PHOTOGRAPHY: PROMISING WATERS. By Mila Teshaieva - Reportage from the Caspian Sea (artbooksheidelberg.com)

(artbooksheidelberg.com) »Everything is great on the Caspian Sea: the expectations for future oil and gas revenues, ambitious development projects, promises and hopes. Everything is uncertain on the Caspian Sea: the fate of the environment and the direction of its people; even the status of these promising waters is as yet undefined…« Christoph Moeskes


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Seit über vier Jahren dokumentiert die Fotografin Mila Teshaieva den Wandel in den drei am Ufer des Kaspischen Meers gelegenen ehemaligen Sowjetrepubliken Aserbaidschan, Kasachstan und Turkmenistan. Der Kampf um die enormen Erdöl- und Gasvorkommen und die Suche nach einer eigenen staatlichen Identität bringen tiefgreifende Veränderungen für die Bevölkerung, Umwelt und die allgemeinen Werte der Gesellschaft mit sich. Mit ihren Bildern spürt Mila Teshaieva einer Atmosphäre der Unsicherheit nach, den Hoffnungen und den Erwartungen an einen Wandel, deren Richtung indessen ungewiss bleibt. Ihre Fotoserie hinterlässt beim Betrachter offene Fragen über die Verbindungen zwischen Staat und privater Identität, zwischen Vergangenheit und Gegenwart sowie der Grenze von Aufstieg und Fall einer Region. 

Mila Teshaieva (* 1974 in der Ukraine) lebt in Berlin. Ihre Arbeit wurde mit zahlreichen Preisen ausgezeichnet, unter anderem mit dem Prix de la Photographie Paris, dem Humanistic Prize der Phodar Biennale, dem NPPA Best of Photojournalism, sowie dem PDN Photo Annual 2013, und wurde mehrfach in Galerien und auf Festivals in ganz Europa gezeigt. Mila Teshaieva ist Gewinnerin des Photolucida Critical Mass Book Award 2012, der das Erscheinen dieses Fotobands ermöglicht.

Autoren: Christoph Moeskes, Maya Iskenderova, Mila Teshaieva
Künstler: Mila Teshaieva

www.milateshaieva.com 

Gestaltet von Ania Nałecka
Festeinband
24 x 22 cm, 120 Seiten, 52 Farbabb.
Englisch
Lieferbar
ISBN 978-3-86828-421-8
Euro 39,90
2013 

Collector’s Edition mit 2 Prints in handgefertigter Box, 3 Sets zur Auswahl, Blattformat ca. 22 x 30 cm, in einer Auflage von 75 Exemplaren, Euro 175,–

Ausgezeichnet mit dem Prädikat "Deutscher Fotobuchpreis - Nominiert 2014"

AmazonShop: Books, Maps, Videos, Music & Gifts About The Caucasus

CALL - for Papers and Panels - Borders, Cooperation and Regional Conflict in Post-Soviet Contexts: Between Integration and Disintegration?

Tbilisi, Georgia, 28 – 30 April 2013

Conference Themes

The end of the Cold War has fundamentally changed the nature of borders within the emerging political spaces of the former Soviet Union. The collapse of the Soviet Union created thousands of kilometres of new state borders which have been redefined in terms of national sovereignty, as frames for free and sovereign action, but which also have becomes sites of hardening, closure, of new visa restrictions and, perhaps most seriously, of territorial conflict. This conference will focus on Post-Soviet states and their borders. But it is not simply about state borders as such – it is also about border conflicts, patterns of economic, political and social interaction, and actual and potential projects of regional cooperation andthe geopolitical role of the European Union in contributing to regional stability.

This conference is timely in that it will bring together researchers who been studying regional issues in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Black Sea. Furthermore, a major objective of the conference is to debate the role and aims of the EU in redefinition, negotiation and conflict over post-Soviet space. This includes local perceptions of the evolving quality of the EU’s social and political influence within Post-Soviet contexts, e.g. in countries such as Georgia, Armenia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Ukraine.

Possible topics for panels and papers include: Post-Soviet nation-building:e.g. through the renegotiation of state-society relations, new interpretations of history, identity-politics, etc.

Post-Soviet politics of borders: e.g. in terms of visa restrictions and the shrinking of CIS free visa areas, migration policies, local border regimes, etc.

Regional practices and political language of cooperation within different regional contexts (in particular Caspian Sea, Black Sea, Southern Caucasus and Eastern Europe) Natural resources, borders and interstate conflicts within different regional contexts Europeanization and Neighborhood relations: e.g. as manifested in discourses and practices of regional co-operation and institutional engagement (partly within the context of potential EU membership) between the EU as a political actor and its neighbors

The Black Sea as political/economic region and shifting Black Sea geopolitics In addition to this research focus, we will welcome panels and papers that address borders and border-related issues more generally.

Organisers:

- Georgian Institute of Public Affairs
- University of Eastern Finland – Karelian Institute and VERA Centre for Russian and Border Studies
- University of Warsaw - European Institute for Regional and Local Development (Euroreg)
- Carleton University - Centre for Governance and Public Management

Fees: Participation fees of ca. 100 USD per person (75 USD for students) will be charged in order to cover local organization costs. Participant number will be approximately 40-50

Conference days are 28 and 29 April 2013

Excursion: Starting on 30 April there will be a 1 - 1,5 day excursion to border regions (TBA)

Deadlines and abstracts:

Proposals for panels as well as individual presentations will be accepted. Please include the following information (max. 300 words per paper)

• Name of authors/contributors
• Institutional affiliations, titles
• Contact: telephone, fax, email, mailing address
• Title of the paper
• Abstract: Subject, empirical frame, analytical approach, theme

Send your proposals via email in Word format to
james.scott@uef.fi and gorzelak@post.pl

Conference Dates and Deadlines:

December 15th 2012 : deadline for submitting abstracts and proposals
December 2012 : proposals selection and notification sent to presenters
March, 15th 2013 : submission of papers to discussants
April 28th-30th 2013: Conference in Tbilisi.

