AUCA Magazine Fall 2012 by AUCA

AUCA Magazine American University of Central Asia

the gyz Kyr ily Fame Tre

September 2012

Prepare for a Career in Global Business

Study in the heart of London Degrees in Business, Management and Information Technology Internationally Recognised Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes We are currently offering special bursary fees to students from Central Asia to study in London. Next intakes: August and October 2012 Postgraduate Programmes MBA

(Full-time Programme)

MBA for executives

(Part-time Programme)

Key Benefits

MSc

International Tourism Management International Hospitality Management Information Technology Accounting and Finance PhD Professional Doctorate

n n n n n

Study for a globally recognised British Degree Courses run in London, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Belgrade* State-of-the-art campus facilities Global Reputation for academic excellence Attractive scholarship fees payable in flexible payments

* Selected courses only. Subject to visa requirements.

Admission interview sessions available in September 2012 with the LSC Group Representative, Ms. Marina Lee: For interview reservations contact: Ms. Asel Kadyrkulova Active Group Ltd, 115-194, Moskovaskaya Street, Bishkek Tel: +996 312 935411 Mob: +996 770 242 547 Tel (UK): + 44 7897703297

LSC Group of Colleges Chaucer House, White Hart Yard, London SE1 1NX United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)207 357 0077

www.lsclondon.co.uk www.dostuk.kg

24/7

CONTENTS AUCA Magazine Feature: Research 16 Patronage and Democracy 20 Modesty in Marijuana 23 Building a Research Hub 28 Profile: Svetlana Jaquesson

05 Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Note 06 Message from the President 07-15 University Update 30-37 Alumni Spotlight 39 Class Notes

AUCA Magazine American University of Central Asia, founded in 1993, is dedicated to educating leaders for the democratic transformation of the region. It is the most dynamic and student-empowering education available, and is the only university in Central Asia with the authority to grant degrees accredited in the United States. AUCA equips its graduates with the knowledge and skills necessary to solve problems and open doors in this rapidly changing and developing region and the world beyond...

Publication team Editor-in-Chief: Altynai Usubalieva Copy Editor: Sven Stafford

Contributors: Natali Anarbaeva Michelle Leighton Kasiet Okenaeva Altynai Usubalieva Sven Stafford

Pictures: AUCA Archives Aaron Choi Emil Akhmatbekov

Design and Layout: Emil Akhmatbekov

On the cover: "The Kyrgyz Family Tree" by Aaron Choi

You may send your correspondence and subscription inquiries to: AUCA Magazine | American University of Central Asia, 205 Abdymomunov St., Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic 720040 | Tel./Fax: (996 312) 66-45-64, E-mail: magazine@mail.auca.kg, www.auca.kg

editor's note

Dear friends, Fall always arrives earlier at AUCA with freshmen arriving for their first rendezvous with the university. It feels strange to walk through crowded and noisy halls after a quiet summer. But AUCA was working hard to improve while students were off on summer break. AUCA’s new international dormitory will be ready to meet fresh New Generation Academy Students as well as international freshmen and students on scholarship. One of the reforms initiated by AUCA President Andrew Wachtel is to develop AUCA into a leading research university in Central Asia. His reasons and the vision are discussed in detail in an interview with the President, Professor Zarylbek Kudabaev of the Economics Department and Professor Alex Cigale, a senior instructor of the Foreign Language Program. AUCA alumni are also active researching. This Magazine features two alumni research projects: one about Marijuana production in the Kyrgyz Republic, the other about Patronage and Democracy. This August AUCA opened the doors of the New Generation Academy, and this issue features profiles of six of the 70 new students joining us from the regions of the country. NGA grants students with great talent from low-income families the opportunity to enter top universities after completing a rigorous, year-long curriculum in English, Math, Science, and Arts. The Tian Shan Policy Center and Fulbright Alumni Association of Kyrgyzstan held an event to launch a new book entitled “Contemporary International Law Materials and Cases” in June 2012. The book, which was edited and published by law professors from three universities in the Kyrgyz Republic, is the first resource book to help modernize Kyrgyz legal education on human rights. The AUCA administration has been very active in working on AUCA’s image throughout the country, and special effort was given towards reaching the Kyrgyz-speaking audience. We have made the articles and TV reports available for you at our website (www.auca. kg), on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/myauca), on Youtube (aucapubrel) and on twitter (Myauca). With the hope for an even more fruitful fall season, Altynai Usubalieva

www.auca.kg

Public Relations Director

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

President's Column

What is the appropriate relationship between teaching and research at a 21st century liberal arts university? This vexed question gets to the very heart of the universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission and has been debated at length both in the United States and abroad. In the post-Soviet space, the question takes on added significance because the tradition of combining undergraduate teaching and academic research is for the most part a new one. For in the Soviet period, knowledge creation (research) was the function of specialized institutes. Knowledge transmission (teaching) was the job of universities where the results of research trickled down to faculty, who themselves generally did not actively engage in the research enterprise, and were then passed on by them to students.

AUCA, when it began, was almost exclusively a teaching institution, whose mission was to open the minds of a new generation of students. Increasingly, however, two things have become clear: the separation between knowledge creation and knowledge transmission is neither economically sustainable nor intellectually justifiable. Practically no state (and particularly not the resource constrained Kyrgyz state) has the resources or the desire to support a large cadre of scholars who produce abstract research that has no clear connection to the practical needs of the state and its citizens. And, given the extraordinary pace of change in the world today, faculty who do not participate actively in research become hopelessly out of date quite quickly and are therefore unable to teach their students what they need to know. This is especially true when, as is the case in Kyrgyzstan, substantial research, which must be supervised by the faculty, is supposed to be produced by students as a prerequisite for graduation.

As a result, AUCA has come to appreciate that we need to encourage and invigorate the research of our faculty, and to connect that research both with the needs of the Kyrgyz Republic and Central Asia and to the needs and intellectual curiosity of our students. To be sure, AUCA will remain a university whose primary goal is excellent liberal arts teaching, but we recognize that such teaching cannot be successful unless it is underpinned by a high-quality research enterprise. We have already created a number of institutes and centers within the university to encourage research in which AUCA can become a serious international player, and we expect to expand these through a series of partnerships that will incorporate an ever-growing percentage of our faculty as well as our best undergraduate students. This issue of the AUCA magazine highlights our current research efforts, which will undoubtedly grow as our faculty and students become more ambitious and successful. I hope you will be as excited about the knowledge creation activities of AUCA faculty, alumni and students as I am.

Andrew B. Wachtel President

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

University update

WELCOME to

NGA

New Generation Academy

AUCA has finished the selection process for the first class of 70 students to attend the New Generation Academy. The students come from all the regions of the Kyrgyz Republic and started their program on August 26, 2012.

We are pleased to introduce a

language skills were tested and we

a year-long rigorous course

few of the students and their thoughts

did an interview in English. I think

of study in English, Kyrgyz,

on being in the inaugural class.

the interview played a large part in the

Russian, Math, History and Science

decision making. Within one week

oriented toward developing critical

After graduating from

70 full-funded scholarships

cannot afford high quality education. Scholarships cover the cost of tuition, room and board as well as academic materials. In addition, for students who successfully complete the NGA program, and who demonstrate financial need, up to 30 fully-funded scholarships for study for four-year degrees at AUCA will be available beginning in 2013 and 2014. The establishment of NGA is

and I signed the agreement.

about money.”

quality university education.

in high school and whose families

all of the benefits that NGA provides,

don’t have to think

students with a foundation to access

benefited from a full range of teaching

and they agreed, after hearing about

studying now that I

Preparatory Program, NGA will provide

academic potential who may not have

acceptance. I talked to my parents

“I will do my best

experience of running its existing

were granted to those with strong

I received the great news about my

Adilet Dubaev:

thinking. Building on AUCA’s

Syrgak Elemanov:

Balykchy Technological Lyceum №22, I chose to apply to

“I will make every

American University of Central Asia,

effort to become one of

but did not score high enough on the

the top 15 students.”

entrance exams. I started thinking

I graduated from

that I would not able to fulfill my

Kirgshelk High School

dreams, but then my friends told me

in the Issyk-Ata District.

about NGA. I learned more about it

While attending high school I also

and found out that NGA recruits high

worked as a volunteer for the Ministry

school graduates to help them prepare

of Youth Affairs, where I learned about

for university. My family advised me

NGA. After getting more information

to apply instead of letting go of my

about the goals of NGA, I decided to

dreams.

test my knowledge. The results of the

How did the entrance exams go?

first round were announced a little

First I filled in a questionnaire. I

another important step towards the

also had to write an essay about my

realization of AUCA’s goal to create

plans for the future. My competitors

opportunities for deserving students

came from all around the Kyrgyz

from all of the regions of the Kyrgyz

Republic. Then in May I learned that

Republic regardless of their financial

I had passed to the second round and

means.

headed to Karakol where the semifinals were held. There our English

bit late, and I was nervous that I had

www.auca.kg

tudents at NGA will complete

been denied acceptance. I was so happy to be notified about passing to the second round. There were a lot of psychological questions during the interview. When I learned about my acceptance I immediately shared the news with my friends and relatives.

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

University Update

I have been attending English

Lyceum. I’ve always wanted to study

(Source of happiness) Orphanage in

language courses since second grade.

at AUCA as it is the best university

Issyk-Kul since I was 6. I studied

My 9-year old brother is also very

in the country. I plan to become

there until 9th grade, after which I

eager to learn English. We lost our

a businesswoman in the future. I

studied at the №5 School in Kant. As

father when I was 8 years old, and

decided to enter NGA to reach

soon as I learned about NGA enrolling

since then my mother was the one

my goals. NGA will assist us in

talented kids from low income

who took care of my brother and I.

developing our analytical skills and

families, I was in a hurry to enter. I

My biggest desire is to become one

teach us how to see the essence of

did not think that I would have any

of the top 15 students at NGA, which

different things.

opportunities to enter one of the top

would allow me to receive full financial

I am the oldest of 5 siblings in

universities, and was happy to find out

support to study at AUCA for 4

my family, and that means I have to

that NGA was offering scholarships.

years. NGA accepts true leaders from

be an example for my siblings. My

I have worked on my English since

different schools across the country. I

parents were happy to hear about my

grade 6. Even though it was not easy

believe that at NGA we will become

acceptance to NGA. Now I have a

to enter NGA, I was confident in my

each other’s greatest motivation to do

chance to strengthen the knowledge I

level of knowledge. My competitors

our best.

got at my Turkish Lyceum. Last year

were tough. I cannot describe the

I was planning to enter AUCA, but

happiness I felt when they told me

after hearing about NGA, I decided to

I was accepted. I will try hard, and

spend a year enhancing my knowledge

I want to continue my education at

and skills. This will be the best time

AUCA in psychology. I think that this

investment in my future.

profession is in demand right now

Viktoria Mustafina: “I still cannot believe that I am one of the scholarship winners.”

and I would like to make a difference

I graduated from Myrza Turatbekov:

Bishkek School №9 this year. I heard

people in need.”

to AUCA. We discussed it with my

I graduated from

parents and decided to try to win

Asankul Akaev

the scholarship. The interview was

School of Kyzyl-

not easy for me. There were a lot of

Bairak Village, Kemin

people sitting in the room who made

District. I learned about NGA from

me even more nervous. I still don’t

AUCA representatives that visited our

believe I am one of the lucky NGA

school. I was the only one from our

scholarship winners. NGA also takes

district that was chosen. I am from

into account the financial situation of

an ordinary family, but my parents

every family. I am from a common

got divorced when I was little and

family where my father is a teacher

I was raised by my grandmother. I

and my mother is a housewife. I

have one older sister. There would be

believe that the experience, skills, and

absolutely no chance for me to study

knowledge that I will receive during

at a place like NGA financially, so the

my study at NGA will be a big step for

opportunity provided by NGA to study

me.

for free is the best thing. I could not be

nationalities in the Kyrgyz Republic.

“I would like to help

about NGA from my sister, who goes

Alina Adylbek kyzy:

in preserving friendship between

happier.

All NGA students reside at the brand new AUCA International Dormitory. The building, opened in 2012, has room for 140 students and resident assistants to live comfortably. The dormitory also features a full computer lab and entertainment area, WiFi throughout the building, shared kitchen and laundry rooms, and

“My dream is to

Meerim Aliaskarova:

become an AUCA

“I was in a hurry to

and hanging out. To find out

student.”

enter the Academy.”

more about the dormitory or

I studied at Kyrgyz-

I have lived at the

Turkish Anadolu

Meerim Bulagy

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

an outdoor patio area for games

applying to AUCA, please email admissions@mail.auca.kg.

University Update

Campus Update:

by Natali Anarbaeva

Time Capsule

green campus, and an example for

move to a new, modern facility.

sustainable living in Central Asia.

President Wachtel shared that in

The occasion was marked with

50 years, he hopes that students will

words from AUCA President Andrew

talk about the new campus as the "old

Wachtel, Ambassador Spratlen, and

campus building," and that by 2062

Chair of the AUCA Board of Trustees

AUCA will have multiple buildings and

William Newton-Smith. Dr. Newton-

campuses, and be not only the best

Smith said that the 50-year capsule

university in Central Asia, but one of

gave much too short a time horizon,

the best in the world.

and that he would prefer to have it

cement, and contained issues of the

merely place an infinity sign on the n Thursday, May 31st,

New Star student newspaper, the

capstone. The capsule, he said, would

with the help of AUCA

AUCA Magazine, several business

then serve as motivation for all future

students, faculty, alumni,

cards from current staff, faculty,

generations of AUCA students and

sponsors and board members, several

faculty.

library cards from graduating students,

board of trustees, sponsors, and U.S. Ambassador Pamela Spratlen, a time capsule was laid in the foundation of the new AUCA campus building to signify the beginning of construction. During the first week of June concrete started pouring the foundation for what will become a state-of-the-art,

Ambassador Spratlen thanked the

and AUCA paraphernalia. The capsule

Kyrgyz government for their support of

also included letters from the alumni,

the university through their generosity

student senate, president, as well as a

regarding the current AUCA campus,

compact disc of AUCA events, which

and was equally excited about the US

we sincerely hope will be able to be

government's support of AUCA and its

played in 2062.

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

www.auca.kg

The time capsule was laid in

be opened in 3012, or better yet, to

University Update

by Michelle Leighton

case study:

law

EDUCATION C

ontemporary International

issues and jurisprudence that affects

Law, which was edited and

Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian

published by law professors

Countries.

from three universities in Kyrgyzstan,

At the ceremony, honorary

American University of Central Asia,

copies of the book in Russian and

Kyrgyz National University, and

English, and a CD containing both

Kyrgyz State Academy of Law, was

editions, were presented to Ms. Asiya

celebrated as the first such resource

Sasykbaeva,Vice Speaker of the

book to help modernize Kyrgyz

Parliament, Jogorku Kenesh, who is

legal education. It will be made

member of the Parliament’s Committee

available for free in Russian and in

on Human Rights, Constitutional

English to help support teachers, and

Legislation and State Governance,

allow students to gain access to the

and former Head of “Interbilim

international materials, documents,

Center”, a human rights and education

and norms being taught and applied

organization. The Jogorku Kenesh has

ceremony, students who dedicated

in European, U.S., and other

also requested copies of the book for

their time to assisting in the research

advanced Asian countries. It can also

the Speaker and for each Committee

and publication of the book were

serve as a major supplement to the

of Parliament. These will be provided

provided a Certificate of appreciation

Kyrgyz law curriculum, and a teaching

as requested. At the event, honorary

and acknowledgement for their

and learning guide for the subjects of

copies of the book in both languages

dedication and contribution. At the

law, international relations, business,

were also presented to Mr. Christian

close of the ceremony, the working

and other fields. Policy-makers,

Wright, Public Affairs Officer for the

group of professors from the three

lawyers, and judges may also find the

United States Embassy. In accepting

universities, AUCA’s Tian Shan

book helpful in analyzing key global

the books on behalf of the Embassy

Policy Center, and Fulbright Alumni

The publication is available in both Russian and English, and accessible for free on CD and web formats through a grant by the United States Emabssy and Fulbright Alumni Association.

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

and his office, which

Association of Kyrgyzstan identified

supported the publication

the need to find resources in order

of the book, Mr. Wright

to realize translation of the book into

thanked the working

the Kyrgyz language and to facilitate

group of professors

additional trainings that members

and the Fulbright

of the working group can undertake

Alumni Association. He

with teachers and students in other

welcomed the publication

parts of Kyrgyzstan on using this new

and anticipation of the

resource as a teaching supplement.

next steps to distribute

They urged participants and donors to

the book and raise

help collaborate on these next steps of

awareness among

activity.

teachers of this new

Usefulness of the International Law

resource.

Guide

During the

University Update

This new book prepared

its recognition that â&#x20AC;&#x153;international

become more closely interlinked,

treaties to which the Kyrgyz Republic

especially for Kyrgyzstan seeks

global governance mechanisms

is a partyâ&#x20AC;Śand also the universally

to capture both the foundational

and international law play an

recognized principles and norms

principles on which our international

ever increasing role in domestic

of international law shall be the

legal system depends, and normative

life. Scholars share a common

constituent part of the legal system of

frameworks representing future legal

understanding that the sources,

the Kyrgyz Republic.â&#x20AC;?

trends. The cases and materials were

even subjects, of international

selected to provide a distinct focus

The actors with the heaviest

law are expanding as the world

influence on trends in international

on issues relevant to Kyrgyzstan and

becomes interlinked and ever more

trade and investment priorities,

Central Asian countries. In this way,

globalized, and as domestic relations

economic development, and rules

the book can be a useful resource

affect international relations. Those

of equitable governance and

to support university teachers and

engaged in navigating this ever

human freedoms are more often

students in their studies related to

changing terrain or seeking to

intergovernmental bodies and non-

international law, foreign affairs,

promote better international relations

state actors, such as businesses,

business, and other fields.

must continually keep current on

trade associations, humanitarian

the evolution of law created by new

and human rights agencies, and

multilateral treaties, global regulatory

other civil society organizations. The

bodies, and the jurisprudence of

implementation of new international

international tribunals. As experts,

practices and standards at the national

we never cease to be students of

level helps countries to strengthen

this evolutionary process. The

their business relations, domestic

Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic

investment, the rule of law, and

is one of the most progressive in

understanding of global foreign affairs.

Please follow the link to get access to the book: www.tspc.auca.kg

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

www.auca.kg

As the issues society faces

University Update

INTERNSHiP LEADS TO

BRIGHT FUTURE by Natali Anarbaeva

n June 29, 15 AUCA juniors and seniors finished their internship in key parliamentary

committees of the Jogorku Kenesh, and were awarded with certificates. The event was hosted by committee supervisors, staff of the DAI Parliamentary Strengthening Project, representatives from USAID, and OSCE donors, who worked on placing the students in parliamentary committees. Ross Brown, the Head of the Military Political Unit of OSCE, began with a speech, and then awarded AUCA interns with certificates. After that, successful interns gave speeches giving gratitude to the program and internship supervisors. Diana Durusbek and Jumgalbek Rahat, two of the interns, were pleased to share their experiences.

Zhumgalbek uulu Rakhatbek, American Studies - '13 What was the purpose of the internship? What responsibilities did you have? The program provided students with an opportunity for professional development and to infuse the public sector of the Kyrgyz Republic with the enthusiasm, energy, and skills of future leaders of the country. The internships concluded with students submitting a 10-to-12 page, professional-quality academic report

on a topic related to the internâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s field of study/scope of work at the Jogorku Kenesh. Most of my assignments were connected with providing background information for the members of my department. Since I was working in the Department of the Committee for Regulations of the Jogorku Kenesh and Ethics, I was writing background statements for legislative bills, writing comparative analysis based on local and international experiences, translating documents (Kyrgyz, Russian, and English), and identifying gaps in the functioning of the Jogorku Kenesh. I also participated in different parliamentarian meetings, conferences, seminars and worked with many projects. How were you selected? From December 2011-January 2012, I participated in a two-tier selection process. First, I submitted my CV and a one-page statement of

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

purpose essay explaining why I wanted to intern in the Jogorku Kenesh. Later, I was invited to the interview where I tried to show and prove my desire to work in the Parliament of Kyrgyz Republic. Then, I was selected. Was it helpful for you? Why? I developed writing skills that allowed me to write important documents both in Kyrgyz and Russian languages. Using new computer programs helped me to write in Kyrgyz properly. Also, organizing events and managing projects gave me new organizational skills. I learned to be more responsible and it helped me to work in the department and deal with different projects at the same time. What knowledge gained at AUCA helped you? I consider my communication skills as the main contribution of AUCA in this program. I developed these communication skills at the university

University Update

I am sure my critical thinking and analytical skills gained at AUCA helped me face challenges throughout the internship. One of the most interesting classes that I took at AUCA was Public Policy Analysis, where each student was required to write a policy brief by the end of the semester. I got to contribute to many such papers during my internship. In addition, in the middle of the semester a role model game was initiated, where each student got to play the role of a certain decision-maker concerning a particular legislative project. Although by the end of the course my knowledge of the public sector was more theoretical, I understood how the decision-making process worked, what was needed, and how to come to a consensus with so many various opinions. After the internship I truly appreciate how complicated the decision making process can be. What kind of knowledge did you get?

Would you like to continue to work in this sphere? What plans do you have? The internship gave me the real image of how the legislative branch of the Kyrgyz Republic works. The functioning of the Jogorku Kenesh has an impact on all spheres of the country. My experience in the Jogorku Kenesh was useful and will contribute

to my development. During the internship I understood that it is quite possible to build a career in the Jogorku Kenesh. However, I also got appropriate knowledge and skills to continue a career in other parts of the public sector. My patriotic attitude, hardworking approach, and leadership qualities give me an advantage if I choose to work in the public sector. Diana Durusbek, International and Comparative Politics - '12 What did you learn from this internship? This internship contributed to the development of my communication skills, and enhanced my awareness of the importance of working as a team based on social consensus.

How has this internship influenced your future plans? Being a foreign policy maker here is my career goal. This professional experience in the public sector of the Kyrgyz Republic is vital for getting this kind of job. For example, the state's public policy as regards to migration questions is certainly reflected in its foreign relations with other states. Immigration of Kyrgyz citizens to Russia is one of the key factors influencing Russia-Kyrgyz Republic relations. Therefore, I do see my future career closely connected with the public sector.

How did your AUCA education help you during your work?

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

www.auca.kg

and it helped me reach to people on different levels, in different languages, and in different contexts. It also helped me to keep balance and be objective during conflict situations. I understood that the ability to communicate properly played a significant role when building a career in the public sector. Also interns from AUCA were friendly and responsible, which allowed us to work as a team while implementing different projects. And finally, during some university courses I got specific information about the parliamentary system that helped me to understand the functioning of our Parliament.

I wrote a lot of official letters and statements, provided analysis based on logically structured arguments and reliable information, working with legal documents, and asking reliable and well-thought, well-structured questions. These are the most important skills I gained during the internship. It was a lively learning experience and I left with a new perspective.

alumni

reunion

On May 26, 2012, the 15th Alumni Reunion took place at the Jannat Hotel in Bishkek. All in all, 140 alumni participated in this memorable event, including the first president of the AUCA, John Clark, who attended as an honorable guest speaker. Current President Andrew Wachtel also delivered a speech concerning last year’s developments and spoke about the construction of the new campus. The Alumni Council representatives presented the Unity Fund with the James Wade Emison III Alumni Leadership Award in recognition of their leadership qualities in public service and individual integrity. Jenny Jie received the award on behalf of the Unity Fund. Following the awards and speeches, the guests enjoyed an evening entertainment program and listened to live music which this year was hosted by Marat Yusupov. In addition, the organizers accompanied the entertainment with a new raffle that will become a tradition in future alumni reunions. The event organizers would like to express their gratitude to all of the event sponsors who courteously provided this year’s raffle prizes. Thos sponsors include: Turkish Airlines, Jannat Hotel, Life Fitness Sports Club, Continuing Education Centre at AUCA, Kapriz Issyk-Kul, Karven Club, Karven Restaurant, Prego Restaurant, Evromoda, Mia, Levi’s, Colin’s, Moulin Rouge, and Megacom. Turkish Airlines kindly provided a prize of 2 roundtrip tickets to Istanbul, and Jannat Hotel awarded an inclusive wedding package that offered a one night stay at their luxury suite, an outdoor wedding chapel, and a 10% banquet discount. All proceeds from the raffle went toward the AUCA Alumni Scholarship.

RESEARCH

Patronage Democracy

by Sven Stafford

ahim was from Bulak,

the Kyrgyz Academy of Medicine

a village in the Chui

in Bishkek in 1998, and over the

Valley. Rahim was

course of the next ten years built

widely respected in his community as a result of the success he found after

several successful businesses. Rahim, encouraged by his

the collapse of the Soviet Union.

relative Turgunbek, then Minister

He graduated with distinction from

of Public Health, entered politics

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

RESEARCH

and was appointed to several

over seventy households throughout

the advice to heart. In parliament

governmental positions. He was

the Kyrgyz Republic. Although

he used his position to encourage

eventually appointed president

Rahim was young to be a leader with

business and provide jobs and to

of a fund to provide credit to

such a powerful community position,

build schools and hospitals. In the

entrepreneurs in the Kyrgyz Republic.

he used his lineage to expand the

community he supported culture and

In this capacity, Rahim was able

network of relations and supporters

put on lavish celebrations.

to raise KGS 3.4 million (about

around him. Eventually he was given

$100,000 adjusted for inflation) for

the name Ăśz ball (own son), which

that he had nobody to whom he

investment.

helped him to maintain his honored

could pass on his success. His lack

position without violating the rules

of 'appropriate brothers' stemmed

and norms of the community.

from the fact that Rahim had no

him than his talent for business and politics. He was descended from a

In 2007 Rahim mobilized

sons, just one sister, and two male

Kyrgyz aristocratic line, Ak-Jol (or ak

this community and was elected

cousins who were considered his

sĂśĂśk, meaning the descendants of

to parliament as a member of the

closest kin.

the nobles), and traced his patrilineal

Social Democratic Party of the

when, in 2008, Rahim disappeared

descent back to Nurmanbet, one of

Kyrgyz Republic. His grandmother

and was never heard from again.

the most ancient Kyrgyz lines.

had always reminded Rahim to be

The Ak-Jol line today comprises

with the people, and Rahim took

This mattered a lot

ksana Ismailbekova (AUCA Anthropology '05)

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

www.auca.kg

Rahim had more going for

Rahim's one disadvantage was

RESEARCH

interviewed Rahim for her dissertation,

Kazakhstan opened up the possibility

localized Kyrgyz democratic process.

"The Native Son and Blood Ties:

for him to export milk. These

It is common knowledge in the

Kinship and Poetics of Patronage in

profits allowed him to buy up former

country that politicians pay for votes

Rural Kyrgyzstan." Aksana submitted

collective farms under suspicious

during the election process. In 2007

her thesis last year at the Martin

conditions. Rahim then replaced

community elders came together to

Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg,

many of the experienced farmers with

demand the purchase and renovation

and when we sat down in Bishkek to

family members, and forced others

of an old store into a cafe that could

talk last summer she was on her way

living on the farms into a sort of

be used for weddings and events.

down to Osh to complete research on

indentured servitude, making them

the June 2010 events.

completely reliant on the patron's

argues, is a democratic process that

largesse.

allows people to participate in village

Over the past twenty years Aksana has watched as a debate in

Rahim also used public funds

This kind of patronage, Aksana

decisions. Before the election took

the Kyrgyz Republic has taken place

that he directed at the time to make

place Rahim took the demands of

over what comes first: kin or law. In

infrastructure improvements and

the village into consideration before

most places around the country, the

investments on his properties and

providing the younger people with a

answer depends on the strength of the

for his businesses. Not even religion

stadium, the elderly with a traditional

kin present. In Bishkek you will find

could get in the way of his business

yurt, and the poor with a horse. This

many people who understand that

prospects, as he used his position

endeared him to three sectors of

the rule of law is desirable, but find

as a local administrator to block the

the population, and convinced the

nobody who is willing to enforce it.

construction of a local mosque in

villagers that electing Rahim was in

favor of a community health center

their long-term interest.

The collapse of the Soviet Union left people expecting the same

that in which he had a personal

level of service from a government

stake.

that, to this day, does not have the

In that altercation, Rahim used

Rahim was running under for Social Democratic Part (СДПК), which opposed the party of

resources to provide it. A vacuum

his connections within the state

then President Bakiyev (Ak-Jol).

of power never exists for very

apparatus to delay efforts being made

Despite the pressure to support the

long, and to cope with the lack of

to construct the mosque. Rahim also

presidential party, who retained

state-provided support, people in

colluded with those same people to

a majority of the seats in the

the Kyrgyz Republic began to rely

secure funding for the future clinic.

parliament, villagers routinely asked

on traditional relationships and

Publicly Rahim used his community

local campaigners for Ak-Jol to stop,

patronage systems.

influence to question the motivation

and did not distribute flyers that were

for the mosque, and the foreign

given to them.

Some areas of the country experience little to no influence

source of funding. Rahim was able

of large family relationships. In

to legitimize his position through

chief of staff Oroz used all of his

research done by former AUCA

a vote that took place at a village

connections to get out the vote,

Professor Gulzat Botaeva (Article,

meeting, taking steps to make sure

helping students travel back to

pg. 20) there is little evidence of a

that opposition was limited.

the village, picking up elderly and

patronage system in an Issyk-Kul

The Kyrgyz Republic is singled

On election day Rahim's

helping obtain the proper documents.

village where people make their

out for its adoption of democracy in

At the end of the day 700 of the

living by selling marijuana. This

a region known for strong autocrats,

eligible 1000 had voted, leaving 300

contrasts greatly with the case of

but does a democracy built on a

unused ballots. Instead of destroying

Rahim, who used his family network

combination of rule of law as well

the ballots, as was mandated by law,

to dominate his village and take over

as patronage qualify as democratic?

Oroz suggested to the central election

surrounding villages.

Aksana says that it does.

commission monitor that the ballots

ahim routinely used the power of his patronage

In the case of the 2007 parliamentary elections, Rahim's

to enlarge his family and fatten his

hometown of Bulak serves as an

coffers. His family connections in

example of what Aksana considers a

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

be distributed instead among party members. The party members filled out the remaining ballots, including 50

RESEARCH

that were filled out by the election

and she was no longer invited to

are not blind to the excesses and

monitor, who ended up voting neither

participate in community life.

manipulations of patrons like

for Ak-Jol, her party, or the Social

Rahim's lack of sons and

Democrats, but for a third, neutral

brothers meant that there were

better to have a patron than to have

party. In the end 90% of the votes

no strong patrilineal lines to carry

nothing. As long as the federal and

came in for Rahim.

on his work after he passed. The

local governments remain weak and

hundreds of family members that

unable to provide the most basic

the election a success, while

Rahim brought into his circle through

of services, patrons such as Rahim

international observers showed

extensive ancestral research and

will come and go with various levels

corruption to be everywhere, and

family tree fidgeting were accepted

of strength and influence. Even

called for the vote to be annulled.

by the community because of the

if it were the case today that the

Aksana says that the truth lies

strength of Rahim. With his passing

government could provide, it is

somewhere in between. There was

Rahim's strongest patrilineal ties,

unlikely that the Kyrgyz people would

indeed corruption with bought votes,

submit to a democratic system with

and corrupt officials. The people,

no regard for the Kyrgyz family tree.

however, chose to participate in the flawed process because they benefitted from participating. The people in Bulak justified the violation of the election rules by organizing their election in a way that took into account local practices as well as democratic ideas of equal representation. In the end the

The people justified the violation of the election rules by organizing their election in a way that took into account local practices as well as democratic ideas of equal representation.

Aksana is married and has a child. Her husband Rufat, who is also a Kyrgyz citizen, has just

community was more upset about 10

completed his masters degree in water

legitimate votes cast for Ak-Jol from

management, and Akbar (6 years

unknown citizens than the 300 that were cast fraudulently.

t is unclear why, after a little over a year in office, Rahim

was disappeared. It is possible that

irresponsible and not accepted by the community as 'appropriate' brothers.

because of his membership in the opposition that he was seen as an

were close to Rahim, while others

obstacle that had to be removed. The

have passed on to new patrons. It

perpetrator also could have been local,

is unclear whether a new partron

as Rahim collected several enemies

will be able to consolidate economic

over the time he was distributing

and political power the same way

profits to only those in his admittedly

Rahim was able to. Changes to the

extended circle.

way the parliament is elected seem

was quickly forgotten. Rahim's grandmother told Aksana that lines of people used to come and see her every day to ask a favor of Rahim, or to invite Rahim to a birthday party or celebration. After he disappeared only a few families came by to give their condolences for her loss,

During the week Aksana to work on her research and teach classes. She has written her dissertation and conducts her research in English. And despite only having two semesters of German at AUCA prior to leaving for Germany, she has advanced enough to co-teach upper level anthropology courses.

repeat. Current parliamentarians

Although she travels back to

are put forth on party lists, which do

the Kyrgyz Republic frequently to

not necessarily correlate to specific

conduct surveys and interviews, she

districts of the country. But it is not clear yet if this change has weakened country. Aksana says that the villagers

club, who were just promoted to the

commutes to her institute in Berlin

to make it less likely of a Rahim

or simply shifted patronage in the

become a fan of Dusseldorf football Bundesliga this year.

Some of the businesses still remain in the hands of those who

What is certain is that Rahim

old) attends school in Halle but has

to his father's brother's sons, were

and her husband hope to move back permanently to the Kyrgyz Republic as soon as they can find the right opportunity.

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

www.auca.kg

State authorities declared

Rahim, but they also feel that it is

RESEARCH

modesty in

marijuana by Sven Stafford

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

RESEARCH

Except for the months directly following the harvest in autumn, finding the money to support a family in these agricultural areas is hard. With no futures market or government insurance program to speak of, families must front all the costs of their harvest. Profits only come in September/October assuming that the harvest is good. That success is not only important for survival, but also to be an active member of the community, attending weddings, birthday parties, and local meetings. As the costs of daily life mount, families in the region are not without options. Relatives that work in nearby Kazakhstan or Russia may send remittances. UNDP data show that in 2010 remittances made up about 27% of GDP, with 88% of those remittances coming from Russia. 2011 UNDP estimates have remittances growing by 33% year on year. If there are no family members sending cash home, they definitely have access to a burgeoning microfinance industry. Over the past 10 years over 200 microfinance agencies have appeared in the country offering loans from as little as KGS 2000 ($42.4) to as much as $110,000. Kompanion, one such company, has over 164 offices throughout the country, with an average loan size of $468. The industry is estimated to reach about 500,000 people, or 10% of the country. Despite its reach and its reputation for decreasing poverty, it is unclear that microfinance has been a boon to the farmers around IssykKul. In many cases the microfinance institutions are unable to reach the

poorest section of the population, and have little interest in doing so. Microcredit is also unsuited to agriculture, since loan payments are collected every month, but profits only come in during the harvest. For these reasons many people along the lake do not avail themselves of the loans available to them.

Soviet Union, these matchboxes became a type of currency. People would give matchboxes as gifts at weddings, and use them for payments for services. Twenty years hence the local economy is stronger and some government services have returned. In many cases, the people no longer need the sales of marijuana to survive.

Even when the revenue does come in, it is often paltry. Potatoes sell for 5 KGS/kg ($.10), while milk sells for 6 KGS/l ($.12). It is possible to get higher prices in Bishkek, the capital, but transporting the produce 7-8 hours on bad roads wipes out any added value. There is no mechanism in the country to guarantee a price, and no insurance against a bad harvest or drought.

But there is no sign of production slowing down. The plant is ubiquitous so access is easy. Police are unable to monitor even a small percentage of drug harvesting. When police do happen upon someone in the trade, as little as KGS 1000 ($21) can turn their heads. For larger infractions, the bribes can grow up to KGS 100,000 ($2,100).

So if a family does not have an earner abroad, or is not willing to take the financial risk of a mircrofinance loan, what are they to do? The options are limited. The government does not have the resources or creativity to provide solutions. The private sector is not willing. Yet some communities around Issyk Kul have discovered an alternative sector. They are selling marijuana.

arijuana grows wild around Issyk Kul in an area estimated from 7,000 to 26,000 hectares. During the Soviet Union cannabis from Issyk Kul was considered the highest quality available, and was known among drug users from Belarus to Siberia as "ruchnik." Although there have been many efforts by Soviet and Kyrgyz governments to rid the valley of the drug, it comes back every year as potent as before. July and August are the months when the plants start to produce the resin (the most compact form of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that produces the drugs narcotic effects) that the valley is famous for. The hashish picked around the lake can be so potent that a piece the size of a sunflower seed added to a cigarette can produce the desired effect. Although there are many forms of marijuana that can be produced, the cheapest and easiest form is to simply cut the buds, dry them out, and sell them in matchboxes as "grass." After the initial collapse of the

The communities understand the dangers of drug use, and there is little sympathy for those who get caught dealing. Yet the fact that marijuana is still sold (The Kyrgyz government estimates around 10-20 tonnes per year), even when it is no longer necessary for survival, raises several questions about the economic dynamics of these communities and how they have developed over the past twenty years.

talked with Gulzat Botoeva, an AUCA lecturer from 19992008, to discuss her research on marijuana production around IssykKul. Gulzat is completing her sociology Ph.D. from Essex University in the United Kingdom, where she also earned her masters in 2005. She is very composed and measured when talking about her research, which she will submit in October. Marijuana production was the topic of Gulzat's thesis, and she has been doing research on communities that surround the lake for the past 4 years. She says that the biggest change that has occurred in the communities she has studied is that the idea of selling marijuana has become normalized. That is, selling marijuana, once a survival tool, became ingrained culturally and economically, and is now accepted as a normal practice for supplementing income. Soviet rule also played a role in the normalization process. From 1916 to 1974 Issyk-Kul was the

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

www.auca.kg

ake Issyk-Kul is typically booming in late July and early August. Tourists from surrounding Central Asian countries and the entire city of Bishkek descend on the mountain lake for fresh air, cool water, and a break from civilization. While some locals earn their entire living from the summer economy surrounding the lake, for lakeside communities located outside the main tourist belt July and August, like most of the other months of the year, getting by can be a struggle.

Research

center of legal Soviet medicinal opium production. Hemp was also produced in the region starting from 1933, and some researchers believe that the cannabis consumed toady is a byproduct of mutated seeds from the hemp factory. Elderly along the lake can still recall fields full of blooming poppies and generations of family who made their livelihood off of the drugs. When the Soviet Union collapsed, so did the social contract that existed between the state and the workers. However, part of that contract was built on the hemp and medicinal opium industry, which helped shape community norms surrounding marijuana. The people in these particular communities around the lake, therefore, do not view selling marijuana as breaking the law, they see it as a sort of quasi-right that they obtained when the state abandoned its responsibility. In many ways today, marijuana sales have replaced the government as the backbone of the society, providing security in times of need. The communities are also careful not to abuse their safety net. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Modesty in Marijuanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; could be the name for their unusual safety net. In the early years after the collapse men, women, and children would go out to harvest the crop and sell it to anyone on the street. Things are not so freewheeling these days, as both the authorities and communities have matured. Young men are the main harvesters, but women also participate and take the risk of getting caught. If you are a stranger you will find marijuana hard to buy, as most marijuana toady is only sold to trusted vendors, who then resell it in Kazakhstan and Russia. Although the communities have not arranged themselves into anything approaching a cartel, they do aid each other to avoid problems with law enforcement. This lack of a central organization or head family has seemed to work to their benefit. Families do not fight over resources, no family is indebted to another family, and the low profile keeps a lot of police attention focused elsewhere.

There are some natural reasons for this arrangement. One is that the plant does not grow in one concentrated area, so it is nearly impossible for one person or group to control. Second, because the plant grows wild it is impossible to rid the region of the plant without doing irreparable harm to the surrounding lake environment, especially important to the summer tourism industry. Third, domestically cultivated crops are destroyed by police, who are given rewards for busting large cultivated plantations. Police are given bonuses, higher ranks, and in some cases cars for large busts, but there are too few of them and they are easily corrupted. Most importantly, however, is the natural way in which selling the drug has become not a way to exploit the market or each other, but as a way to protect each other from the danger of the market.

he fact that other people are exploiting the market and getting rich off of their land does not seem to bother them. The community prohibits drug use, and almost all of the drugs are consumed outside the region. According to UN and government officials between 75-90% of the marijuana production leaves the country. That means, conservatively, profits of around $50 million dollars for the exporters, who mark up the marijuana anywhere from 500% to 2200%. Felix Kulov, a former vice president, once put forward a measure to legalize the drug in the hope of taxing the profits. Under a national scheme, or even one in which the people tried to capture more of the secondary market gains, it is not clear that it would better the communities, drastically changing economic and social constructs that have emerged over the past twenty years. The limited production and use of marijuana have insulated people from the problems that often accompany increased drug trafficking. According to UNODC, Kazakhstan, a resourcerich neighbor to the north, has seen an increase in drug addicts, as well as an almost 100% increase since 2009 in the incidence of HIV, mostly through

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

injection. The Kyrgyz Republic has seen increases in addiction and HIV rates as well, but mostly concentrated along the main heroine trafficking corridors, and not around the marijuana producing regions of the country. The peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cognitive dissonance is not without limits. They understand that drugs are illegal and for some good reasons. They are also willing to stop producing the drug, as long as there is something to replace the income and security it provides. Many think that the government should provide that support. But seeing as how the government barely has the money to police the drug trade, it does not seem likely that they will soon be able to replace a fully functioning social safety net. There is little support for making the production of marijuana legal among the communities. Although it would certainly lead to higher incomes, the people appreciate the uncertainty of change, and that all change has its advantages and disadvantages. Legalizing the crop would disrupt the normalized economy of the communities, whose livelihoods are now insured by the illegality of the drug. A cash strapped government might also have an interest in legalizing the drug, but that would mean foregoing Western international assistance, which currently makes up about 16% of GDP. This new normal, whereby marijuana is illegal but still produced and distributed in modest quantities, is likely to stay for the immediate future. If the plant were not grown here the people would be pushed even further towards the microfinance industry, to send earners to bigger cities or abroad, or to simply be even more at the whim of Mother Nature and the random inequality she dishes out. Families would suffer, and the whole community as a result. Marijuana gives the freedom and security to remain in the community they know and understand. The modesty they practice protects the community from higher scrutiny and jealous, greedy officials. Ironically, the market for marijuana has eased the transition to the free market, man.

research

BUILDING A

by Altynai Usubalieva

RESEARCH HUB

Recently AUCA President Dr. Andrew Wachtel announced a framework through which AUCA will become a university hub for research. To find out what this will mean for the university, its faculty and its students, we interviewed 3 people directly

Dr. Wachtel, why is it important

way to ensure that faculty are aware

not exclusively in Central Asian Studies,

for the university to do more research?

of changes in their disciplines and

AUCA makes itself visible on the world

What is the rationale behind this

surrounding areas is to encourage

stage in a way that cannot be achieved

transition?

them to participate actively in the life

only by good undergraduate teaching.

of their disciplines, which means to

This in its turn brings a higher quality

cannot simply be a place of knowledge

make the effort to advance knowledge

and quantity of visitors to campus,

diffusion from faculty to students. It

in that area. For the institution as a

enriching the lives of our students, staff

also must be a place of knowledge

whole there is another goal: for better

and faculty, and can serve as a way of

creation, if only because faculty who

or worse, institutions measure each

attracting resources of various kinds.

are not involved in creating knowledge

other not by the quality of the teaching

To be sure, this can be overdone and

in their fields will very soon find

but by the research produced by their

we would not want the AUCA faculty

that the knowledge they acquired as

faculty. By producing meaningful

to become so focused on research that

graduate students is obsolete. The

research in key area, most obviously but

they forget the primary mission of the

A university in the modern world

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

www.auca.kg

involved in this initiative: President Wachtel, economics professor Zarylbek Kudabaev, and foreign language professor Alex Cigale.

Reaserch

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

Research

university, which is to prepare the future

to attend major research conferences in

young instructors and professors that

leaders of Central Asia. There must

their fields as well as to work up their

see their future linked with AUCA, not

be a balance between research and

articles and books for publication by

just a stop on the way to something

teaching, therefore. But nevertheless,

leading academic journals and presses.

better. I propose that AUCA provide

a certain amount of significant research we are to make the university a more exciting intellectual place for faculty and students.

Where do you see AUCA in 10-15 years? I hope that in 10-15 years time all faculty at AUCA will be engaged at least to some extent in research in their academic fields. In addition, I

What are the steps that need to be

expect that there will be some areas,

taken within the strategic plan? What steps

Central Asian Studies in particular but

have been already taken?

others as decided on by our faculty, in

The most important thing

which AUCA as a whole is perceived

necessary to allow faculty to produce

to be a world-class institution from the

significant research (assuming they are

standpoint of research.

individuals who are interested in so doing) is to provide resources, which come in two forms—time and money. For the most part, time is the biggest problem. Teaching is an intensive and mentally exhausting activity if it is done well, and teaching 12 credits a semester is not compatible with having the time or mental energy to produce knowledge, which is an equally mentally exhausting task. That is why already this year we made it relatively easy for faculty members to reduce their teaching

Wachtel’s plan to make AUCA a research university?

research and seminar classes to help reduce the workload of staff. In the longer term I see AUCA

experienced, and ready to share their skills and knowledge.

be improved as well. As the main goal of studying is

during their senior year.

with colleagues. Nevertheless, at the

need to find funding to allow our faculty

Students studying masters courses could

believe that in the end the teaching will

academic fields as well as to interact

research projects. However, we still

open more masters level programs.

already retired, but still full of energy,

students to complete a thesis paper

that allow faculty to initiate significant

I strongly believe that we should

for the sake of the reforms, I strongly

what is happening around the world in

big step toward creating the conditions

already see some good results.

world. We could invite those who are

working in this direction, requiring

with colleagues at other universities, is a

definitely benefit our staff and you can

end of the day we are not reforming just

technologies has made it easier to follow

the U.S. doing research and working

reduce the workload of instructors will

inviting professors from all over the

deeply as possible. We are already

allows faculty to spend up to a year in

for instructors. The decision taken to

term plan requires hard work, but at the

The advent of the web and of various

The program we have put together that

experience and research opportunities

on this matter. I am sure that this long-

also engage students in research as

is a key driver of research success.

big and necessary investment in the

having postgraduate programs and

revolves around money, of course.

the availability of good library collections

be made permanent. I believe it’s a

The president has my full support

load to 9 credits. The other question

contact with like-minded colleagues and

already being done, but I hope it will

help instructors and professors out with Mr. Kudabaev, do you support Dr.

looking for truth, I think that we should

outset of a research project, face to face

every 5 years for 1-2 semesters. It is

Mr. Cigale, what brought you to Kyrgyzstan? I hope you’ll forgive me for waxing poetic: As a poet and as a human being I have always believed we must trust and act on our sense of intuition, that “fate” requires us to complete some as yet unknown but

What further steps need to be taken to achieve this goal? I think there are two. First of all,

already existing thing, our “self”. I suppose that we all have an innate need to find out where we came from,

professors need to engage students in

in a spiritual sense, how we were

their research where they can, thus

formed and what formed us. Both of

developing good research habits in the

my parents spent the years of WW II as

students, and expanding a professor’s

children in evacuation in Tashkent (my

capacity to do research at the same

father, born in St. Petersburg/Leningrad

time. We also should publish the

in 1939, was evacuated, and my

outstanding research papers.

mother was actually born in Tashkent).

Second, there is a solid group of

I have always known that I would be

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

www.auca.kg

needs to be produced by our faculty if

this group with a sabbatocal once

research

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

RESEARCH

Q: What got you interested in the Fergana School of poetry? I started thinking about coming here some 10 years ago, when I met Shamshad Abdullaev, former poetry editor of Zvezda Vostoka, in New York. When we met, I felt as though I had known him my whole life, and indeed I

my success as a teacher stems directly

film scenarist Kubatbek Djusubaliev.

from my ability to continue to develop

We have already presented some of this

my own interests, and this is true for all

at his 70th year jubilee, at the Kyrgyz

professors. The reputation of a university

National Public Library and at the State

is directly enhanced by the publishing,

Opera and Ballet. And, April being

participation in conferences, and other

the official American Poetry Month,

academic work that professors do that is

Dana and I will be presenting our own

not directly evident in the classroom. But

poetry (my English, her Russian) and

of course that is exactly what we bring to

our translations of Kubatbek at the

the classroom – our “self”.

American Library as part of the U. S. Embassy series of cultural programs.

got to know his work and some mutual poetry friends earlier, in the mid-90s, when I spent two summers in Moscow

for faculty at AUCA playing a role in this

and Petersburg working on an anthology

context?

of the last quarter century of unofficial

Lastly, the University grant will allow

Q: How do you see the grants program

me time to apply for a U.S. Fulbright Specialist grant, so that I may be able to continue this work this summer.

I will speak for myself first. As

I would add that, in the small

Russian poetry in English translation.

a recipient in the first semester of its

(I myself was born in Western Ukraine

existence of the 3 credit teaching relief

and lived in Leningrad until emigrating

grant, I can say that it has already

with my family to America during

in a very short time began to bear

the 70s). It’s a common occurrence

fruit. I have been able to set aside the

in Russian literature that it is the

mornings on Monday and Tuesday (3

people who come from the provinces

weekly credit hours translate into 45-50

to the capital who enrich the culture

of semester class-time, which in reality,

with something new, and something

including preparation, grading, office

old. It seems to me that culture, or

hours, is easily 150-200 hours that

“progress” in art, has always consisted

would otherwise be unavailable.) While

in some interesting melding of old and

that is not enough time to undertake

new, in the process of synthesizing

much new work, I have been able to

experimentation with tradition. I was

consolidate what I have already done

immediately attracted by the poets of

through publishing and planning. My

Fergana for their melding of Western,

translations of Shamshad Abdullaev’s

post-modern influences with traditional,

poems have just appeared in two of

local themes. This provincial capital

the world’s leading literary journals,

that straddles the border of Kyrgyzstan

Oxford University’s Literary Imagination

and Uzbekistan has a surprisingly lively

and King’s College’s Modern Poetry in

cultural scene, with galleries, cafes,

Translation, both in London, and are

etc., not unlike the provincial capital

forthcoming in New York City, in The

where I was born (Chernovtsy).

St. Petersburg and The Manhattan Reviews.

Q: Do you believe that it is a good idea

I will be presenting my work

circle of my own AUCA Foreign Languages department, various faculty members are using the grant to work on course books, French in the context of Bishkek (Kolesnikova and Mamasheva) and implementing European Spanish language standards (Guillermo Bravo). I have also had the personal pleasure to assist professor Zarylbek Kudabaev in his grant-writing efforts to develop a textbook on Economic Development of Kyrgyzstan and, through the University Academic Senate, to enunciate his vision for the importance of supporting Faculty Development. I would like to, in closing, voice my gratitude to the President of our University, Andrew Wachtel, and to our Board of Trustees, for their foresighted and bold investment in the future of our university, in its transition from liberal arts college, the best in Central Asia, to the research University it is to become. Links to the translated poems by Alex Cigale

to provide faculty with opportunities to not only

on the Fergana School in Professor

teach but also to do scientific/research work?

Valeri Hardin’s course on Central Asian

Why?

Literature in English translation. And

content/early/2011/12/14/litimag.

with my partner and collaborator, Dana

imr142.full?keytype=ref&ijkey=lfTsLYf

Golin, I have undertaken a translation

dys1iDvU

My answer to this is of course a resounding “Yes.” As teachers, I believe the most influential role we play is as models to our students. More than that,

of the poetry of our AUCA colleague and friend Jamby Djusubalieva’s father,

http://litimag.oxfordjournals.org/

http://www.exacteditions.com/ exact/browse/487/580/9610/1/1

the noted Kyrgyz writer, journalist, and

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

www.auca.kg

“returning” to Central Asia one day.

RESEARCH

Profile

jaquesson Svetlana

by Natali Anarbaeva

What got you interested in Central Asia originally? I have no simple answer to this question. I mean, it is not as if I woke up early one morning, a happy Bulgarian teenager, with the clear-cut idea that Central Asian studies were my vocation. It was rather a lengthy trial-and-error process. I started Turkic studies at the National University in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, to soon discover that, as I used to put it then, I did not feel like studying “dusty Ottoman archives”. Instead I wanted to be in touch with living people and, as most youngsters, I wanted to travel and discover new people and new places. I took up additional courses in Mongolian and Tibetan and seized the opportunity of a one-year study abroad at the National University in Ulan Bator, in Mongolia, one of the countries easily accessible for a Bulgarian at the end of the 1980s. I think that it was during my stay in Ulan Bator that I identified anthropology as the academic discipline which suited me best and Central and Inner Asia as the regions where I wished to pursue research in the future. What is exciting for you about the

and a “foreign institution”, if they offered

devoted to the study of Central Asia, in

favorable conditions for my scholarly

all its diversity. For years I have been

pursuits. Besides, for whatever reasons,

moving from one place to another, and

say that my interest in anthropology

I tend to be bored with traditional and

from one institution to another, in the

and Central Asia put me “on the move”.

age-old institutions and I feel more

search of the most favorable conditions

Maybe I contracted the “nomadic virus”

stimulated by creation, innovation and

to conduct research on Central Asia.

in Mongolia, maybe I caught it later,

development.

At times I have been happy and, at

opportunity at CASI and AUCA? It would not be exaggerated to

here, in Kyrgyzstan. As I realized it

Is it surprising then that I was

times, I have been frustrated. Now I

recently, I have been moving regularly,

thrilled with the possibility to act as

myself am given the opportunity to help

approximately each three years. When

a director of the newly created CASI

design research on Central Asia. Isn’t it

it comes to my new position at CASI

within the young and dynamic AUCA?

exciting?

and AUCA, one can jokingly note that

In Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, the country

it was time for me, “as a nomad”, to

to which I have dedicated most of my

move again. More seriously, let me

research? Thanks to Andrew Wachtel,

notice that, for me, being on the move

AUCA is being reshaped into a major

for the sake of being on the move does

center for teaching and learning about

not make much sense. I moved because

Central Asia. CASI has a key role to

I chose to be faithful to my scholarly

play in this process, by stirring and

vocations - anthropology and Central

supporting innovative research projects

Asia – instead of being faithful to an

on Central Asia among the AUCA faculty

institution or a country. I have never

members and the AUCA students, by

hesitated to head to a “foreign place”

networking the scholarly community

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

What do you hope to accomplish in your time as CASI director? I believe that the strategic goals of both the AUCA as a whole and the CASI in particular are rightly set. I fully subscribe to them, I feel like fighting for them. As a director of CASI then, I take the challenge of looking for and finding some of the best and the speediest

ways to achieve them. I hope I will be

back to Sofia in 1990, for a year, then

anthropology but, well, Central Asia is

able to do it. I think so. I have plenty

moved to Bonn, in (former Western)

not really on the top of research and

of ideas of how to do it. But since it is

Germany, for some months and finally

funding agendas. In 2006, I left Paris

my first week of work here, let me be

ended in Paris, where I stayed from

for Halle, in Germany, or rather in the

modest and keep my ideas secret for

1992 until 1996, in order to complete

former GDR. Believe me, this was not

the moment. I am sure I will be given

my MA in Turkic studies and enlist

an easy move. But at the Max Planck

the chance to develop them in the very

for a PhD in ethnology. and learned

Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle

close future.

French, as well. In 1996, I came for

there was, and there still is, a sustained

the first time to Kyrgyzstan and carried

interest and focus on Central Asia. Sure,

out my first fieldwork on hunting with

I stayed in Halle for five long years but

birds (münüshkörlük), for two years,

after three years with the Max Planck

until 1998. I went back to Paris to write

Institute I moved to Martin-Luther

up my PhD. Six days after my PhD

University with a Volkswagen project.

defense, in September 2000, I headed

Not bad, is it? Of course, people read

to Tashkent, with a new contract as a

my CV but I think few if any know what

research fellow at the French Institute

it means to be “on the move”.

Can you tell us one thing about yourself that nobody else knows? Strangely enough, few people, if anyone, besides my closest family, are aware of the fact that I have spent half of my life “on the move”. I adapt easily and pick up local languages, customs and manners quickly. Rapidly enough, I am considered “local” which in fact is rarely, if ever, the case. Let me prove it. From Ulan Bator I went

for Central Asian Studies. I went back to Paris in 2003, because Paris has become for me a “home away from home”. Paris is a great place for

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

www.auca.kg

research

health

Alumni spotlight

THE long way to

LAW by Natali Anarbaeva

This AUCA law department alumnus shocked his friends by joining the army right after graduation, got himself a position in a legal company in the U.S. by offering cleaning services in return for the experience, then returned to the Kyrgyz Republic as a military volunteer when he found out about the riots in 2010. In the past year and a half he has established a flourishing legal company with the capacity to work abroad, opened a training center for the professional development of lawyers, and dreams of having

www.auca. kg

enough time to teach. Meet Joomart Joldoshev (Law 04).

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

Alumni spotlight

What did you do right after AUCA? I joined the army. It shocked a lot of people. The main reason I joined was because of my family. My father is a colonel, and my brother serves in a special missions unit. The dinner conversation in the family is about military service. My family was proud of me and I do not regret the decision. After the army I left for China where I studied International Common Law for a year. Upon my return to the Kyrgyz Republic I worked for a short while in an insurance company. After that, as I understood, you went to the U.S.? I wanted to study their legal

system. I attended community college there studying public law, and was trying for quite a long time to get any kind of job in a law firm. I was coming in and offering any help in return for access to cases. I would always get rejected and I had lost hope until, when going to the gym, I met a lawyer, to whom I offered the same things I had offered others before: cleaning, running errands, including pizza delivery if necessary, in return for the opportunity to gain some experience and access to real cases. While he was listening to me he started smiling and I felt offended; I thought he was mocking me. But, it turned out that he had done the same thing when he was younger. Thus, I got in as an intern for a probationary period and after demonstrating my abilities I

became a lawyerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistant. What were your plans for the future? Why did you return? I wanted to get a degree there and acquire a license to practice in New York. But when the riots of 2010 took place I decided to return. I came here and left for Osh immediately to sign up as a volunteer for the military. After that tour ended I established my company Joldoshev and Partners, and here I am. I should note that after 4 years spent in U.S. I feel a greater affinity for it than other countries, but Kyrgyzstan is still my homeland. Does your company already have international experience? I have experience with court appearances in the USA, the Emirates and Turkey. My team members do not have it yet, but we are working on it. I think the biggest obstacle for lawyers here is overcoming fear and developing confidence. So the main problem is in the limitations we set for ourselves? I believe that we limit ourselves mostly due to the mentality of our Soviet upringing. We have all the potential, the only thing lacking is adequate training. At the moment, for example, I am working on signing agreements with a number of foreign legal companies on information sharing, access to databases, experience sharing and so on. They are as interested in this collaboration as we are. So, the key issue was not the lack of opportunities, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just that nobody has really engaged this way internationally before. I am confident that if you take 10-15 young lawyers per year and train them to perform at the international level, we should be doing it. In our company we concentrate on encouraging young specialists to think globally and be creative. Does your company focus on particular types of cases?

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

Alumni spotlight

We try not to take criminal cases, although we do have licensed specialists for that purpose. This market is quite small in the Kyrgyz Republic, plus the system is corrupted inside and out. It has come so far that there is a price-list for settling cases. Experienced lawyers can say with accuracy how much it will cost to avoid/commute punishment. All of this is incredibly demotivating to young lawyers. I would love to have a system more like the U.S, if anything because practicing jurisprudence in that environment is fun. Representatives of the profession there are treated with respect, and success depends on professional competence. This is the system we were exposed to when we first started studying law at AUCA. Here in the Kyrgyz Republic, when you say that you are lawyer, people usually respond, “I am a lawyer myself with an honors diploma. Plus I am also an economist.” While in U.S. lawyers are elite, people that have manners, look good, and follow professional ethics. What are the dynamics of the intellectual property rights cases you deal with here? At the moment there isn't much going on. But I think this will be really important for the future. In general our current cases relate to copyrighting works of art, works of authorship, etc. Quite a lot of show business stars request our services in settling disputes or safeguarding their products. Are there any other interesting projects you are working on at the moment? Right now we are working on

time and money and I would not want to help out our competitors.

developing a project on mediation and pretrial settlement. It is practiced widely in the West, allowing people to save money, time, and nerves. When using mediation services, both parties are aware that the decision proposed by the mediator is the one most likely to be delivered in court.

You have also thought about teaching?

I think that mediation could become a wonderful alternative to the court system. It would take some time for people to understand and accept mediation, but as the sense of justice provided by traditional courts continues to decline, I think mediation will become more popular. I remember that you did not speak Russian when you came to AUCA but now you speak it fluently. Does speaking in 3 languages help in work? Actually, once I started practicing law I realized that there are few lawyers with good Kyrgyz here. Maybe it is due to the fact that jurisprudence is taught mostly in Russian.

Oh, that has been my dream since I was little. I was always interested in history and wanted to become a teacher. Actually, I wanted to become a policeman when I was very young because of my dad. Then I was accepted to AUCA and started to study law, but I still dream about teaching. I am not able to dedicate my time to it right now, because a lot of my time goes into the company and development of the staff. But we are opening a training center for lawyers on professional development, so I will be doing some teaching through that center. What memories do you have of AUCA?

There were a couple of cases in my practice when being multilingual was advantageous. One was a significant claim amount, where the company took the case all the way to the Supreme Court and had to hire me because their lawyer did not speak Kyrgyz. In the other case the defendant was a company with foreign management. I was representing the plaintiff and the hearings were in Kyrgyz. The other party had to have 2 interpreters – one from English to Russian and a second from Russian to Kyrgyz. I was hearing everything in English and had lots of time to think through my next steps while the other side figured out what had been said. Please tell me a little bit about your team. Our team mostly consists of young lawyers, and then a collection of older lawyers with more specific experience. Of course I am staking my future on the younger generation and on the opportunity for international expansion. I don’t like to talk about my team too much, because we invest great effort in

The best memories of my life, that’s for sure. All the basics of jurisprudence I acquired at AUCA, and I never regretted my choice of university. All of my closest friends come from AUCA as well. I still remember my professors, for example the case studies of Mr. Tulegenov in criminal law. Plus, the unforgettable and legendary social life you get only at AUCA, with all the colorful and diverse events that take place almost every week. What is your life credo? Move only forward, but never to forget your roots. Right now I am scrutinizing the history of Kyrgyz people, because I believe that in order to move forward you have to know your past first. And another thing: never give in without a good fight! Where do you see yourself in 5 -10 years? I vision myself here in the Kyrgyz Republic, my company has branches abroad with its head office in Bishkek, and has become a recognizable brand. I will also have time to teach.

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

www.auca.kg

In the beginning, when we were developing relationships with clients, we would take any case offered. Later on that became impossible. You have to prioritize and concentrate on something specific to be professional. At the moment we concentrate on debt, intellectual property, corporate and banking law. We do take court cases, but rarely due to the corrupted system.

Alumni spotlight

If not us, who? There is nobody else by Natali Anarbaeva

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

Alumni spotlight

His dream was to create something of his own. The first step towards that dream was founding Promo Tank, a market

www.auca.kg

research company serving the region. AUCA alum, professor, and business entrepreneur Azamat Akeleev shares his thoughts on his company, AUCA, and his secrets to success.

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

Alumni spotlight

First, tell us a little about your company. Our company is called Promo Tank, and it was founded in 2007. The company has two main services: market reserach and advertising. We work with private companies, NGO’s, and international organizations. We completed a wide variety of projects including one on federal budget transparency, internet penetration in the Kyrgyz Republic, and everything else from financial planning to human rights. Now we are engaged in promoting the Oimo Festival, and working with Bosch. Most of our team is comprised of AUCA alumni and current AUCA students. How was Promo Tank founded? From 2006 to 2007 I ran the MBA program at AUCA where we established a business clinic. We began to work on small research projects. I also conducted some workshops for different companies. We consulted entrepreneurs and made local market surveys.Soon there was more demand, and I realized that there was a lack of analysis, data, and market information. Thus, we decided to establish Promo Tank to respond to that need. The mission of our company is to collect and analyze all the necessary information to help our clients in decision making. How has AUCA helped you in building your company? AUCA taught me to think rationally, to analyze, and to think critically. I also learned research methods and the basics of marketing and economics. Now I put these skills into practice every day.

business student, can you tell us about that change? I started in the journalism department, but after a year I understood that journalism was not for me. I was probably one of the only students to transfer from journalism to business administration. For three days I followed John Clark, the first president of AUCA, trying to persuade him to approve my transfer. He heard me out, but found all of my arguments unconvincing. The thing that finally changed his mind was when he asked me what I had done the previous summer. I told him how my friends and I opened a café, how we earned some money, and after that he agreed and I transferred. Honestly, I always had a dream to be my own master, to create something of my own and earn money on it. To be free. That is why I decided to choose business administration.

What difficulties did you face at the beginning? We had lots of difficulties at the beginning: renting, recruiting, logistics, and nobody knew who we were. All of these things caused some problems, but we overcame them all, and now it is much easier. You were not originally a

What is your secret for success? You should always have an idea. You need to be enthusiastic about this idea and follow it. You need to have a competitive advantage. You need to know something other people do not know well, or you need to have access to those resources to which other people do not. You need to be ready to give all

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

of your energy to work, to sacrifice your time. You need to have courage and persistence and you’ll make it. Do you have any plans and projects for the near future? We want to work with all Central Asian markets. We have already worked with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and I think that we have great possibilities. Also we want the Kyrgyz Republic to be transparent. We want more information to be accessible to all. We want to create a database of economic and financial information and make it accessible by subscription, which will cover our expenses. We really want the work we do to contribute to making a difference in our country. And now some questions about your alma mater. Do you miss the good old days of student life? I miss my KVN team. I participated in the Kyrgyz language KVN, and I will never forget how we won the championship. I also really miss the atmosphere of AUCA, the courses, the high-quality professors who shared their knowledge with students, the extracurricular activities, the guest lectures, the cafeterias, and the AUCA library.

Alumni spotlight

AUCA is a place of constant innovative and progressive ideas. AUCA students are creative, hard-working, and have endless ambitions. The combination of global, critical, and rational thinking creates a particular mentality. That is how AUCA differs from other universities.

After you studied in the United States, why did you decide to return to the Kyrgyz Republic? I came back because we have more opportunities for development and professional growth. In the United States running a business is in many ways harder because there is so much competition. Also the Kyrgyz Republic is the place where my relatives live, with whom I feel wonderful and free.

Tell us about your time as an AUCA professor? I graduated from the MBA program at Indiana State University and then came back and taught marketing, strategic management and rebranding. It is interesting to work with AUCA students. The American system of education induces students to think in a unique way to work more in class. I always tried to make students lead the process of a course by themselves in order to achieve their own development. To achieve this, you need to give a student the right direction and give him or her the opportunity to think freely.

What do you do in your free time? I spend time with my family and I also do some sports, such as swimming and soccer. And, of course, as every person, I hang out with my friends.

To whom are you thankful? I am thankful to my parents, my professors, and my friends. I am thankful to different people, who, during different periods of my life, helped me and positively influenced me during important decisions. It is very important to find these kinds of people and learn from them. What would you like to advise to AUCA students? Go for your dreams and think big, know who you want to be and what you want to achieve. Set higher goals than you can achieve, and you will get more than you ever imagined.

What values are most important for you? Family, society, and country. What is your dream now that you have achieved so much?

AUCA Magazine*August 2012

www.auca.kg

How does AUCA differ from other universities?

I want to develop and enrich my community. I want to live in a fair, transparent, and progressive society. There are lots of opportunities in the Kyrgyz Republic. Everything is in our hands.

Gifts and Grants 2011-2012 Friends of AUCA John and Joan Von Leesen John O'Keefe Joe and Margaret Flanagen Mary Schweitzer Martha Merrill Ellen Hurwitz Helen Smith Sharon Bailey Gulnara Dreier Madeleine Reeves Hersh Chadha Henry Myerberg Tatiana Gfoeller Rodger McGrail Eugene Huskey Emita Hill Mary Ford Maeberta Bobb Matha Taylor Bridget Morris Frank and Sallie Pullano Amy Sturrock Board of Trustees Ishenbai Abdurazakov Jonathan Becker Almas Chukin Stanislav Karpovich William Newton-Smith Matt Nimetz Alumni Elnura Djenish Kamila Muslimova Lilia Muslimova Vyacheslav Akimenko Temerlan Moldogaziev Elina Karakulova Aziz Soltobaev Erina Kadyralieva Seyitbek Usmanov Sanjar Tursaliev Rinat Aksianov Nazgul Cholponbaeva Azamat Akeleev Felix Tsoy Melis Turgunbaev Amina Hirani Mamatkhalil Razaev Maksat Korooluev Corporate Partners Mina Group Kumtor Operating Company Coca-Cola Bishkek Bottlers Demir International Bank

class notes

Nazgul Albanova, BA 09, Magna Cum Laude After graduating from AUCA Nazgul planned to continue her education and obtain an MBA. Not even her impending marriage deterred her from this goal. In October 2011 she started the MBA program at Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, located in the financial center of Europe. Nazgul recently completed her MBA, and thanks to the solid base she got at AUCA she was able to become a competitive student who was among top 10% in the class. Now back in Bishkek, she looks back on the year with no regrets about a fascinating and exciting journey with valuable professional and interpersonal experience. Nazgul discovered new countries, new cultures, new people and most importantly, new sides of herself. Though she misses her new friends a lot, she is happy to start a new chapter of her life with her family in her home country.

Abdujalil Abdurasulov, ICP 04 Abdujalil covered the Euro 2012 football tournament for BBC News in Ukraine. Recently, he also covered breaking news stories in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Syria (from the Turkish border) as a producer/ cameraman. Abdujalil is a BBC producer based in Almaty.

Bektur Chynaliev, ECO 10 After graduating from AUCA Bektur devoted himself to entrepreneurship. He moved to Almaty, Kazakhstan, and started his own business. The past 2 years he has been turning theory into practice. He attracted investors to his business through connections to other AUCA graduates. Now he can say that AUCA is not only one of the best universities in Central Asia, but also a place to network for success.

Rashid Daurov, BA 04 Rashid attended a Master's program in Management from the University of Bristol (UK), where he studied on the Kazakhstani government scholarship "Bolashak". He earned his Certified Public Accountant (USA) accreditation as well. He has worked as an auditor at Ernst&Young and a transaction support consultant at Deloitte. Currently he is Chief Financial Officer at HSBC Kazakhstan. He is happily married to his lovely wife Katya and they have a wonderful 2-year-old son Denis.

Kurman Otorbaev, BA 2006 Kurman works at Colgate-Palmolive (Kazakhstan) as a brand manager and is responsible for the Kazakh and Kyrgyz markets. He is responsible for all marketing campaigns in both countries.

Ildar Yunusov, BA 06 Ildar works for Nestle Food Company in the sales department. He can honestly say that he uses his AUCA degree every day. He gives great thanks to his professors and classmates, as he could have not gotten through without their support and friendship.