OCA MAGAZINE #28 USA EDITION

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OCA MAGAZINE

[ EURASIA ]

GULSIFAT SHAHIDI: “AS COLUMBUS ONCE DISCOVERED AMERICA, TODAY AMERICA OPENS THE MODERN LITERATURE OF CENTRAL ASIA”

ECG GOES STATESIDE THE AMERICAN VIEW: EXPO-2017 PEOPLE ARE THE SOURCE OF FUTURE ENERGY TAJIKISTAN AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: GARDENING A TREE OF FRIENDSHIP BELARUS – US: FORGING NEW PARTNERSHIPS

Friendly Steppes: A Silk Road Journey chronicles an extraordinary adventure that led Friendly Steppes: A Silk Road Journey chronicles an extraordinary adventure that led intrepid traveller Nick Rowan to some of the world’s most incredible and hidden places: from intrepid traveller Nick Rowan to some of the world’s most incredible and hidden places: from Venice through Eastern Europe, still recovering from brutal warfare; on to Turkey, the gateway Venice through Eastern Europe, still recovering from brutal warfare; on to Turkey, the gateway to Asia, and much-misunderstood Iran; across the exotic steppes of Central Asia, emerging from to Asia, and much-misunderstood Iran; across the exotic steppes of Central Asia, emerging from Soviet domination; and finally into a rapidly developing yet still mysterious China. Intertwined Soviet domination; and finally into a rapidly developing yet still mysterious China. Intertwined with the majesty of 2000 years of Silk Road history, Friendly Steppes recounts not only the with the majesty of 2000 years of Silk Road history, Friendly Steppes recounts not only the author’s travels but the remarkable impact that this trade route has had on modern culture. author’s travels but the remarkable impact that this trade route has had on modern culture.

Containing colourful stories and characters, wrapped in the local myths and legends told by Containing colourful stories and characters, wrapped in the local myths and legends told by the people who live along the route today, this is both an entertaining travelogue and inspiring the people who live along the route today, this is both an entertaining travelogue and inspiring introduction to a part of the world that has largely remained hidden from Western eyes for introduction to a part of the world that has largely remained hidden from Western eyes for hundreds of years but is on the verge of retaking its central role on the international stage. hundreds of years but is on the verge of retaking its central role on the international stage.

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BUILDING THE LANDBRIDGE WITH EURASIA

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NORTH AMERICAN EDITION

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OCA MAGAZINE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF NICK ROWAN (LONDON) EDITOR DAVID PEARCE PUBLISHER MARAT AKHMEDJANOV

GULSIFAT SHAHIDI: “AS COLUMBUS ONCE DISCOVERED AMERICA,

[ EURASIA ]

TODAY AMERICA OPENS THE MODERN LITERATURE OF CENTRAL ASIA”

BELARUS – US: FORGING NEW PARTNERSHIPS TAJIKISTAN AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: GARDENING A TREE OF FRIENDSHIP THE AMERICAN VIEW: EXPO-2017 PEOPLE ARE THE SOURCE OF FUTURE ENERGY ECG GOES STATESIDE

OCA MAGAZINE NA 28/1 SPRING FRONT COVER: GULSIFAT SHAHIDI (SEE P. 12-14) MAGAZINE PUBLISHED FOR EURASIAN CREATIVE GUILD

DEPUTY EDITOR ALEKSANDRA VLASOVA EXECUTIVE EDITOR MARIA INDINA DESIGN OLEG BANNIKOV CONTRIBUTORS ZAYNAB M. DOST, ALEXEY ULKO, MARIA INDINA, NICK KOCHAN, RUSTAM QOBIL, DAVID PARRY, JANET GIVENS. GARETH STAMP, DINA ORAZ, LUKE COFFEY, MARLA MOSSMAN, ALAN COX, RAZA SYED XANDER CASEY

ECG BOARD LAURA HAMILTON - CHAIRMAN MARAT AKHMEDJANOV - VICE CHAIRMAN ADVISORY BOARD MARAT AKHMEDJANOV ANNA LARI DAVID PARRY SÖLVI FANNAR NICK ROWAN PAUL WILSON KSENIA GOLD SHAHZODA NAZAROVA MEGAN WERNER OKSANA JUKOVA SVETLANA YUDINA DAVID PEARCE NATALIA HARLAMPIEVA ELENA BOSLER-GUSEVA RAIM FARKHADI

Disclaimer : The information contained in this publication is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by OCA Magazine and while we endeavour to ensure the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability or suitability of the information, products, services, or related graphics represented for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

CONTACT INFORMATION EMAIL: PUBLISHER@OCAMAGAZINE.COM WWW.CENTRALASIA.TRAVEL WWW.OCA-NORTHAMERICAN.PRESS EDITORIAL OFFICE SILK ROAD MEDIA SUITE 125 43 BEDFORD STREET COVENT GARDEN LONDON WC2E 9HA, UK

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All authors provide their own material and any opinions contained within are solely those of the authors and do not neccessarily represent the views or opinions of OCA Magazine.We publish these views as part of our provision of a forum for discussion and readers should be aware that the views may contrast each other in the pursuit of this aim. In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of material contained within this publication.

FROM THE EDITOR the first issue and waited for the response, good and bad, from politicians, economists, regional experts and enthusiasts. And we listened and learned, and, most importantly, grew.

Looking back over the years we have had exceptional access to many personalities from all over the world, united in their efforts to bring topics in Central Asia, and from the diaspora abroad, to the fore for mature and considered discussion. We have promoted literature and new writers from the region through our festivals. We have provided the platforms to push for better recognition and understanding between regions.

We have heralded a part of the world that is fast becoming relevant and prominent.

Dear Reader, It is entirely possible, indeed, probable, that you will be reading OCA magazine for the first time as we launch our magazine in North America. If this is indeed the case, I do hope that you will find it brings relevance and interest for those of you who harbour desires to become better acquainted with the seemingly faraway lands that form Eurasia, and more specifically, Central Asia. And if you know us well already, I trust it will bring added geographic perspective.

When I sat down with publisher, Marat Akhmedjanov, almost ten years ago in a basement cafe of a London department store to map out the very first issue of Open Central Asia magazine for the European market, we had a vision to build a platform for open discussion and exchange of views between Europe and Central Asia in a way that had once existed through trade and travel along the Old Silk Road centuries before. We wanted to open up a part of the world that had remained hidden under the Soviet veil for the best part of the twentieth century and which was emerging, independently, onto the world stage. So we published

So why should we now launch in a part of the world, so remote from the region and not connected by the “landbridge� that Europe and Asia share? For me it is simple.We live in a world where access to good quality information and analysis is harder than ever to find.

Social media, fake news, propaganda and cover ups have become all pervasive. The region which I hold so dear to my heart, and its tremendous people, are vilified so easily as terrorists and unwanted immigrants with shady pasts.Their politics and conspiracies overshadow the reality of the kindness and culture that each country has. And yet these people, these countries, these cultures, currently have no trusted outlet to share their experiences, hopes and thoughts in North America. It is one-way traffic so often in the mass media. I hope therefore that this US edition will build on our success in Europe and bring a much needed and powerful voice to share the splendours that Eurasia has to behold.

I hope you enjoy the issue!

Yours, Nick Rowan Editor-in-Chief

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FROM THE EDITOR

director, and screen writer to a discussion of Turkmen hospitality centered around chorek (a flat, round loaf stamped with decorative patterns of dots)—epitomizes the sheer diversity of Central Asia, a territory that once encompassed the ancient Silk Road connecting China with Europe and that now, since the early 1990s, has re-emerged as a strategically significant region.

Future editions of OCA-North America will seek to highlight news from and about Central Asia, as well as the achievements of the growing number of Central Asians resident in North America. To this end, we welcome your feedback on this first issue and, in particular, contributions in the form of original articles, reviews of books, and announcements of upcoming events of interest to our readers.

Thank you for your interest!

David Pearce Dear Reader, Welcome to this, the first North American edition of OPEN CENTRAL ASIA (OCA)—a quarterly magazine published in the United Kingdom since 2009 to bring together members of the Central Asian diaspora resident in Europe and now in North America and, more broadly, to promote public interest in the unique cultural, economic, political and social history and heritage of this ancient region.

The content of this first North American edition of OCA—ranging from an American view of Kazakhstan’s energy EXPO-2017 last year in Astana to a celebration of the centennial of the birth of Sharaf Rashidov, Uzbekistan’s statesman and writer, and from an interview with Bolat Shamsiev, the renowned Kyrgyz actor, film

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Editor of North American Edition

OBITUARY FOR CYRUS YAVNEH

When Marat Akhmedjanov asked me if I would write an obituary for my dear friend the Hollywood film producer/director Cyrus Yavneh for OCA Magazine I felt honoured to do so.

Cyrus Yavneh, a producer of feature films and TV shows including “24” and “Supernatural,” died Jan. 25 of lung cancer in Santa Monica, California. He was 75. Cyrus was most recently working as production manager on Netflix show “Insatiable” in Atlanta when he became ill.

I got to know Cyrus through his cousin Manny Fox the late Broadway producer in the August of 2012. Cyrus, my partner Anne and I became close friends.

I worked together on film and stage preperations along with Jillian Haslam (film) and David Parry(stage).

Cyrus’s achievements are multi. He was a valued member of Eurasian Creative Guild. He was a poet, writer and an artist specializing in Sketch. All that he did he achieved to extremely high standards of excellence.

Cyrus’s film and and TV credits are spread over many years winning honours for his work in the process.

Below are some of his credits: He started out as assistant director on “Lou Grant” and went on to a four-decade producing career.

Cyrus met his wife Lynne Taylor in 1983 when she was a choreographer on the “Princess Daisy” mini-series, which he was producing.

He won a Christopher Award for the Farrah Fawcett TV movie “Baby,” and oversaw feature films including “It’s Pat,” “Funny Bones,” “Cemetery Club” and Warren Beatty’s “Town & Country.”

He co produced “The Arrival” in 1996.

He also worked as a production manager on shows such as “Hit the Floor” and “Falling Skies.”

On Arnold Schwarzenegger’s directing debut “Christmas in Connecticut,” he was able to work with his wife again as well as with his cousin, composer Charles Fox. The list goes on..

He leaves behind his wife Lynne Taylor and their grown up children Alexander and Rosie.

He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Reverend Father Alan Cox OSB

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ECG Goes Stateside 8

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Recently, the vice-chairman of the Eurasian Creative Guild, Marat Akhmedjanov, returned from a tour of North America. He visited nine cities and held more than 60 meetings, thanks to which many new members joined the ECG; but, that is just the start, as many new opportunities and ideas have followed. OCA finds out more about what promises to be the start of an expanded relationship with global creative folk.

OCA: Marat, tell us, in what status and why did you go to America?

Marat Akhmedjanov: The trip to America took place in my capacity as vice-chairman of the Eurasian Creative Guild and a member of PEN Central Asia (International Union of Writers). This is a large and important country where, according to different sources, at least 20 million people from post-Soviet countries live. There are many Russian-speaking people, including participants at our Literary Festival. Proceeding from the fact that we saw interest and prospects in promoting creative initiatives of Central Eurasia, a tour was organized.

ECG gathering in Washington DC, July 2017

OCA: Which cities did you visit during the trip? Who did you meet?

MA: I visited Toronto in Canada, New York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco - in the United States. I was on tour for three and a half weeks and during this time I had about 60 meetings, including with current or new members of the Eurasian Creative Guild. In New York, the meeting took place on Brighton Beach in Brooklyn. eleven people came - this was the first meeting of the Guild in the United States. It’s so great that these people had a desire to come to this meeting, and they took the time to listen to what the Eurasian guild does, how it can be useful, and why it’s important to be a part of this single cultural community. In Washington, seven people came. In addition to communicating with members of the Guild, there were a lot of meetings with politicians and foundations who also reacted positively to the ideas of the Eurasian Creative Guild. The largest and most successful meeting was held in Los Angeles – where 18 people attended. In addition, experts from Hollywood showed great interest, they want to know more about the Eurasian region, in particular, Central

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ECG gathering in LA, July 2017

Asia. They are interested in joint projects, they are looking for creative talents from the region.

San Francisco, the leader of the Silk Road Foundation, Anita, was also interested in bringing bright, creative representatives from Eurasia to perform at Stanford University. Certain agreements on this issue have been reached. No less interesting, a meeting was held with creative representatives in Toronto in Canada. Eight people came, including Zaur Hasanov, the winner of our “The best film of 2015�. There they are also expecting that there will be more events related to Eurasia.

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OCA: Tell us about the meeting in Los Angeles more.

With whom were discussions held?

MA: At the meeting was the famous Hollywood producer Cyrus Yavnuk, who is a member of our Guild. He has made a lot of fantastic TV shows in the US. In addition, I also met an interesting actor, stuntman and animal trainer, Monty Cox, as well as the documentary producer and professor at the California School of Cinematography Amanda Pope.

Separately, I met with the executive director of the American guild of cameramen, Tim Shaw. There were also young filmmakers and writers. The meetings were very active. For many in Los Angeles, we remain like a

Mark with new ECG member in NY, Nataly Astremskaya

the trip increased our membership three times. In addition, about 150-200 people learned about the Guild and its activities from attending the events. If I look at the statistics of my meetings, I visited one continent, two countries, nine cities and held more than sixty meetings. It was a very important trip.

It showed me that on the other side of the Atlantic there is no less interest than in Europe. There, people also want to read writers, listen to music and watch movies from Eurasia. But in fact, this was not the only purpose of the trip.

OCA: Tell us about what else was discussed at your meetings? What agreements were made?

MA: We were looking for partners in America. It was important to make sure that there is a need for a Literary Festival in the United States. We negotiated for our festival to be held next year in New York and Washington - and they were very successful discussions.

Today, the Eurasian competition unites four thousand creative people from all over the world and the Guild has more than 400 members. I think all these people would be interested to

riddle as they know very little about us, but they want to know more. I think the meeting will have very great outcomes, not least because we discussed one of the Guild’s new projects.

OCA: Tell us, what’s the new project? When will it be implemented?

MA: We are going to hold a Eurasian Film Festival in Dacorum. Dacorum is the region of Great Britain, where leading film studios are concentrated, including the Warner Brothers. It was in Dacorum that they produced “Harry Potter”, “Robin Hood”, and “James Bond”. We want Guild members and their acquaintances to attract more representatives of Hollywood to the festival next year in the UK. OCA: Have you reached all your planned goals by traveling to America?

MA: One of the goals and objectives of the trip was to meet with existing members of the Guild and attract new members. Before the trip, there were only ten members, after there were more than thirty. That is,

share their experiences and creativity with people in North America, given that there is one of the largest Eurasian communities in the world outside the former Soviet Union, about 20 million people. Our partners in America are ready to provide sites for our writers. The Wilson Foundation offered potential assistance in the form of a grant to pay for the arrival of writers. The trip showed that there are prospects, and we will work to ensure that our festival next year is held in New York and Washington with the support of PEN America. And perhaps we will organize the arrival of writers in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

OCA: You plan to release a new magazine, tell us about this project?

MA: Indeed, we are planning to publish an American edition of the magazine OCA (Open Central Asia). A journal that describes not only Central Asia, but all of Eurasia. It will be a Eurasian mouthpiece for Englishspeaking readers. In England, we have published a magazine under this title since 2009 and it is hugely successful. Now, in 2018, we hope to launch it in the

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ECG meeting in NY, July 2017

ECG meeting in Toronto, July 2017 US. We have already responded to authors and potential readers who would like to participate in the creation of a new publication. The first issue is scheduled for the spring of 2018. Among the editors who will take part in the creation of the American edition are Professor Rafis Abazov of Columbia University and the head of the Friends of Nukus Museum, David Pearce.

I would also like to note that from the fall of this year, we are planning to hold presentations of our authors in the United States. The first author, whom we will

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represent to the American public is the Tajik writer, Gulsifat Shahidi. The presentation of her work will be held in New York and Washington.

P.S. Next ECG North Ameriacan tour planned for July 2018, please follow us Facebook page for updates and notices!

Maria Indina

Central Asia may not boast the Michelin starred cuisine of Tokyo, London or Paris, but don’t be deceived by those who say it has nothing to offer by way of gastronomic experiences. There are plenty of delights and new foods to try in a cuisine based largely on the region’s nomadic heritage that has fused together millennia of itinerant international cuisine.

Traditionally this meant horse or sheep’s meat, with vegetables hard to come by, but today’s Central Asian cuisine has adapted to the modern table, retaining a lingering twist of Soviet and Asian influence that will delight the adventurous and surprise the skeptical.

There are many reasons that we have chosen to include recipes in this book, but we have done so primarily based on five crude criteria: deliciousness, cultural significance, historical commentary, uniqueness and “for the experience”. You will notice however, that there are many variations on certain themes; dumplings or noodle dishes for instance. This is because the six countries that demarcate Central Asia in this book share some of their history in that they are all, in some part, a result of the collision between the Turkic world and the former Soviet Union.

You will see that some of the tastes are not accompanied by a recipe. This is because they depend utterly upon their location, chal (fermented camel milk) being one such example. Also, some recipes do not reflect exactly what you might eat in restaurants or Central Asian homes. This is for two reasons: firstly, because there is so much variation within recipes in Central Asia, and secondly, because some of the ingredients are difficult to obtain in a western context.

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THE AMERICAN VIEW: EXPO-2017 PEOPLE ARE THE SOURCE OF FUTURE ENERGY In the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, the international specialized exhibition “Expo-2017” has finished its work.

It has continued for 3 months from June 10 to September 10. There were 115 countries and 22 international organizations who participated in the EXPO.The exhibition has been visited by about 3 million people.

The theme of this year’s exhibition was dedicated to the effective use of future energy. Scientists now advocate that society should turn to alternative energy. However, every country has its own view of future energy and different states demonstrated this in their pavilions. So, for example, Russia sees its future in the Arctic, Japan in using biofuels, but in the USA the source of future energy is human. OCA interviewed the director of public relations of the American stand, Antony Deangelo, to find out more about how this “American Way” went down in Astana.

OCA: Tell about your participation in EXPO 2017 in Kazakhstan. What have you come with and how do you see the future energy?

Antony Deangelo: The theme of EXPO-2017 is future energy. Each country has its own individual approach to this. We think that the source of infinite energy is people. And this is completely reflected in our pavilion.

It consists of three halls. In the first hall there is video installation, which tells about all the technological innovations which have occurred through people. But the main thing is that our pavilion is fully operated by our students-ambassadors from USA, each of them speaks Russian well. Thus, we brought not only discussions, conversations about future technologies, but also real people who are the source of these future innovations; the source of everything that will happen in future. And

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we supposed that the theme of EXPO is always bigger and wider than the mere title.

OCA: What other success has participation in EXPO brought for USA? AD: A presidential delegation from the USA, under the leadership of the US Deputy Secretary of Energy, came to our pavilion. It was an official visit and he had an opportunity to get acquainted with the Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan and even with President Nursultan Nazarbaev. Since EXPO was held in Kazakhstan and there was a pavilion from the USA, these meetings were possible to hold. They mean a lot for our countries.

Our participation in EXPO has become as a catalyst of all these meetings at high state level. We hope that after personal acquaintances, the interaction in these spheres between America and Kazakhstan will improve.

OCA: Were any events been held in USA pavilion?

AD: Through our network of partners and sponsors we organized a series of discussions for our students about the future of energy and about renewable energy sources. Our pavilion was not sponsored by the state, but by private companies. We have a lot of sponsors, each of them has This is a major new history of an increasingly important country in Central Asia.The book opens with come and shared with us their views of future energy.

OF KAZAHSTAN line of the history of Almaty, from A its HISTORY nineteenth-century origins as a remote outpost of the Russian

up to its present status as the thriving second city to of modern-day Kazakhstan. The story then goes From Pre-History Post-Independence the Neolithic and early Bronze Ages, and the sensational discovery of the famous Golden Man of the empire. A succession of armies and empires, tribes and khanates, appeared and disappeared, before t BYRoad ROBERT and destruction in 1219 of the ancient Silk city of WIGHT Otrar under the Mongol leader Genghis K emergence of the first identifiable Kazakh state in the sixteenth century was followed by early conta Russia, the country which came to be the dominant influence in Kazakhstan and Central Asia for th This is a major new history of an increasingly imdred years. The book shows how Kazakhstan has been inextricably caught up in the vast historical p country Central Asia.The book opensout from Russia - of revolution, civil war,portant and the rise and fall in of communism - which have extended last century. In the process thean country has changed dramatically, from a simple with out-line of the history of Almaty, fromnomadic its society of k clans, to a modern and outward-looking nation.The transition been difficult and tumultuous for m nineteenth-century origins as ahasremote outpost people, but Vanished Khans and Empty Steppes illustrates how Kazakhstan has emerged as one of the of the Russian empire, up to its present status as most successful post- communist countries.

OCA: How do you generally assess the organization of EXPO in Kazakhstan?

AD: It should be noted that for any country it is difficult to organize such big exhibition with such a large amount of participating countries.

This is especially true because Kazakhstan is the first country in Central Asia that has organized EXPO on its territory. We are very satisfied with the exhibition. Personally, I came several times while construction works were going on, and I saw how our pavilion was created. I like how it turned out. It is very sad to leave this place.

OCA: Experts call EXPO an economically unprofitable project.

Do you agree?

AD: If we see it from our point of view, the main idea of EXPO is to meet people with different culture and have an opportunity to discuss different topics, so undoubtedly, the project was very useful for its participants and visitors. I think that the real value of EXPO comes from meeting people.

And we are glad that Kazakhstan accepted the burden EXPO in order that other cultures could meet in a new destination. From economic point of view, I will leave that to people of Kazakhstan to decide whether the costs are justified or not. We have reached our goals and we are grateful for every day being in this atmosphere of fusion of cultures.

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Maria Indina

the thriving second city of modern-day Kazakhstan. The story then978-0993044403 goes back to the Neolithic ISBN: and earlyAVAILABLE Bronze Ages, the sensational disONand AMAZON.COM covery of the famous Golden Man of the Scythian empire. A succession of armies and empires, tribes and khanates, appeared and disappeared, before the siege and destruction in 1219 of the ancient Silk Road city of Otrar under the Mongol leader Genghis Khan. The emergence of the first identifiable Kazakh state in the sixteenth century was followed by early contacts with Russia, the country which came to be the dominant influence in Kazakhstan and Central Asia for three hun-dred years. The book shows how Kazakhstan has been inextricably caught up in the vast historical processes - of revolution, civil war, and the rise and fall of communism - which have extended out from Russia over the last century. In the process the country has changed dramatically, from a simple nomadic society of khans and clans, to a modern and outward-looking nation.

The transition has been difficult and tumultuous for millions of people, but Vanished Khans and Empty Steppes illustrates how Kazakhstan has emerged as one of the world’s most successful post- communist countries.

RRP: $33.20 ISBN: 978-0993044403 AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.CO.UK

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KAZAKHSTAN:

THE QUEST FOR INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION DRIVES MANY EMERGING MARKETS

The quest for international recognition drives many emerging markets. Kazakhstan has undoubtedly been better at it than many. The country has spent great effort and money building up an image as a modern state whose leaders can sit at the top table with world leaders. This effort at branding has been driven by the President. To some extent those around him have cooperated in bringing the country to international attention.

Building the international image has been nothing less than a national project, to which the resources of the state have been harnessed. Why has Kazakhstan made such an effort to build its image and how has it done so. Can this activity have any form of down side, or is all publicity, good publicity?

The country’s reasons for this national campaign are part political and part commercial. The im-

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age building is seen as part of the country’s effort to cement itself as the regional leader and voice.

For some time, the President has sought to be the spokesman for the Central Asian area. He was respected from the setting up of the country as a confidant of the Russian leadership dating back to Soviet times who could sit at the top table. The Region’s relations with Russia have largely been handled

by Kazakhstan which is also a part of an economic trade zone, comprised of Russia and Belarus.

Important as the relationship with Russia and the region is, this President sees the need for a relationship with the Western community. At one level this may be regarded as hubris, given the fact that the country is still developing its infrastructure and its application of international law. There will be those that will question the sort of reception

that Western governments will give such a country, when it makes an approach to host an international organisation, hold a large conference or intervene in a dispute. Will its governance record, for example, tell against it?

The story so far is that the international community is prepared to take a remarkably tolerant approach to Kazakhstan. So, in 2010, for example, the country was given the chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The OSCE describes itself on its website in these terms, ‘The OSCE has a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects. It therefore addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter-terrorism and economic and environmental activities. All 57 participating States enjoy equal status, and decisions are taken by consensus on a politically, but not legally binding basis.’

Kazakhstan’s efforts to build its bridge to the international community has its ironies. The diplomat who negotiated this prestigious position had left the country under a dark cloud by the time Kazakhstan acceded to the chairmanship of the OSCE. As Kazakh ambassador to Austria and to multilateral organisations, Rakhat Aliyev was regarded as the driving force behind the OSCE role until he was discredited. He died in prison in 2015.

International politicians at the highest level have been recruited to advise the country and its leadership about branding and diplomacy. Tony Blair, for example, the former British prime minister served the president between 2011 and 2017 as an adviser, while his wife’s legal firm also advised the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan. The appointment had several purposes: to indicate to the international community that Kazakhstan has the status to hire people of Blair’s eminence; to gain access to someone who could open doors into other Western cabinet officers; to advise the President on building a brand whose key value is modernity; to assist with very specific public relations tasks.

Many other leading European politicians have been recruited to advise the president for similar purposes. These include Gerhard Schroder, Horst Kohler from Germany, Alfred Gusenbauer from Austria, Romano Prodi from Italy and Marcelino Oreja from Spain. The value of international connections is well understood by the President and these leading lights serve as his ambassadors, in country.

Why else is the international bridge so value for Kazakhstan? Key to this, and to an extent to its political development, is the building of economic

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bridges. The country’s future economic prosperity rests primarily on global trade in energy and minerals with international companies, many of which are close to governments and politicians. An insight into the way Kazakhstan is perceived by these governments is likely to be critical to the development of trading routes. Trust is critical to relationships with global concerns and Kazakhstan’s focus on modernisation and development will score highly in cementing this.

Brand values such as trustfulness and responsiveness to international change and standards need not only to be integrated into domestic systems but also to be understood and believed by international parties. Messages carried in the media will only be credible if the customer sees the value

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integrated into his experience. Failure to see values of integrity and transparency played out in political or business behaviour will undermine the brand’s strength and ultimately the country’s image abroad.

Therefore, great care is essential in building Kazakhstan’s brand, and why the effort needs to be more than merely applied to the surface of the country’s systems and infrastructure. The values need to go to the heart of the country and its people, to its businesses and to its governance. That way, the best of the modern can be combined with the best of the traditional and the country can win international acceptance as the king of the Silk Road and the modern powerhouse of Central Asia.

Nick Kochan

Conjuring images of nomadic horsemen, spectacular monuments, breathtaking scenery and crippling poverty, Central Asia remains an enigma. Home to the descendants of Jenghiz Khan’s Great Horde, in the nineteenth century the once powerful Silk Road states became a pawn in the ‘Great Game’ of expansion and espionage between Britain and Russia, disappearing behind what would become known as the ‘Iron Curtain’. With the collapse of the USSR, the nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were born. Since independence, Central Asia has seen one civil war, two revolutions and seven dictators.

An insightful mix of travel, history and reportage, in Does it Yurt? journalist Stephen M. Bland takes the reader on a voyage of discovery. Travelling to a desert sea, a collapsed Russian gas rig daubed the ‘Gate to Hell’ and along the ‘Heroin highway’ atop the roof of the world, the author sets out to explore these lands, unearthing the stories of the people and places behind this fascinating region.

ISBN: 978-1-910886-29-8 RRP: $20.00 AVAILABLE ON WWW.OCA-NORTHAMERICAN.PRESS AMAZON.COM

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PEOPLE

“I SEE A LIGHT FOR MY NATIVE CINEMA AT THE END OF THIS DARK PERIOD” INTERVIEW WITH BOLOT SHAMSHIEV

22 OCA MAGAZINE

Few will know much about the cinema in Kyrgyzstan. What currently hampers its development is never aired and never makes the top priority list of state and international organizations. But there is a cinema to note and so Open Central Asia decided to meet one of its prominent players, the People’s Artist of the USSR, the Soviet Kyrgyz actor, film director and screenwriter, Bolot Tolenovich Shamshiyev.

OCA: Bolot Tolenovich, tell us a little bit about your childhood and upbringing?

Bolot Shamshiev: I was born in the city of Frunze, now Bishkek. My father was a well-known Kyrgyz poet and journalist, Tolen Shamshiev. My mother was a doctor. My father went to the front six months after my birth, to fight the Nazis. Therefore, from infancy I was brought up by my maternal grandmother in the village. My father I saw only in 1946, when he returned from Berlin. After his return, our family again began to live in the city.

Frunze - the city of my childhood was a quiet and cozy town on the north side of the great Tien-Shan mountains. Although I was a city man, I was always attracted by mountains. I very early began to travel through the grassy hills of Bospoeldek - the foothills near Frunze - to investigate shady mysterious gorges. In high school with my comrades, I began to master steeper mountains in the gorges of Alamedin and Ala-archa. But the main attraction of my youth was cinema. I did not miss a single film from the post-war repertoire of the Frunze cinemas. Gradually the dream was born to become a film director, to make films myself. After graduation, I decided to enter the Institute of Cinematography in Moscow. I did not act immediately. I was considered too young and was only accepted for the second year. At the institute, I got a real education, thanks to the outstanding masters of Soviet cinema - A. Zguridi, V. Belokurov, S. Gerasimov, T. Makarova and other well-known authorities of Soviet cinema. As a second-year student, I began starring in the main role of the film “Heat”. I quickly learned the basics of film art and by the end of my studies at the institute I managed to make a short film “Manaschi”, which won the main prize at the International Film Festival of Short Films in Oberhausen (Germany, 1966).

OCA: How did your creative destiny go on?

What do you like more - to be an artist, to play someone’s role or to lead the process of filming?

BS: I was drawn to art cinema. After two suc-

cessful undertakings in documentary cinema films (“Manaschi” and “Chaban”), I began work on a complex project - the adaptation of the story of the Kazakh classic M. Auezov’s “Shot at the Karash Pass”. This film was given to me with great challenges, not in terms of creativity, but because of production dislocations at the young film studio Kyrgyzfilm. Due to my inexperience and youth (just 26 years!), I took on a historical film with expensive scenery and great extras. And in the absence of a qualified film crew at the film studio. But I showed a fighting spirit, coped with the task, and the film went to the world screen. I was noticed not only by the cinematographic authorities of the USSR, but also by my enemies. Each subsequent film that was given I overcame the artificial barriers created not only by party curators from the official ideology, but also by ill-wishers within the state.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the attainment of independence in my Kyrgyzstan, patriarchal-clan relations forgotten in the Soviet era have sharply increased. The authorities, not having a clear social base, turned to the experience of the past and the clan structures began to be formed in the country. As a result, we experienced political instability, frequent changes of governments, which had a very negative impact on the cultural level of the population. The country forgot about representatives from the creative professions and the film studio stopped producing films. All creative workers were withdrawn from the state and were essentially thrown out onto the street, left without pay. The filmmakers were forced to independently seek sources of funding for the embodiment of their artistic designs. But it was not just about art, money was needed for the elementary survival of the families of filmmakers. But there were no longer any sponsors inside the republic.

And to this day, for 25 years, not a single professional producer has appeared with money nor a skilled entrepreneur in the production of feature films.

PEOPLE In 2010, the interim government, led by Rosa Otunbayeva (a representative of the Saruu tribe from Talas), allocated money to produce a feature film for the first time. But due to clan attachments and the tribalism that prevailed in the country, such a serious project was given to a representative of the tribe of Saruu. This tribesman of Otunbayeva was not a professional filmmaker, who spent his budget profligately. The film was shot over four years and ended in complete failure. It became clear that the clan relations would lead the country into a final impasse, as once in 1916 northern Kyrgyzstan suffered a national catastrophe after the uprising of the Kyrgyz against the colonial policy of the tsa-

rist government. In the hundreds of thousands of people killed, the Kyrgyz tribalism was primarily to blame. The tribes, who were rival to each other, could not organize a united front against the criminal tsarist regime. And if it were not for the October Revolution of 1917 that eliminated tsarism, all my Kyrgyz people would have been destroyed at the beginning of the 20th century, as once the white colonists destroyed the indigenous Indians when they conquered the American continent. So, professional cinematography is only a dream. At least today in the field of culture, sadly I do not see the light at the end of the tunnel.

OCA: You paint a bleak picture.” Soviet cinema was adored in the past in the West. But in Kyrgyzstan in recent years many films of young directors have appeared on the screens. How do you explain this phenomenon given all the challenges?

BS: An example of what is called “in spite of”. Yes, the state has forgotten about the culture. There is no well-thought-out state policy in the field of professional art. But if in the republic there were problems, these were not only with culture. Problems are everywhere. Social, economic, legal.

Each for himself. The slogan “Enrich yourself, how you can!” gave rise to guerrilla warfare. Corruption struck all strata of society. But there are good things still. No wonder the Chinese say: “in order a mess, in disorder - order!” From the very bottom began to appear a sort of youth cinema. Thanks to the fact that today it is possible to make a video cheaply and broadcast to the world, it’s not difficult or costly to get a picture on the screen. So, a lot of amateur film studios have appeared. The youth began expressing themselves on the screen about a government that had forgotten them. The trouble is that for the sake of surviving the young film studios engaged in commerce, which brought other problems. Money, alas, without it there is no life. It would be desirable for our youth not only to gain public recognition, but also to earn a living.

But to win recognition, one must learn. Cinematography has its own iron laws. They need to know, and it is natural to observe. But to learn, you need to have money. And where will it be found by a young talented person from a low-income family? The question is rhetorical, because the overwhelming number of families in Kyrgyzstan are poor and not able to pay expensive training abroad.

OCA: Why does your government not provide talented youth with assistance in obtaining a fully-fledged education?

BS: The government, these are officials who came to power through clan ties. They are therefore interested in their own family, close relatives, clan obligations. If there is a selection, some tiny help from the government in the field of education, then only to its own. And “their own” is not necessarily talented. Maybe a talented engineer would turn

out from this or that child, and yet he was sent to study as a film director!

OCA: What is the main mission of cinema in your opinion?

BS: The whole world is cinema! Modern life is inconceivable without cinematography. Thanks to the invention of the Lumiere brothers, we learn not only about ourselves, but also other worlds. If there is a miracle in the world, then this is a movie!

The magic world, the gift of God sent to mankind, that Man should become a Man! In all the works of our great writer Chingiz Aitmatov, the words “How to be a human being, a man” are a refrain. I will say that I believe that the main mission of the cinema is to ennoble the human being! With the help of mass propaganda on the screen, thanks to the democracy of motion picture art: making the world a better place! My Kyrgyzstan is no exception. The consensus of the peoples on the earth is important. And this consensus can provide all forms of all arts, especially cinema!

Maria Batz

POLICY

Tajikistan and the United States of America:

Gardening a Tree of Friendship

A message from H.E. Mr. Farhod SALIM, Ambassador of Tajikistan to the United States of America

The Republic of Tajikistan and the United States of America celebrated the 25th anniversary of their bilateral relationship in 2016. The United States was among the first countries to recognize the independence of Tajikistan in 1991. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, our countries continue to strengthen important, valuable and mutually beneficial cooperation and partnership in a wide range of areas, including countering drug trafficking, border security, agriculture, health, education and economic connectivity.

The Founder of Peace and National Unity – Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan H.E. Mr. Emomali Rahmon in his Address to our Parliament noted, that “The essence and objectives of the open door foreign policy, implementation of which contributes to

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the constant increase of the numbers of our friends, will remain the same, and will serve to strengthen the cooperation of Tajikistan with all the countries of the world”. This foreign policy enables and encourages us to continue to improve further our ties and collaboration with our international partners to overcome modern challenges and threats and strengthen further our mutually beneficial relationships.

Since 2010, both sides introduced new forms of bilateral engagement - Annual Bilateral Cooperation, where issues of common interest are discussed openly and constructively. We believe this format is important, since it provides a unique opportunity to exchange views and improve relations based on mutual understanding and respect.

Recently, the new multilateral format of engagement was established – the C5+1 Ministerial Format, where our ministers of foreign affairs, following the outcomes of relevant working group’s meetings on important subjects, meet and set new guidance for further cooperation. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan H.E. Mr.Sirojidin Aslov participated in all the Ministerial meetings of this format, and he is actively engaged in promoting regional security and economic connectivity for the sake of future prosperity.

importance that will ensure access of the country to the sea ports of South Asia and transit highways of other countries. In this regard, the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement between the United States and Central Asian countries can further assist regional connectivity. We are thankful to the government of the United States for their support of constructing the big-

To ensure further economic development and improve wellbeing of people, the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan set three strategic goals; energy independence, food security and releasing the country from communication deadlock.

Tajikistan possesses rich natural resources and hydro energy potential is among the largest of them that provide opportunity for economic prosperity. By utilizing these resources, Tajikistan can easily provide Central and South Asia with environmentally clean and economically sufficient energy. We are grateful to our American partners for their engagement and support for the CASA-1000 regional project, which is aimed at the export of energy from Central Asia to South Asia.

Food security is among the priority strategic goals of the government of the Republic of Tajikistan. Agriculture production has been defined as an important factor of food security of the country. In this regard, sufficient use of a land, land improvement and its productivity, increased exports of fruits and vegetables are priority tasks. The President of Tajikistan in his Address to the Parliament noted, that “we could ensure food security only when we will more and more increase domestic agricultural production and be less reliant on imported products”. Obviously, ensuring food security depends on productivity and sustainability of agricultural development, therefore this sector is an important section of Tajikistan’s economy that provides 20-21% of GDP. To overcome the challenges of the country’s remoteness, the government is implementing several projects with our partners and international financial institutions to construct and modernize roads, highways, railroads, bridges, tunnels, airports and other transport infrastructure in accordance with the international standards. The implementation of these important projects is allowing us gradually to break the communication deadlock.

Some of these projects have regional and international

gest bridge in Panji Poyon, connecting Tajikistan with its southern neighbor and opening trade opportunities with South Asia.

As Tajikistan’s hydro energy resources, our bilateral relations with the United States of America have enormous potential for further development and improvement, for the benefit of our people, our nations, our regions and our world. I am confident that with the approach of partnership and mutual respect, we can utilize these potentials gradually.

I would like to thank your publication for providing this opportunity to introduce the rich and ancient culture and region of Central Asia to our North American partners.

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FOOD

TO BECOME A GOOD FRIEND – VISIT MY HOME AND TRY SOME OF MY BREAD! Many people all over the world, including Turkmens, consider bread an essential and irreplaceable part of the diet. Bread contains numerous nutrients and useful bioactive substances, and many will regard a meal, whether ordinary, everyday fare or a festive dinner with sophisticated dishes and delicacies, as incomplete without bread.

No wonder the proverbs state “no bread, no meal” or “no salt - no taste, no bread - no nourishment”…

non-religious spiritual tradition of Turkmens. If you are invited to a meal with a Turkmen family, the first food offered is chorek, carefully unwrapped from the camel-wool cloth called sachak in which it has been kept warm. The guest is expected to break off a piece as a sign of acceptance of hospitality and hand it on to his neighbor on the right.

Migrating for centuries across the boundless expanses of one of the harshest and most hostile environments on Archeological evidence suggests that Turkmen people earth, Turkmens stuck together and helped one another baked chorek – a flat, round loaf, stamped with deco- to survive. With their understanding of the challenges and rative patterns of dots – in conical clay ovens called in dangers of desert travel gained from their own experience, Turkmen tamdyr (or tandyr, tannur, tenir and tandur in they would help other travellers, especially those from disneighboring countries) for many centuries. tant countries, greeting them as honored guests and offering the best, or often all, they had. Bread has always been For Turkmens, bread is not just a simple and essential food, the most important part of this ritual because it was highly it is something sacred, a building block of life and requires regarded as a sacred symbol of one’s land, of goodness and a special reverence, almost worship, similar to that shown well-being, of home and a happy family life. to parents and guests. It forms a very important part of the

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A famous Hungarian researcher and explorer of Central Asia,Arminius Wambery, who visited Turkmenistan in 1885, described in his travel notes how one Turkmen slaughtered the only goat he had for his guests and put on the table the loaf of bread that the family had stored for weeks, which he did not even touch during the meal.

“My guest is more important than my father”, says one Turkmen proverb, and Turkmen people still believe the road to paradise will be open to them if they welcome a stranger, who must have been sent by god, with bread.

Many superstitions surround bread: it should not be turned upside down, should not be stepped on or over, should not be put on the ground and no one is allowed to walk behind a person baking bread. Bread is often used as a protective amulet.Turkmens put a bit of chorek under the pillow of a sick person or a pregnant woman, and into the cradle of a baby. A bit of chorek is given for good luck to a person setting off on a long journey. Many parents still give a small piece of chorek that was baked in the family tamdyr to the son leaving home for his military service.The son must eat this piece and the remaining loaf is cherished until the son’s return.

Bread is a symbol of the warmth of the family hearth, and the family hearth for a Turkmen is the tamdyr, which, because of its shape and significance, was often associated with the heavenly sphere.The tamdyr is as respected as an owliya (holy place) and would never be destroyed, even if old and shabby, or the last lonely reminder of an abandoned settlement, in the same way that a mosque would never be destroyed. Walking past a tamdyr old people always say a prayer.

Built as an oven for baking bread, the tamdyr has always been a symbol of friendliness and unity. In the old days several families would erect one good tamdyr to be looked after between them, and they would decide who would bake bread on which day. When a new sack of flour was opened, the women would give away the first batch of the fresh warm chorek to the neighbors and only after that baked for themselves. If there are many tamdyr in a village it is believed to be a bad sign, an indication of unacceptable individualistic relations among neighbors. Old men say that enemies used to count the number of tamdyr in a settlement to ascertain how united the population was and to decide whether to attack or to stay away.

“The tamdyr and chorek are the masters of the house”, Turkmen people say. On moving to a new house for the first time people carry chorek in their hands and build a tamdyr in the courtyard. Although numerous types of bread can now be bought at a shop or market, from time to time Turkmen mothers still bake chorek in their tamdyr to preserve the warmth and unity of the family for many years to come.

So, if you happen to visit someone in Turkmenistan, be confident that you will be invited to visit their home and share bread with them, because this is the best way for them to show their hospitality…it is there that you will see reflected the true soul of the Turkmen. text and photo courtesy of Ayan Travel

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SOCIETY

Uyghurs: between China and Central Asia

It was March, and a whole neighbourhood on the outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan’s biggest city and former capital, was once again preparing for the spring festival of New Year. Men were handling outdoor tasks while women were chopping carrots for pilaf, the main dish of their Zoroastrian New Year celebration - Nowruz.

The men and women I came to meet with were Uyghurs – one of the biggest Turkic-speaking people of Central Asia. Here, in Kazakhstan, they are a minority.

It was a vibrant scene. Women in brightly coloured clothes and small headscarves, worn across most of the Muslim regions of the former Soviet Union, singing traditional songs while chopping the carrots. The older women playing folk instruments, the kashgar rubab and the dutar. The dutar is a two stringed lute and the kashgar rubab traces its origins to the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar in Xinjiang, China.

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Xinjiang is home to at least 11 million Uyghurs – a Turkic, Muslim people. It is a vast region of China about the size of Western Europe, culturally and linguistically close to Central Asian nations. The events of the 19th and 20th centuries led to the wider region’s division between China and Russia. As a result, Xinjiang came under full Chinese rule, becoming part of modern China – the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

Twice in the last century there were attempts to establish an independent Uighur state in parts of Xinjiang but they were crushed by the Chinese. In the mid-20th century tens of thousands of Uyghurs fled China, crossing the borders into the then Soviet Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. There are now about 350,000 ethnic Uyghurs in this region, the majority of them living in Kazakhstan.

Their language and traditions make Uyghurs similar to all Central Asians – but they are closest to Uzbeks in their dialect, culture, food and general lifestyle.

“Until recently the biggest Uighur community was in Uzbekistan,” – says Kakharman Khozhamberdy, an activist I met in an Uighur neighbourhood of Almaty. “But due to this closeness they have assimilated into the Uzbek society.”

In Kazakhstan they may feel close to their historical homeland, but the 250,000- strong Uighur community fears losing their culture and traditions. And even though Nowruz is widely celebrated across Central Asia, today Uyghurs are trying to make their festival a little different.

“Everyone celebrates Nowruz. Kazakhs cook gojee and Uzbeks make sumalak. So we Uyghurs prepare pilaf this makes us a little different from them,” says Halima, a dutar player and actress. “We are trying to keep our traditions alive, speak our language and teach our children to respect our culture, but it is very difficult.” She says all her children speak Uighur but the grandchildren prefer speaking Kazakh and Russian.

In recent years Central Asian Uyghurs have made a point of displaying their culture to the younger generation during Novruz: all women wear their colourful national outfits and hats with golden embroidery.The stalls are groaning with all kinds of Uighur food, the musicians play Uighur melodies.

Rooted in Zoroastrianism, ancient Nowruz somehow survived in the region throughout the centuries of Islamic worship, coexisting alongside a strong Muslim identity. In fact, Uyghurs “tried” many other religions before becoming Muslim, also including Shamanism, Buddhism and Christianity. Since they became Muslim, Uyghurs have been known for a history of practicing a moderate form of Islam.

Uyghurs’ dances and songs are mixed-gender – there is no separation between men and women as Uyghurs perform their folk dances and songs. Something non-existent in this predominantly Muslim region, physical contact during the dances – holding hands, putting an arm around a female partner – is part of tradition.

In the early 1990s, when the republics of Central Asia gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, many Uyghurs both in Xinjiang and in the wider region were inspired, too. They started organising themselves into political groups, talking about Uighur independence and reviving their cultural traditions. However, independence is rejected, not only in China, but also by other Central Asian states.

China’s economic and political presence is expanding in the neighbouring post-Soviet Central Asia. All the nations here are now members of the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation which promotes Beijing’s political ambitions as well its economic interests.

The Chinese have invested billions of dollars into the Kazakh oil industry. They have built new pipelines to import gas from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The region’s two smallest and poorest countries, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, rely on Chinese investment, goods and services, too. New railways and roads are already bringing this region even closer to China.

Just as for all Central Asians, this is a good opportunity for the Uyghurs, too. “We built a big house in Almaty after starting our small business selling Chinese-made industrial and surgical gloves,” says Jahan, a local Uighur woman.

She and her husband travel to China to buy the gloves.

With the recent construction boom in Kazakhstan, trade is flourishing. “Everything we have earned so far is due to new trade relations with China, and our family is grateful for this,” says Jahan. “We travelled to China, saw their beautiful cities, and people there are very hospitable and welcoming.”

She doesn’t want to talk about politics. Right now many Uyghurs on both sides are enjoying new business opportunities. But most of all – the Uyghurs outside China are happy to be able to visit their long lost relatives in their historical homeland of Xinjiang.

“Thousands of Uyghurs fled China in the 1950s and almost all of them had relatives left back in Xinjiang,” says Shaymardan Nurumov, an Uighur representative in the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan, the country’s national political body. “Parents were separated from their children, siblings As many Uyghurs made modern Central Asia their home, couldn’t even write to each other let alone talk on the many have lived with a dream of having an independent phone or meet face to face,” Mr Nurumov says in his office homeland in Xinjiang. This is an aspiration China fears. in central Almaty.

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SOCIETY

“Now Uyghurs on both sides of the border have re-established their family ties: we visit each other when there is a wedding or a funeral. People are doing business, interacting with each other.This was not possible until recently.”

But not all Uyghurs are happy that what they regards as their homeland is part of China. Violent attacks committed by radicalised Uyghurs across China over the last few years have killed hundreds of people. Some say that these attacks are used as an excuse for the Chinese to crack down on Uighur nationalism.

“We haven’t been to Xinjiang and don’t know what these people went through. Maybe their family members were killed and the anger made them violent,” says Sadriddin Ayupov. The young imam whom I met in his mosque in Almaty’s Uighur quarter is dressed in modern clothes and an embroidered Uighur hat. “So these people forgot that Islam is all about patience and peace,” he adds. “They have clearly got the religion by the wrong end.”

Imam Sadriddin is worried that Kazakhstan’s Uighur youth may be radicalised. He is using his mosque to deter them from that path. “We have just finished this volleyball pitch and are now building a basketball pitch,” he told me as he showed me around his mosque which looks more like a sports centre. “With these facilities we can attract young

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people to our mosque and keep an eye on them so they don’t get distracted from the right path.”

A majority of Uyghurs in Xinjiang as well as in Central Asia have a secular lifestyle. But in the age of the internet and global jihadist ideas, Sadriddin Ayupov finds it challenging to make young people listen to moderate clerics rather than the firebrand preachers on the net.

“It is tricky to be an imam,” admits Imam Sadriddin. “We need to deliver the true meaning of religion. But as we preach moderate vision, some brainwashed young people don’t think this is genuine Islam.”

For the Uyghurs in Kazakhstan, it is very important to have relations and open borders with their homeland in Xinjiang. In fact, China, too, wants these Uighur people to act as a bridge with its Central Asian neighbours. However, the main question for China as well as Central Asian governments is: Will these trade and cultural relations lead to a new Uighur political and religious activism on either side?

In the meantime, many Uyghurs don’t want to talk about it.

by Rustam Qobil, journalist, BBC Central Asian service

The Land Drowned in Tears is a moving history of the tumultuous years of China’s Cultural Revolution, witnessed, experienced, and told through the personal lens of an ethnic minority woman, who endured nearly 20 years imprisonment and surveillance regime as a result of her political activism in Xinjiang, or East Turkistan, located in the far west of China.

Writing her autobiography as an extraordinary melange of diary and memoir, which oscillates between first-hand narrative and flashback, the author, Söyüngül Janishif, traces her unfortunate youth from her university years, when she founded the East Turkistan People’s Party as a result of her anger and frustration with communist China’s devastating mishandling of the socio-economic life of the people of her native land, through her subsequent imprisonment in China’s notorious labour camps as well as under the surveillance regime, to her emigration to Australia.

Söyüngül’s autobiography is a rare, detailed, and authentic account of one of the most poignant and most fascinating periods of modern China. It is a microcosmic reflection of the communist regime’s tragic realities presented through the suffering and hope of a young woman who tied her fate to that of her beloved homeland. By boldly exploring hidden territories of modern Chinese history, it not only invites the reader to contemplate the universal topics, such as the relationship between citizen and state as well as between ethnic minority and majority, but also encourages similar stories to be told from our troubled contemporary world. This book is highly recommended for anyone who seeks to understand contemporary China as well as any totalitarian and oppressive regimes.

ISBN: 978-1-910886-38-0 COMING SOON WWW.OCA-NORTHAMERICAN.PRESS

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INTERVIEW

Gulsifat ShaKhidi “AS COLUMBUS ONCE DISCOVERED AMERICA, TODAY AMERICA OPENS THE MODERN LITERATURE OF CENTRAL ASIA” 34 OCA NA MAGAZINE

COVER STORY In November 2017, at the 6th OEBF Festival in Stockholm, Tajik writer Gulsifat Shahidi received an honorary award.

“For her personal contribution to the unification of the peoples of Eurasia through literature.” The attention of the guests of the festival was attracted by her new book “My Eye Directs to the East”. In her work, the writer emphasized the development of inter-cultural, inter-ethnic space, the establishment of humanitarian “bridges” connecting Russia and Tajikistan. For her creativity, Gulsifat Shahidi repeatedly received international recognition: in 2015 she was awarded the medal “Dove of Peace” from the international association “Generals of the World - for Peace”; in 2016, she received an award as “Author of the Year” from the British publishing house Hertfordshire Press. In an interview with OCA, Gulsifat Shahidi talked about her work, why she wrote her works in Russian and English, as well as the forthcoming presentation of her book in the US and what awaits her from the American public.

OCA: Gulsifat, your books were presented in Tajikistan, Russia, Britain, Israel and Sweden, where they were highly appreciated and resonated. Tell me what country do you intend to conquer now?

Gulsifat Shakhidi: I plan to present the book in the New World, I will be there for the first time. I want to present my work to the American reader. This became possible today due to my active participation in the projects of the Eurasian Creative Guild - participation in the Open Eurasian Literature Festival, translating my books into English and, of course, publishing books in London at the Hertfordshire Press. My creative career changed greatly after my books were translated into English. I realized that the translation of works into English expands the circle of readers who can get acquainted with my work.

OCA: Your native language is Tajik, why most of your works are written in Russian? In what language is it easier for you to write?

G.Sh: Of course, it’s easier for me to write in my native language. As a bilingual writer, I am equally able to create in both languages. However, the Russian language, like the English language, expands the circle of readers of my work. Books are written to be read, not to be collected on shelves. In this sense, the Eurasian Creative Guild does a very important thing - it acquaints the readers of the whole world with the literature of Central Asia, presenting the writings of writers of this region through the translation of their works.

But, I think in Tajik. Therefore, I have an art editor, Vera Deinichenko, with whom I have been friends for more than 40 years.

OCA: In August of this year, you were awarded the prize in the nomination “For the Development of Literary Traditions and the Creation of New Acutely-Actual Forms.” For two years of active creativity, you have released six books and received four prestigious awards. Which of the awards is most valuable to you?

G.Sh: For the writer, the greatest reward is when he takes in his hands the new smell of printing ink only, that the published work, when he has regular readers, and then - new ones, which gradually become the category of permanent ones. I want to note that only on the website of Proza.ru, I already have seven thousand people.

All these rewards are important to me. This is a kind of stimulus and, as it were, an advance on the creation of new works.

The award “For the development of literary traditions and the creation of new acute-topical forms” was not in vain handed in at the Diplomatic Academy. Writers through their works should be diplomats and open new opportunities for strengthening and mutual cooperation among peoples, becoming kind of messengers of peace. I very much hope that in America they will also find their readers, not just me. So many books of my colleagues were published by the Hertfordshire Press publishing house - they are all an opening for American readers. As Columbus once discovered America, today America is discovering the modern literature of Central Asia.

OCA: Gulsifat, can I briefly tell you about your books?

G.Sh: Two of them took a long time to write and kept me at my writing-desk - these are my scientific essays “Sentimental Journey, or all of my time” and “My eyes are fixed on the East”. This comparative literary criticism is directed not only to learned men, but also to the simple reader. Written in the genre of popular science essay.

But the other four - art books - are the story “The City Where Dreams Come True” and “The Neighbors”, a collection of humorous stories “Farhod of Nawgilem” and a biographical story “Share Love”.This all was not stored in the writing-desk, but in my subconscious. Somewhere in my life I saw someone interesting stories told and of course artistic thinking works and it all falls on paper.

OCA: Did you start writing at the age of sixty-is it too late?

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COVER STORY are interested in being noticed, reading, writing positive responses to my works. And, so as not to have a lot of unnecessary conversations, I first expose my works to the readers’ court in the form of publications, I get feedback, then I’m already going to print.

OCA: Who helps you with the release of books?

G.Sh: I want to express my gratitude to my beloved friend Vera Deichenko - this is my permanent art editor.

When they offered me their editor in the editorial office, I refused. Who, if not Vera, who has traveled along and across our republic, can understand the Tajik reality, the specifics of people’s life.

G.Sh: Firstly, I always wrote. I am a journalist. I do not think that there is such a concept in creativity - late or early. Everything has its time! No one can know in advance what, when and how much it is given to fate. To me now it is comfortable, as I consider my main mission fulfilled - I am a happy mother, wife and grandmother.

Now you can spend more time on yourself. The main thing is that my close people support me in this. I thank them in every possible way for this.

OCA: In any field, there are those who rejoice at your success and those who are cold about it. You feel that you have opponents.

G.Sh: I felt this much earlier before I began to write prose. My husband, Tolib Shahidi, is a creative person and very successful. He is a composer whose works are performed in many countries. Throughout our life, we have seen different people and different attitudes towards achievements. In due course, I have got used, without it does not happen. I have no painful vanity. We had one employee during my work at the research institute, which said - if you do not have an enemy, then you die as a person. Now I remember these words with humor, but there is probably some truth in this. I’m glad that I write that my books are published in four languages, it’s better to think about it.

OCA: Are you still writing? What new surprises await us?