EXHIBITION: Soviet Modernism 1955-1991. Unknown Stories

(azw.at) Location: Architekturzentrum Wien - Old hall

Exhibition: 08 November 2012 - 25 February 2013

Opening Hours: Daily 10am-7pm

Opening: Wednesday 7 November 2012, 7pm

Tickets: EUR 7,00 / EUR 4,50 reduced

Speakers at the opening:

Dietmar Steiner, Director Az W

Irina Korobina, Director Shchusev State Museum of Architecture

Katharina Ritter, Ekaterina Shapiro-Obermair, Alexandra Wachter, curators of the exhibition

Susanne Scholl, freelance journalist and author

The Architekturzentrum Wien writes architectural (hi)stories: ‘Soviet Modernism 1955 – 1991. Unknown Stories’ explores, for the first time comprehensively, the architecture of the non-Russian Soviet republics completed between the late 1950s and the end of the USSR in 1991. The research and exhibition project shifts the Russian-dominated perspective and focuses attention on the architecture of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Krygyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, The Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

While Constructivism and Stalinist architecture have largely been included in Western architecture history, the Soviet modern architecture of the second half of the 20th century has remained practically unknown to date. Working in close collaboration with local experts and architects, a research group at the Architekturzentrum Wien has pursued the specialities in the architecture of the period and its ‘stories’. In the course of this extensive project a network has been created between a large number of researchers from the East and the West and interviews conducted with eyewitnesses of the time. Their stories have hardly been documented in writing and their works have not yet been viewed in context. Time is running out, and action is urgently needed as many of the buildings, which are still waiting for appraisal by architectural historians, are threatened. The poor construction techniques used at the time they were built means that these buildings are aging rapidly and there is a widespread lack of resources available, or support, for their upkeep.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue in English and German editions (published by Park Books).

Team of curators: Katharina Ritter, Ekaterina Shapiro-Obermair, Alexandra Wachter

Exhibition design: Six & Petritsch

The exhibition project is based on an initiative of Georg Schöllhammer and the association 'Local Modernities'.

Thanks to:

Tranzit.at, Sweet Sixties, ERSTE Stiftung, Allianz Kulturstiftung, EU Culture, Schusev State Museum of Architecture, Moscow

Public Funding:
Geschäftsgruppe Stadtentwicklung und Verkehr
Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur
Geschäftsgruppe Kultur und Wissenschaft
Sponsor: ARCHITECTURE LOUNGE

Current
Preview
Permanent Exhibition

Soviet Modernism 1955-1991

Press Release :
Soviet Modernism 1955-1991


Further Information :
Advertising Spots for the Exhibition 'Soviet Modernism'

School groups


Guided Tours :
Guided Tour Soviet Modernism Feb.

Guided Tour Soviet Modernism Jan.

Guided Tour Soviet Modernism Dec.

Guided Tour Soviet Modernism Nov.


Related Events :
Studio Visits

19th Vienna Architecture Congress: Soviet Modernism 1955-1991

All the Best. A Walk 2012


Information :
Katharina Ritter
Phone: +43 (1) 522 31 15-32
Fax: +43 (1) 522 31 17
Email: ritter@azw.at

German Version: azw.at

DOK-SERIE: Trailer "DOK - Seidenstrasse" ab 9.11.2012 auf SF 1 (videoportal.sf.tv)

(videoportal.sf.tv) In sieben Folgen macht Peter Gysling das Publikum bekannt mit den vielfältigen Kulturen und grossartigen Landschaften entlang der legendären nördlichen Route. Das Abenteuer führt die profilierten Kaukasus- und Zentralasien-Kennerinnen und -Kenner sowie alle Interessierten von Venedig nach Xi'an in China.

+++ Mit einem ausgesprochen tollem Team war ich unterwegs in Georgien. Es hat mir sehr viel Spass gemacht mit Helen Stehli Pfister, Chirtoph Müller, Peter Gysling, Reto Vetterl, Pascal Nufer, Laurent Stoop, Maja Kobaidze, Dinara Diana Maglakelidze, Jago Arabuli  zusammenzuarbeiten. Vor allem auf den zweiten Teil der Reportage über Georgien bin ich sehr gespannt, und dann auch auf den dritten Teil über Aserbaidschan, wo Alina Abdullayeva die Kontakte hergestellt hat ... Im Südkaukasus sind zu sehen u.a.: Vater Lazare im Höhlenkloster Wardzia, Bidsina Iwanischwili in Tbilisi, Eter Turadze in Batumi, Lasha Bakradze in Tbilisi, Rena Effendi in Baku und viele andere mehr . Dank auch durch die Unterstützung von kaukasus-reisen.de (Ralph Hälbig, 26.10.2012) +++

 

mehr hier: 

SendungsübersichtRSS abonnieren

Homepage DOK - Seidenstrasse
Podcast abonnieren

• in iTunes abonnieren
• Zur Webseite von DOK - Seidenstrasse

Ab 9.11. 2012 um 21.00 Uhr auf SF 1 

• Download der Videodatei
• Als Stream ansehen

BOOK: Regional Cooperation in the South Caucasus: Good Neighbours or Distant Relatives? (amazon.com)

The South Caucasus region, comprising the former Soviet states of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia occupies a key strategic location, squeezed between the Black and Caspian Seas, Iran, Russia and Turkey. Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, the region has become an arena of geopolitical confrontation with regional powers such as Russia, Turkey and Iran vying for influence in the face of growing Western involvement. The Russian military intervention in Georgia in 2008 not only raised questions about Moscow's intentions towards its 'Near Abroad' and the future direction of its foreign policy, it also demonstrated that ostensibly local separatist disputes have serious ramifications for regional relations and the wider international community. In this book, German explores the extent of regional cooperation in the South Caucasus, analyses the reasons for the relative lack of regional cooperation and assesses the potential for deeper cooperation in the future.

