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Russia detains RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva; RFE/RL event draws attention to incommunicado detention in Belarus; and more.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Board of Directors has named Stephen Capus as the company’s Acting President, effective January 1, 2024.

Geographically, Central Asia is located a comfortable distance away from the wars in the Caucasus, Ukraine, and the Middle East, but these conflicts affect the region.

In this week’s edition: Kyrgyzstan is falling deeper in debt to China, Kazakhstan’s latest mining accident, the UN presses Tajikistan on imprisoned rights defenders, and more.

On October 25, Kyrgyzstan’s draft law on noncommercial organizations was adopted by parliament in its first reading.

In this week’s edition: Russia wants Central Asian migrants to serve in Ukraine, a debate on morality in the Kyrgyz Parliament, the challenge of kleptocracy in Central Asia, and more.

Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak talks about what Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine means for his coverage of the EU, NATO, and more.

It’s no secret that kleptocracy is a problem in every Central Asian country.

On October 18, authorities in Kazan, Russia, detained Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Tatar-Bashkir Service.