G.Sh: I continue. Of course, I do not want to disclose all plans yet, but I took up a big form - a female novel. What happens, we’ll see. And yet, I want to write funny tales to my grandchildren. The main thing, I want to write. I also want to publish a collection of my articles, reviews, reviews. I want to justify my rewards. After all, many

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I express my respect to the creator and inspirer of the Eurasian Literary Forum in London, Marat Akhmedjanov, who gave me the opportunity to believe in my creative powers, supported me, and introduced me to eminent writers and translators. The spiritual and positive support of Marat Akhmedjanov gives me the opportunity to go further, not stopping at what has been achieved.

And, of course, the closest are my family, my main support. Without them, I probably could not release a single book. I love you, my family!

OCA: What do you wish your new readers from America?

G.Sh: This is a new mentality for me. I would like the American reader to accept my work. I know that now in America there lives a large number of people - people from Central Asia and the former Soviet Union. They will, in my opinion, be the first American readers of the books published by Hertfordshire Press.

As a writer I would like people to read books more. The book is a faithful and reliable friend who will never betray you. Read our books - this is the greatest joy for the authors.

OCA: Good luck and success. We are waiting for new books and new readers among American book lovers.

Maria Indina

Set in Dushanbe, Tajikstan’s capital city, My Neighbourhood Sisters provides a snapshot of a close-knit community as it endeavours to adjust to changes induced by the country’s senseless civil war in the 1990s.

Turning the pages of Gulsifat Shakhidi’s novel is like looking through a photo album, in which the narrator, Zulfiya has lovingly pasted images of both her own family and those of her neighbours. And behind each picture lies a poignant story. Shakhidi’s key protagonists are her close female friends; a group of proud, hardworking Tajik women who are challenged by both political and domestic unrest as they wrestle to maintain traditional family values. Their customs and local environment – the communal courtyard where neighbours gather to drink tea on a raised bed- may belong to Central Asia, but the hardships they endure are universal: infidelity, addiction, abuse, poverty, death. And it is this, so sensitively described by Shakhidi that will resonate with readers the world over.

Zulfiya’s ‘sisters’ include feisty professionals and housewives, grandmothers and new brides, and as the novel unfolds, we learn how they value being able to share their problems and support each other in times of trouble. They also rely heavily on the wisdom and experience of Zulfiya’s adopted uncle and fellow tenant, war veteran, Grigory Semenovich.

My Neighbourhood Sisters is a powerful and beautiful book filled with characters drawn from both the author’s imagination and her actual family, but in all of them, we will recognise aspects of ourselves and people from our own lives, and will perhaps be drawn to reflect on that close camaraderie between neighbours and that sense of community which in our current age, are fast disappearing.

ISBN: 978-1-910886-35-9 RRP: $25.95 AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM WWW.OCA-NORTHAMERICAN.PRESS

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POLICY

BELARUS – US: FORGING NEW PARTNERSHIPS The 25 years of diplomatic relations between Belarus and the United States have seen ups and downs. But we have always been mindful of the importance of maintaining good and fruitful relations with Washington. The United States became the second country in the world to establish diplomatic ties with Belarus, and back then it was a big occasion for the new independent country of Belarus.

I believe that our Western partners, the United States, understand that Belarus has always been a net donor of European and international security. 20 years ago Belarus, unilaterally and unconditionally, relinquished possession of nuclear weapons and removed them all from its territory.

With our U.S. and European partners, we seek to deliver input to managing global and regional problems, to countering modern challenges and threats. In 2011, Belarus offered its rail network to transport cargo to U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Belarus and U.S. joined forces in combating illicit trafficking in nuclear material. In 2014, Belarus proposed to

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conduct on its territory negotiations on resolving situation in Eastern Ukraine, and the Minsk agreements have been universally recognized as the only instrument that can lead to sustainable peace in Ukraine.

Full normalization of Belarus – U.S. relations has been one of the priorities of Belarus’s foreign policy. It is rewarding that over the last four years there has been a positive momentum in the development of our bilateral relations. We have enjoyed limited but steady and consistent progress, and we have avoided pitfalls and mistakes as contacts between the two countries become more intensive and new opportunities were explored.

On a vast majority of international issues, our values and viewpoints are shared with the United States. In the United Nations, our Government has recently supported the global outreach of the U.S. to curb production of fentanyl, an extremely dangerous and lethal drug.A few days ago, at the

U.N. General Assembly the U.S. co-sponsored a Belarus’s resolution to combat trafficking in persons.

With the Trump Administration, we are engaged in political and sectoral dialogues on a number of issues of mutual interest and concern. It is through honest and respectful dialog that we forge understanding and common ground on matters where we may have some disagreements, like the pace of human rights reforms in Belarus.

The areas of Belarus – U.S. engagement which possess significant potential is trade and investment.This potential has yet to be fully explored, but there are factors where progress is already observed and where we can demonstrate how serious and promising a partner Belarus is.

Belarus is an export-oriented state with a well-developed production sector, services sector and agriculture. Belarus is a global leader in the export of freight vehicles, tractors, road construction and municipal equipment, potash fertilizers, flax fibers, dairy products, butter. Our open pit dump trucks have 30 percent of the global market. In 2013, Belarusian Automobile Plant produced the world’s biggest dump truck, its load capacity is 450 tons and the monster is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

Belarus is 38th in the World Bank’s Doing Business out of 190 economies covered in the study. Belarus Government is following the path of macroeconomic stabilization and structural reforms using the expertise of international financial institutions, particularly the IMF and World Bank.

Belarus trade with the U.S. is not insignificant: over 1 billion dollars annually both ways counting both goods and services.Trade is balanced – we import more goods from the U.S. but we sell more services.The U.S. is a significant investor in Belarusian economy.There are about 400 enterprises with U.S. capital active in Belarus.There is a growing interest on the part of U.S. corporations in Belarus, it being part of the Eurasian Economic Union.

The last two years saw increased contacts between business communities, especially at a regional level: in 20162017 Belarusian business delegations visited Texas, Florida, California, New York, New Jersey, North Dakota, Minnesota,Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois,Arkansas, Pennsylvania.

In June 2017 the Belarusian National Exposition featuring tech and IT sectors was organized at eMerge Americas high-tech exhibition in Miami Beach, Florida. That was the first ever Belarus National Exposition in the U.S.

Mr. Pavel Shidlovsky Charge d’Affaires, a.i. of Belarus in the U.S. Mr. Shidlovsky has been Chief of Mission of Belarus in the United States since April 2014. Before coming to the U.S., Mr. Shidlovsky served as Director of U.S. and Canada Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, overseeing political and economic cooperation of Belarus with the United States and Canada.

Between 2004 and 2008, Mr. Shidlovsky served in the Embassy of Belarus in the U.S. as Counselor covering economic, political, science and technology, humanitarian, educational issues.

Prior to that, since 2001, he was Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus managing the private office of the Foreign Minister.

His first foreign posting was in Canada where he served as Second Secretary and Vice Consul for three years.

Mr. Shidlovsky joined diplomatic service in 1993, after having graduated with honors from the Minsk Linguistic University as linguist and interpreter from English and French. Mr. Shidlovsky also graduated with honors from the Academy of Administration under the aegis of the President of Belarus in 2011 as specialist in international relations. In 2011, he received an award of the Presidential Administration of Belarus for outstanding performance in foreign service.

Belarus is particularly proud of the export of its computer services to the U.S. and worldwide. In the past several years Belarus has earned the reputation of the leading “IT country” in the Eastern European region. This is naturally becoming a new brand for Belarus.According to the Global Services 100 rating, the Republic of Belarus placed 13th among the 20 leading countries in the sphere of IT outsourcing and high-tech services. Moreover, three companies with Belarusian roots entered the top-100 of the

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POLICY Belarus Pavilion at eMerge Americas, first line

largest world companies in this sphere: EPAM Systems, IBA Group and Intetics Co. EPAM Systems (NYSE: EPAM) became the first IT services provider in the history of the Central and Eastern Europe region which floated its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s market cap has increased more than fivefold since the IPO. Providing special business environment for IT business, Belarus Hi-Tech Park (HTP) is one of the largest and fast-growing IT clusters in Central and Eastern Europe.

Currently, 187 IT companies with over 31,000 software engineers are registered as HTP residents. More than 60 percent of them are foreign companies and joint ventures. About 3,000 new jobs are created in HTP companies annually.

In 2016, the HTP exports equaled USD 820 million, with the export share in the total revenue reaching 90 percent. Since 2006, HTP has grown at a rate of 25-30 percent annually. 92 percent of the software produced in the Park account for exports. 49 percent account for the European countries, 44 percent – for the U.S. and Canada.

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Five out of 10 world’s largest companies, according to Forbes Lists, are among HTP customers. About 1 billion people in over 150 countries use mobile apps developed by HTP residents.

Belarus is famous for its strong computer programming school. There are 51 universities in Belarus and 16 thousand graduates with ICT and related technical skills annually.

If the current growth trend continues, the volume of Belarus computer services sold to the U.S. will exceed half a billion dollars in 2017. We take pride in the fact that we sell such volumes of products of the human brain to the most technologically advanced country in the world.

Web resources to further explore opportunities of economic and investment cooperation with Belarus: www. belarus.by, www.investinbelarus.by, www.export.by. text and photo courtesy of Embassy of Belarus in the U.S.

The title of Anastasiya Kuzmicheva’s work “Belarusian Whales” invites readers into a world of contradictions and doubts. Indeed, while reading these verses one grasps the apparently conflicting depths of the author’s own point of view - thanks to a wide and clever usage of poetic figures. As such, her sky is “always without make-up“, while her brain “will wipe the dream like dust”. Meanwhile, warmth, light, shame, and love, are created through the imagery surrounding a “white temple” ….. an antithesis to previous assertions. Overall, this poet’s irony seems to be both subtle and comical, since one encounters lines like: “a whale escaped like all men” as a clear critique of average truth claims. Hence, those parts of the poem devoted to meaningful answers and pithy solutions remains the largest section of the entire composition. Albeit quickly followed by more questions. Curiously, neither “who”, nor “what” the whales represent is ever outlined. Instead, a sense of intelligent mystery points to “the names of chapters” as our only clue. After all, we already know that “ … everyone saw the whale…”, which leaves each reader to make up his, or her, own mind in this regard.

ISBN: 978-1-910886-45-8 RRP: $19.95 AVAILABLE ON WWW.OCA-NORTHAMERICAN.PRESS AMAZON.COM

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REVIEW

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES Just when her life felt right: new career, new home, new grandchildren, Janet Givens leaves it all behind and follows her new husband into the Peace Corps. Assigned to Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country finding its own way after generations under Soviet rule, Givens must also find a way to be in a world different from what she knew. And what she expected. Stresses of a difficult new language, surprising cultural differences, and unexpected changes in her husband lead her to question the loss of all she's given up.Will it be worth it?

Four days after Hadija’s mother died, Woody’s credit cards arrived at the Peace Corps office.We boarded the local bus into Almaty to pick them up and book our return flight to Zhezkazgan.

han and I had been working on over the past six months or so, a list we called “Cultural Differences in the Classroom.”

It reminded me that, as I moved into my second year, I knew more of what to expect.

It had been a long summer, a tiring vacation in many ways, and getting back to our apartment in our little town held great appeal. We said a sad farewell to Hadija and her family, not knowing when or even if we’d see them again, and moved to a hotel in Almaty for our final evening, closer to the airport.

While I’d been so quick to notice the oddities and strange practices among my Kazakh colleagues that first year, Gulzhahan had been equally diligent to let me know that the identification of odd “cultural differences” went both ways. I smiled as I looked over our list, remembering the question I’d posed to her one afternoon in the school’s café.

Woody doesn’t feel calm when we’re traveling unless he gets to whatever gate he’s going through hours before he needs to. So, after checking our bags with the airline, we settled in at a Nescafe red café where we could keep an eye on our departure gate.

With hours to kill, I dug out my journal as Woody opened the book he was currently reading. American pop music blared disconcertingly in the background.

As I opened my frayed notebook, I saw my list that Gulzha-

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“What do I do that seems strange to you?”

It turned out that my “flipping them the bird” every time I pointed to a word on the blackboard had been only the beginning. It was not enough to chalk the differences up to the individualistic culture (mine) versus communal culture (hers).

We wanted concrete examples of these differences. So, we started our list.

My water bottle was a case in point. For years, I’d taken for granted that sipping water throughout the day, especially in hot weather, was a good thing. Unfortunately, the sips I’d taken in Kazakhstan during my lectures weren’t viewed as healthy.

Rather it signaled I was “undisciplined and self-indulgent.” Kazakh teachers never drink during a lesson—water on a hot day, coffee on a cold day, even the ever-present chai—in front of their students.

not a little resignation. I remembered a student in one of the classes that first semester after I’d learned about pointing. I’d had much trouble remembering to not point. Something I’d done so habitually, so unconsciously for so many years was hard to stop. I’d turned to my students and let them know.

“Table tops are holy,” Gulzhahan had told me early on. “It’s where we may eat.We would never sit on one.” It had taken me months to absorb the idea that this taboo included any surface that might ever be used as a dastarkhan (a table top), a teacher’s desk included.

Sitting in the airport’s bright red café, I chuckled as I remembered how I’d felt when I finally used my pen as a pointer: as though I were putting on airs. I’d ignored my internal affectation-alert and just kept on. How would I fare with the pointer this second year? Would it still feel like an affectation?

I was eager to find out.

“It’s hard for me to remember,” I had told them.“I’m hoping you are not too offended when I forget.”

A student along the far wall, one of the stronger students, When I sat on the classroom desk, or, to be more accurate, responded. leaned against it to give my weak back a little respite, I might well have been perceived as sacrilegious.

“It’s okay.You’re an American.We’re used to it.”

Kazakh teachers never count their students. During one of my early team-teaching classes with Gulzhahan, I began counting the students by twos, needing to know how many chocolate bars to hand out. Gulzhahan stopped me.

“Counting is only for animals,” she had explained.

“How do you know how many there are?” I’d asked, baffled.

“We take attendance.”

I was proud of my collaboration with Gulzhahan. Neither of us was trying to convert the other. Indeed, the idea never occurred to us that either of us was wrong.We were simply curious about our differences, often laughing at the absurdity of some of them. Our intent was to learn, to understand, to grow as human beings, and, hopefully, to try to find a way to expand our process to include other cultures, other classrooms, other teachers.

Our boarding call pulled me out of my reverie, and I realized how eager I was to get on board, to get back to our town, our work, and to my friend Gulzhahan and our shared vision.

I was going home, home to my life in Zhezkazgan. Home to the Kazakh steppe.

by Janet Givens RRP: $12.95 ISBN: 9781508767794 AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.CO.UK

We both loved our own culture and understood the larger role that culture plays. It shows us where we belong and binds us to those who are like us. But sharing a culture can also set us apart from those who are different, creating outsiders, aliens, the ominous “other.”

We were a well-suited duo to tackle this challenge. Gulzhahan and I trusted each other, talked to each other, and were eager to answer each other’s questions without judgment.

At the same time, I had never felt judged by anyone there.

Through naiveté and ignorance, I’d made multiple faux pas, and each one had been met with understanding, patience, and

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CONNECTION

Batya Raizel Bagully 16 years old, forward, California, USA. Batya has been living in California since 10 months. At this age she was adopted by the wife of Raisel, so she turned out to be in the USA. Can you tell about your family?

My family is very supportive of my decisions to play football in Kazakhstan. I have an older sister who attends university in Edinburgh Scotland and I get to see her a few times a year. My parents (my father James Whittington and my Mother Stephanie Bagully), love watching me play football and cheering for my teammates.

Why did you choose soccer, most people think that it isn’t a womans game?

Soccer (football) is very much a women’s sport in the United States and there is a lot of support for young girls to learn how to play. I love the sport because anyone can play and the whole world plays soccer.

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We know that from the age of 8 you started playing football at the Los Angeles Galaxy Academy in California and played for the midfield and forward position in Los Angeles Galaxy San Diego. At the age of14, you got the opportunity to return to Kazakhstan, for the first time since adoption. Has received a call to the national women’s national team of Kazakhstan on football U-16 to participate in the training camp, which was held in Shymkent.

Then in late April 2016 she participated in the UEFA tournament in Skopje, in Macedonia, as part of the Kazakhstan national team, playing with the teams of Ukraine, Lithuania, Macedonia. In mid-August 2017 in Minsk, she played in the UEFA Development Cup among women’s youth teams under 17 years as an attacker with Montenegro and Belarus. In late September, participated in the junior national team of Kazakhstan U-17 in Denmark in the qualifying tournament of the European Champion-

ship-2018. Why did you choose Kazakhstan?

Kazakhstan is my country of birth and my parents have raised me with a strong pride in Kazakhstan.

I wanted to know more to about Kazakhstan, and my playing soccer for Kazakhstan was a perfect way to do that. I have made many friends with the girls from the Kazakhstan teams and I am very lucky to have the opportunity to get to play on the field with these amazing girls. We have become close and I am very proud to be representing Kazakhstan.

Have you ever seen Kazakhstan’s soccer before? Whom of football player of Kazakhstan can you choose?

I watch the Biik Kazygurt team and they are my favorite. They play good football and they are a strong team. I would like to play for them someday. I have met a few of the players and I follow a few of them on Instagram.

Who is your favorite Soccer player?

My favorite player of all time is Abby Wambach. I have a picture of her on my wall in my bedroom.

She was a strong player who could lead her team to championships.

What is your favourite Football club?

For men’s clubs I like Barcelona because of Messi.

He is a smart player that has never let his size stop him from being the best. For women’s team I like Biik Kazygurt because they have been very strong in the champions league in UEFA and I hope they can someday win a championship. It was. As luck that they drew Leon in the final 16, because Biik was stronger than other teams in the 16, but Leon was just a bad draw for them to have.

If compare between California and Kazakhstan training of soccer players what kind of advantages and disadvantages do you see?

In California girls start training in soccer at age of 5. There are many coaches from England and some played at high levels in England. Also in California girls train all year and take very few breaks.

We have training 4 days a week every week. In Kazakhstan there should be more support for girls soccer and I think that is changing and there seems to be more people who are excited about girls soccer. I read the web site for Kazakhstan football and I see more events for girls and young girls to get them excited about soccer.

Do you think who brings profit to country, people, uno stayed in country, or who is abroad?

I think the best players and best teams are the ones that bring the most money and fans. All professional teams try to get exciting players and it makes the fans come to the games. I think the money the men’s teams pay for players in the premier league is too much, but some of that money is payed to UEFA so that money gets used for youth teams, so that is good.

Is Kazakhstan football famous abroad?

Because of men’s Astana team and women’s Biik team Europe is now starting to learn more about Kazakhstan football. But in the U.S., unfortunately they do not know much about Kazakhstan football.

Maybe soon.

How do you think the success of player depends on talent or luck?

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CONNECTION

Training, and hard work are very important. Talent has to be identified by coaches and those players have to be trained to be the best. Luck is not how soccer is developed.

Tell me please about your team and coach in California?

My current team is the San Diego Surf Academy team. My team is part of the US team development academy. We train and play by UEFA rules and we train with the best players. My head coach is from England and he is very good. I also have two other coaches I work with that are for one on one training and they are from Trinidad and England as well. My team is very competitive and most of my teammates are going to play soccer at the highest levels for teams at top universities.

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Can you give advice for beginners football players?

I would tell young players to make sure they have fun. Soccer is a game, we should not forget that.

But the most competitive players will work hard and try and be the best. Those players will always succeed.

Do you have any hobbies except soccer?

I like to play basketball. Soccer takes most of my time, but I like to be with my friends when I am not traveling for soccer. My family likes to travel and we like to see new countries.

What profession would you like to do in the future?

I want to play professional soccer when I am finished with university and then I would like to work for UEFA. I would like to help young players to get a chance to play soccer and have a love for the game.

Do you have a dream?

My favorite book is “Foward” by Abby Wambach because it describes how hard Abby worked to achieve her dreams. I found it inspirational.

by Dina Oraz

i have many dreams, but I want to play at the top level and win a championship. To play in the Olympics or to play for in the World Cup would be my biggest dream. I also want to work for UEFA and help developing countries build their youth programs.

What’s your favorite book? On which book hero would you like to be similar and why?

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SILK ROAD

FROM KABUL TO QUEENS, NY Photography & Text by ©Marla Mossman 2017

Bird Street Kabul, Afghanistan © Marla Mossman 2017

As a women photographer, exploring the paths of the ancient Silk Road, I was far from home, feeling like a stranger. In May 2005, many foreigners were in Kabul, mostly NGO types, none of us were on vacation. With the lull in fighting, the occupied forces were nearly invisible, yet the tension on the street was high. I was about to start an education program in Waras District for boys and girls as Executive Director of the nonprofit I had co-founded.

On this particular Friday afternoon, I sought out a way, as a Jew to pray in Afghanistan.

Synagogue on Flower Street. A concrete low-lying building, unidentifiable except for its turquoise blue door. The once 40,000 plus Jews who had lived in Afghanistan in the late 60’s frequented this place of worship. Now it is under the watchful eye, of its solitary care-taker; Simintov.

Inside the Synagogue, I noticed the Jewish iconography -the Mogen David motif of the brickwork and iron rails -a tin wall placard in Hebrew read: “Light in memory of SHLOMO SON OF NISSAN, 9th of Tevet 1968”

Just before sunset, Zablon Simintov, Afghanistan’s last remaining Jew welcomed me to the

There were remnants of a Bima and the tattered wood doors of the Ark. Simintov, in his Pashtun

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style Salwar Kameez stood alone in the barren Sanctuary. We left down a dark hallway away from the Sanctuary to a small anteroom that served as Zablon Simintov’s parlor and bedroom. A tiny mattress stuffed up against one wall, a simple table and 2 chairs against another. I caught a fast glimpse of his hand dipping a shiny razor into the dark watery opening of a Royal Dalton china teapot, it’s flower pattern and gold rim looked gaudy against the sweat stained walls. Suddenly, Simintov picked up his towel and the foamy teapot shouting; “I’ll be back in a moment.” as he disappeared. He returned minutes later with the same Royal Dalton teapot and four china cups dangling from his stubby fingers. Temperature aside, it was difficult to swallow the hot tea for fear that one of Simintov whiskers would get stuck in my teeth.

My driver and guide both waved their hands and refused to take any tea which was unusual as Afghanis drink ten cups of tea before noon.

breathed in the sweltering Kabul heat. I did not speak Farci and he did not speak English but together we chanted in unison the Hebrew prayer for Lighting the Shabbat Lights: “Baruch atah Adonai …….”

Built in 1965, Kabul’s Anshei Shalom Synagogue is now a reminder of what a multi-cultural, cosmopolitan city Kabul used to be. Later in the 1980’s the synagogue was desecrated when the Torah was stolen by the Taliban and never returned.

According to numerous publications during its apex in the 7th Century, the wayfaring travelers on the Silk Road wanted to be buried in accordance with their religion. The holy men and families from distant homelands helped usher the dead into the afterworld. The ruins of Synagogues stretching from the Levant on the Mediterranean to Kaifeng in China were an offshoot of this phenomenon.

The Hebrew language, prayers and traditions all connected the merchants of the ancient Silk Road in an eddying exchange of cultures.

I thought of this in retrospect as we drove the straight road that led to the former Khawaja Rawash Airport now known as Hamid Karzai International Airport. I felt a sense of relief that at 4:30 in the morning there was less chance that a roadside IED would detonate. I was more than happy to leave Afghanistan Back in Manhattan, my mind raced with ideas, and stories. I wanted to find a link between the Silk Road and the immigrant communities living in the Five Boroughs of New York -to document how they maintained their culture while adapting to the American ways of life. Simintov and the Kabul Synagogue came to mind. I remembered he told me it was funded by contributions from former members living in America.

Lighting the Shabbat Candles Anshei Shalom Synagogue Kabul, Afghanistan © Marla Mossman 2017

After months of research and phone calls I was sitting across the desk of one of Manhattans premiere colored gem stone dealers and Kabul’s Anshei Shalom Synagogue’s primary donor; Jack Abraham.

My politeness prevailed and an hour later I was standing before four candles nesting on the grimy windowsill. Simintov and I, shoulder to shoulder

Eager to learn more facts about the Afghan Jewish community, I blurted out; “Tell me about your magnificent journey as a Jew, from Afghanistan to

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SILK ROAD Israel and finally New York?”

He leaned back, laughed and began to unwind the labyrinthine history of his connection to the synagogue in Kabul, his people their relocation to New York in the late 1950’s to become the largest Afghan Jewish community outside of Isreal.

He explained the nature of trade on the Silk Road, how money transfers were based on an honorary system (known as “Hawala,” or interest-free banking in Arabic).

As our conversation continued, I introduced Jack to my Peace Caravan Project - a nonprofit art project which documents the origins of the great religions along the Silk Road. He was intrigued and invited me to see the sister Anshei Shalom Synagogue in Queens.

In its prime, the Silk Road was a bustling network of camel, horse and donkey trails between Persia, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and China all engaged in trade. A paper or financial promise in Kabul, Afghanistan could be made good, in Kaifeng, China. Based on a family’s honor, a piece of paper instructed the loan, from one powerful merchant family to another. Thus, the first international trade agreements and peace treaties.

With the modern times, there was a mass exodus of Jews from Central Asia specially Uzbekistan and Afghanistan to Israel. With little property, the Jews took gemstones and diamonds with them.

Eventually in the 1950’s many of them immigrated to Queens, New York to become the experts and dealers in rubies, emeralds and sapphires. Their shops were reestablished on Manhattan’s 47th Street and grew into New York’s famous Diamond District.

Yossi Abramov & Jack Abraham on 47th Street New York’s Diamond District © Marla Mossman 2017

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The Bride Anshei Shalom Shalom Synagogue, Kent Street Queens, NY © Marla Mossman 2017

Simchas Torah is an important Jewish holiday marking the end of the annual public reading of the Torah and the beginning of a new cycle. Jack’s orthodox community often reads from Sundown to Sun up. I went to see the Synagogue for myself and to celebrate with Jack.

Scarves and Prayer Books Anshei Shalom Shalom Synagogue © Marla Mossman 2017

I was surprised to see in the center of the Sanctuary the Bima, shrouded in beautifully patterned, silken scarves that reached the ceiling. The dressed Bima represents the “Bride”, the Torah the “Groom” and at the end of the prayer service the scarfs are auctioned off as gifts to the wives, daughters and mothers. This is a unique custom carried over from these Mizrachi Jew’s Bukharin traditions.

It’s been my pleasure to return to the Anshan Shalom Synagogue to celebrate the unique rituals during the holidays with this Afghan Jewish community. To share with them their intimate connection of heart and soul that keeps their traditions alive. I am grateful they welcomed me in to photograph and hear their stories.

Through The Peace Caravan Project’s mission, I continue to document and bear witness to the world’s disappearing cultures.

I understand what it means to travel to distant lands, enveloped in diverse traditions and the need to preserve the customs that are familiar. It’s important to honor and respect those that are different from our own while we all share in our one humanity.

Women’s Section Anshai Shalom Synagogue © Marla Mossman 2017

Immediately, upon entering, I was escorted to the women’s section. I could hear the Rabbi reading from the Torah - his words common to all Jews around the world - even though the chants, the rhythms may change depending on the country’s musical traditions.

Purim Costumes Anshai Shalom Synagogue © Marla Mossman 2017

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POLICY

The Strategic Importance

of Central Asia for the U.S.A.

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For the U.S., Central Asia is a place where challenges and opportunities meet. On the one hand, the region is prone to many of the problems the U.S. faces around the world: a resurgent Russia, an emboldened China, and the rise of Islamist extremism. On the other hand, there are many economic opportunities between the U.S. and the region—oil and gas from the region can help reduce Europe’s dependency on Russia, and close cooperation with regional countries can help solve larger problems like the situation in Afghanistan and the fight against extremism.

Although the region has been an important crossroads for economic and security matters for centuries, the U.S. is a relative newcomer to the region, unlike many of the other actors in the region.

Today, the U.S.’ interests in Central Asia derive primarily from energy and economic opportunities, the war against transnational terrorism, and the desire to balance Chinese, Russian, and Iranian influence in the region.

U.S. engagement in Central Asia has waxed and waned over the years since Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan gained independence. In the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. began to pursue relations with these newly independent republics with vigor. After a few years, that initial enthusiasm for engagement in the region petered out. This quickly changed, though, after the tragic events of 9/11. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, the U.S. had to scramble to rebuild relations with the region because the region was needed for U.S. anti-terrorism operations in Afghanistan.

But when President Barack Obama ended U.S.-led combat operations in Afghanistan, U.S. engagement in Central Asia waned yet again.

Today, it is time for the U.S. to reengage with the region with the same level of enthusiasm it had in the early 1990s. America’s primary goals in Central Asia can be summed up with four “S”: secure, sovereign, secular, and security in Afghanistan: • A secure Central Asia. The U.S. should promote policies in the region that help with regional security. A secure Central Asia region brings

many economic, trade, and energy opportunities.

A secure Central Asia will encourage much needed foreign investment. Assisting the countries in the region in becoming a stable and secure transit and production zone for energy resources will greatly benefit America’s interests and those of its allies. Helping the countries in the region combat extremism and terrorism are needed, too—especially in light of foreign fighters coming forth from the region.

• A sovereign Central Asia. It is in America’s interests that the Central Asian countries remain fully sovereign with little or no influence from outside or regional powers. This is particularly true given Russia’s maligned influence in the region.

In addition, China’s Belt and Road Initiative must be watched closely. The U.S. should caution the region from agreeing too easily to Chinese investment and BRI initiatives that could undermine its national sovereignty. Strong and stable governments resilient to outside influence are in America’s interests in the region.

• A secular Central Asia. For the most part, radical Islamist movements have not established deep roots in the region the same way they have in the Middle East and North Africa. This is mainly due to the secular nature of the governments.

It is in America’s interests the situation remains this way. However, there is a cause for concern.

Approximately 2,000 foreign fighters from Central Asia have joined the ranks of ISIS. As ISIS is defeated in Syria, it is reasonable to suspect that some of these fighters will try to return home.

• Security in Afghanistan. Many fail to see Afghanistan for what it really is: a Central Asian country. Referring to Afghanistan as part of the socalled “broader Middle East” is misleading. Culturally, historically, economically, and geographically, Afghanistan is part of Central Asia. The countries in Central Asia, especially those that border Afghanistan, have to be part of the larger solution to the problems faced in Afghanistan. Also, a key plank of the Trump administration’s new Afghan strategy is pressuring Pakistan to end its support for the Taliban and associated groups. A consequence of this approach with Islamabad might be

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POLICY that the ground and air resupplies transiting Pakistani territory could be cut or stopped all together. If this happens, the Central Asia region could become very important for the military effort in Afghanistan once again.

Any discussion about U.S. relations with Central Asia is not complete without highlighting the legitimate human rights concerns in the region.

However, this cannot be the overriding issue that trumps all others for the U.S. Instead, U.S. strategy for Central Asia must be seen as a chair with four legs, focusing on security, economic cooperation, energy, and human rights. If one leg is longer than the other, the whole chair is unbalanced at best, or unworkable at worst. For too long, the U.S. has focused too much on just one of these four issues, and usually at the expense of the others. This is not a healthy or sustainable way to advance U.S. interests in the region.

So how is the U.S. doing in the region today?

Outside the context of Afghanistan, the Obama administration had little meaningful engagement with the Central Asia region other than setting up the “C5+1” dialogue. In November 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry visited all five countries in Central Asia. However, nothing from this visit marked a major change in U.S. policy towards the region.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held a C5+1 meeting in New York City during this past year’s United Nations General Assembly meeting. At a minimum, this shows that the U.S. will continue with this Obama era initiative, which is generally viewed as positive. U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry was meant to travel to Kazakhstan last summer but his trip was canceled due to a major hurricane hitting Texas. Unfortunately, it has not been rescheduled.

In January, the White House welcomed Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan, for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. This was the first working visit by the head of state from a Central Asian republic to the White House since Trump’s inauguration almost one year ago.

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The Trump administration, distracted by domestic issues, has not formulated an apparent strategy for the region and U.S. engagement remains minimal. Central Asia’s mention in the recently published National Security Strategy was minimal and mainly focused in the context of Afghanistan.

While this alone is not bad, a more comprehensive view of U.S. goals and interests in the region is long overdue.

It is time for the U.S. to show a more enduring and strategic engagement with the region before it is too late.

by Luke Coffey

Through her childhood reminiscences, Zinaida Longortova brings to life a remote region in far-northern Russia. Extrapolating the folklore and mythology of the Khanty people from her experiences - set around the simple story of a wounded elk calf - the author explores the bonds between humans and nature. Yet whilst this is a novella about a little known indigenous group, the narrative succeeds in harnessing powerful emotions which speak to us all. A timeless story, at once both joyful and melancholy, Blue River is a beguiling tale for all age groups.

In this book, there is fine line between the world of humans and animals, as related in the touching story about an abandoned elk calf and his salvation. Through lessons of kindness and mercy, the author warns us about our great responsibilities and the dangers of intervention in the laws of nature.

Mikhail Turunovsky, writer

ISBN: 978-1-910886-34-2 RRP: $25.00 AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM WWW.OCA-NORTHAMERICAN.PRESS

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INTERVIEW

Animal Movies and Action Men Interview with Hollywood Celebrity Monty Cox

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Cox is a veteran in the entertainment industry. He is an internationally recognized, award-winning, Exotic Animal Trainer, 2nd Unit Director, Stunt Co-ordinator, Actor and Stuntman. Monty is first ECG member in Hollywod. He grew up in a trailer court in Oakland, California and his father was a merchant marine so often at sea. With little money to support the family, his mother worked two jobs, gone from 8:00 in the morning to 22:00 at night, leaving Cox unsupervised.

OCA: What do you remember of life growing up, before the calling of Hollywood?

Monty Cox: My father would return home every 2, or 3, years. He would instill in me manly virtues. Never back down from anyone, one’s word is one’s bond, and always remember it is not what someone says -but what someone does that counts. My father would be home for a week, or 2, then go again.

We moved to Reno, Nevada, when I was 12 years old.

Reno was a wild city. The mafia was taking over the gambling casinos at that time: throwing people out of three-storey windows, shooting anyone who resisted etc. Crazed Native Americans, gang fights, and the call of the desert flavoured everything. At the age of 13, my dad would drop me and my dog “Mambo” in the desert, 20 or 30 miles from the nearest town. I would take very few things with me apart from water, a rifle,

and a pistol. “Mambo” and I would live off the land, eating rabbits.

My friends were mostly Piut Indians. Indeed, I spent most of my time on the Indian Reservation with my good friends “Ya Ya” and “Dog Eyes”. When I was 20, I moved to Pasadena, California, and began training in Boxing and Martial Arts. I got a job as a commercial abalone diver: diving off the Channel Islands for abalone.

I then began skydiving. I, along with 9 other skydivers, made the first “10 Man Star” in world history. Never before had anything like this been achieved.

OCA: When did your career as a television and film professional start?

MC: In 1965, I began working as an animal trainer at Africa USA. Around this time, they were filming Dakar, Cowboy in Africa and Gentle ben. Following negotiations, I flew to Miami to become the animal coordinator on Gentle Ben. Now, Gentle Ben had attacked their previous coordinator: chewing him up and putting him in hospital. Hence, I was sent to Florida to “fix the bear”. In short, to make him a working performer.

That accomplished, I became the Head Animal Trainer for the Ivan Tors Studios in Miami, Florida. However, when Ivan Tor’s Studios closed down, I returned to Los Angeles to become the chief Animal Coordinator for

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INTERVIEW (20 below zero). Stated so, when netting tigers from horseback, I recall them attacking me as I drove a sleigh: thereby, flooring the horse that was pulling the sleigh.

Furthermore, after netting tigers on foot, they started to try and eat me – one has to create the required emotion in a tiger for the scene to look authentic – all meaning, I used a “mean” tiger. With all this in mind, it is hardly surprising I broke my back when netting one of these tigers from horseback.After all, the tiger attacked me on the horse while I was riding causing us both to fall to the ground- the horse landing on top of me.

OCA: Has your expert reputation as a Master Handler/ Co-ordinator effected your profile as an actor?

MC: As an actor I am very limited. I am not really what you call an actor. I can play parts that are what I am as a person, but I cannot be what I am not.

Africa USA. Moreover, I went on to become the president of Africa USA. Eventually, of course, I left Africa USA and opened my own company The Lion Wild Animals Rentals. Buying lions, tigers, bears and a baboon, in order to train them to work in the movies. For 20 years, I owned and trained the Exxon Tigers. During this time, I also trained Sigfried and Roy’s lions for their stage act in Las Vegas. I won numerous commercial awards for Kal kan commercials – working with lions, tigers, house cats, and so on.Thereafter, I worked on Faberge commercials and Exxon commercials.

In 1983, at the annual Stunt Awards, I was awarded (by the stunt community) Best Stunt with an Animal for my “tiger attack” in the TV series Gambler with Kenny Rogers. Overall, a very prestigious prize.

OCA: As the best animal trainer in Hollywood, what are your most memorable projects?

MC: My most memorable moment was undoubtedly working on the movie Apocalypse Now. Additionally, projects dealing with Native Americans were always my favourites. Thus, Sun of the Morning Star, with Cyrus Yavneh as the Producer, stands out. In addition, Crazy Horse – Custer’s Last Stand, Bird on a Wire (with Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn) were particularly memorable.

Looking back, I traveled all over Canada finding animals to train for these movies.

Yet, the most incredible movie I ever coordinated was Snow Tigers. It was filmed in Canada during the winter. We were working with tigers in extreme conditions

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OCA: Have you ever collaborated with ECG board member Cyrus Yavneh?

MC: I have co-ordinated all of Cyrus’ animal work and collaborated on numerous shows (doing stunts) for him over the past 30 years. Cyrus is one of the best: a topline producer in the business.

OCA: Would work in central Asia be a challenge that would interest you?

MC: Any work with another culture is always stimulating and exciting. Our views, too often jaded by news reports and politics, are often wrong. Indeed, people are people with good hearts and minds no matter where they are from. Overall, I look forward to working in Central Asia with the present E.C.G. Chairman David Parry, as well as possibly teaming up with people from this region like Nikolai Pavlenko.

OCA: What are your plans for the future?

MC: Getting my script financed and in production. All accompanied by a European tour for my book Animals Movies and Minds from another Time. Each a subject of interest to David Parry. What is more, I am currently working with two young lions - training them to perform in the movie business. Equally, I have just finished filming a skit for YouTube with a great grizzly bear Tag. If anyone goes onto Youtube and types my name, this skit will automatically appear.

by David Parry

L VA

EU R

L I M F F N EST A I S I A FILM FESTIVAL IN DACORUM EURASIAN

The new millennium promptly throws down new challenges.The world is compelled to unite against an economic crisis, terrorism and climate change . There are different ways of stabilization of these circumstances. As the great Russian writer F. M. Dostoevski has told “Beauty will save the world” each person has the aspiration to beauty, regardless of nationalities. Why don’t we unite mankind in search of fine and beauty? For realization of this purpose it is offered to create a film festival where cinematographers of Europe and Asia will search the peaceful and beautiful solution of universal problems gathering annually in Dacorum, UK. Currently a film industry is powerful weapon!

First festival will be held August 2018 WWW.OCA-NORTHAMERICAN.PRESS

www.eurasianfilmfestival.uk

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ESTABLISHED 2015

The Eurasian Creative Guild (London) - is a new meeting place for creative talents. As an actual and virtual association, it generates a framework within which creative people from across the board can gather together and discuss their work. Indeed, the Guild has already enlisted dozens of significant cultural figures from across the globe due to its proactive support for writers, musicians, illustrators, graphic designers, sculptors and poets along with anyone else who considers themselves to be creative and seeks promotion of their works around the world for mutually beneficial cooperation. We received over 400 applications to join Guild from 30 countries and keep growing.

The Eurasian Creative Guild was founded in November 2015 as a public non-profit initiative that has taken up the mission to create a common information space and unite creative people of Eurasian region. The founders of Guild are such international companies as Hertfordshire Press, Cambridge International Press and Silk Road Media Group.

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First chairman of Eurasian Creative Guild was is a famous British author, poet, dramaturge and winner of numerous awards David William Parry.

Based in Scotland, I have been associated with the Eurasian Creative Guild since its inception in 2015 and from 2013, have had the privilege of editing over 18 books and becoming acquainted with emerging and leading Central Asian authors for Hertfordshire Press.

After attaining my MA hons degree in Art History from the University of St Andrews, I became a professional curator of Fine and Decorative Art and was Director of the Collins Gallery at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow from 1989 until its closure in 2012. During this period, I researched and originated some 300 exhibitions and published over 100 catalogues of work by artists from throughout the world. I was the first curator in the UK to organise a major exhibition of contemporary textile art from Mongolia; a project which led to a collaboration with Dr Stephanie Bunn at the University of St Andrews, and a research trip to Kyrgyzstan culminating in a comprehensive exhibition of contemporary Kyrgyz textile art. The first of its kind in the UK, the exhibition represented over 60 artists, ranging from top fashion designers to makers involved in the revival of traditional crafts as a means of sustaining the local economy of rural areas. Public response to the exhibition and related educational events run by visiting Kyrgyz artists, was overwhelming and testified both the outstanding calibre of the work and the enormous interest in this hitherto unknown country and her people.

The project which received stellar support from Edinburgh-based, Kyrgyz author Shahsanem Murray and Marat Akhmedjanov, opened up exciting opportunities for me to become involved in activities organised by Scotland’s Central Asian community, Orzu Arts, Hertfordshire Press and Silk Road Media, as well as the annual Open Eurasia Literature Festival and Book Forum.

Over the ensuing years, firm friendships have evolved and with an ever-growing respect and passion for the arts of Central Asia, whether literary, performance or visual, I am determined that work from this region receives the international recognition it deserves.

The process is already well underway and great progress is being made with each festival attracting an increased representation of authors and artists as well as submissions of new written work, thanks to the continuous commitment and hard work of all parties concerned and especially, retiring Chairman David Parry who will be a hard act to follow!

There is still much to be done, of course and patience will be required along the way, but encouraging changes are afoot in the publishing world in an attempt to curb the dominance of ‘populist’, and largely Western, literature. Random House for example, is already expanding its remit to represent more authors from non-academic backgrounds and more significantly, in translation in a quest to broaden the range of literature which appears on the shelves of the high street bookshops.

So, the time is ripe for the wider exposure and celebration of the work of the Eurasian Creative Guild and it will be an honour to participate in the expansion and consolidation of our remit through further dialogue and projects throughout Central Asia, Europe and further afield.

Eurasian Creative Guild An Introduction to the new Chair: Laura Hamilton

ADVISORY & EXECUTIVE BOARD

MARK (MARAT) AKHMEDJANOV VICE CHAIRMAN OF ECG

ANNA LARI OECBF DIRECTOR

DAVID PARRY DRAMATURGE AND WRITER

SOLVI FANNAR ACTOR, WRITER, MUSICIAN, MODEL

NICK ROWAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ОСА MAGAZINE

PAUL WILSON SCIENCE FICTION WRITER

KSENIA GOLD WRITER AND ACTRESS

SHAHZODA NAZAROVA POET AND JOURNALIST

MEGAN WERNER WRITER AND MODEL

OKSANA JUKOVA (JOURNALIST

SVETLANA YUDINA WRITER AND ETHNO-DESIGNER

DAVID PEARCE (EDITOR

NATALIA HARLAMPIEVA WRITER AND TRANSLATOR

ELENA BOSLER-GUSEVA CORRECTOR AND TRANSLATOR

RAIM FARKHADI

WRITER AND POET WWW.OCA-NORTHAMERICAN.PRESS

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CURRENT ECG PROJECTS: OCA MAGAZINE - a quarterly not-for-profit magazine, published in Great Britain since 2009, which connects and highlights the links between Europe and the Eurasian region. It promotes the cultures, politics, events and communities of both regions and opens a discussion and exchange of ideas between them to promote both business co-operation and tourist and cultural relations. The magazine is for everyone interested in the region and also for natives from Central Eurasia who currently live in Europe. It is thought-provoking for both international and Eurasian business communities and features a series of interviews with important figures from the world of politics and culture. The hard copy of the magazine is currently distributed mainly in 8 countries (UK, Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) among over 1000 business companies and has over 2000 paid international subscribers. The magazine is also available at selected Universities, Embassies, Air companies and other organizations related to Central Eurasia in Russia, Central Asian countries, UK and USA.In December, 2017, the will be the first number OCA USA magazine.

OPEN EURASIA LITERATURE FESTIVAL & BOOK FORUM - an annual international contest, festival and forum, which unites poets, writers, artists, directors along with anyone else, who considers themselves to be creative from the Eurasia region and all over the world. The overall purpose of the contest “Open Eurasia Literature Festival & Book Forum” is to draw the attention of readers, as well as specialists, to the achievements of Eurasian creative people. It also connects creative minds with representatives of publishing houses, new audiences, libraries, educational institutions and the media, has been warmly welcomed. Today the contest includes more than 1200 participants from 40 countries.

THE ANNUAL COLLECTION OF THE “100 OUTSTANDING PEOPLE OF EURASIA” is a project, together with the publishing house Cambridge International Press. The publication seeks to enlighten, promote and recognize the region’s great people and their invaluable work. Chosen by an advisory panel from outside Eurasia, assembled for their breadth and depth of Eurasia experiences and knowledge, ”The 100 Outstanding People of Eurasia” will provide the first peer-assessed evaluation of the contribution of these great men and women, both historical and current.

DACORUM EURASIAN FILM FESTIVAL (DEFF). The new millennium promptly throws down new challenges. The world is compelled to unite against an economic crisis, terrorism and climate change. There are different ways of stabilization of these circumstances. As the great Russian writer F M Dostoevski has told “Beauty will save the world” each person has the aspiration to beauty, regardless of nationalities . Why don’t we unite mankind in search of fine and beauty? For realization of this purpose it is offered to create a film festival where cinematographers of Europe and Asia will search the peaceful and beautiful solution of universal problems gathering annually in Dacorum, UK. Currently a film industry is powerful weapon! First festival will be held August 2018.

FILM FES IAN TI AS

EU R

L VA

EURASIAN FILM FESTIVAL IN DACORUM

The new millennium promptly throws down new challenges.The world is compelled to unite against an economic crisis, terrorism and climate change . There are different ways of stabilization of these circumstances. As the great Russian writer F. M. Dostoevski has told “Beauty will save the world” each person has the aspiration to beauty, regardless of nationalities. Why don’t we unite mankind in search of fine and beauty? For realization of this purpose it is offered to create a film festival where cinematographers of Europe and Asia will search the peaceful and beautiful solution of universal problems gathering annually in Dacorum, UK. Currently a film industry is powerful weapon!

First festival will be held August 2018

BOOK SERIES ECG - 2018 - Eurasian Creative Guild is pleased to present to your attention a project entitled “Book Series ECG”. Now you have the ability to publish your book in London! You can create your own personal book within the book series “Eurasian Creative Guild (London)”. The work will be published in the British capital, the home of many world famous writers, including William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Rudyard Kipling, Agatha Christie and JK Rowling. Your book will become a part of the history of mankind. It will receive its very own ISBN and the book will be given to the second library in the world - the British Library and the Legal Deposit.The book series, by Eurasian Creative Guild, will be placed not only on the largest popular shopping website - Amazon, where tens of thousands of items are bought and sold every day – but also in online stores in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Great Britain and America.The author will be paid royalties of 10% of the funds received by the Guild for every book sold. The authors, who have participated in this project will be able to present their book at the 7th International “Open Eurasia Literary Festival” to be held in late November 2018.

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ACADEMIC BOOK SERIES ECG - 2018: Share your work with the scientific elite of the world! This year, the British company Cambridge International Press announced their new project together with the Eurasian Creative Guild - the academic book series of the ECG. The Academic book series of the ECG opens the door for authors, specialising in all scientific fields. A publication of your work in the series is a significant step towards collaboration with the international scientific Assembly. You have a unique opportunity to learn how relevant your work is to the world of the reader. Your essay will be printed in the world’s capital, London, with the support of a team of professionals. Authors also have the opportunity to present their work in the world’s leading universities (including Cambridge University in the framework of their annual conference) and speak to future scientists, politicians and researchers international organisations. The author will be paid royalties, to the amount of 10% of the funds received by the publisher for each book sold. The authors who participate in this project will be able to present their book at Cambridge University in March 2018.

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A COMMON INFORMATIONAL SPACE “Open Eurasian Literature Festival & Book Forum” have had more than 1,300,000 annual site

visits and 4,500 contestants

from 40 countries. About 40 events are held each year within the framework of festivals held in London and Eurasian region.

“OCA magazine”: 4 issues annually. The audience of the printed and online version is

50.000 readers all over the

world

Book readings, presentations and exhibitions - more than 60 events every year all over the world.

More than 100.000 subscribers on social media - Facebook, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Linkedin, Instagram and Youtube

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JOIN US! REGISTRATION FORM First name_____________________________________________________________ Last Name_____________________________________________________________ Company Name_________________________________________________________ Date of birth____________________________________________________________ Place of birth____________________________________________________________ Place of residence________________________________________________________ Phone number (with area code)______________________________________________ E-mail____________________________________________________________________ Field of activity * Writer Poet Musician Actor Photographer Designer Sculptor Illustrator Dancer Graphic Designer Other:____________________________

MEMBERSHIP FEES $66.5 INDIVIDUAL $40 CONCESSION $400 CORPORATE

Alternative E-Mail, Phone Number, Skype, Msn,Viber, Whatsap______ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Is your work publicly available on the internet?

If yes, please provide a link to them or web site__________________________________ I have read and agree with the constitution of the Eurasian Creative Guild________________ Signature, Date _________________________________________________________

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EURASIAN CREATIVE GUILD (LONDON)

invites all creative individuals to unite into one creative community for exchange of experience and provide mutual assistance to each other.

HOW IT WORKS?

As a member of the Eurasian Creative Guild, you can meet and make acquaintance with interesting and creative people. It can be individuals and organizations in every part of the creative sector, not only in Great Britain, but also throughout Europe and Central Asia.

ON OUR SITE YOU CAN: • • • •

Create a personal profile To share with your creativity with others, To share contacts and communicate with other members Find out about events where you can meet interesting creative people and open new areas of art

3 STEPS TOWARDS JOINING THE EURASIAN CREATIVE GUILD: 1) fill out printed form or register on the website 2) send your photo, and information about yourself and your oeuvre 3) contribute membership fee

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FEE AMOUNTS:

50

individual

30

300

concessions

corporate

BY BECOMING A MEMBER OF THE GUILD, YOU GET THE FOLLOWING BONUSES: • • • • • •

free tickets to OEBF festival free tickets on Guild events Free subscription to the online version OCA Magazine (http://www.ocamagazine.com) advertisement of your events in social network groups and pages of the Guild 25% discount on all books of “Hertfordshire Press” and “Cambridge International Press” 25% discount on publication within Book Series ECG

We invite every person, who considers him/herself a creative individual, to join Eurasian Creative Guild and become a part of unique and growing community!

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CATALOGUE

EURASIAN CREATIVE GUILD BOOK SERIES - 2017

ПИТЕР БЕРМАН БОИ БЕЗ ПРАВИЛ авантюрный роман russian language ISBN: 978-1-910886-42-7 RRP: $15.00

ДИЛЯРА ЛИНДСЕЙ МУЗЫКА МЕЖДУ СТРОК поэзия russian language ISBN: 978-1-910886-57-1 RRP: $15.00

МАРИНА МИХАЙЛОВСКАЯ СОРОК ХРАМОВ поэзия russian language ISBN: 978-1-910886-41-0 RRP: $20.00

MARSEL SALIMOV

ANASTASIA KUZMICHEVA BELARUSIAN WHALES poetry english-russian language ISBN: 978-1-910886-45-8 RRP: $20.00

LENAR SHAYEKH ONE OF YOU poetry

МУРАТ УАЛИ ИЗ СИБИРИ К СВОБОДЕ роман russian language ISBN: 978-1-910886-44-1 RRP: $15.00

РАИМ ФАРХАДИ ОСТРОВ СТИХОВ стихи

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THE BOOK WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN WRITTEN BEFORE

ISBN: 978-1-910886-61-8 RRP: $15.00

ISBN: 978-1-910886-47-2 RRP: $20.00

ISBN: 978-1-910886-56-4 RRP: $20.00

ГУЛЬЗАДА НИЕТКАЛИЕВА ЖҮРЕКТЕГІ ИМАН ГҮЛІ поэзия на казахском языке /kazakh language ISBN: 978-1-910886-51-9 RRP: $15.00

ТЕМIРХАН МЕДЕТБЕК КӨК ТҮРІК - КӨК БӨРІ поэзия на казахском языке / kazakh language ISBN: 978-1-910886-48-9 RRP: $15.00

КУАНЫШ ЖИЕНБАЙ ТАҒДЫР рассказы на казахском языке / kazakh language ISBN: 978-1-910886-50-2 RRP: $15.00

НАЗЫМ САПАРОВА ПРАВДИВЫЕ ИСТОРИИ рассказы russian language ISBN: 978-1-910886-55-7 RRP: $15.00

САУЛЕ ДОСЖАН САҒЫНЫШ... сборник рассказов на казахском языке / kazakh language ISBN: 978-1-910886-46-5 RRP: $15.00

ANTONINA SHUSTER THE LINES OF LIFE

НАЗИКЕН АЛПАМЫСКЫЗЫ ҚИЯЖОЛ ҒҰМЫР поэзия на казахском языке/kazakh language ISBN: 978-1-910886-49-6 RRP: $15.00

DENIS KUVAEV THE DOOR TO A FAIRY TALE Fairy tale Illustrated (english /russian)

ISBN: 978-1-910886-64-9 RRP: $15.00

ISBN: 978-1-910886-63-2 RRP: $35.00

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HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS - AWARD WINNING

BLUE RIVER

by Zinaida Longortova (2016) Through her childhood reminiscences, Zinaida Longortova brings to life a remote region in far-northern Russia. Extrapolating the folklore and mythology of the Khanty people from her experiences - set around the simple story of a wounded elk calf - the author explores the bonds between humans and nature. Yet whilst this is a novella about a little known indigenous group, the narrative succeeds in harnessing powerful emotions which speak to us all. A timeless story, at once both joyful and melancholy, Blue River is a beguiling tale for all age groups.

LANGUAGES ENG / KHANTY HARDBACK ISBN:978-1-910886-34-2 RRP: $25.00 GODS OF THE MIDDLE WORLD

by Galina Dolgaya (2013) The Gods of the Middle World tells the story of Sima, a student of archaeology for whom the old lore and ways of the Central Asian steppe peoples are as vivid as the present. When she joints a group of archaeologists in southern Kazakhstan, asking all the time whether it is really possible to ‘commune with the spirits’, she soon discovers the answer first hand, setting in motion events in the spirit world that have been frozen for centuries. Meanwhile three millennia earlier, on the same spot, a young woman and her companion struggle to survive and amend wrongs that have caused the neighbouring tribe to take revenge. The two narratives mirror one another, and Sima’s destiny is to resolve the ancient wrongs in her own lifetime and so restore the proper balance of the forces of good and evil

My Neighbourhood Sisters

CATALOGUE

hbourhood Sisters proendeavours to adjust to in the 1990s.

My Neighbourhood Sisters

ISBN: 978-0957480797

autiful book filled with n and her actual family, rselves and people from n that close camaraderie hich in our current age,

RRP: £19.95

A Collection of Short Stories

GULSIFAT SHAKHIDI

RRP:$20.00

I was born in Leningrad in 1955, where my parents lived and studied. According to my mother, children of the postwar generation rarely came into the world healthy. My extraordinary birth- weight of 5 kilograms surprised everyone and the doctors declared me the most perfectly healthy baby. My birth weight was even posted by a Leningrad newspaper, causing my mother to often joke that my profession as a journalist was set from the very start of my life.

MY NEIGHBOURHOOD SISTERS

by Gulsifat Shakhidi (2016) Set in Dushanbe, Tajikstan’s capital city, My Neighbourhood Sisters provides a snapshot of a close-knit community as it endeavours to adjust to changes induced by the country’s senseless civil war in the 1990s. Turning the pages of Gulsifat Shakhidi’s novel is like looking through a photo album, in which the narrator, Zulfiya has lovingly pasted images of both her own family and those of her neighbours. And behind each picture lies a poignant story. Shakhidi’s key protagonists are her close female friends; a group of proud, hardworking Tajik women who are challenged by both political and domestic unrest as they wrestle to maintain traditional family values.

And so it came to be: I graduated in journalism from Tajik University, worked for the republican youth newspaper, undertook scientific research, and completed my thesis on “Twentieth Century Tajik-Russian literary connections in the 1920s-‘30s.”

GULSIFAT SHAKHIDI

usewives, grandmothers ow they value being able mes of trouble. They also fiya’s adopted uncle and

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

looking through a phoy pasted images of both behind each picture lies her close female friends; are challenged by both aintain traditional famihe communal courtyard - may belong to Central fidelity, addiction, abuse, ed by Shakhidi that will

PAPERBACK

I later worked in the Tajik branch ISTRC “Mir”, as chief editor of Radio and Television and had my work published in Tajikistan and Russia.

This collection of stories was first published in Russian but it is my hope that the English edition is just the start of it being translated into other languages.

Gulsifat Shahidi НА КЕ ИИ ЗЫ РС Я ВЕ КОМ СС РУ

+

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LANGUAGES ENG / RUS RRP: $30.00

HARDBACK

ISBN:978-1-910886-35-9

01/01/2017 23:25:28

MY HOMELAND, OH MY CRIMEA

by Lenifer Mambetova (2015) Mambetova’s delightful poems, exploring the hopes and fates of Crimean Tartars, are a timely and evocative reminder of how deep a people’s roots can be, but also how adaptable and embracing foreigners can be of their adopted country, its people and its traditions.

LANGUAGES ENG / RUS HARDBACK RRP: $28.00 ISBN: 978-1-910886-04-5

CRANES IN SPRING by Tolibshohi Davlat (2015)

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

This novel highlights a complex issue that millions of Tajiks face when becoming working migrants in Russia due to lack of opportunities at home. Fresh out of school, Saidakbar decides to go to Russia as he hopes to earn money to pay for his university tuition. His parents reluctantly let him go providing he is accompanied by his uncle, Mustakim, an experienced migrant. And so begins this tale of adventure and heartache that reflects the reality of life faced by many Central Asian migrants. Mistreatment, harassment and backstabbing join the Tajik migrants as they try to pull through in a foreign country. How will Mustakim and Saidakbar’s journey end? Intrigued by the story starting from the first page, one cannot put the book down until it’s finished.

LANGUAGES ENG / RUS RRP: $20.00

HARDBACK

ISBN: 978-1-910886-06-9

THE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR THE DAY THAT DAD RETURNED Maral Hydyrova (2017) “One day of the big year or when the father returned” is a new novel that was written

by Hydyrova Maral. According to the author herself, she is an amateur in the art of literature.

Nonetheless, in the category “best literary work” in the “Open Eurasia 2016” competition, this book has won the first place.

LANGUAGES ENG PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-65-6 RRP: $20.00 FOREMOTHER ASIA

by Natalia Kharlampieva (2016) In this first ever collection of Sakha poems in our English language, the highly talented poet Natalia Kharlampieva weaves openly neo-Impressionistic threads of common heritage, communal faith and shared ethnicity, into an overall tapestry of cultural optimism.

Indeed, to Kharlampieva’s mind, the unique significance played by independent women (willing to endure every hardship) in these restorative endeavours clearly signals the spiritual strength of Central Asia Unanimously applauded as an impassioned book revealing the delights of a recovered national identity, Kharlampieva also captures Natures savage beauty, as well as the harsh existential truths of life in the far North.

LANGUAGES ENG / SAKHA RRP: $25.00

HARDBACK

ISBN: 978-1-910886-22-9

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME S.S. NAZAROVA (2017) Called ‘taboo-breaking… revolutionary” by RFE/RL, Stockholm Syndrome is one of the most controversial books to emerge from Tajik society in recent years. The story of a young woman’s struggle to choose between her career and motherhood, the novella shocked this traditional and conservative society. A remembrance of childhood and rumination upon challenges present and future, Nazarova’s work explores themes of immigration, identity and mental imbalance.

Acclaimed as ‘ahead of its time’ by Persian reviewers, Stockholm Syndrome is an emotional tour de force.

LANGUAGES ENG HARD BACK RRP: $25.00 ISBN: 978-1-910886-60-1

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HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

PRIME

KASHMIR SONG

by Sharaf Rashidov (translation by Alexey Ulko, OCABF 2014 Winner). 2017 This beautiful illustrated novella offers a sensitive reworking of an ancient and enchanting folk story which although rooted in Kashmir is, by nature of its theme, universal in its appeal.

Alternative interpretations of this tale are explored by Alexey Ulko in his introduction, with references to both politics and contemporary literature, and the author’s epilogue further reiterates its philosophical dimension.

The Kashmir Song is a timeless tale, which true to the tradition of classical folklore, can be enjoyed on a number of levels by readers of all ages.

RRP: $35.00

ISBN: 978-0-9930444-2-7

THE PLIGHT OF A POSTMODERN HUNTER Chlngiz Aitmatov Mukhtar Shakhanov (2015) “Delusion of civilization” by M. Shakhanov is an epochal poem, rich in prudence and nobility – as is his foremother steppe. It is the voice of the Earth, which raised itself in defense of the human soul. This is a new genre of spiritual ecology. As such, this book is written from the heart of a former tractor driver, who knows all the “scars and wrinkles” of the soil - its thirst for human intimacy. This book is also authored from the perspective of an outstanding intellectual whose love for national traditions has grown as universal as our common great motherland.

LANGUAGE: ENG RRP: $35.00

HARDBACK

ISBN: 978-1-910886-11-3

SERAGLIO’55

by Georgy Pryakhin (2016) “This is a wonderful publication, full of Georgy Pryakhin’s personal recollections of a lifetime spent not only as one of the most revered Russian writers but as a political supremo in the inner circle of the Gorbachev government during the last years of the USSR. It will enchant readers with a thirst to learn more of the inner workings of those who lived through the USSR, Glasnost and Perestroika.

Pryakhin’s vivid recollections of real events, idealistic dreams and his way of seeing life, tell stories that go much deeper than the words printed on the page.

PAPERBACK ENG ISBN: 978-1910886281

RRP:$15.00

WHEN EDELWEISS FLOWERS FLOURISH

by Begenas Saratov (2012) A spectacular insight into life in the Soviet Union in the late 1960’s made all the more intriguing by its setting within the Sovet Republic of Kyrgyzstan. The story explores Soviet life, traditional Kyrgyz life and life on planet Earth through a Science Fiction story based around an alien nations plundering of the planet for life giving herbs. The author reveals far sighted thoughts and concerns for conservation, management of natural resources and dialogue to achieve peace yet at the same time shows extraordinary foresight with ideas for future technologies and the progress of science.

The whole style of the writing gives a fascinating insight into the many facets of life in a highly civilised yet rarely known part of the world.

ISBN: 978-0955754951

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PAPERBACK

RRP: $15.00 ( ALSO AVAILBLE IN KYRGYZ )

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

HEIRS TO THE GREAT SINNER SHEIKH SAN’ON

by Erkin A’zam (2016) I think that anyone who wants to write in Uzbek will address again and again the books of Erkin A’zam even in 100-150 years ahead because he is unique. He is the only one.

Nabijon Boqiy An Uzbek writer PAPERBACK ENG

ISBN: 978-1-910886-32-8

RRP: $20.00

KAРА Автор Султан Раев (2015) Кара - главный на сегодняшний день роман автора - писатель работал над ним на протяжении двадцати лет. Это философское размышление о пути человеческом и о роли человека в мире. Книга, удостоенная премии Лучший роман 2014 года. Как сказал Э. Арнольд - Жизнь человека... результат его предшествующих жизней; Горе и беды проистекают от содеянного в прошлом зла, тогда как праведность родит блаженство.... Семь пациентов психиатрической лечебницы решают совершить побег, чтобы достичь Земли Обетованной. Как они оказались в сумасшедшем доме, истории жизни, злоключения в пустыне... Язык издания РУССКИЙ / RUSSIAN ISBN: 978-1910886137 RRP: $30.00

REPENTANCE Yermek Amanshaev (2016) ‘Repentance’ is a poignant collection of three short stories- ‘Song of Laments’, ‘Futility’ and ‘Repentance’ – which explore the psychological complexity of relationships between fathers and sons.

The issues addressed are ageless and universal. Set across the centuries, from biblical times to the present, often merging mythology with illusion and reality, the stories focus on challenges faced by fathers and sons as each struggles to assert his own identity and individual place in the world.

LANGUAGE ENG PAPERBACK / HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-33-5 RRP: $20.00 /$29.99 THE GRAMMAR OF WITCHCRAFT David Parry (2016) In this collection of Mini-Sagas and poems, Parry narrates the final journey taken by his alter ego Caliban from the surreal delights of a lesbian wedding in Liverpool, all the way back to a non-existent city of London. In himself, the author is aiming to resolve lyrical contradictions existing between different levels of consciousness: betwixt reality and the dreaming state.

And as such, unnervingly illogical scenarios emerge out of a stream of consciousness wherein bewildering theatrical landscapes actively compete with notions of Anglo-Saxon witchcraft, Radical Traditionalism, and a lack of British authenticity. Each analysis pointing towards those Jungian Spirits haunting an endlessly benevolent Archetypal world.

LANGUAGE ENG PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-25-0 RRP:$15.00

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SERIES

HOWL novel

by Kazat Akmatov (2014) PAPERBACK ENGLISH –RUSSIAN ISBN: 978-0993044410 RRP:$15.00

shahsanem murray

SHAHIDKA/ MUNABIA

by KazatAkmatov (2013) PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0957480759 RRP: $15.00

THE NOVEL “ARHAT”

by Kazat Akmatov (2015) LANGUAGE ENG PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1910886106 RRP: $30.00

THE TURKIK SAGA Kairat Zariyanov (2016) LANGUAGE ENG HARD BACK RRP:$25.00 ISBN: 978-0-9927873-7-0

UNDER THE WOLFS NEST Kairat Zariyanov (2012 LANGUAGE ENG /KAZAKH HARD BACK RRP:£25.00 ISBN: 978-0-9927873-7-0

kairat zakyryanov

13 STEPS OF ERIKA KLAUS

by Kazat Akmatov (2013) PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0957480766 RRP: $15.00

Raushan

Burkitbayeva - Nukenova

KAZAT AKHMATOV

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

SHADOWS OF THE RAIN Raushan Burkitbayeva - Nukenova (2016)LANGUAGE ENG HARD BACK RRP:$25.00 ISBN: 978-1-910886-31-1

THE WORMWOOD WIND Raushan Burkitbayeva - Nukenova (2015) LANGUAGE ENG HARD BACK RRP:$25.00 ISBN: 978-1-910886-09-0

COLD SHADOWS Shahsanem Murray (2016) LANGUAGE ENG PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-27-4 RRP: $20.00

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FINDING THE HOLY PATH

by Shahsanem Murray (2014) RUS ISBN: 978-0-9930444-8-9 ENGL ISBN: 978-0992787394 PAPERBACK RRP: $20.00

e local myths and ay, this is both an of the world that of years but is on e.

SILK, SPICE, VEILS AND VODKA

by Felicity Timcke (2014) Felicity Timcke’s missive publication, “Silk, Spices, Veils and Vodka” brings both a refreshing and new approach to life on the expat trail. South African by origin, Timcke has lived in some very exotic places, mostly along the more challenging countries of the Silk Road. Although the book’s content, which is entirely composed of letters to the author’s friends and family, is directed primarily at this group, it provides “20 years of musings” that will enthral and delight those who have either experienced a similar expatriate existence or who are nervously about to depart for one.

PAPERBACK RRP: $15.00

ISBN: 978-0992787318

ALPHABET GAME

by Paul Wilson (2014) Travelling around the world may appear as easy as ABC, but looks can be deceptive: there is no ‘X’ for a start. Not since Xidakistan was struck from the map. Yet post 9/11, with the War on Terror going global, could ‘The Valley’ be about to regain its place on the political stage? Xidakistan’s fate is inextricably linked with that of Graham Ruff, founder of Ruff Guides. Setting sail where Around the World in Eighty Days and Lost Horizon weighed anchor, our not-quite-a-hero suffers all in pursuit of his golden triangle: The Game, The Guidebook, The Girl. With the future of printed Guidebooks increasingly in question, As Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop did for Foreign Correspondents the world over, so this novel lifts the lid on Travel Writers for good.

PAPREBACK ENG ISBN: 978-0-992787325

RRP: $20.00

Nick

A Silk roAd Journey

Friendly SteppeS:

in 2006 during his eloped an insatiable An Oxford University stry in London, Nick ing Central Asia and travelled to all the is Editor-in-Chief of vides expert opinion t at home with his w lives, his favourite ains of Central Asia laughing and joking ghman accompanied

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

Rowan

ordinary adventure d’s most incredible ll recovering from misunderstood Iran; et domination; and tertwined with the recounts not only e route has had on

TRAVELOGUES

FRIENDLY STEPPES. A SILK ROAD JOURNEY

by Nick Rowan (2012)

Friendly SteppeS: A Silk roAd Journey Nick Rowan

This is the chronicle of an extraordinary adventure that led Nick Rowan to some of the world’s most incredible and hidden places. Intertwined with the magic of 2,000 years of Silk Road history, he recounts his experiences coupled with a remarkable realisation of just what an impact this trade route has had on our society as we know it today. Containing colourful stories, beautiful photography and vivid characters, and wrapped in the local myths and legends told by the people Nick met and who live along the route, this is both a travelogue and an education of a part of the world that has remained hidden for hundreds of years.

HARD BACK ISBN: 978-0-9927873-4-9 PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0-9557549-4-4 RRP:$20.00 DOES IT YURT? by Stephen M. Bland (2016) Conjuring images of nomadic horsemen, spectacular monuments, breathtaking scenery and crippling poverty, Central Asia remains an enigma. Home to the descendants of Jenghiz Khan’s Great Horde, in the nineteenth century the once powerful Silk Road states became a pawn in the ‘Great Game’ of expansion and espionage between Britain and Russia, disappearing behind what would become known as the ‘Iron Curtain’. With the collapse of the USSR, the nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were born. Since independence, Central Asia has seen one civil war, two revolutions and seven dictators.

LANGUAGE ENG PAPER BACK RRP: $ 20.00 ISBN: 978-1-910886-29-8

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HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

SELF HELP

LIFE OVER PAIN AND DESPERATION

by Marziya Zakiryanova (2014) This book was written by someone on the fringe of death. Her life had been split in two: before and after the first day of August 1991 when she, a mother of two small children and full of hopes and plans for the future, became disabled in a single twist of fate. Narrating her tale of self-conquest, the author speaks about how she managed to hold her family together, win the respect and recognition of people around her and above all, protect the fragile concept of ‘love’ from fortune’s cruel turns.

By the time the book was submitted to print, Marziya Zakiryanova had passed away. She died after making the last correction to her script. We bid farewell to this remarkable and powerfully creative woman.

HARD BACK ISBN: 978-0-99278733-2 RRP: £$25.00 MADINA DEMIRBASH THE ART OF MATURE LOVE (2017) Madina Demirbash is an international relationship expert. She has lived and worked in seven different countries in the pursuit of the answer to one question: what does it take to be happy with somebody? It took her long years of personal and professional search to find but a simple answer: it takes one’s decision to grow up. As soon as she started a process of conscious maturity, her life thrived. She had better friendships with different kinds of people, started her own international business, and most importantly – regained her inner strength. She later met her husband, with whom she continues to enjoy growing every day, overcoming relationship challenges.

She believes every person deserves and capable of building truly happy relationship.

ISBN: 978-1-910886-42-7 ENG RRP:$15.00 СВЕТЛАНА ЮДИНА КАК ПОЛЮБИТЬ СЕБЯ? (2017) автобиография «Как полюбить Себя» - это первый литературный проект Юдиной Светланы, своего рода – исповедь. Честный, открытый и прямой рассказ о том, как она: родилась, взрослела, развивалась и расцвела. Это история о том, как полюбить Себя, Родных и свое Дело. Если вы хотите вырваться из ловушки постоянных проблем и ищите собственный Путь в жизни, но не знаете с чего начать? Эта книга станет для вас открытием и настольным инструментом, применяя который, вы включите механизм трансформации себя и своей Жизни. Достоинством издания является простата изложения сложных идей и рекомендаций, а также нацеленность на практическое применение в Жизни. Для широкого круга читателей.

ISBN: 978-1-910886-53-3 RUS RRP: $15.00 RUSSIAN

ЭТО ЗАВИСИТ ОТ МЕНЯ 7 СПОСОБОВ ИЗМЕНИТЬ ЖИНЬ К ЛУЧШЕМУ Автор Меган Вернер (2017) Знакомтесь - замечательная книга Мэган Вернер «это зависит от меня». Великолепный стиль изложения, живая, наглядная подача материала, все четко и объемно. Читается на одном дыхании, оставляет самые светлые эмоции, заставляет задуматься – помогает лучше понять себя, понять, надо ли что-либо менять в своей жизни, поставить цели и пошагово их решать, позитивно мыслить, а главное, программировать свое счастливое будущее!

PAPERBACK

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RUSSIAN ISBN: 9781910886397

RRP:$15.00

JUNIOR HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

AYSU AND THE MAGIC BAG

by Maide Akan (2016)

In anticipation of Expo 2017 in Astana, publishing house Hertfordshire Press presents first book by Maide Akan. Entitled Aysu and the Magic Bag, the book tells the amazing story of a girl whose life is no different from ordinary children, until one day she meets a magical bird. Thus begin the extraordinary adventures of Aysu and her quest to save the environment.

Written with a charm and sophistication which belie her tender years, Maide Akan’s narrative is a seamless blend of fantasy and more modern concerns.

Beautifully illustrated, her work is sad and poignant, yet full of youthful hope for the future.

CARDBOARD ISBN: 978-1-910886-24-3 RRP: £15.00 CRANE

by Abu-Sufyan (2015) In this remarkable collection of prose poems, author Abu Sufyan takes readers through a series of fairy tale scenarios, wherein are hidden a number of sour existential truths.

Indeed, from the bewilderment felt by anthropomorphised cranes, to the self-sacrifice of mares galloping towards their (potential) salvation, all the way to the bittersweet biographies experienced by a girl and her frustrated mother, this book weaves darkly enchanted frame stories into highly illustrative fables. Structured, as they are, in the style of unfolding dialogues, Sufyan’s haunting literary technique serves to unveil a story within a storyline. Certainly, as adventures take place between named and memorable characters, each exchange is saturated with wit, practical jokes, and life lessons contributing to an overall Central Asian literary mosaic.

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-23-6 RRP: $20.00

POOL OF STARS

by Olesya Petrova (2007) It is the first publication of a young writer Olesya Petrova, a talented and creative person.

Fairy-tale characters dwell on this book’s pages. Lovely illustrations make this book even more interesting to kids, thanks to a remarkable artist Askar Urmanov. We hope that our young readers will be very happy with such a gift. It’s a book that everyone will appreciate. For the young, innocent ones - it’s a good source of lessons they’ll need in life.

For the not-so-young but young at heart, it’s a great book to remind us that life is so much more than work.

PAPERBACK ENG / RUS ISBN: 978-0955754906

RRP: $10.00

MENIK THE MAMMOUTH

by OGDO (2017) The charm of this children’s book lies in its original storyline which successfully encompasses folklore, science, natural history and geography. As the baby mammoth develops, the author raises issues concerning parenting and what a child needs to make its way through life, through the male and female perspectives of its young creators, Boris and Veronica. Menik, by default, finds himself facing the world alone and we learn how he copes with danger and struggles, as a displaced being, against ingrained prejudice and people’s fear of the unfamiliar. But there are also glimpses of human kindness and generosity of spirit which eventually, win the day.

Beautifully illustrated, this little book is likely to become a favourite bedtime story and one to which children will return again and again.

PAPERBACK ENG ISBN: 978-1-910886-62-5

RRP: $15.00

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DISCOVERY GUIDES & TRAVEL COMPANIONS

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

100 EXPERIENCES OF KYRGYZSTAN

by Ian Claytor ENG ISBN: 978-0957480742 RRP: $30.00

100 EXPERIENCES OF KAZAKHSTAN

by Vitaly Shuptar, Nick Rowan and Dagmar Schreiber ENG ISBN: 978-0-992787356 RRP: $30.00

100 EXPERIENCES OF MODERN KAZAKHSTAN

by Vitaly Shuptar, Nick Rowan and Dagmar Schreiber ENG ISBN: 978-1-910886-15-1 RRP: $30.00

THE TASTE OF CENTRAL ASIA COOK BOOK

by Danny Gordon ENG ISBN:978-1-910886-09-0 RRP: $30.00

DISCOVERY KYRGYZSTAN travel guide

by Ian Claytor ENG, DE, FR, RUS, JAP ISBN: 9780955754920 RRP:$10.00

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DISCOVERY UZBEKISTAN travel guide

by Andrea Leuenberger ENG, DE, FR, RUS, JAP ISBN: 9780957480704 RRP: $10.00

DISCOVERY KAZAKHSTAN travel guide

by Vitaly Shuptar and Dagmar Schreiber ENG, DE ISBN: 9780955754937 RRP: $10.00

DISCOVERY KARAKALPAKISTAN travel guide

by Anja Weidner ENG ISBN: 978-0-9930444-7-2 RRP: $10.00

THE GREAT MELODY

by Tabyldy Aktan ( dedicated to Toktogul Satylganov) E-BOOK ISBN: 978-1-910886-02-1 RRP:$5.00

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

BUYUK THEMURKHRON

by Christopher Marlowe PAPERBACK UZ ISBN: 9780955754982 RRP: $10.00

TERROR: EVENTS, FACTS, EVIDENCE.

by Eldar Samadov, 2015 PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-00-7 RRP: $15.00

CHANTS OF THE DARK FIRE

by ZhulduzBaizakova PAPERBACK RUS ISBN: 978-0957480711 RRP $10.00

THE CITY WHERE DREAMS COME TRUE

by GULSIFAT SHAHIDI 2015 HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1910886205 RRP: $40.00

KAMILA

by Rahim Karimov (OCABF 2012 Finalist) PAPERBACK KG / UZ ISBN: 978-0957480773 RRP: $30.0 ISLAM, RELIGION OF PEACE AND CREATION

by Sheikh Abdsattar Haji Derbisali * Joint edition with Stacey International HARDBACK ENG ISBN: 9781906768683 RRP: $35.00 DANCE OF DEVILS, JINLAR BAZMI

by Abdulhamid Ismoil and Hamid Ismailov E-BOOK UZ ASIN: B009ZBPV2M RRP:$5.00 VICTORS

by Sharaf Rashidov E-BOOK COMING SOON KURMAJAN-DATKA

by Bubaisha Arstynbekova COMING SOON SILK ROAD

by Nick Rowan COFEE TABLE BOOK HARDBACK ENG COMING SOON

KYRGYZSTAN - 20 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE: BETWEEN SCANDALS AND CORRUPT ELITE

by Giorgio Fiacconi * Partner Edition By Times of Central Asia HARDBACK ENG ISBN: 9789967265578 RRP:$30.00 THE HOLLYWOOD CONUNDRUM OR GUARDIAN OF TREASURE

by Maksim Korsakov PARERBACK ENG ISBN: 978-1910886144 RRP: $30.00 LITERARY ALMANAC - TVORCHESKOE SODRUJESTVO - 1 RUS HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1910886014 RRP: $20.00 LITERARY ALMANAC - TVORCHESKOE SODRUJESTVO - 2 RUS PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1910886212 RRP: $20.00

MAN OF THE MOUNTAINS

by Abudlla Isa (2014) ( OCABF 2013 Winner)

DISCOVERY TAJIKISTAN Travel Guide

by Vitaly Shuptar ENG ISBN: 978-09557549-6-8 RRP: $10.00

Man of the Mountains” is a book about a young Muslim Chechen boy, Zaur who becomes a central figure representing the fight of local indigenous people against both the Russians invading the country and Islamic radicals trying to take a leverage of the situation, using it to push their narrow political agenda on the eve of collapse of the USSR. After 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan by coalition forces, the subject of the Islamic jihadi movement has become an important subject for the Western readers. But few know about the resistance movement from the local intellectuals and moderates against radical Islamists taking strong hold in the area.

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0-9930444-5-8 RRP:$20.00

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CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL PRESS THE CONCEPTUAL STRATEGY FOR HUMANKIND’S SURVIVAL IN THE XXI CENTURY AND FOOD SECURITY

By Orazaly Sabden (Author), A Ashirov (2016) As the third millennium dawns, this world storms and changes unpredictably. Hence, it has become difficult to calculate what to expect on the morrow. Indeed, questions of recovery from innumerable crises (along with any possible rescue plan for humankind from adverse global conditions), are now paramount. After all, dangers such as rapid climate change, water scarcity, not to mention preventable food shortages, obviously shake social stability and economic sustainability on a planetary scale. At the same time, of course, as potential resource-based political conflicts appear on the horizon, various natural cataclysms, pure accidents, and negative environmental processes are increasing. All presenting humanity with unprecedented socio-environmental issues.

PAPER BACK ISBN: 978-1910886267 RRP: $20.00 THE MODERNIZATION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION: THE LINGUOCULTURAL - COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH

by SalimaKunanbayeva (2013) Professor S. S. Kunanbayeva - Rector of Ablai Khan Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages This textbook is the first of its kind in Kazakhstan to be devoted to the theory and practice of foreign language education. It has been written primarily for future teachers of foreign languages and in a wider sense for all those who to be interested in the question (in the problems?) of the study and use of foreign languages. This book outlines an integrated theory of modern foreign language learning (FLL) which has been drawn up and approved under the auspices of the school of science and methodology of Kazakhstan’s Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages.

PAPERBACK

ISBN: 978-0957480780

RRP: $25.00

LOOKING WEST: A KAZAKH’S VIEW OF GREAT BRITAIN

by Kanat Auyesbay (2016) This new book by the Kazakh broadcaster and journalist Kanat Auyesbay is a fascinating and charming view of Britain. Kanat studied here for a year, living in Norwich with his wife and young son. Here he recounts his impressions of British life and compares aspects of it with life in Kazakhstan. He deals with subjects as diverse as school, charity, public transport, swimming, language and eating horse meat! There are also transcripts of interviews and additional chapters such as ‘35 years in front of the White House,’ in which he talks about Conception Picciotto about her anti- nuclear vigil. The reader will also learn about Kazakhstan and some of it’s customs and monuments. I am sure that British readers will enjoy Kanat’s impressions of our country, and I hope that they be inspired to visit Kazakhstan. I also hope that Kazakh readers will, perhaps, understand our small island a little better.

PAPERBACK

ISBN:978-1910886373 RRP: $20.00

VANISHED KHANS AND EMPTY STEPPES

by Robert Wight (2014) The book opens with an outline of the history of Almaty, from its nineteenth-century origins as a remote outpost of the Russian empire, up to its present status as the thriving second city of modern-day Kazakhstan. The story then goes back to the Neolithic and early Bronze Ages, and the sensational discovery of the famous Golden Man of the Scythian empire. The transition has been difficult and tumultuous for millions of people, but Vanished Khans and Empty Steppes illustrates how Kazakhstan has emerged as one of the world’s most successful post-communist countries.

HARD BACK

ISBN: 978-0-9930444-0-3

RRP: $30.00

PAPERBACK ISBSN: 978-1-910886-05-2 RRP: $20.00

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PROJECTIVE GRAPHICS

by Yelena Bezrukova, Valentina Tikhomirova (2015) This album contains images of an aspiring new art movement known in Kazakhstan as “Projective Graphics”. The images presented in the publication, called “graphelvas” are accompanied by conceptual and explanatory texts, as well as an appendix of works associated with the small, but up and coming movement. This album is intended for a broad audience.

HARDBACK

ENGLISH

ISBN: ISBN: 978 – 0993044434 RRP: $15.00

AZERBAIJAN:BRIDGE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST

by Yury Sigov, 2015 Azerbaijan: Bridge between East and West, Yury Sigov narrates a comprehensive and compelling story about Azerbaijan. He balances the country’s rich cultural heritage, wonderful people and vibrant environment with its modern political and economic strategies. Readers will get the chance to thoroughly explore Azerbaijan from many different perspectives and discover a plethora of innovations and idea, including the recipe for Azerbaijan’s success as a nation and its strategies for the future. The book also explores the history of relationships between United Kingdom and Azerbaijan.

HARD BACK ISBN: 978-0-9930444-9-6 RRP: $30.00

SAVITSKY COLLECTION SELECTED MASTERPIECES. Poster set of 8 posters (2014) Limited edition of prints from the world-renowned Museum of Igor Savitsky in Nukus, Uzbekistan. The set includs nine of the most famous works from the Savitsky collection wrapped in a colourful envelope. Selected Masterpieces of the Savitsky Collection.

ISBN: 9780992787387 RRP: $35.00

IGOR SAVITSKY: ARTIST, COLLECTOR, MUSEUM FOUNDER

by Marinika Babanazarova (2011) Since the early 2000s, Igor Savitsky’s life and accomplishments have earned increasing international recognition. He and the museum he founded in Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan in the far northwest of Uzbekistan. Marinika Babanazarova’s memoir is based on her 1990 graduate dissertation at the Tashkent Theatre and Art Institute. It draws upon correspondence, official records, and other documents about the Savitsky family that have become available during the last few years, as well as the recollections of a wide range of people who knew Igor Savitsky personally.

LANGUAGE: ENG, RUS, FR

ISBN: 978-0955754999

RRP: $10.00

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CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

GOETHE AND ABAI

by Herold Belger (2016) Present publication of Herold Berler’s personal and scholarly essay on these two giants of world literature. Berger’s unique stance is to follow the dictates of his imagination, inspired by a close life-long study of Goethe and Abai, and, alongside many detailed scholarly investigations, e.g. his comparative study of Goethe and Abai’s innovations in poetic metre, form and consonance, or of the sources and background of Goethe’s Eastern inspired masterpiece West-East Divan, Berler muses openly about the personal impact that Goethe and Abai have had on him.

HARDBACK ENG RRP: $25.00

ISBN:978-1-910886-16-8

COLD WAR II: CRIES IN THE DESERT OR HOW TO COUNTERBALANCE NATO’S PROPAGANDA FROM UKRAINE TO CENTRAL ASIA

by Charles Van Der Leeuw (2015) Cold War II” is the result of almost two years of intensive monitoring and collecting information and comments from various angles concerning US-led campaigns to surround the Russian Federation with enemies. The book offers a rich anthology of samples how media play into the hands of the US-led “war party” as well as those who try to expose such manipulations. Special attention is given to the civil war in Ukraine and the way it is exploited by the west for its own geopolitical goals, and to Kyrgyzstan which remains at risk of attempts to topple Central Asia’s sole parliamentary democracy and replace it by a US “client regime”.

HARDBACK

ISBN: 978-1910886076 RRP: $30.00

TALES FROM BUSH HOUSE (BBC Wolrd Service) by Hamid Ismailov (2012) Tales From Bush House is a collection of short narratives about working lives, mostly real and comic, sometimes poignant or apocryphal, gifted to the editors by former and current BBC World Service employees. They are tales from inside Bush House - the home of the World Service since 1941 - escaping through its marble-clad walls at a time when its staff begin their departure to new premises in Portland Place. In July 2012, the grand doors of this imposing building will close on a vibrant chapter in the history of Britain’s most cosmopolitan organisation. So this is a timely book.

PAPERBACK RRP: $20.00

ISBN: 9780955754975

PEACEMAKER THE SYRIAN CONUNDRUM

by Nurlan Onzhanov (2017) The Republic of Kazakhstan’s balanced foreign policy is one of our country’s main priorities and is recognised and understood by many. The aim of Kazakhstan, located in the centre of the Eurasian continent, is to maintain friendly relations with its neighbours and partners, and to develop and strengthen these ties, in line with the policy determined by the Republic of Kazakhstan’s president, our nation’s leader: Nursultan Abishuliy Nazarbayev. This book has been written from the perspective of an author who has personally witnessed the Head of State’s multifaceted work in the international arena.

Following the earlier publication of ‘Peacemaker’ it encompasses events connected with the Syrian crisis from 2011 to June 2017.

LANGUAGES ENG HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-52-6 RRP: $30.00

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LAND OF FORTY TRIBES

by Farideh Heyat, 2015 Sima Omid, a British-Iranian anthropologist in search of her Turkic roots, takes on a university teaching post in Kyrgyzstan. It is the year following 9/11, when the US is asserting its influence in the region. Disillusioned with her long-standing relationship, Sima is looking for a new man in her life.

But the foreign men she meets are mostly involved in relationships with local women half their age, and the Central Asian men she finds highly male chauvinist and aggressive towards women.

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0-9930444-4-1 RRP: $20.00

BIRDS OF UZBEKSITAN

by Nedosekov (2012) FIRST AND ONLY PHOTOALBUM OF UZBEKISTAN BIRDS! This book, which provides an introduction to the birdlife of Uzbekistan, is a welcome addition to the tools available to those working to conserve the natural heritage of the country. In addition to being the first photographic guide to the birds of Uzbekistan, the book is unique in only using photographs taken within the country. The compilers are to be congratulated on preparing an attractive and accessible work which hopefully will encourage more people to discover the rich birdlife of the country and want to protect it for future generations HARDBACK ISBN: 978-0-955754913

RRP: $30.00

STRATEGIC GUIDLINES FOR HIGHER FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

by Salima Kunanbayeva

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-67-0 RRP: $30.00 ENG

PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY PROBLEMS

by Fakhraddin Veysalli (2016) In this manual, the phonetic structure of the Azerbaijani language and its phonological systems have been (systematically) explained by focusing on comparative materials from a number of different languages. Thus, the author defends his theoretical position, as well as persues common principles, through the topics raised. Additionally, he demonstrates his thoughts and considerations, while basing his own investigations upon existing perceptions in literature. As such, this book is primarily intended for philologists. However, these materials can be used by teachers of language or literature, along with postgraduates, dissertants, and students of philological faculties: including everyone interested in linguistics.

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1910886182 RRP: $30.00 ENG

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CONTENTS 8

ECG GOES STATESIDE

38

BELARUS – US: FORGING NEW PARTNERSHIPS

14

THE AMERICAN VIEW: EXPO-2017 PEOPLE ARE THE SOURCE OF FUTURE ENERGY

42

BOOK REVIEW: CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

18

KAZAKHSTAN: THE QUEST FOR INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION DRIVES MANY EMERGING MARKETS

44

BATYA RAIZEL BAGULLY: 16 YEARS OLD, FORWARD, CALIFORNIA, USA.

“I SEE A LIGHT FOR MY NATIVE CINEMA AT THE END OF THIS DARK PERIOD”

48

FROM KABUL TO QUEENS, NY

22

52

THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF CENTRAL ASIA FOR THE U.S.A.

56

INTERVIEW:MONTY COX - ANIMAL MOVIES AND ACTION MEN

60

ECG INFORMATION

66

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS CATALOGUE

78

CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL PRESS CATALOGUE

26

TAJIKISTAN AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: GARDENING A TREE OF FRIENDSHIP

28

TO BECOME A GOOD FRIEND – VISIT MY HOME AND TRY SOME OF MY BREAD! UYGHURS: BETWEEN CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA

34

GULSIFAT SHAKHIDI: “AS COLUMBUS ONCE DISCOVERED AMERICA, TODAY AMERICA OPENS THE MODERN LITERATURE OF CENTRAL ASIA”

OCA MAGAZINE BUILDING THE LANDBRIDGE WITH EURASIA

RRP: $9.95

NORTH AMERICAN EDITION

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GULSIFAT SHAHIDI: “AS COLUMBUS ONCE DISCOVERED AMERICA,

[ EURASIA ]

TODAY AMERICA OPENS THE MODERN LITERATURE OF CENTRAL ASIA”

BELARUS – US: FORGING NEW PARTNERSHIPS TAJIKISTAN AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: GARDENING A TREE OF FRIENDSHIP THE AMERICAN VIEW: EXPO-2017 PEOPLE ARE THE SOURCE OF FUTURE ENERGY ECG GOES STATESIDE

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Bringing together two works by the Tajik author, Gulsifat Shahidi, I am Looking Towards the East and Sentimental Journey or All in Good Time, this title takes an in-depth look at the historical relationship between Tajik and Russian literature and literary figures.Volume one draws an endearing portrait of the nineteenth-century translator-poet, Vasily Zhukovsky, whilst volume two concentrates on Russian-Tajik literary connections during the early years of the Soviet Union. Through her painstaking analysis of texts, archival documents and personal interviews, Shahidi masterfully bringing the characters and events of both periods to life. Her works are both academic thesis and a lovingly drawn living history.

The recipient of awards for her work in promoting peace and conflict resolution, Shahidi’s novel, The City Where Dreams Come True won first prize at the Open Eurasia International Literary Festival in 2015. The prolific author of forty-four titles in Russian and Tajik, this collection represents Gulsifat Shahidi’s third book to be translated into English.

ISBN: 978-1-910886-66-3 RRP: $30.00 AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

The charm of this children’s book lies in its original storyline which successfully encompasses folklore, science, natural history and geography. As the baby mammoth develops, the author raises issues concerning parenting and what a child needs to make its way through life, through the male and female perspectives of its young creators, Boris and Veronica. Menik, by default, finds himself facing the world alone and we learn how he copes with danger and struggles, as a displaced being, against ingrained prejudice and people’s fear of the unfamiliar. But there are also glimpses of human kindness and generosity of spirit which eventually, win the day.

Beautifully illustrated, this little book is likely to become a favourite bedtime story and one to which children will return again and again.

ISBN: 978-1-910886-59-5 RRP: $15.00 AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM