul.

to the composer’s wife (and his favourite dog); Triunfal, one of his earliest compositions, dating back to his studies in Paris under the tutelage of Nadia Boulanger; the languorous Oblivion, composed for the soundtrack of the film Enrico IV; and the four sections of the Angel Suite, written to accompany a phantasmagorical play set in an apartment building in Buenos Aires.

The concert also included works by the contemporary Argentine composers Gustavo Beytelmann – including the titular Encuentro – and Ramiro Gallo. The Belgian composer Frédéric Devreese also contributed two atmospheric works from his rich canon – the quirky Passage à 5 and Final Game IV. Following a standing ovation, the Ensemble performed two glorious encores – a lullaby

by Montsalvatge entitled Canción de cuna para dormir a un negrito, featuring the tenor Neil Latchman, and the evocative 1930s tango Che Bandoneón, composed by Anibal Troilo. To order Encuentro, go to www.decoensemble. com/music.

The set concluded with one of Isfar’s most popular compositions – G Man – which began with a Bachian introduction, before developing a funky bassline that gave rise to Isfar’s evermore inventive and octave-jumping improvisations.

Despite screaming and whistling for more, the transfixed Ronnie Scott’s audience was disappointed, as the scheduling of the evening gave no opportunity for encores.

However, their rapturous response left no doubt that he will soon return to the club.

Future Events

Sabina Rakcheyeva and the Deco Ensemble captivated the audience with tracks from their début album (Photo: Lepton Productions)

Encuentro launched in London The début album by the critically-acclaimed Deco Ensemble, comprising Azerbaijani violinist Sabina Rakcheyeva alongside Bartosz Glowacki (accordion), Ricardo Gosalbo (piano), Rob Luft (guitar) and Elena Marigómez (double bass) was launched at the Purcell Room in London’s Southbank Centre on 9th July with the support of TEAS. The programme focused on the ‘tango nuevo’ genre, particularly concentrating on pieces by Astor Piazzolla, including his romantic Mumuki, written in 1984 and dedicated

14th October - TEAS Business Forum Brussels: Azerbaijan through the eyes of international investors Diamant Conference & Business Centre, Auguste Reyerslaan 80, 1030 Brussels, Belgium RSVP to aygun.ismayilova@teas.eu before 15 September.

This business forum will comprise the following sessions: energy, agribusiness, infrastructure and ICT. Companies from Azerbaijan, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and the UK will be in attendance.

21st October - Geostrategic Maritime Review: The Caspian Sea – geopolitical and geostrategic stakes for the wider region (Paris) L’Hôtel de l’Industrie, Société d’Encouragement pour l’Industrie Nationale, 4 Place Saint-Germain, 75006 Paris RSVP by 10 October to paris@teas.eu or communications. assistant@obgms.org

www.ocamagazine.com

67

events

London Hosts Roundtable on Water for Life

On 25th June 2015, the Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan in London organised a round table to discuss the outcomes of High-Level International Conference on the implementation of the International Decade for Action “Water for Life”, 2005-2015. The Ambassador of Tajikistan in the UK gave an overview on the main results of the conference, outlined the provisions of the Dushanbe Declaration adopted at the Conference and spoke about the initiative of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan on a new “Decade for Actions” and “Water for Sustainable Development”.

The Second Secretary of the Embassy reviewed, in his presentation, the global water initiatives of Tajikistan that have been implemented during the last decades. Along with actions of Tajikistan on an international level, special focus has been given to the important role of the country in regional water cooperation. Mr.Richard Taylor, Chief Executive of International Hydropower Association then talked on the subject of climate change and sustainable development. Mr. Taylor provided detailed analysis of the impact of climate change on the preservation of water resources and energy generation by hydro power stations. At the end participants discussed related topics and evaluated the outcomes of the conference and the role of Tajikistan in promoting the international water agenda. The event was attended by the representatives of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, embassies accredited in London, experts and the media.

CATBIG Hosts Central Asian Ambassadors

On 6th of July 2015 the British Expertise International hold a meeting dedicated to the economic, political and commercial situation in Central Asian countries. The guests of honor at the event were the British Ambassadors to Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

Alexandra Hall has been British Ambassador to Georgia since September 2013. Alexandra spoke to CATBIG members last May when she gave her initial impressions of Georgia and this time was able to give a mid-posting update as well as compare to her previous postings in Bogota (Deputy Head of Mission) and prior to that in New Delhi, Washington and Bangkok.

Dr Carolyn Browne has been British Ambassador to Kazakhstan since January 2013. She has spoken to CATBIG a number of times, and her insights into the politics, economy and commercial opportunities in this key emerging market, a critical player in energy supplies to Europe,

68

are always most sought after. Sanjay Wadvani OBE has been British Ambassador to Turkmenistan since December 2013. CATBIG has worked closely with Sanjay and his team on a range of commercial initiatives, including the Turkmenistan-UK Trade & Industry Council (TUKTIC), and focus events on technical and vocational education and business resulting from Ashgabat holding the Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games in 2017.

An Unusual British-Iranian Experience

On 30th of July 2015, Hertfordshire Press publishing house held an author talk on the book, “Land of forty tribes” by British-Iranian author, Dr.Farideh Heyat. The event took place at the Society for Co-operation in Russian and Soviet Studies. Numerous guests attended, including students from SOAS University of London. The author made an interesting presentation of her new book and shared her experiences of travelling in Central Asia, good and bad. Her “Land of forty tribes” book was published in 2015 by British publishing house “Hertfordshire Press” and this latest talk is one of a number by the author. The first presentation was held on May in London. And in July was held one more presentation in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Kazakh Khanate’s 550th Anniversary Celebrations

On 10th of June 2015, the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and British company, Silk Road Media, held an author talk on the book, “Vanished Khans and Empty Steppes” by English writer, Robert Wight. The event took place at Yunus Emre Institute London Turkish Cultural Centre and was devoted to the 550th Anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate.

The welcome speech was made by the First Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Askar Zhiymbayev.

Numerous distinguished guests attended, including participants of the first Kazakh delegation from South Kazakhstan (Shymkent), which was visiting Stevenage on the occasion of celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of twin cities status between Shymkent and Stevenage.

The event was also attended by British publisher, Marat Akhmedjanov, who told the audience about the work of his Hertfordshire Press

www.ocamagazine.com

events

publishing house.The company specializes in publishing books by authors from Kazakhstan and Central Asia. There was also an exhibition of books about Central Asia published by Hertfordshire Press. “Vanished Khans and Empty Steppes” was published by Hertfordshire Press in London in 2014.

British Chamber of Commerce Launches in Astana

On 14th September 2015, the British Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan was officially launched in Astana during the visit of Lord Maude, the UK Minister of State for Trade and Investment to Kazakhstan. The British Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan is a member of the international network of British Chambers of Commerce and is a business association supported by UKTI (UK Trade and Investment) with close ties to the British Embassy in Astana. The aim of the British Chamber is to facilitate trade and investment between Kazakhstan and the UK as well as to support the commercial, economic and financial interests of the British business community in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The official launch was attended by the Honorary President of the British Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan, Professor Charles Hendry, as well as representatives of the government of Kazakhstan and the British business community working in Kazakhstan.

Iran After the Nuclear Deal: ­Looking to the Future

A special session on Iran titled, “Looking to the Future” was chaired by the chairman of the South Asia and Middle East Forum, Khalid Nadeem, on 17th September 2015 in the House of Commons, London.

Keynote speakers included: Mr Richard Bacon ­ Conservative MP, Mrs Tasmina Ahmed­Sheikh ­Scottish National Party MP, Dr Jack Caravelli­ Special adviser to President Clinton on nonproliferation policy, Mr Jonathan Paris ­Political Analyst, Ms Nazenin Ansari ­Journalist, and Ms Sharan Tabari ­Analyst. Guests came from a host of countries across the world and the session covered a range of topics both associated with the nuclear deal and the new opportunities arising from it.

The conclusion of the session suggested that there seems to be an impetus for greater trade relations between the West and Iran, and the U.K. in particular. This can be personified by British Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond’s recent trip to Iran to reopen the British embassy in Tehran, accompanied by a business delegation. The reopening of embassies has been predicted to spur tourism to Iran, which will also create business and trade opportunities for companies both inside and outside of the country. The gradual release of money back to Iran in accordance

with the international agreements now signed is anticipated to help the country relieve the majority of its debt and to rehabilitate its economy which has been crippled under the sanctions regime. Yet, there is still some cause for concern over the lack of transparency over how these funds will be split and spent. General consensus among the speakers of the forum was that the nuclear deal provides a great opportunity not only for Iran, but for Western countries whom may be interested in opening up diplomatic and trade relations with the country. However, they claim that this is wholly dependent on whether Iran upholds the agreement.

Almaty Hosts KITAPFEST Again

On 5th September 2015, the Charitable Fund “Baurzhan”, the Eurasian Franchise Association and the Department of Culture of Almaty organised the biggest book festival in Almaty. This was the second Almaty KITAPFEST book festival and was dedicated to children’s literature.

The aim of the festival was to grow the popularity of book reading among children and young people and raising the status of literature.

The program included an illustrated book exhibition, a book fair of the largest Kazakh publishing houses and bookshops, book launches of several Kazakh writers, master classes, live concerts, competitions and book readings.

During the festival there was a book fair, which was attended by publishing houses and bookshops. There were also numerous lectures and master classes with Kazakh poets and writers.

As part of the KITAPFEST book festival the Charitable Fund “Baurzhan” held a charity campaign to collect books for children suffering from leukemia and cancer. At the end of the festival the books were given to patients of the Scientific Centre of Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery.

The first KITAPFEST Book Festival was held in 2014, on the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan alley in Almaty. The event was attended by numerous guests, Kazakh writers and publishing houses of the city.

Embassy of Kazakhstan, Pavel Miheev, OCA

www.ocamagazine.com

69

events

Russian Embassy Counselor Hands Over Post

On 5th of August 2015 a farewell party was held for the Russian Embassy’s Counselor in the UK, Sergey Nalobin. Nalobin has been conscientiously performed his duties for the last five years. The event was attended by representatives of the diplomatic community. Sergey Nalobin has supported Open Central Asia magazine throughout his stay in London and we wish him all the best for the future.

The 43rd ICTM World Conference

The biggest international forum on art and culture was held between July 16th – 22nd 2015 at the Kazakh National University of Arts in Astana, Kazakhstan. This conference is the largest international meeting point for professionals from all over the world, where participants can present their research, and experience and emerge with new initiatives on music, dance, national art and culture.

More than 800 delegates from over 70 countries such as Kazakhstan, USA, China, Portugal, Turkey, Russia visited the event. During these days some 30 parallel sessions discussed the following themes: Music and New Political Geographies in the Turkic-speaking World and Beyond; The Creators of Music and Dance; Music, Dance, the Body, and Society; Sound Environments: From Natural and Urban Spaces to Personal Listening; Visual Representation of Music Cultures.

Kazakhstan became the first Central Asian country to host an event like this. Dr. Razia Sultanova was main driving force behind the event and made a significant contribution. “We have seen beautiful dances and heard wonderful music of Asia. It was a magnificent experience for us to explore Kazakhstan and get to know Asia better,” said the ICTM President Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco.

The next conference will be held in Ireland in 2017.

2015 Paul Bergne Memorial Lecture

On 13th of May 2015, the Paul Bergne Memorial Lecture was given

by Professor Marlene Laruelle on the subject: “Central Asia In and Out: Globalizing Factors”. The event took place at St Antony’s College, Oxford.

Professor Marlene Laurelle is Director of the Central Asia Programme and a Research Professor of International Affairs at the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES), Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. The event was attended by numerous distinguished guests.

70

National «Silk Road Fair» Shymkent

On 18th September 2015 the Akimat of the South Kazakhstan region held a national tourist Silk Road Fair. The main purpose of the event was to develop domestic tourism, promote the tourist destinations of South Kazakhstan region and support the Kazakh tourism organisations.

The main participants of the fair were representatives of other regions of Kazakhstan, tour companies, hotels, resorts, national parks and nature reserves and higher and secondary special educational institutions that train specialists in the field of tourism.

The event was also attended by representatives of the Ministry of Investment and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kazakh Tourism Association, JSC “NC” Astana EXPO - 2017 “, representatives of leading European and Kazakh tourism companies and the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs.

As part of the fair, a forum was held that explored “The role of regional tourism in the conduct of the Expo - 2017” and included a presentation on the “Convention Centre of Shymkent”. There were also learning seminars for tour operators and representatives of the hotel industry, which addressed the importance of marketing activities, the development of domestic tourism, and the formation of tour packages at the international exhibition EXPO - 2017.

Popovich Student Prepares For Success

Tamila Salimdjanova delighted her audience at Bloomsbury Square on 20th August 2015 when she played a piano recital at the Equipes de Sogdiana concert, with pieces from Haydyn, Schubert and Debussy.

Salimdjanova is one of only a handful of pianists who have managed to participate in two of the three major big competition held this year: Tchaikovsky, Leeds and Chopin. She is the last student of the legendary Tamara Popovich, who produced many laureates and top prize winners of Tchaikovsky and Chopin, the most famous of them being Alexei Sultanov. At present she is studying both at the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory with Irina Plotnikova and at the Royal College of Music with Dmitry Alexeev. She is supported by the Future for Russia Scholar and the Lee Abbey Award and in the past received grants from the International Charitable Fund of Vladimir Spivakov and the Russia Performance Art Fund.

www.ocamagazine.com

www.ocamagazine.com

71

In Memoriam Kazat Akmatov 1941 - 2015

Prominent Kygyz writer and friend of Silk Road Media, Kazat Akmatov, who co-chaired the Kyrgyzstan Democratic Movement patry in the 1990s, died on 13th September 2015 at home in Kyrgyzstan at the age of 73.

Born in 1941 in the Kyrgyz Republic under the Soviet Union, Akmatov had first -hand experience of extreme political reactions to his work, which was deemed anti-Russian and anti-communist and resulted in censorship. Akmatov was a gifted storyteller, whose writing was imbued with a passion for his homeland and concern over the oppression of his people. His determination to fight for basic human rights in oppressed countries led him to play an active and prominent role in the establishment of the Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan. Even in the post-Soviet era, he continued, through his writing, to highlight the many problems faced by the Central Asian countries.

Although he has written many books, his book “Thirteen Steps Towards the Fate of Erika Klaus” was translated into English and published by Hertfordshire Press in 2013. It was written in Russian in 2007 and concerns the recent past of 1995, telling the story of a naïve Norwegian girl who volunteers to teach English in a remote Kyrgyz village within the vicinity of a frontier military outpost that ultimately leads to her shocking demise.

“Munabiyya” was Akmatov’s second book to be translated into English and published by Hertfordshire Press in 2014. It tells of two love stories set in rural Kyrgyzstan, where the natural environment, local culture, traditions and political climate all play an integral part in the dramas that unfold. Akmatov presents an interesting insight into a rural community, the power relations between men and women, and a gripping human drama.

Writer and Diplomat, Chingiz Aitmatov, once said of Akmatov, “Despite being prohibited from publishing under Soviet rule, Kazat Akmatov never gave up, and through his writing, takes his own stance on highlighting the need to protect the rights and liberties of small nations from the powers that be. His novels thus focus on the life and fate of oppressed colonial peoples, including Kyrgyz, Tibetans and Chechens, who have been seeking their freedom and independence for centuries.”

Open Central Asia’s Editor-in-Chief, Nick Rowan, who met Akmatov on his last visit to London said, “We are deeply saddened to learn of Kazat Akmatov’s passing. His drive and determination to get his important messages across through his writing, irrespective of the huge personal risk to himself, are contributions we should admire, respect and follow.”

72

www.ocamagazine.com

Friendly Steppes: A Silk Road Journey chronicles an extraordinary adventure that led intrepid traveller Nick Rowan to some of the world’s most incredible and hidden places: from Venice through Eastern Europe, still recovering from brutal warfare; on to Turkey, the gateway to Asia, and much-misunderstood Iran; across the exotic steppes of Central Asia, emerging from Soviet domination; and finally into a rapidly developing yet still mysterious China. Intertwined with the majesty of 2000 years of Silk Road history, Friendly Steppes recounts not only the author’s travels but the remarkable impact that this trade route has had on modern culture.

Containing colourful stories and characters, wrapped in the local myths and legends told by the people who live along the route today, this is both an entertaining travelogue and inspiring introduction to a part of the world that has largely remained hidden from Western eyes for hundreds of years but is on the verge of retaking its central role on the international stage.

HARD BACK EDITION

RRP: £17.50

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON !

OPEN EURASIA & CENTRAL ASIA BOOK FORUM AND LITERATURE FESTIVAL

LONDON Festival organisers & partners:

CAMBRIDGE

6 – 9 NOVEMBER

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

2015