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: Ashgate Pub Co (September 28, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1409407217
• ISBN-13: 978-1409407218

AmazonShop: Books, Maps, Videos, Music & Gifts About The Caucasus

JOB: Projektbearbeiter/in Finanz. Foerderung Kaukasus u. Zentralasien, Brot fuer die Welt (eed.de)

(eed.de) Für den Bereich Internationale Programme von Brot für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst suchen wir zum 01.11.2012 am neuen Dienstort Berlin für das Referat "Naher Osten, Kaukasus und Zentralasien" eine/n

Projektbearbeiter/in Finanzielle Förderung Kaukasus und Zentralasien

Im Umfang von 50% einer Vollzeitstelle

Ausschreibungsziffer 93

Die Referate sind für die Förderung von Projekten und Programmen im Rahmen der finanziellen, personellen Förderung und fachlichen Beratung von lokalen Partnerorganisationen sowie der regionalspezifischen Lobby- und Advocacyarbeit in den genannten Regionen zuständig. Hierfür werden Finanzmittel der Aktion "Brot für die Welt", des Bundes, des Kirchlichen Entwicklungsdienstes sowie der Europäischen Union eingesetzt.

Zu den Aufgaben der Projektbearbeitung gehören:

* Selbständige Bearbeitung von zugeordneten Projekten von Trägerprüfung, Antragsstellung und Begleitung bis Projektabschluss mit projektbezogenem Partnerdialog

* Sicherstellung des Bewilligungsverfahrens

* Finanzabwicklung der zugewiesenen Projekte

* Umsetzung von Methoden, Instrumenten, Qualifizierungen im Land/in der Region in Absprache mit dem/der zuständigen Referent/in

* Unterstützung für den/die zuständige RegionalreferentIn in ihren Aufgaben der Programmplanung und -umsetzung

* Dienstreisen und Organisation von Partnerbesuchen

* Unterstützung bei Lobby- und Advocacyaktivitäten

* Mitwirkung in der Öffentlichkeits- und Gemeindearbeit: Vermittlung von Kontakten und Aufbereitung von Berichten von Partnerorganisationen sowie Gemeindearbeit je nach Verfügbarkeit

* Mitarbeit in Arbeitsgruppen der Querstruktur, aktiver Informationsaustausch im Referat sowie Kommunikation mit relevanten Abteilungen

* Übernahme allgemeiner administrativer Aufgaben

* Der Stelleninhaberin/dem Stelleninhaber können Sonderaufgaben außerhalb ihres/seines üblichen Arbeitsbereichs zugewiesen werden.

Die Anforderungen an die Stelleninhaberin / den Stelleninhaber sind:

* Fachhochschulabschluss oder vergleichbare Qualifikation in relevantem Fach

* Mind. einjährige entsprechende Berufserfahrung und Auslandserfahrung

* Fremdsprachenkenntnisse: Englisch sehr gut in Wort und Schrift sowie Russisch gut in Wort und Schrift

* Kenntnisse der Ökumene, entwicklungspolitische Grundkenntnisse und Genderkompetenz * Gute betriebswirtschaftliche Kenntnisse

* Fähigkeit zur konstruktiven Zusammenarbeit, Belastbarkeit, Lernbereitschaft und Gründlichkeit

* Souveränität im Umgang mit Menschen in unterschiedlichen Kontexten

* Reflektiertheit von christlichen Werten im täglichen Handeln

* Mitgliedschaft in einer der ACK angehörenden Kirche

* Tropentauglichkeit und Bereitschaft zu Auslandsdienstreisen

Die Mitgliedschaft in einer evangelischen oder der ACK angehörenden Kirche und die Identifikation mit dem diakonischen Auftrag setzen wir voraus. Bitte geben Sie Ihre Konfession im Lebenslauf an.

Wir freuen uns über Bewerbungen von Menschen mit Behinderung.

Die Vergütung erfolgt in Anlehnung an den TVöD, Entgeltgruppe 10, nach der Dienstvertragsordnung der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland (DVO.EKD).

Ihre Bewerbung richten Sie bitte unter Angabe der Ausschreibungsziffer per Email mit einem Anhang im PDF-Format und einer maximalen Dateigröße von 3 MB bis zum 2. September 2012 an:

Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst e.V.

Personal und Soziales

Frau Marion Klinger

Ulrich-von-Hassell-Str. 76

53123 Bonn

Marion.Klinger@eed.de

Vertraulichkeit wird zugesichert.

FAHNE: Aserbaidschan muss nachlegen (krone.at)

Der aktuelle Fahnenmast-Rekord Tadschikistans dürfte im Übrigen auch anderen Höhen-Fanatikern ziemlich gegen den Strich gehen. Das kleine Land verweist nun "Fahnenriesen" wie Aserbaidschan (162 Meter) oder Südkorea (160 Meter) auf die Plätze. Turkmenistan liegt mit 133 Metern bereits weit abgeschlagen auf Rang vier...

Der ganze Artikel >>>

GEOPOLITIK: Perspektiven für das Schwarze Meer – Gas aus Aserbaidschan. Der Kampf um das Kaspische Meer. Interview Rasim Mirzayev (european-circle.de)

“The Winner is ... Aserbaidschan!” Mit dem Sieg beim Eurovision Song Contest ist das Land im Kaukasus, an der Grenze zu Russland und zum Iran, ins Bewusstsein aller Europäer gerückt. Dabei verknüpfen sich viele Energiehoffnungen mit Aserbaidschan und “Nabucco”. So ist der Name der Pipeline, die ab 2018 Gas von Aserbaidschan nach Deutschland bringen soll. Wie sicher ist das Projekt? European Circle-Korrespondent Peter Brinkmann sprach mit Rasim Mirzayev von der Humboldt-Universität in Berlin und Geschäftsführer des “EuroKaukAsia”-Vereins in Berlin.

Das ganze Interview >>>

JOURNALISM: Haley Sweetland Edwards - freelance journalist, writer, eater, adventurista, bon vivant (haleyedwards.com)

I’m a freelance reporter living and working in the Caucasus and the Middle East. Over the course of my travels, I’ve chewed qat with Yemeni sheikhs, trekked with Bedouins in the Sahara, weathered a tear-gassing in Kashmir, back-country skied in the Rockies, climbed to prehistoric cave paintings in Somaliland, sailed through the Panama Canal, picnicked in the Mayan pyramids and, just once, threw myself out of a plane over Washington State.

My reporting has appeared regularly in Los Angeles Times, and also in The Atlantic Magazine, Washington Monthly, Foreign Policy online, New York Magazine, The National, New York Times online, Slate, and Mental Floss.

I was able to report from Yemen last year thanks to a grant from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, and with funding from the Overseas Press Club Fellowship. I’ve been grossly over-educated at Yale (BA philosophy & history) and Columbia (MA journalism & politics), where I learned, among other things, how to drink whiskey, ski the giant slalom, and pretend I understand Heidegger. I currently live in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Clips +++ Blog +++ Contact

NEWS: RFE/RL Caucasus Report, January 29, 2011 - February 25, 2011 (rferl.org)

A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the countries of the South Caucasus and Russia's North Caucasus region. For more stories on the Caucasus, please visit and bookmark our Caucasus page .

Who Are Kabardino-Balkaria's 'Black Hawks'? The Kabardino-Balkaria-Karchai jamaat headed by Asker Jappuyev will have to contend with a second adversary in the shape of the "Black Hawks," a band of armed, masked, black-clad men who have vowed to kill him and others for having "brought shame upon their race" by killing innocent civilians and by aligning themselves with Chechen insurgent commander Doku Umarov. More
Abkhazia Asks Georgia To Hand Over Former Guerrilla Commander The Abkhaz delegation to confidence-building talks has demanded that Georgia hand over Dato Shengelia, commander of the now-disbanded Forest Brothers guerrilla group. More
Azerbaijani Anticorruption Campaign Unfolds Before Wary Public Eyes Three weeks have passed since the Azerbaijani government launched a well-publicized anticorruption campaign, but authorities have so far failed to convince the public of the sincerity of their intentions. More
A Look Inside Kadyrov's Villa Thanks to the Internet, we now have photos of Ramzan Kadyrov's mansion in Tsentoroi. The photos don't tell us much about the man aside from a penchant for expensive, if tasteless, furnishings. More
Proposed U.S. Budget Trims Assistance To Caucasus, Central Asia While the State Department isn't experiencing the same belt-tightening pressure as other branches of the U.S. government, an effort to cut corners -- and to free up funds for Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan -- has resulted in a proposed reduction in funding for assistance programs in Central Asia and the Caucasus in 2012. More
Rift Opens In Georgia Between The Church And State Georgia's plans with Turkey to sign an accord preserving religious heritage sites in the two countries has exposed a growing rift between the government and the Orthodox Church. More

Aliyev Steps Up Corruption Fight Azerbaijan's president has called for more vigilance in the fight against corruption and urged people to help heal what he called the "wounds" of sleaze. More
Rally Against Iran Held In Baku A rally took place on February 9 in front of the Iranian Embassy in Baku to protest what are widely perceived to be anti-Azerbaijani statements appearing in the Iranian media and Iran’s warmer ties with Armenia. More
Facebook Lands Activist In Hot Water An Azerbaijani opposition activist has been questioned by police after using his Facebook page to call on people to protest against the government. More
Mr. Bryza: They're Locking Up Our Youth After nearly a year and a half, a new U.S. ambassador has finally taken up residence in Baku. Matthew Bryza became the seventh U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan last December and says he wants to deepen U.S.-Azeri ties. His timing is perfect. His arrival has coincided with a renewed government crackdown on youth activists. More
Armenian Daily Fined For Libel An Armenian court has found the country's leading pro-opposition daily newspaper guilty of libel and ordered it to pay a fine. More
Chechen Rebel Says He Ordered Russian Bombing Chechen Islamist rebel leader Doku Umarov says he ordered a suicide bombing that killed 36 people at Russia's busiest airport last month. More
Protests At Baku's Mubarak Statue A group of Azerbaijani youth activists staged a demonstration February 6 near a statue of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Baku, in a gesture of solidarity with anti-Mubarak protesters in Egypt, More
Azeri Activist Detained On Drugs Charges An opposition youth activist has been detained on drugs-possession charges his supporters say are trumped up. More
Foreign Investors Eye Nagorno-Karabakh A group of entrepreneurs from Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia have visited the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh to look at investment opportunities. More
Largest Flag Flying Again In Baku The troubled Azerbaijani flag recognized as the world's largest -- when mounted -- is flying again. More

Small Corners Of Hell Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya was gunned down in Moscow in October 2006 primarily for her articles criticizing Russian policy in Chechnya, in particular the vindictiveness, intimidation, corruption and arbitrary brutality that are the hallmarks of the pro-Moscow Chechen leadership. More
Armenia To Probe Noncombat Deaths Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian said he would pay "special attention" to investigations into noncombat army deaths after being confronted by angry parents of dead soldiers. The parents are concerned that the authorities are not telling the truth or taking the deaths seriously. More
Mubarak Sitting Pretty In Azerbaijan Despite troubles at home, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is still sitting pretty in Azerbaijan. More
It May Be Too Late For A New North Caucasus Policy Faced with the galloping jihadization in the region, Russian experts are ever more frequently calling for a new state policy for the North Caucasus. Such calls are misguided insofar there can be no one-size-fits-all set of measures, only individually tailored solutions for specific republics. More
Armenian Economy Rebounded In 2010 Armenia's economy grew 2.6 percent last year as it rebounded from a sharp decline in 2009 caused by the global financial crisis. Growth in 2010 was driven primarily by industry and the mining sector, which benefited from a rally in prices for nonferrous metals. More
Was Daghestan Jamaat Behind Domodedovo Bombing? No group has yet claimed responsibility for the deadly blast at Moscow's Domodedovo airport. But Russian media have floated the idea that the suicide bomber was linked to the Daghestan wing of the North Caucasus insurgency, whose leader warned last October that his men would continue to "inflict horrors on the unbelievers" on their own territory. More
Why Is Georgia So Quiet About Tunisia’s Revolution? When I asked several Georgian politicians from the ruling party what the country’s position on the recent events in Tunisia is, they were caught by surprise. It is worth saying a few things about this Georgian indifference to the so-called Jasmine Revolution. More
Azeri Activist Held Over Military Service Police detained Baxtiyar Haciyev while he was on his way to neighboring Georgia. Haciyev told RFE/RL that police kept him in the police station in the western town of Qazax until 3 a.m. He was then transferred to the western city of Ganca. More
Georgia Offers Russian-Language Alternative To Kremlin TV Georgia begins broadcasts of a new Russian-language television station that seeks to bring balanced news about the Caucasus to Russian-speaking countries around the world. The director of the Kanal PIK station says the move is meant to shed light on the strategically important region of the Caucasus by breaking the Kremlin's near-monopoly on coverage. More
Russians Rethink Security President Dmitry Medvedev vows to destroy "the nests of the bandits" who perpetrated the devastating attack on Moscow's premier airport. More
Your Responses: 'What Boorishness...It Is To Talk Politics When People Are Dying!' Russians have reacted with shock and grief to the tragic terrorist bombing of Moscow’s Domodedovo airport on January 24. Here we present translations of some of the comments left on the website of RFE/RL’s Russian Service and other popular Russian-language websites. More
Armenia Downplays Tax Revenue Armenian Finance Minister Vache Gabrielian has downplayed a more than 13 percent rise in the tax revenues, saying more needs to be done to improve tax collection in the country. More
Azerbaijani Commits Self-Immolation An Azerbaijani villager has died after setting himself and his home ablaze in desperation after police pressured him to pay a fine for chopping down trees. More
Azeri Islamic Leader Gets 90 Days The chairman of the unregistered Islamic Party of Azerbaijan (AIP), Movsum Samadov, has been sentenced to three months in pretrial detention on charges of illegal arms possession, inciting terror, and seeking to change the constitutional system, Samadov was initially detained along with several members of his party on January 7 and was held for 13 days for allegedly resisting police. Samadov's lawyer says his client will appeal the detention. More
Armenian Soldier Killed In Karabakh An Armenian soldier was shot dead in continuing truce violations at Armenian-Azerbaijani "line of contact" around the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh. More
Yerevan Street Traders Protest Ban Yerevan's city administration is facing angry streets protests after its decision to ban street traders, Mayor Karen Karapetian ordered the ban after taking office last month. Police began enforcing it this week. Hundreds of traders now risk losing their sole source of income. More

VORTRÄGE: Informationen zu Zentralasien und zu dem Südkaukasien - SOMMERSEMESTER 2011

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, liebe Freunde und Freundinnen des IZK,

das Wintersemester neigt sich dem Ende zu und ich möchte mich bei Ihnen allen für das zahlreiche Erscheinen bei unseren Veranstaltungen recht herzlich bedanken. Damit Sie schon einen Vorgeschmack auf unsere Vorträge im kommenden Sommersemester bekommen schicke ich Ihnen in der Anlage unser neues Programm.

Ich habe mich bemüht viele interessante Themen auszuwählen und sowohl altbekannte und beliebte ReferentInnen als auch neue WissenschaftlerInnen einzuladen.

Hoffentlich gefällt Ihnen unser Programm und ich freue mich schon jetzt darauf Sie ab März wieder bei uns begrüßen zu dürfen.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,

Ihre Silvia de Carvalho

Österreichische Orient-Gesellschaft Hammer-Purgstall
Orient-Akademie
Leiterin des Informationszentrums für Zentralasien und Südkaukasien
A-1010 Wien
Dominikanerbastei 6/6
www.orient-gesellschaft.at

+++

Donnerstag, 10.03.2011, 18:30 Uhr
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Bert Fragner
Präsident der ÖOG, w.M. ÖAW
Ethnien, Staaten und Grenzziehungen in Zentralasien und in Kaukasien –
2.Teil: die sowjetische Nationalitätenpolitik und ihre Auswirkungen bis heute

Donnerstag, 17.03.2011, 18:30 Uhr
Dr. phil. Roman Lahodynsky
Geologe, Strahlenschutztechniker
Ressourcen und Geopolitik am Südrand Zentralasiens - alte Trennungen, neueVerbindungen - 2 Jahre am Hindukusch

Donnerstag, 24.03.2011, 18:00 Uhr
Univ.Doz.Dr.in Jasmine Dum-Tragut
Universität Salzburg, Fachbereich Linguistik
Das Streben nach Unabhängigkeit zwischen Entrussifizierung und Nationalsprache – Sprachpolitik und Sprachpflege am Beispiel der Republik Armenien

Donnerstag, 31.03.2011, 18:00 Uhr
Dr. Peter Felch
Osteuropa-Historiker, Political Officer und Wahlbeobachter der OSZE in Kirgisistan und Kasachstan 2002-2011
Kirgisistan – von Revolutionen und Wahlen

Donnerstag, 7.04.2011, 18:30 Uhr
Andrei Dörre, Dipl. Geograph, MA
Institut für Geographische Wissenschaften, Fachrichtung Anthropogeographie
der Freien Universität Berlin
Weidelandverhältnisse im Wandel - Kirgisistans bedeutende Naturressource in Zeiten gesellschaftlicher Umbrüche

Donnerstag, 14.04.2011, 18:30 Uhr
Dr. Bruno Baumgartner
Historiker, Byzantinist, Armenologe und Philosoph
Tao-Klarjeti. GeorgischeBaudenkmäler im Nordosten der Türkei

Montag, 02.05.2011, 18:30 Uhr
Mag. Johannes Wetzinger
Projektassistent am „Center for Comparative Eurasia Studies and Surveys“ (CEASS-Center) des „Instituts für Höhere Studien“, Wien
Georgien in der Ära Saakaschwili: Bilanz und Ausblick sieben Jahre nach dem Machtwechsel

Montag, 06.06.2011, 18:30 Uhr
Mag.a Daniela Mussnig, Mmag.a Joanna Pawlowska, Mag.a Sonja Tanzer
Projetkmanagerinnen des Interkulturellen Zentrums in Kooperation mit Transkaukazja 2011
Jugendarbeit im Kaukasus

Donnerstag, 09.06.2011, 18:00 Uhr
Dr.in Nino Amiridze
Sprachwissenschaftlerin
Georgian-Russian language contact

Montag, 20.06.2011, 18:00 Uhr
Mag. Harald Krachler
Freier Journalist
Entlang der Seidenstraße durch Turkmenistan

NEWSLETTER: Best Wishes for the New Year from Harvard Program on Central Asia

By John Schoeberlein


Dear Ralph:
This is a year-end message from the Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus at Harvard University. I am writing with hopes that your New Year begins with the warmth of friends and brings you rich and satisfying times throughout the year.
Also, I want to make sure you are aware of resources of our Program that are of interest to those with a focus on Central Eurasia -- from the Crimea to Mongolia:

- In the next few months our Project on Islam in Eurasia will be publishing several policy papers dealing with issues related to the changing of Islam in former Soviet societies and their broader
implications for policy. If you wish to receive notification of the papers when they are published, or to have us mail them to you, please provide your information at the following site, where you can also learn more about the Project on Islam in Eurasia:
http://islam-eurasia.fas.harvard.edu/ie_maillist.html

- The resource of our program that draws the widest interest is our Central-Eurasia-L Announcement List for Central Eurasian Studies, with over 7,000 subscribers from all over the world and has served the Central Eurasian studies community since 1995. The list distributes
announcements about new publications, conference, jobs, fellowships and other events and resources of interest to those focused on this region. For more information or to subscribe, visit:
http://cesww.fas.harvard.edu/ces_cel.html

- For those interested in the same kind of information about events and opportunities exclusively at Harvard University and in the Boston area, you may subscribe to the Central-Asia-Harvard-List, which has over 5,000 subscribers:
http://centasia.fas.harvard.edu/hpce_internet.html

- The Central Eurasia Studies Society, which was based at the Program from 2000 through 2007, has a new host -- Miami University of Ohio. The next Annual Conference, which will be Sept. 15-18, 2011 at Ohio State University, is expected to an extraordinary gathering. The Call
for Papers will be available within the next couple of weeks (and you can sign up for CESS announcements) at:
https://www.cess.muohio.edu/

- If you are a member or friend of the Central Eurasian Studies Society, you might want to follow CESS activities and link with others with similar interests through the CESS Facebook group (accessible to Facebook members):
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sfrm=1#!/home.php?sk=group_172707566077693

- The Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus at Harvard will be hosting Central Eurasian scholars specializing on topics including Islam and national identity in Tajikistan, the mass violence in Kyrgyzstan in June 2010, popular Islam in Kyrgyzstan, population studies in Mongolia, sociology of intellectual elites in Kazakhstan, among other topics. If you would like to learn more about the visitors or make contact with them, see:
http://centasia.fas.harvard.edu/hpce_visitors.html

- Those interested in promoting better links between Central Eurasia scholarship and journalism are encouraged to become involved in the Central Eurasian Scholars and Media Initiative, which was launched this fall. For more information, contact Scholars.Media.Eurasia@gmail.com

- or visit our Facebook group at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sfrm=1#!/home.php?sk=group_106716699397270

Finally, an observation from me, as someone who has specialized in Central Eurasia for almost three decades: As we approach the end of the second decade since the break-up of the Soviet Union, the implications for the study of that region can be said to be mixed. For better or worse, the possibilities for study of the region in international scholarship have greatly increased, though some parts of the region have been difficult to access and some are becoming more
difficult. The collapse of communist governments had an immediate, devastating effect on scholars in the region, though this has been partially mitigated by stabilization in some countries and by greatly increased opportunities for international support. The one area that is uniformly bright is the emergence of a new generation of scholars both within the region and globally who have been able "to put the region on the map" in international scholarship. Scholars of other
parts of the world now have much more reason to pay attention to the analyses of our part of the world.

For me, it has been tremendously satisfying to see so many good young colleagues doing work that is vastly more solid than what characterized the field when I began. Central-Eurasia-L grew quickly to encompass the lion's share of those who focused on the region, but still had less than 1,000 subscribers in 1997, whereas as now it has over 7,000. We've seen the emergence of the Central Eurasian Studies Society in 2000, and the annual conference a great critical mass of Central Eurasia scholars, as do ESCAS, ASN and some other some others, making for a tremendous community of scholars.

I wish you the very best for the New Year!
John Schoeberlein

__________________________________________________

Dr. John Schoeberlein \ Director
Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus
Davis Center \ Harvard University
1730 Cambridge St., Room S-320 \ Cambridge, MA 02138 \ USA
tel.: +1/617-495-4338 asst.: +1/617-496-2643 fax: +1/617-495-8319
schoeber@fas.harvard.edu
http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~schoeber/
http://harvard.academia.edu/JohnSchoeberlein
http://www.facebook.com/schoeberlein

Central Asia Program website: http://centasia.fas.harvard.edu
Project on Islam in Eurasia: http://islam-eurasia.fas.harvard.edu
Central-Eurasia-L: http://cesww.fas.harvard.edu/ces_cel.html

CALL: The Caucasus and Central Asia, twenty years after independences (ocamagazine.com)

Call For Papers

The Caucasus and Central Asia, twenty years after independences:
Questioning the notion of "South countries"

International conference, Almaty, August 25-27, 2011

Twenty years ago, after the collapse of the USSR, the countries of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan) and the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) became independent. The Central Asian republics, created between 1924 and 1936, could then - unexpectedly - enjoy a sovereignty previously unknown to them, whereas in the Caucasian states, the strong national movements that had developed during perestroika were deeply rooted in the past. During the 20th century, these Soviet socialist republics had been integrated into the unified production and trade system set up on the scale of the USSR and the principles of socialist planning. In this framework, they could take advantage of the resources and development policy of the Soviet state. Thus, despite any lacks or shortcomings they might have, the Caucasian and Central Asian republics belonged to the developed world in the bi-polar geopolitical division. The Caucasus and Central Asia served as models, if not showcases, for some Third World countries, all the more so as the USSR provided assistance to developing countries struggling against imperialism.

Since the collapse of the USSR and the East-West division, the North-South opposition seems to have become one of the major reading grids of the international scene. Whereas during the Cold war, geopolitical analyses rested on the ideological and strategic confrontation between capitalist and socialist worlds, the North-South grid, for the most part, pointed to inequalities in development. Appearing in the 1970s, the notion of "South" in fact replaced the term "third world countries" or "developing countries, as opposed to the "North", the developed and industrialised countries. Then came the expression "South countries", referring to the diversity of this heterogeneous ensemble made up of both emerging and least advanced countries. In these new divisions of today's globalised and regionalised world, where do we situate the independent states of Central Asia and the Caucasus?

Research on contemporary trends in Central Asia and the Caucasus contains few attempts at examining the analysis grids elaborated to study the South countries - despite the fact that after the crisis at the turn of the 1990s and the magnitude of its economic, political and social impact, the newly independent Central Asian and Caucasian states were included, by international institutions as well as non-governmental organisations, in the "South countries". As a result, during the 1990s, international assistance destined for the Central Asian republics and, to a lesser extent, the Caucasian republics, tended to slip from "transition" to "development" aid. In this respect, according to some analysts, Central Asia and the Caucasus followed a very original post-soviet trajectory, having entered into the globalised world by means of what could be called "third worldisation". Thus they argue that the border between the "North" and the "South countries", formerly located on the border of the USSR, was from then on situated on the southern border of Russia.

Since it opposes a former metropolis and its former colonies, an approach in terms of "South countries" falls into a post-colonial pattern; as such, it leads us to examine the USSR's imperial dimension and to mobilise the theoretical approaches (theory of dependency, post colonial studies, etc) to which we owe the notion of "South countries".

The current trajectories of Central Asia and the Caucasus also suggest that development issues be examined in the context of globalisation. In particular, these issues require an analysis of the transition paradigm developed during the 1990s by international organisations, aimed at replacing the socialist model with a political system organised on a democratic basis, an economy based on liberal capitalist principles and a Euro-Atlantic geopolitical positioning. Economic and social dynamics have tended to invalidate this teleological notion, which conditioned development and oriented the insertion of Central Asian and Caucasian republics into the mechanisms of globalisation. However, it is essential to question transition policies in order to evaluate the slippage towards the "South" which has taken place since their independence.

The present period can be likened to a moment of diversification and individualisation of societies, economies and territories, on the basis of the Newly Independent States. In this respect, an examination of contemporary transformations in all their complexity not only means keeping a close watch on the diversity of political, economic and social actors, but also trying to identify the fault lines which tend to segment Central Asian and Caucasian territories and societies.

The aim of the conference "The Caucasus and Central Asia, twenty years after independences: an examination of the notion of 'South Countries'" - is to question the relevance of heuristic tools based on territories situated in the "South" but also, the very notion itself of "South countries", so as to gain insight into the southern peripheries of post-soviet space. Its purpose is to bring together researchers in all social science disciplines (sociology, history, political science, geography, anthropology, demography and economics). This diversity should favour a confrontation of approaches and further insight into the complexity of the itineraries followed by the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus in the past twenty years.


Themes

The formation of states: post-colonial problems?

- The formation of Republican territories: the history of borders, border policy and implementation, autonomous territories, political structuring of space;
- The structuring of political domains: creation of regional and local Republican state apparatuses at the time of incorporation into the Soviet Union; the ethnicising and confessionalising of political issues;
- The transformation of Soviet and post-Soviet elites, the emergence of new actors and new political resources (NGOs, etc.).

Inequality and poverty: societies thrust into third world status?

- Pauperisation and social differentiations; social and spatial segregation-aggregation; city-rural inequalities;
- Work migrations: socio-economic and political causes for mobility (poverty, conflicts, etc); implementation of public policies; life itineraries and strategies of migrants; social, demographic and economic consequences of migration in the country of origin and the host country;
- Questions on the definition of South countries from the point of view of demographic transition (fertility, mortality, life expectancy).

International geopolitical insertion: are the South countries being dominated?

- Global and regional power plays, in particular Russia, the former metropolis;
- The positioning of international organisations;
- The role of cross border enterprises;
- The international ambitions of certain Central Asian and Caucasian states;
- Regional alliances.

Economic globalisation: are the South countries being exploited?

- Re-orientation of economic and commercial exchanges;
- Government action in the economic sector and the role of national and international entrepreneurs: the appropriation and exploitation of Central Asian and Caucasian resources;
- Fashioning of a resource based economy and link with development;
- The informal sector and "globalisation from the bottom up".

Organisation:

The conference "The Caucasus and Central Asia, twenty years after independences: questioning the notion of 'South Countries'" will be held in Almaty on August 25th, 26th, and 27th, 2011.

Proposals for communications should be sent before January 15th, 2011 at the following address: colloque.sudsov@gmail.com. They may be written in French, English, or Russian. Please, send an abstract (about 2000 signs), and a short CV. Answers will be sent by the organisation committee before February 28th 2011.

Working languages will be English and Russian.

Organising Institutions:

Centre d'étude des mondes russe, caucasien et centre-européen (CERCEC)
(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris
Institute for oriental studies, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Almaty) ANR (French National Research Agency)
Program "Sudsov", Paris
IFEAC (French Institute for Central Asian Studies), Tashkent
Centre franco-russe de recherche en sciences humaines et sociales, Moscow.

Organisation committee:

Sophie Hohman, CNRS-CERCEC/ INED (National Institute for Demographic Studies), Paris,
Anne Le Huérou, CNRS-CERCEC, Paris,
Isabelle Ohayon, CNRS-CERCEC, Paris,
Amandine Regamey, Paris I University/CERCEC, Paris,
Nazigul Shajmardanova, Institute for Oriental Studies, Almaty,
Silvia Serrano, Université d'Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, CERCEC, Paris,
Julien Thorez, CNRS- Center "Mondes iranien et indien", Paris.

International scientific committee:

Sergey Abashin, Institute of ethnology and anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow,
Alexandre Iskanderyan, Caucasus Institute, Erevan,
Mohamed-Reza Djalili, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva,
Sanat Kushkumbaev, Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies, Almaty,
Vladimir Mukomel, Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Claire Mouradian, CNRS-CERCEC, Paris,
Ghia Nodia, Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development/Ilya University, Tbilissi,
Saodat Olimova, Sharq Center, Duchanbe,
Jean Radvanyi, Centre franco-russe de recherche en sciences humaines et sociales, Moscow.

RUSSLAND: "Russische Märsche" gegen Gastarbeiter und Andersdenkende. Von Ulrich Heyden (heise.de)

Nachdem Rechtsradikale den russischen Feiertag der "Volkseinheit" mit ihrem "Russischen Marsch" prägten, hat nun die Kreml-nahe Jugendorganisation Naschi den Markennamen übernommen

Die Fenster in dem 13geschossigen Plattenbau im Moskauer Bezirk Ljublino öffneten sich, trotz Nieselregen. Neugierige Anwohner schauten nach unten auf die breite Pererwa-Straße. Dort zog am 4. November ein "Russischer Marsch" vorbei. 5.000 Rechtsradikale marschierten nach Polizeiangaben, 12.000 waren es nach Meinung der Veranstalter. Die meist sehr jungen Demonstranten riefen, "Es lebe Russland" und "Moskau den Moskauern". Die Gastarbeiter aus dem Kaukasus und Zentralasien – so genannte Schwarzärsche - sollen aus Moskau verschwinden, grölte die Demonstranten, die oft nicht älter als 20 Jahre waren.

Der ganze Artikel >>>

JOURNAL: The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst (cacianalyst.org)

Welcome to the website of the Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst, the biweekly journal of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program Joint Center.

This issue features analytical articles on the attack on the parliament in Grozny, Kazakhstan's bank recovery strategy, separatism through sports in Iranian Azerbaijan, and U.S.-Pakistani relations. In Field Reports, articles on Georgian visa rules for the North Caucasus, freedom of speech in Uzbekistan, the Russian-Kazakh-Belarusan customs union, and the OSCE Minsk Group's visit to the Karabakh conflict zone.

Please download PDF here - the link on the right is temporarily dysfunctional due to technical problems. 25 OCTOBER 2010 BIWEEKLY TURKEY ANALYST This sister publication to the Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst features analysis and coverage on Turkish domestic and foreign policy. Issue no. 17, September 13, is now online, with articles on the state talks with the Kurdish movement, and the developments in Turkey's main opposition party.

Click to download the latest issue in PDF

GROZNY ATTACK INDICATES REVIVAL OF CHECHEN NATIONALIST INSURGENCY
By Murad Batal Al-Shishani (10/27/2010 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On October 19, four Chechen militants stormed the Chechen parliament in Grozny, causing the deaths of six police officers and wounding 17. According to the Russian Interfax news agency, the militants arrived at the parliament by car and forced their way into the parliamentary compound; one of them blew himself up and two were shot dead. This attack is the second serious incident in Chechnya in recent months. In August, militants launched a massive attack on Chechnya’s pro-Russian leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s native village of Tsentoroi. These incidents in Chechnya indicate a split in the North Caucasian insurgency.

IRANIAN AZERBAIJAN: THE BREWING HOTSPOT OF FUTURE SEPARATISM?
By Emil Souleimanov (10/27/2010 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Conventional wisdom has it that Azerbaijanis, the largest ethnic minority in Iran, have historically tended to identify themselves with the idea of Iranian statehood and Shiite religion rather than ethnic nationalism. Yet recent years have shown a growth of their Azerbaijani Turkic self-consciousness which has not least manifested itself in the form of “sport nationalism”. The numerous fans of the Tabriz-based Tractor Sazi football club have become advocates of the ethno-linguistic emancipation of Iranian Azerbaijanis, an emancipation sometimes bordering on separatism and irredentism.

GEORGIA EASES VISA RULES FOR NORTH CAUCASUS RESIDENTS
(By: Eka Janashia - date added 27-10-2010)
ARMENIA EXPECTS FEW OUTCOMES OF MINSK GROUP FIELD MISSION
(By: Haroutiun Khachatrian - date added 27-10-2010)

Events
December 16
Silk Road Forum: "Turkey and NATO: in the Caucasus, Central Asia and Afghanistan," with Vahit Erdem. Click here to download audio for this event.

December 10
Conference "Georgia: Opening new Frontiers", in Cooperation with the America-Georgia Business Council.

November 19
CACI Forum “Dealing with Ethnicities in a Pluralistic Society,” with Eraly Tugzhanov.

November 17
CACI Forum "Prospects for a Torn Turkey: Turkey's Future, and Its Implications for Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the U.S. Interest," with Halil Karaveli, Svante E. Cornell and S. Frederick Starr. Click here to download audio for this event.