Truly Next level pettiness

All the effort being put into not triggering Putin with the sight of a Ukrainian flag in the distance (the only Ukrainian flag you can get away with openly displaying in Kyrgyzstan)

Spotted by @grafecristo over on Elon’s hellsite

This is the current Kyrgyz government’s MO: convict family members or very minor associates of opposition media/activists on bogus charges, pressure the actual target to shut up or leave the country then release what are effectively hostages on probation

They seem to have a lot of money and are actively recruiting Kyrgyz journalists (a ton have lost their jobs in recent years) with good salaries. Maria Zakharova was present at the launch in Bishkek

www.rferl.org/a/nomad-tv-r...

There is no bright communist future at the end of the book, but rather the decimation of the Kazakh way of life and allusions to the ecological hardships to come in Central Asia.

It’s really a captivating read that avoids dogmatic cliches

I'm lucky to have found some blue-collar(ish) work that helps me pay the bills and I'm hoping my Central Asia hiatus is a temporary one. Not willing to give up on research/reporting just yet, but on cold winter days such as these it can feel a bit hopeless.

thank you, much appreciated!

Thank you, Claudia! Struggling but trying––and I hope I can find the wherewithal to continue because I'm not ready to turn my back on my passions regardless of how dire the situation may seem.

Appreciate the kind words and I can totally relate to what you're going through. I'm trying to learn to accept the way things are for the moment and not beat myself about not finding an immediate solution, but my bigger hope is that we can find ways to stay connected and work together down the road

and it's been particularly hard to observe Kyrgyzstan, a country I have so much affinity for and have studied for years, spiral into a repressive authoritarian regime.

I really don't want to come across as whiny and entitled, but I'm still struggling to get my life somewhat back on track. People I looked up to have had their careers destroyed, the job market is abysmal, I have lost all faith in academia (not that I had much) & the future of journalism is so bleak

Malik Alikeev version of "Mölmölüm" www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSeW...

Zeynep Shakeeva's "Chagylgan" is another classic
youtu.be/FSyxa8oWu3I?...

Bek Borbiev is a living legend and this 90s (?) performance of "Aïzada" is great
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlPI...

Some of the greatest hits (lots of them are real tearjerkers)
Gülnür Asanova's "Unutpadym" (I have not forgotten) is so beautiful
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwxb...