Welcome to Central Asia in Focus, a newsletter offering insight and analysis on events shaping the region’s political future. I’m Bruce Pannier. In this week’s edition: independent media outlets in Kyrgyzstan face renewed pressure from the authorities, Russian politicians support bans on migrant laborers bringing their families to Russia, and more.

In the Region

Independent Media Outlets Back Under Pressure in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz authorities are again demonstrating their intent to keep tight control over independent media outlets.

On September 5, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released a statement calling on Kyrgyz authorities to “drop their threats against two independent online news outlets…”

The previous day, Kyrgyzstan’s Culture and Information Ministry said it would block the Novyye Litsa website if it did not remove an article that tied Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov to Russia’s private military contractor, the Wagner Group.

The Ministry called the report “false information.”

The August 30 article said, “Probably, Russian political strategists from the circle of… (now deceased) Wagner Group founder Evgeniy Prigozhin” helped Japarov’s public relations campaign in the 2021 presidential election.  

Novyye Litsa named Aleksandr Malkevich, one of the architects of Prigozhin’s disinformation operations, as having played a prominent role.

Malkevich is currently under U.S. sanctions and there is a $10-million reward for information leading to the apprehension of Malkevich.

The report noted Japarov had been in prison barely three months before the presidential election and that Prigozhin’s troll farm was instrumental in boosting Japarov’s popularity ahead of the presidential election.

Novyye Litsa did remove the article, posting in its place a copy of the Culture Ministry’s order to remove the report.

The crackdown on media is taking place against the backdrop of an August 29 decision by Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court to uphold a decision to liquidate the independent news outlet Kloop Media.

Kloop had been one of the leading investigative media outlets in Kyrgyzstan, exposing state mismanagement and corruption in the government and business sector.

A group of eight prominent international rights organizations appealed to Kyrgyz authorities to “retract their decision to liquidate” Kloop.

Why It’s Important: President Japarov gave an interview to the state information service Kabar after the Supreme Court ruling against Kloop.

Japarov repeated there was no danger to freedom of speech in Kyrgyzstan so long as “someone tells the truth as it is…”

The Kyrgyz president continued, “Anarchy, gossip and spreading false information are not freedom of speech.”

What Japarov neglected to say was that Kyrgyz courts, often relying on testimony from state-appointed linguistics experts, decide what constitutes “anarchy, gossip and…false information.”

Russia Needs Migrant Laborers but Doesn’t Want Their Families

Former Russian president and current Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitri Medvedev has supported a ban on seasonal migrant laborers to the country bringing their families. 

In an interview that Russia’s TASS information service posted on September 5, Medvedev said children of migrant laborers were attending Russian schools despite being unable to speak Russian. 

He claimed in some first-year classes that “three-fourths” of the students could not speak Russian. 

“If a person comes to us for seasonal work,” Medvedev said, “Why the hell is he dragging his family with him?” 

In a comment almost surely directed at Central Asians, Medvedev said, “By all means come, but leave behind your nine kids and several wives.” 

Most Central Asian migrant laborers, particularly those who work seasonally, leave their families at home and send money back to them.  

And while there are incidents of polygamy in Central Asia, it is not prevalent, and usually those who do have more than one wife also enjoy financial situations that mitigate the need to travel to Russia to find work. 

Chairman of Russia’s State Duma Committee on Social Policies Yaroslav Nilov said on September 6, “We propose putting an end for to this epoch of charity when foreign children are educated at the expense of the Russian budget (and) taxpayers.” 

Nilov suggested if migrant families want their children educated at Russian schools, they should pay tuition. 

A bill is currently under review in the Duma that would prohibit family members of migrant laborers from entering Russia.  

Why It’s Important: The complaint about additional state expenses for providing migrant laborers’ children with free education is not totally without merit, but it comes as xenophobia against Central Asians in Russia is rising. (Listen to the Majlis podcast to learn more about this topic.)

Scapegoats are everywhere in Russia as the Kremlin’s full-scale war on Ukraine drags on into its 31st month. 

The criticism of migrant laborers’ children attending schools in Russia seems like the latest attempt by Russian authorities to blame someone else for Russia’s current socio-economic uncertainty.

Majlis Podcast

The latest Majlis podcast looks at the racialization of Central Asians in Russia. 

The condescending view of, and discrimination against, Central Asians in Russia has been present since the Soviet era. 

However, after Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine, and Russian chauvinism started to rise, the situation for non-Russians in Russia was aggravated. 

Following the March 22, 2024, terrorist attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall that Russian authorities blame on Tajik nationals, discrimination and even physical abuse of Central Asians has soared. 

The guests on this podcast are:

• Nodira Abdulloeva, an advocate for the rights of migrant workers in Russia;
• Nodira Kholmatova, a sociologist and University of Amsterdam postdoctoral researcher; and
• Tolkun Umaraliev, Chief Editor for RFE/RL’s Migrant Unit and Fergana Valley Bureau. 

What I’m Following

Counting Central Asia’s Dead in Russia’s War in Ukraine

The BBC’s Russian Service and Mediazona have identified the names of 68,011 members of the Russian military who have been killed in Ukraine, among them, 124 people from Central Asia. 

The report listed 51 citizens of Tajikistan, 47 citizens of Uzbekistan, and 26 Kyrgyz citizens as being among the Russian forces killed in Ukraine.  

The figure is almost surely higher as the intensity of combat along the frontline in Ukraine has made it impossible to retrieve all the bodies of slain soldiers. 

Taliban Says They’ve Been Dropped from Kyrgyzstan’s Terrorist List

The Taliban released a statement September 5 welcoming Kyrgyzstan’s decision to remove the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan…from the list of proscribed groups by the Republic of Kyrgyzstan.” 

The next day, Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the Taliban were taken off Kyrgyzstan’s list of terrorist organizations.

Kazakhstan’s President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev announced at the start of June his country was dropping the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations. 

In late August, Kazakh authorities officially accredited the Taliban ambassador in Kazakhstan, but stopped short of officially recognizing the Taliban government. 

Fact of the Week

Thanks for Reading

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Feel free to contact me on X, especially if you have any questions, comments, or just want to connect about topics concerning Central Asia.

Until next time,
Bruce

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