OCA MAGAZINE #42

BUILDING THE LANDBRIDGE WITH EURASIA

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THE FIFTH TERM OF THE PRESIDENCY OF EMOMALI RAHMON KAZAKHSTAN FORGING OWN PATH UNDER NEW PRESIDENCY NEW CABINET IN KABUL PROMISES TROUBLE FOR THE REGION THE MOGILEV REGION - EAST SLAVIC CULTURE IN BELARUS LINKING TOURISM AND CONSERVATION IN KYRGYZSTAN

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OCA MAGAZINE

VOICES OF FRIENDS: POETRY & ART 2022

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BOROVOE, KAZAKHSTAN

ECG BOARD JOHN FARNDON - CHAIRMAN MARAT AKHMEDJANOV - VICE CHAIRMAN

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF NICK ROWAN PUBLISHER MARAT AKHMEDJANOV EDITOR ASSISTANT SABINA ABDYBACHAEVA DESIGN ALEXANDRA REY

OPEN CENTRAL ASIA MAGAZINE #42 FALL 2021

Cover: President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon see p.6 MAGAZINE PUBLISHED FOR EURASIAN CREATIVE GUILD

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EDITORIAL TEAM GARETH STAMP RAZA SAYED TATIANA SHEVCHENKO VITALINA GOLOVACH CONTRIBUTORS SAMARIDDIN ASOZODA PAULO AFONSO B. DUARTE PAULO ROQUETE VITORINO BELEK SARYMSAKOV IVAN IVOILOV EMOMALI RAHMON LARA PRODAN MICHAEL DANIEL SAGATIS LUDMILA BUDANOV NICHOLAS RUTHERFORD ALLA PRONINA

ADVISORY BOARD MICHAEL ANANOV (GEORGIA) ALDONA GRUPAS (UK) VICTORIA LEVIN (ISRAEL) WARREN WILLS (AUSTRALIA) ELENA BEZRUKOVA (KAZAKHSTAN) YELENA ASLANYAN (ARMENIA) ALINA MOSEYKINA (CYPRUS) AZIM AKMATOV (KYRGYZSTAN) GARETH STAMP (BULGARIA) NATALIE BAYS (UK) ELENA KORNEEVA (RUSSIA) SARIYA MAMMADOVA (AZERBAIJAN) ALBERT TAIPOV (BELARUS) MARINA PODLESNAIA (MOLDOVA) SHAVKAT ISMAILOV (KAZAKHSTAN) OKSANA JUKOVA (CRIMEA)

INESSA VOLOKITINA ALINA HOLUBENKO VITALINA GOLOVACH REIDAR BRAATHEN PAVEL KOSSOVICH DISTRIBUTION ANHELINA KRASNAHIR TIMUR AKHMEDJANOV WEB NAIMATT BUTT

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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.

Special gratitude for cooperation and support to: Embassy of Azerbaijan to the UK Embassy of Belarus to the UK Embassy of Kazakhstan to the UK Embassy of Kyrgyzstan to the UK Embassy of Russian Federation to the UK Embassy of Tajikistan to the UK Embassy of Turkmenistan to the UK Embassy of Uzbekistan to the UK CATBIG, TEAS

FROM THE EDITOR Regional security is likely to be the biggest watchpoint. The crisis in Afghanistan makes the development of extremist forms of Islam very likely, especially as it is also unlikely that the Taliban can genuinely unite a nation that has been disunited for decades. As such the Central Asian nations have been cautious in allowing refugees to cross the borders for fear of importing militant extremists alongside, therefore they have largely only permitted brief transits for refugees to third countries.

Part of the Taliban’s victory is down to the fact that disenfranchised ethnic minorities, including Tajiks and Uzbeks, have joined the Taliban’s cause. The Ashraf Ghani government fell for reasons that are also acknowledged to exist in Central Asia – corruption, legitimacy and a marginalised population.

That a generation of young people lacking opportunity and finding religion can so swiftly topple a government backed by the world’s leading powers so quickly might cause a few sleepless nights in other regimes in the region.The Taliban response to those ethnic minorities who hail from Central Asia will also impact the willingness of neighbours to recognise and co-operate with the new government, or against them.

Welcome Word Like most people, I watched in horror the events unfolding in Afghanistan during the US-led withdrawal in August. Twenty years of bloody fighting, attempted democracy, improved human rights and renewed education prospects for women were over in a matter of days as the Taliban enforced a new order with relative ease and surprisingly minimal military conflict.

Unlike the West, the nations of Central Asia have prepared to some extent for the return of the Taliban. They have built diplomatic relationships and enhanced their own domestic security arrangements. But the ignominy of the US-led withdrawal, the uncertainty that the Taliban will keep its security guarantees to suppress the export of extremism and the general uncertain economic and political outcome of the region’s close neighbour mean that significant challenges remain – and not just inside Afghanistan. Whether the Central Asian governments want it or not, external actors, including Russia and China, will continue to make their presence felt in the region.

Trade with and through Afghanistan will also be a hot topic and opportunity – Afghanistan is a central part of trade routes linking Europe, the Middle East and is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Meanwhile, the long-heralded Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan pipeline remains in the balance. Russia and China are key economic partners for the region and will be seen by some, including Kazakhstan who doesn’t share a border with Afghanistan, as the only ones who can help with a co-ordinated response and plan for the future of trade with the country.That response will undoubtedly use the security threat to broaden military presence for the required security that is needed to enable trade. But ultimately, as in the days of the Silk Road, it may only be trade, of the legitimate and structured kind, that can help Afghanistan to get out of its cycle of turmoil and regional partition. And freer, more transparent trade is something perhaps worth fighting hard for – the question now is whether that will be by diplomatic or further military means?

Enjoy the issue.

Nick Rowan

Editor-in-Chief Open Central Asia Magazine WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

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COVER STORY

THE FIFTH TERM OF THE PRESIDENCY OF EMOMALI RAHMON

The most important political event in Tajikistan in 2020 was the presidential elections, which were held on October 11, 2020, in accordance with the Constitution, current legislation, and in compliance with the restrictions related to Covid-19. Despite the tense situation in friendly countries, the elections in Tajikistan were held in a calm and stable atmosphere. International observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), as well as parliamentarians from friendly countries were invited to observe the electoral process.

Five nominees were registered as presidential candidates by the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda of the Republic of Tajikistan (CCER). Along with the incumbent President Emomali Rahmon, Rus-

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tam Latifzoda was nominated by the Agrarian Party of Tajikistan, Rustam Rakhmatzoda from the Party of Economic Reforms of Tajikistan, Mirojiddin Abdulloev from the Communist Party of Tajikistan and Abduhalim Gaforov (Gaforzoda) from the Socialist Party of Tajikistan.

According to the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda of the Republic of Tajikistan, the turnout was 85.39% or 4.22 million voters. Observers believe that this figure indicates a high level of public participation in the political life of the country.

Emomali Rahmon was re-elected president with 3.83 million votes or 90.92% of the total voters. Rustam Latifzod received 3.03% of the votes, Rustam Rakhmatzoda - 2.14%, Abdukhalim Gaforov - 1.49% and Mirojiddin Abdulloyev - 1.17%.

somoni (890 million euros) in 2013 to 23 billion somoni (1.7 billion euros) in 2020. In connection with the increase in income, funds were used to improve health care and social protection of the population, strengthen social institutions, and protect mother and child.

As a result of measures taken over the past seven years, industrial production increased from 10 billion somoni (742 million euros) to 27.5 billion somoni (2.04 billion euros), which has tripled in just three years. The share of industry in GDP increased from 12.6% to 17.7%, which created favourable conditions for establishing new areas of cooperation with foreign investors in the food industry, construction, mining, metal processing and other raw materials.

According to Tajik observers, many people believe that President Emomali Rahmon contributed to ending the civil war in 1997, creating national statehood, lifting the country out of the communication deadlock, developing the economy, strengthening peace and stability in the region. The electoral programme of Emomali Rahmon includes sustainable economic development, human capacity building, as well as the development of socio-economic, political and cultural spheres.

The electoral program of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon until 2027 is a logical continuation of the previous program, which provides for increasing the efficiency of the economy, expanding the value chain, increasing GDP and improving incomes of the population. By 2027, budget revenues are expected to more than double by 4.2 billion euros compared to 2020. Energy independence is one of the most important areas, and after the completion of Rogun Hydropower station construction,Tajikistan can become a leading exporter of electricity in Central Asia.Tajikistan pays special attention to renewable energy sources and the development of a “green economy” that will contribute to the sustainable development of ecotourism with network infrastructure and quality services.

For Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries, it is important to promote issues related to climate change and water resources. Under the leadership of President Emomali Rahmon, the country gives particular attention to the problem of climate change, on the example of the creation of the International Glacier Fund with the assistance of the UNESCO and the United Nations Agencies in Central Asia. Over the past 15 years, TaAs a close neighbour of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, with a jikistan, together with the UN member states and its common border of more than 1,300 km, is located in a subordinate institutions, has come up with a number of sensitive area and is an important point of geopolitical outstanding global initiatives, including the International competition. Over the past seven years, the country’s Year of Clean Water 2003; the International Decade economic growth has been an average of 7% per year, of Water for Life 2005-2015; the International Year of and the GDP growth rate has increased from 45.6 bil- Water Cooperation-2013 and the International Delion somoni (3.4 billion euros) to 87.4 billion somoni cade for Action Water for Sustainable Development (6.5 billion euros). At the same time, the total amount 2018-2028. Naturally, Tajikistan is focusing on all efforts of budget revenues almost doubled - from 12 billion to ensure peace and stability in Afghanistan.

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Tajikistan plans to join the group of middle-income countries and has taken several steps towards economic reform. With the transition to new models of economic development, it is necessary to implement the goals of the National Development Strategy of the Republic of Tajikistan for the period up to 2030.

The priority task for the next seven years is to ensure the sustainable development of the national economy.

In this process, the private sector will be involved in economic development, and with the creation of new manufacturing enterprises, domestic products will become more competitive and suitable for export.

In the international arena, Tajikistan is recognized as a country leading a peaceful and constructive foreign policy. Due to the “open door” foreign policy, mutually beneficial bilateral relations have been established with

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many countries of the world. The country’s integration into international relations is seen as an important factor in increasing the efficiency of the economy and the beginning of the industrialization process. Tajikistan will continue to take important steps to further strengthen economic and trade cooperation with its neighbours.

Samariddin Asozoda, journalist, Dushanbe

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POLICY

KAZAKHSTAN FORGING OWN PATH OF DEVELOPMENT UNDER NEW PRESIDENCY

After being elected, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev immediately expressed the need to implement country-wide reforms in many areas, however the managed leadership transition results more in perpetuation of policies rather than in real change.

During almost 30 years, former president Nazarbayev clearly established Kazakhstan’s path of development based on his vision for the country. Tokayev follows the same line, albeit introducing a renewed emphasis on democratic political reform. Without abandoning the traditional top-down (that is, from above) essence of the reforms previously undertaken by Nazarbayev, the current leader considers, nonetheless, that politics shall no longer remain in the rear compared to economics. Instead, according to Tokayev, the new cir-

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cumstances explain that without political changes, economic development would be impossible. One of his most significant changes was bringing the population closer to politics, by listening to their comments and criticisms in order to endow governance with a human face.Thus, by seeking to make local governors accountable vis-à-vis the population, not only does Tokayev aim to improve the effectiveness of the governance, but he also expects that the listening state (an important concept in his leadership) better fights some old problems, such as corruption.

In the first two years of his mandate, Tokayev introduced significant changes, such as the direct election of akims in rural areas and small towns and the lowering of the threshold (5% instead of 7%) that political par-

ties have to reach to gain seats in the Majilis. In addition to politics, Tokayev is aware of the need to diversify the economy in order to avoid the so-called deindustrialisation. In other words, the extreme dependence on the extraction of natural resources is not beneficial to the country, and even less in a context in which, according to respected experts such as Almas Chukin, Kazakhstan may not be far from reaching the peak of oil production.

Continuity, Justice and Progress are the three major axes that sum up the new course of President Tokayev.

Apparently antagonistic, the continuity of the political essence that characterised the Nazarbayev era is not, for Tokayev, incompatible with the implementation of constructive changes in the country. Not even with an attempt to provide all citizens of the country with wider opportunities and rights. If, in the domestic sphere, the desire for continuity is expressed in the attempt to keep unity among several economic, social and ethnic asymmetries, at the external level, in turn, continuity is expressed in the maintenance of a healthy balance

between various players. Nazarbayev had already excelled in this regard by performing at the same time an open-door policy toward Western companies, without neglecting on the other hand the interests of Moscow and Beijing. Tokayev, who speaks Russian, English and Chinese, understands the importance of ensuring the country’s credibility and prestige at the regional and world level, taking no sides for or against any external actor, but instead maximising consequent benefits for Kazakhstan.

Regarding Kazakhstan’s external relations, analysts continue to refer to the great powers’ interaction with Kazakhstan as part of a (New) Great Game. Kazakhs refute this notion and Erlan Idrissov (former Foreign Minister) once stated that “Kazakhstan is not a silent by-stander in anyone else’s strategy¹.” But even though Kazakhstan doesn’t position itself as a piece on somebody else’s chessboard, the truth is that all the others do. Regionally, Uzbekistan has shown remarkable progress and will to catch-up with Kazakhstan.Will this be the beginning of the end of Kazakhstan’s longstand-

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POLICY ing role model in the region and a consequent sign to foreign investors that diversifying partners in the region could actually work? One thing is clear: Russia will continue to be Kazakhstan’s most important ally. Nevertheless, the reform of the status apparatus, and the emergence of an ever more nationalistic political class, contributes to change Kazakh perceptions on Russia, and being “Russia’s junior partner” might not fit Kazakhstan’s future plans.

What about Tokayev’s ability to maximize Kazakhstan interests in the overlap between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Russian Eurasian Economic Union?

Tokayev will continue to push for a rapprochement between the European Union (EU) and the Eurasian Economic Union, which would reaffirm Kazakhstan’s role in leading the Eurasian integration, yet this process is hindered by the worsening EU-Russia relations.

Nonetheless, despite sharing with China the same vision for development - «Сначала – экономика, потом – политика» [economy first, then politics] – and the pursuance of the principle of ‘mutual respect’, relations with China have been better. The Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has not achieved the promised impact in Kazakhstan (e.g. Khorgos dry port). Moreover, levels of sinophobia are rising, both at the public and official levels. It is also worth noting the existence of Russian-Chinese disputes in Kazakhstan, like the recent events concerning taxi services, opposing Chinese Didi to Russian Yandex Taxi. Nonetheless, Tokayev will continue to look to China as a partner and as a role model for development, while supporting a multilateral world order.

Concerning the EU, the impact of COVID-19 cannot be overlooked, and the pandemic has further disentangled both sides, as movement of citizens is restrained and face-to-face political meetings have become more difficult. In addition, last February, the European Parliament (2021) issued a Resolution “on the Human Rights Situation in Kazakhstan”, that was not well received.¹ Kazakh politicians felt disappointed as the Ministers of the European Parliament approved this resolution, albeit having previously supported the reforms announced by Tokayev. Lastly, Kazakhstan is an oil dependent country, the EU being one of its most important clients. However, with the EU’s Green Deal, EU-Kazakhstan relations will face a new reality. If Kazakhstan wants to keep the EU as its main trade partner, it will have to greatly di-

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versify its economy until 2030. Ultimately, Tokayev will have to put in place Kazakhstan’s green plan, leveraging the country’s huge potential for renewable energies.

The interplay between the domestic issues, as well as the regional and more macro levels, aggravated by the test of COVID-19, will let us know whether Tokayev’s reforms are strong enough to cope with the post-pandemic as well as the post-Nursultan era.

Paulo Afonso B. Duarte - Assistant Professor at Universidade Lusófona do Porto, Portugal. pauloduarte@eeg.uminho.pt Paulo Roquete Vitorino - Graduate from the College of Europe & Project Assistant at B&S Europe paulo.roquete.vitorino@gmail.com

1. Idrissov, E. (2015) ‘The Great Gain Not the Great Game: How Kazakhstan Is Charting Its Own Course in the World’. Diplomatic Courier, 13 November. https://www.diplomaticourier.com/posts/ the-greatgain-not-the-great-game-how-kazakhstan-is-charting-itsown-course-in-theworld 2. European Parliament (2021) ‘Resolution of 11 February 2021 on the Human Rights Situation in Kazakhstan (2021/2544(RSP))’, 11 February. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/ TA-9-2021- 0056_EN.html

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ARCHITECTURE

URBAN PLANNING IN A POST-COVID WORLD “Everything passes and it will pass ...” - a well-known biblical phrase is especially applicable to the present day. The world believes in the speedy victory of mankind over a terrible disease, but fear of it will hardly go away immediately, it will take a lot of time before this “plague of the twenty first century” will be forgotten...

But how has the pandemic changed the landscape of our future lives? As an architect and urban planner, I see a number of consequences of COVID-19 on modern urbanisation and environment in the future. The epidemic will end, it is a matter of time, but the world will already be different and the attitude to the environment in which we live will also have changed. We have had time to think over many of the well-established algorithms of urban life that were developed in the past century.

An architect and a planner in the conditions of a post-pandemic period, when designing a habitat must take into account the conditions in which we lived during the entire pandemic and put the human factor at the forefront, create all the necessary prerequisites

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for a favorable human life, including an autonomous one, and take into account all necessary and accessible social needs.

Today many functions of a big city lose some sense the coronavirus, like a litmus test, revealed that there is perhaps not as great a need for many seemingly necessary urban social processes that we are used to, such as mass events taking place in city squares and stadiums that gather crowds of people in confined spaces, an increase in the density of the population living in multi-storey buildings, weekly visits to supermarkets, not to mention the entire streets of cafes and restaurants that have formed over the past decades.

In the new post-pandemic conditions, the question of public spaces design arises such as train stations and airports, urban public spaces, and residential neighborhoods. And if it is more or less clear with buildings and structures, when designing a living environment it is necessary to recall the old norms and rules that have been ignored by designers in recent years and focus on the complex task of urban planning and landscape

factors - the configuration and density of buildings, directions of wind flows, circulation and ventilation of air, the state of the ecology, transport issues, urban relief and greenery.

It is essential to provide residential quarters with services within walking distance - shops, fast food, consumer services, medical services, etc. in order to avoid a mass gathering of residents in certain premises, reduce the time it takes for residents to move inside a residential area and reduce travel to the city center.

There is no need for the maximum compaction of buildings, which naturally increases the number of people living in one square meter to the detriment of landscaping and the reduction of educational and social facilities. For example, in the capital of Kyrgyzstan with a population of more than a million inhabitants, the area of greenery has decreased over the past 30 years by almost 15 times from 60-70 m2 per person to 4-5 m2. Floodplains of rivers, parks, forest plantations were built up, the mid-rise buildings of the 1960s to 1980s were compacted, the number of children’s educational institutions, social and cultural facilities reduced. As a result, during winter Bishkek falls into the top five most polluted cities in the world.

Increasing the area of green spaces, parks, squares and recreation areas, fighting for clean air and preserving the environment after the coronavirus pandemic should not be empty words, but mandatory conditions and requirements for an architect and a planner.

In our post pandemic future, some of the social activities that used to take place in confined spaces can be transferred to open urban spaces, parks and squares, green areas that are safer from the point of view of the spread of the virus (and other viruses). Construction of hospitals and rehabilitation centres instead of shopping and entertainment centers and hypermarkets overcrowded in big cities, distance learning instead of classical education in schools and universities, multi functionality and transformation of buildings and structures, digitalisation of control systems, administrative and bureaucratic processes, etc.

Maybe now, when megalopolises have found themselves in compulsory continuous bans, they make it clear to us that if we wish we can overhaul our way of urban life - reduce unnecessary controls, limit traffic in

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big cities, finally start low- and mid-rise development with autonomous functioning, and develop suburbs, small towns and satellite towns.

During the pandemic in urbanised areas, there was a tendency for residents of megacities to move to the suburbs and rural areas. If not long ago citizens tried to relocate to the city, now the opposite process has begun, associated with the need to isolate themselves against the background of an increasing number of people suffering from various strains of COVID-19.

least 40 hectares) allow them to accommodate basic social infrastructure, schools and kindergartens. Such settlements are quite isolated, it is obvious that most of the residents will be more or less familiar with each other, and under conditions of limited access to the territory of these settlements, sufficiently comfortable conditions will arise for the formation of urban communities. In fact, a new element of the settlement system will emerge.

De-urbanisation will be more active when the engineering infrastructure and inter-settlement communications develop, which reduces the time to travel from one point to another - if roads come to small towns, they will increase their investment attractiveness, and this in turn will attract the population and labour resources...

For Bishkek, located in the linear settlement system of the Chuy Valley, it is very convenient to move part of the residents of the megalopolis to suburbia - suburban areas. Developed transport links, the possibility of moving production to small cities located within an hour from the centre of city will allow the numerical growth of Bishkek in the post pandemic period to be suspended and improve its currently deteriorating environmental situation from year to year.

According to Maxim Perov, deputy director of Giprogor (Moscow), cottage settlements with a total area of at least 90 hectares (in the case of townhouses - at

Belek Sarymsakov Deputy Chairman of the Union of Architects of the Kyrgyz Republic

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POLICY

THE NEW CABINET IN KABUL PROMISES TROUBLE FOR THE REGION

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Dashed Hopes of Inclusion A week after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban has announced the make-up of its caretaker cabinet. Even though the group promised its new government would be inclusive, it is anything but.

Headed by Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the UN-blacklisted head of the powerful Rehbari Shura, it includes as defence minister the group’s founder’s son and its armed operations leader, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob while the Taliban’s political office chief, Abdul Ghani Baradar has been named the government’s deputy head. The inclusiveness of the announced selection goes only as far as the inclusion, as interior and immigration ministers, of designated global terrorists Sirajuddin Haqqani, head of the Haqqani network, a terrorist outfit affiliated with both Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and Sirajuddin’s uncle Khalil Haqqani.

Power Struggle Within It seems that the selection process has gone awry and it augurs nothing but harm for Afghanistan. One of the main goals of the current authorities should be to persuade the West to unfreeze national reserves to forestall an economic disaster, which in the absence of foreign aid, that made up a significant 42% of GDP prior to the Islamists’ take-over, looks imminent.

The underwhelming choice of figures for the leading roles seems to stem from the complex situation on the ground.The Taliban is reported to be split into rival factions along regional lines, with Southerners, led by the Kandahar clan, having to contend both with Easterners, represented by the more extremist Haqqani network, and Northerners, dominated by ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks.

The fact that the Haqqanis control the capital, Kabul, while at least some Northerners (also linked to Al-Qaeda) are reported to be stationed in the northern borderlands and thus potentially in control of profitable trans-border infrastructure, seems to give the two factions significant leverage to advocate for the inclusion of extremists and not of politicians deemed “secular” or different ethnic groups, one of the pre-conditions for the funds to be released.

It is clear that at least some in the Taliban are interested in Western aid and the democratic government’s

foreign reserves, but the risk of the movement’s fragmentation appears to prevent the moderate from challenging hardliners and making significant concessions to the international community, promising a more autarkic and confrontational Afghanistan.

A Jihadi Tandem & Political Blackmail The real threat comes from the ties between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda at a time when Afghanistan is hurtling towards financial collapse. Even though both Taliban and Al-Qaeda groups have a common enemy in ISIS, they are different. The Taliban has been thought willing to settle for national Islam whereas Al-Qaeda is a pan-Islamist outfit.

If the two groups are to build upon their long ties, a development the formal incorporation of the Haqqanis suggests, there could emerge a situation where the government in Kabul fragments along the ideological lines. Alternatively it might use Al-Qaeda and its affiliates as a lever in the financial and political blackmail of the West by staging attacks on Afghanistan’s neighbors.

India is also one of the main targets of Pakistan’s deep state and its notorious intelligence services, ISI, is seen as having an immediate role in the formation and management of the new cabinet in Kabul.

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Home-grown jihadists on the border with CA It does not help that the Al-Qaeda-linked Jamaat Ansarullah fighters, which assisted the Talebs in coming to power, are stationed right on the border with Tajikistan, whose government has pledged not to recognise an “exclusive” Taliban regime. It has taken in not only fleeing Afghan soldiers, but is also reported to have served as a point of transit for Afghanistan’s former president Ashraf Ghani and to be harbouring Ahmad Massoud and Amrallah Saleh, two leaders of resistance that were defeated in their stronghold in Panjshir but who still call for the wider national resistance. It is thus perceived as offering safe haven for the resistance struggle and could possibly become a target for cross-border infiltration by cash-strapped radicals, possibly nudged by the leadership in Kabul. Uzbek-linked groups such as Katibat-Imam al-Bukhari also pose a significant threat to the immediate neighbours. Even though Uzbekistan’s government seems more willing to accept an Afghanistan ruled “exclusively” by the Taliban, it is still hosting Taliban opponents such as Uzbek warlord A. R. Dostum, known for massacring thousands of Taliban prisoners in the past, and Balkh Province strongman, A. Noor.

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Will the Alliance in Power Endure Financial Hardship?

Even though the power struggle within the Taliban have not thwarted the group’s attempts at forming a government, it is unclear if financial hardship, food shortages, and ensuing humanitarian catastrophe will be its death-knell. Afterall the previous ouster of foreign forces, the victorious mujahidin, did not manage to institute a united authority, a feat barely accomplishable in a country that has been ruled along clan, ethnic and patronage lines for over half a century. If so, the group’s split into regional factions that appears to have resulted in the cabinet’s make-up may prove a trigger for an all-out conflict between jihadists, who after the West’s departure have access to modern US-made weaponry, with consequences possibly felt around the region and even the world.

by Ivan Ivoilov

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HISTORY

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Ismoili Somoni - A Man of Wisdom and Politics (849-907 A.D.) A thousand hundred years ago, the glorious Tajik people, under the leadership of the great righteous man Ismoili Somoni, embarked on the path of an amazing national and cultural revival and achieved world-famous and invaluable historical attainments. After a thousand and a hundred years of this historic turn, we, the Tajiks, are once again facing the task of finding a worthy place and position in the new system of the world community.

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HISTORY This great politician was always interested in creative and beautification works, improvement of people’s lives and well-being, infrastructural development and development of science and culture.

Ismoili Somoni showed great adherence to the most important pillar of the Aryan statehood - the responsibility of the state to ensure the necessary conditions for the country’s development.

The great historical contribution of Ismoili Somoni and his ancestors was to establish a very orderly, efficient and active system of central and local government.This system revived the most important elements and values of the Aryan state, combining them with the values of past and present civilizations of that period. As a result, this system embodied the best values of statehood and, according to many scholars, became the most civilized state of its time. This system, known as the “Devoni Somoniyon – a Cabinet of Ministers”, not only created and strengthened a powerful state, but also established a rational and varied relationship between the centre and the provinces. Ismoili Somoni and his outstanding successors attached great importance to strengthening the spiritual and moral foundations of the state and involved influential scientists and cultural figures in governing the country. Most of the Samanid ministers came from the famous dynasties of Jayhoni, Bal’ami and Utbi and were among the most educated men of their time. Moreover, the Samanid emirs themselves had a high level of knowledge and actively participated in scientific meetings and gatherings.

Pluralism was a characteristic feature of the Samanid state. Representatives of different nations and religions lived on the territory of this state and did not interfere with the work and structure of the state. This phenomenon is also recognized in history as an example of Samanid statehood.

It was the Samanids who were able to lay the foundations for the revival of the nation and culture, preserve their native language as the apple of their eye, protect national identity and cultural values.

Today, the culture and civilization of the Samanid 24 OCA MAGAZINE

dynasty is not only the historical heritage of the Tajik people, but also the wealth of the peoples of Central Asia and the whole world.

The Samanids, like the most prized possession, defended the real independence of the state and thereby contributed to the strengthening of the internal and external foundations of the state.

They established trade relations with neighbouring and even more distant countries such as China, Rome, Europe and Russia, and have played a crucial role in the revival of the Silk Road. The Samanid state was rightfully a beacon that illuminated the path of civilization and statehood for centuries, creating a very prosperous and favourable period of growth and the eternal role of the Tajik nation in history. The Samanid state eventually became a platform for the Tajik country and nation to show once again its innate ingenuity and national identity to the civilized world. This period is recognized as the culmination of the historical path of the formation of the Tajik nation and the perfection of the national statehood of the Tajiks.

Somoni statesmen provided comprehensive assistance to the revival of culture and civilization, and made great efforts to ensure the state status of the Tajik language.The rise of the world-famous Tajik language is inextricably linked with the efforts and activities of this state and its wise and enlightened leaders. It was during this period that Rudaki’s poetry became universal and the great poets Abu Mansur Daqiqi, Abushakuri Balkhi, Shahidi Balkhi, Kisoi Marvazi and others created valuable poems. Abulqosim Firdavsi devoted himself to the creation of his eternal masterpiece - “Shohnoma”.

The unprecedented development of medicine, historiography, geography, natural sciences, philosophy and Islamic sciences is in many ways the output of this state. The scientific and creative ingenuity of Shaikh-ur-Rais Abu Ali ibn Sino and the scientist (alloma) Abu Rayhon Beruni was formed during the Samanid period and gave rise to world masterpieces of science. The revival of Tajik civilization, the development of which dates back to

the period of the Samanids and the ancient cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, has amazed the world with its valuable and unique cultural achievements.

This period has enlightened the path of science and knowledge not only for the Aryan people, but for all culture-loving humanity.

At a difficult and crucial time for the nation, we unveiled a monument to King Ismoili Somoni in the heart of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe city. This monument, of course, was erected not for the worship of the ancestors, but to strengthen the historical memory, honour and respect of the pioneer of the Tajik nation - Ismoili Somoni.

A team of mountaineers from different countries conquered one of the highest peaks in the world in the Pamir, erected the eternal image of Ismoili Somoni on a mountain, and the sky-high peak of the Tajik land was named in honour of this great man of the nation.

An excerpt from the book “Eternal Faces” by the Leader of the Nation, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon

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LITERATURE

RUSSIAN AND RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE LITERATURE IN AMERICA

ginia Woolf speaks about this precisely, calling the soul as the main character in Russian literature.

Rationality, however, prevails more in American literature. Russian literature, on the other hand, introduces the American reader to heroes who rely on their feelings more than reasoning. As a result, it is not as intuitive for an American reader to unIn 2004, the famous American TV presenter Oprah derstand the reasons for Anna Karenina’s suicide.

Winfrey in her reading club called Leo Tolstoy’s The same applies to the concept of “conciliarity” novel Anna Karenina the most exciting love story, in Russia, which is vividly revealed in the works of thereby making it an absolute bestseller through- the above-mentioned writers. On the other hand, out the country.

Americans are characterized by individualism. But it is precisely this dissimilarity that prompts, in my What attracts the American reader to the works opinion, the American reader to study Russian litof Russian authors of the 19th century?In Russian erature, which encourages and helps them to disculture, the inner world of a person is more im- cover something new in themselves. portant than their behavior.The English writer VirFor decades, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov and Turgenev have remained perhaps the most popular Russian writers among American readers.

Their works can be found on bookshelves in libraries and shops along with other world classics of literature.

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As for Russian literature of the mid-20th century, the American reader is more or less familiar with authors like Solzhenitsyn from his novel “The Gulag Archipelago”, Boris Pasternak through his

are interested in connecting with it. In this sense, we can say that Russian literature has a certain special quality of universality and responsiveness.

Unfortunately, modern Russian literature is mostly unknown to the American reader. Only a few names of contemporary Russian authors are known in the United States, mainly known to students and graduates of philological faculties of universities. One of them, the well known author is Zakhar Prilepin, who captured the American Russian literature of this period is also interesting reader with his novel “Omon Ra”, as well as with to Americans because, in my opinion, it has a cer- “Sankhya” and “Sin” novels. Others include Anna tain degree of utopianism.The fact is that the Soviet Starobinets, known for her collection “The TransiUnion and the United States were built on a belief tional Age”, and Tatyana Tolstaya who is published of societal equality. Russian literature of the mid- in small editions.

1950s focuses on the experience of the trauma of building such a society and attempts to overcome Overall, interest in Russian literature and culture it both in terms of personal and historical practice. in the United States never faded away. For examAmerican literature, on the other hand, does not ple, Oxford University Press published in 2018 in portrait such focus; however American readers English a solid tome of one thousand pages “A Hiswork “Doctor Zhivago”,Varlam Shalamov with his “Kolyma’s Tales”, Evgeny Zamyatin and his novel “We”. This is understandable. It was during the Cold War that the American reader became interested in the works of Russian writers, revealing, as it seemed to them, the truth about Soviet Russia.

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LITERATURE tory of Russian Literature”, which was authored by linguistic professors from American universities. By doing so, one of the tasks that the authors set themselves was to change the situation in relation to modern Russian literature, when a Russian writer is expected to be like Tolstoy or Dostoevsky. If a writer is not like either one or the other, then the American reader is most often not as interested.

At the turn of the century, a whole generation of writers with Russian roots, but who never wrote in Russian, appeared in America.Almost all of them came to the United States as children or teenagers in 1980-1990, during the third wave of Russian immigration. These young Americans with Russian roots are now prominent in American literature.

Such authors include Harry Steingart with his novels “The Russian Debutante’s Handbook”, Absurdistan “and” Super Sad True Love Story “, the characters of which are immigrants, Lara Vapnyar with her autobiographical novel “Divide Me by Zero”, which received some recognition, and the works of Masha Gessen, who writes only non-fiction and has received many prestigious American awards, including the National Book Award for the book “The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia”.

At the same time, Russian-language literature that is not preoccupied with immigrant problems and fits into the American reading circle is growing in the United States. A feature of modern Russian-language literature not only in America, but also in other countries is what I call “out of locality”. In other words, it doesn’t matter now where this literature is created. This can be confirmed by the fact that Russian-speaking authors living in different countries around the world are united in various Writers’ Unions. For example the Eurasian Creative Guild, which unites writers and representatives of other creative professions in London, the International Union of Writers named after Cyril and Methodius in Bulgaria, the International Union of Writers in Moscow, the In28 OCA MAGAZINE

ternational Writers Guild in Germany, and others.

Russian-speaking writers from different countries publish their works within the framework of these unions and participate in various competitions organised by them.

In the United States, there was a publishing house Ardis Publishing, which was founded in 1971 in the Michigan city of Ann Arbor by Slavists Ellenday and Karl Proffer. Thanks to them, the Americans recognized Brodsky, Mandelstam, Nabokov, and Aksenov. They published works of authors that were banned in the Soviet Union. And in every possible way they sent these books to the USSR, where they were picked up by Samizdat. So, Karl Proffer, who adores Russian language and literature, came up with the slogan “Russian literature is better than sex”, wore a T-shirt with this inscription himself and gave similar T-shirts to his best students.

I hope contemporary Russian and Russian-language literature is “better than sex”, so that it is in demand in all countries of the world. This requires a lot of work for all of us - writers and poets, to work to ensure that modern Russian and Russian-language literature continues the traditions of that Russian literature that amazed and charmed in its time American readers, where according to the apt expression of the American writer Sherwood Anderson, ‘the beat of life was felt in every page’.

by Lara Prodan

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VIEW

KUPALA FALLS ONCE AGAIN Picture the scene; it’s Moscow, June 28th 1942 - a young Red Army officer and his “amoureuse” are held in a soft embrace, leaning against the balustrade of the central staircase in the city’s eponymously named hotel. The sound of swiftly displaced air is heard as the body of Belarus’s national poet – Janka Kupala – rushes past the embracing coupled to fatally impact the hotel lobby floor.

This is the opening sequence to Kupala; one of the most hotly anticipated films to be made in Belarus during recent times about their national poet, Janka Kupala. The country’s predominant film company, BelarusFilm along with director Vladimir Yankovskiy, began filming the $1 million + picture in 2018 to create the first historical epic about the life of Kupala - the poet whose unique voice stokes the national consciousness of Belarusians and ‘Belarusian-ness’ by describing their distinctive national identity, cultural traditions, heritage and homeland through poetry & plays written in the Belarusian language.

The film then transitions through a series of flashbacks charting the poet’s birth, childhood and artistic development against the changing political tapestry. Audiences are treated to stunning cinematography that incorporates highly authentic sets and props which accurately reflect the changing time period, coupled with the faithful inclusion of multiple languages – Belarusian, Russian, Polish and Yiddish - the ‘mosaic of cultures’ that was typical for this geographical region at that time.

Flash forward to June 2021. The Eurasian Creative Guild – a public organisation whose principle aim is to acquaint English-speaking audiences with the works of artists from Eurasian countries through culture bridges between the UK and Eurasia - is ready to launch its annual Eurasian Film Festival. The festival organisers discussions with BelarusFilm agree that Kupala will be entered into the festival for its first UK premier, leading to the film’s presence promoted online, through printed programs and the inclusion of the iconic image of the poet’s to feature on the Film Festival pass. Reviews Following the film’s tragic opening, there quickly follows by the festival judges, of which I participated, unanian investigation which raises suggestions that Kupala, mously agreed the films position as a worthy winner of inebriated from alcohol, fell from the high floor where the ‘Best Feature Film’ award, setting the UK premier his room was located or that the emotional poet could of Kupala for 16:00 on June 28th, 2021 at the Premier no longer carry on a solitary existence and committed Cinema, Romford – a date that coincidentally marks suicide. There also remains an unvoiced but highly plau- the 79th anniversary of the poet’s death. sible scenario that the deeply patriotic Belarusian was sent falling to his death during times when the purging of Two days before the premier, the festival receives noelements deemed ‘hostile’ to Stalin’s totalitarian vision, tification that Kupala was withdrawn and most of the was common. The outcome of the investigation and videos online were either blocked or deleted, leading cause of death remain an open verdict - unattributed, to the sad surprise that Eurasian festival would not unexplained and unclaimed – where the viewer is left to be screening the highly anticipated film. The Eurasian fathom what might have happened on that fateful night. Creative Guild founder and festival organiser, Mr. Marat

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Michael Daniel Sagatis & Vladimir Krachevskiy director of BelarusFilm

Akhmedjanov, who repeatedly attempted to contact BelarusFilm but with no success, was eventually able to visit the Belarusian embassy in London to ask why the film was withdrawn – he left with the answer that was ‘no answer’; he was told the film was recalled and that’s it. Mr. Akhmedjanov made the following comment: “BelarusFilm not only made every effort to ensure that the film Kupala was not nationally released for three years in Belarus, but also lost the opportunity to participate in the international festival, thereby depriving the creators of this very high quality example of Belarusian cinema to reach a global audience”. The Eurasian Film Festival announced the withdrawal of ‘Kupala’ amounted to an anti-premier, which led to the festival creating the “Dynamo-Award” – similar to the Golden Raspberry, which is meant to signify cinematic uselessness. The first Eurasian Festival winner of the Dynamo award was confirmed to be BelarusFilm, headed by Vladimir Krachevskiy.

The festival team, thus far, can only speculate the lack of professionalism of the Belarusfilm leadership is a direct result of the increasingly turbulent political situation in Belarus. Given the film’s clear message that resists the silencing of the Belarusian language and condemns the oppression of Belarusians by an authoritarian power, its unannounced withdrawal remains consistent with the state action of the current Belarus regime that seeks to deny the propagation of any nationally sponsored media content that supports themes of independence.

Whilst the death of the poet in 1942 still remains an unexplained action, the motive for silencing the international premier of the film about Kupala’s life is unassailably incontrovertible.

Michael Daniel Sagatis, Filmmaker Eurasian Film Festival Judge

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EVENT

SHAROF RASHIDOV – THE MAN OF THE EPOCH The International interdisciplinary scientific and practical conference “Sharof Rashidov – the Man of the Epoch” was held online on 25 July 2021 in Jizzakh city.

The conference was organised with the assistance of the Parliamentary Assets Management Commission of the Public Fund for Support of NGOs and other Civil Society Institutions under the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan within the project “Atoqli davlat arbobi va yozuvchi Sharof Rashidov yoshlar nigohida” (“The outstanding statesman and writer through the eyes of the youth”).

The purpose of the conference is a comprehensive scientific understanding of the creative heritage and practical activities of the prominent statesman and writer Sharof Rashidov in the context of the specific historical conditions in the 40s-80s of the XX century in the

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USSR and Uzbekistan, the search for the new directions and forms of research to popularize knowledge on the part of the history of Uzbekistan associated with the activity of Sharof Rashidov.

Well-known scientists and specialists - representatives of Azerbaijan, Canada, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, United Kingdom, United States and Uzbekistan attended the conference.

As it had been noted at the conference, over the past decades, the interest of the general public, academicians and university scientists, scholars, researchers, publicists and other specialists in the creative heritage and practical activities of Sharof Rashidov, as well as in the study of the modem history of Uzbekistan has not been weakened. This is being evidenced by a number of Presidential Decrees, the widely celebrated 75 and

100 years anniversaries of the birth of Sharof Rashidov, National Scientific Conference held by the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan in 2017.

A number of books about Sharof Rashidov were published in Uzbekistan and some CIS countries, many articles in newspapers, magazines, online publications, memoirs of veterans allowed readers, especially young people to get acquainted with the party-state and literary activities of Sharof Rashidov, as well as to learn better about the historical period in which he worked.

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EVENT

AIDEX IS BACK FOR 2021 Following the successful participation in 2019 of a 170-person delegation from the central Eurasian region led by Marat Akhmedjanov, Publisher of OCA Magazine, the organisers of AidEx in Brussels are looking forward to welcoming an even stronger level of participation when the tenth exhibition is held again on November 17-18.

For those of you who may not know, the story of AidEx started in Brussels as far back as 2011, since then many thousands of representatives from a number of major NGOs, donor countries, multilateral organisations and suppliers of essential equipment and services decided to join efforts and discuss the ways to improve the delivery of aid.

‘We look forward to welcoming our friends from the Eurasian Creative Guild and visitors from Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan,’ says Nicholas Rutherford, Event Director for AidEx. ‘2021 is a very special year for us, not only is it the tenth anniversary of AidEx but also to mark this special occasion, we have decided to launch a new sister event called Development2030. Both will run side by side, in Hall 11 at Brussels Expo.’

‘In spite of all the challenges posed by the pandemic, there is a real appetite for a physical humanitarian and development aid event of this kind in Europe, and especially in Brussels, which, as seat of the EU, UN, Red Cross and many other intergovernmental organisations, foundations and NGOs, provides the ideal environment for discussion, networking and showcasing trends for the enhancement of international humanitarian and development assistance,’ explains Nicholas.

‘After 9 successful editions in Brussels and 6 in Nairobi,

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2030; and has it distracted us from the much bigger threat of climate change?

I am glad to confirm that Brussels Expo will be playing host again to this conference in 2021.’

Together, AidEx 2021 and Development2030 will provide a unique opportunity for approximately 4,000 aid professionals from the humanitarian and development sector to shape the future of aid delivery and longer-term programmes in development. The themes of this year’s conferences are:

Besides many governments of countries with transitional and developing economies, AidEx participants in recent years have included representatives from UNOCHA, UN Food Agency Organisation, World Health Organisation, UN Development Programme, UNICEF, UNHCR, Médecins Sans Frontiers, Oxfam, International Federation of the Red Cross, Islamic Relief Worldwide and Save the Children, as well as officials from national development agencies such as: • United Kingdom - Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO was previously DFID) • Sweden - Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) • United States - United States Agency for International Development (USAID) • Asian Development Bank (ADB) • Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) • Denmark - Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) • African Development Bank (AfDB) • Belgium - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development: Belgian Policy Plan for Development Cooperation • Saudi Arabia - Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) • Thailand - Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) • European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Please mark your calendar and come to AidEx and Development2030, taking place at Brussels Expo on November 17-18, 2021.

For further information take a look at – www.aid-expo.com

AidEx - Global growth in authoritarian and populist government is shrinking the space for civil society – how have the world’s most powerful movements countered this trend and what lessons can be learnt?

Development2030 - The impact of COVID-19 on the Sustainable Development Goals – how has the global pandemic affected delivery of the SDGs leading up to

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ECONOMY

ST. PETERSBURG INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC FORUM

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been no global face-to-face events such as the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). More than 5,000 people, including representatives of the OCA Magazine, took part in it this year, however. It is not the first year that the delegates of the ECG (London) have attended this important event. “The very fact of holding such a significant forum is, of course, a positive sign, another evidence that partnerships, contacts of entrepreneurs, investors, experts are gradually regaining their usual, normal appearance. We are seeing the same positive trends in the global economy. It is already possible to say with confidence that the business economy is returning to normal life” — said President of the Russian Federation,Vladimir Putin.

The priority of the organisers of the Roscongress Foundation SPIEF this year was the safety of partici-

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pants: a set of measures developed jointly with Rospotrebnadzor met all WHO recommendations and provided safe working conditions for delegates, staff and media representatives.

“We are glad that after such a long and forced break, a global event is being held in Russia, so representatives of the world community can communicate live. We are seeing the same positive trends in the global economy.

Despite the depth of last year’s recession, which, according to experts, turned out to be the largest since the Second World War, it is already possible to say with confidence that the world economy is returning to normal life. It is expected that this year the growth of global GDP will also be unusually large, it will be the highest since the 70s of the last century: experts say about 6% growth”, says Vladimir Putin.

There were important issues discussed at the forum, A Creative Business Forum was a part of the SPIEF one of them is Russia’s national security – strategic sta- business program. This is a separate event that brought bility and mutually beneficial international cooperation. together creative visionaries and representatives of business and government authorities to discuss key Innosocium is an important strategic initiative of the issues facing the creative economy, which became a Roscongress Foundation. The project promotes a dia- novelty and really resonated with representatives of logue between the structures of business, government different spheres. and civil society. Another direction is the development of the international youth community of leaders and The topics of discussion were the creation of favourentrepreneurs of the new generation, Friends for Lead- able conditions for the sector as a driver of the counership.The projects of community members in the field try’s economic development and a point of growth of of sustainable development and post-crisis world order the regions, education, human capital and the developwere discussed by Friends for Leadership representa- ment of young talent, the impact of digitalisation on tives selected from 102 FFL countries on the basis of the cultural sector, the role of women in the creative a competition under the auspices of the UN together economy and the protection of intellectual property. with partners.

Great emphasis was also placed on the health of the Via the official telegram channels of the Roscongress nation.This was confirmed by the “Healthy Society” foFoundation, work is underway to popularise the pri- rum with the support of the Ministry of Health of the ority areas identified in the Strategy: science, innova- Russian Federation.The Forum was created to find and tion, industry, education, health, and culture – the latter work out practical proposals for the implementation being particularly important for representatives of the of national projects aimed at solving the problem of inOCA Magazine as an international project. creasing the healthy life expectancy of Russian citizens, fighting COVID-19.

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ECONOMY This year, the guest of the SPIEF was the State of Qatar, which brought together 51 organisations and 400 delegates. During the event, more than 60 agreements were signed and almost 250 business meetings were held in the field of co-operation, trade and investment, education, science and technology, culture and sports.

The Qatari delegation was one of the most numerous in the history of the country’s participation in international economic forums. This is evidence that Qatar attaches great importance to the strengthening and development of interstate relations at various levels.

The central event of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was the plenary session, which was attended by Vladimir Putin, His Highness the Emir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, Sebastian Kurz. Argentine President Alberto Fernandez and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro addressed the audience with video messages.

After the plenary session, there was a meeting with representatives of foreign business, the Qatar Film Days Festival jointly with the Doha Film Institute and Cultural Creative Agency. This showcased the best feature films and documentaries of the region, including Oscar nominees, participants and prize-winners of the Cannes, Toronto,Venice, etc. festivals.

At the same time, the Mawaheb music festival (“Talents”) took place, introducing St. Petersburg music lovers to new performers from Qatar and other countries from the Middle East and North Africa.

The Eastern Economic Forum (September 2-4), Russian Energy Week (October 13-16), the Third Eurasian Women’s Forum (October 13-15) and the forum “Strong Ideas for a New Time” at the end of 2021 are the next such global events to be held in Russia. In 2022, it is planned to hold the World Energy Congress (October 24-27), the Arctic Forum “The Arctic - the territory of dialogue”, thematic events and visiting sessions of the Foundation’s flagship projects in Russia and abroad.

Alla Pronina and Inessa Volokitina

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REPORTAGE SODIK SAFOEV MEETS THE LEADING BRITISH MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES

A delegation of Uzbekistan led by First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis Sodik Safoev visited the United Kingdom in September. During this visit there was a media briefing at the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in London organised for journalists from leading British media.

Uzbekistan. There was more information about the process of the Republic’s development, the prospects of co-operation between Uzbekistan and the United Kingdom. Also the journalists were informed about the preparation process and impending plans for upcoming presidential elections on October 24.

The briefing was attended by H.E. Said Rustamov and journalists from such large media companies as The Guardian, BBC,The Economist, bne IntelliNews,The Financial Times and other news agencies and publications among the participants. The OCA Magazine editorial team also took part in the event where they were introduced to the plans and achievements of Uzbekistan.

At the briefing media representatives were given detailed answers to their questions regarding the process of Uzbekistan’s development and modernisation. Also media representatives showed interest in the work of the government in solving regional and international problems.

The briefing let the journalists learn more about the democratic reforms and transformations in modern

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CUISINE

TASTE THE COUNTRY

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CUISINE

TASTE THE COUNTRY A country can be recognized by its cuisine. This is one of the most memorable and emotional moments when you first encounter a country’s food.You become closer together with its people through its food. You can feel the character, sense of humour, and national traits.

By the size of the portion or the way the tastes are combined, you notice the peculiarities of the people.

Whether they like to experiment or are conservatives.

Whether they are willing to take risks or prefer stability.Today I suggest you taste Ukraine. I propose to offer the most interesting menu with appetizer, salad, first course, second course, dessert and drink.

Snacks Unlike others, Ukrainian cuisine starts right away with heavy artillery. One appetizer is already a complete dish.

Canapes with salo in its different roles: in salted, spicy, smoked pate or just simply sliced. The next popular appetizer is home-made sausage, or krovyanka. I call it a thriller of Ukrainian cuisine, because the recipe keeps you in great tension. Another option to choose from is gelatin. It is served cold with horseradish or mustard. The appetizer is very similar to jelly, but with one difference – it is made from meat.

Salads You can find “Shuba” salad in Ukrainian traditional cuisine. What is an item of clothing doing on the menu? Shuba is a fur coat in English, giving a wordplay in the Ukrainian translation. The salad is named after the recipe. Herring is put on a plate, then, layer by layer, pickled onions, boiled grated potatoes, carrots, and beetroot. Mayonnaise is placed between the layers. Therefore, we have herring under a fur coat of vegetables.

The next one is a healthy salad. Those who first get acquainted with Ukrainian cuisine often call this salad “hard borsch”. There is some truth, because it also includes beets, beans, and prunes, coated lightly with vegetable oil.

One unique feature of Ukrainian cuisine is that it is often a combination of flavours that do not naturally

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go together. National cuisine should not simply mean the dishes, but the approach to food preparation: how you handle ingredients, whether you experiment boldly or carefully, or you don’t do it at all. Food mixing is traditional Ukrainian cuisine. At first glance you manage to make friends with completely incompatible tastes.

Here are some of them: • dipped pickled cucumbers in sugar; • boiled potatoes with herring; • pancakes fried with salo; • snack with vodka: pickles, tomatoes, herring and black bread with salo; • dipped potatoes in “uniforms” in salted vegetable oil; • salo, grated with dill and garlic and spread on bread.

First courses Borsch is an amazing dish, because every housewife has her own version.This is what it is famous for. People say that if you know how to cook delicious borsch, you will get married without any problems.

There are 3 types of this dish: red, green and cold.

The last one is also called beetroot soup. There are about 50 variations of borsch. For example, my distant relatives cook it so fast that the spoon stands firmly upright in the bowl.

All Ukrainians love borsch and eat it with sour cream, salo and garlic. If you ask Ukrainians why you eat salo, many of them will answer that it is good for the heart.

Another first course is yushka. This is a soup that is prepared simultaneously in meat, fish and mushroom broths with vegetables and cereals. Most often it is found in western Ukraine.

Second courses We have a pechenya for the second course. This is a meat stew with potatoes, beans, carrots and onions.

You’ve probably heard of the next menu choice.

Vareniki is one of the most famous dishes in Ukraine.

They even star in the movies! There are also a large number of variations with stuffing: from salty to sweet, which makes the dish also suitable as a dessert. There

are even lazy vareniki, which are made from curd dough.

Galushki is a very strange dish, but quite popular. It is fried with cracklings, onions, served with sour cream.

These are just pieces of unleavened dough that are boiled in water. Therefore, they are often added to soup.

Finally, the desserts.

Desserts and drinks Pies. They can be salty and sweet too. For example, I really love it with potatoes and washing it down with cocoa. Pies are similar to vareniki. They are made from dough with stuffing too. The difference is that they are not boiled, but fried in a pan or baked in the oven.

The following dessert is very popular in western Ukraine. It is called plyatski.This is a layered cake with stuffing. It is cut into portions before serving.

As for drinks, I would suggest you try uzvar.

Traditionally, it is prepared for Christmas, but this drink is often found in Ukrainian cuisine, especially in hot weather. Uzvar is a compote, which is made from dried apples, pears and plums. It has a pleasant golden colour, rich aromas and sweet-sour taste.

If you are in Kiev, you could also try the recommended Ukrainian fast food “Kiev Perepichka”. This is a legendary sausage in deep-fried yeast dough. Since 1981, it has been sold at the same place, in one of the residential buildings in the centre of the capital. There is always a long queue, because perepichka looks like a hot dog with a taste of childhood. Despite the large flow of buyers, the service is quick here.

At first glance, Ukrainian cuisine seems strange, a bit chaotic, and provocative. But in fact, if you describe it as a person, it is a good-natured housewife who generously feeds, gives drinks, and will cover a hearty and tasty feast from improvised products. Therefore, I am pleased to invite you to taste Ukraine.

by Alina Holubenko

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HERITAGE

THE MOGILEV REGION - A GOLDEN PART OF EAST SLAVIC CULTURE IN BELARUS

In the centre of the eastern part of Belarus lies the Mogilev region, bordering Russia.An extensive network of railways and highways runs through the territory of the region, connecting it with Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic states. And large rivers - the Dnieper, Berezina and Sozh - are used for shipping.

For many years, the art and architecture of the Mogilev region were influenced by East Slavic culture, in contrast to the western regions of Belarus, where the influence of Western European traditions is stronger.

Today there are more than 200 monuments of culture, history and architecture in the Mogilev region.

Moreover, 684 objects are on the list of historical and cultural values. Most of the cultural and historical sites are located in Mogilev, Bobruisk and Mstislavl.

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The most famous architectural monuments are: The park complexes in Zhilichi and Grudinovka; The Dobosna estate in the village of Zhilichy was built in the 30s of the 19th century for the wealthy nobleman Ignatius Bulgak.The nobleman wanted to build the most beautiful palace in the whole country and overshadow the splendour of the European royal residences. He hired a local architect K. Podchashinskis and made the right decision. The talented architect created a real masterpiece of park-and-place architecture: a majestic palace and a park in a regular style, decorated with sculptures and small architectural forms.

Grudinovka Manor - Count Dmitry Alexandrovich Tolstoy received the Manor near Bykhov as a gift from Empress Catherine II. He was very fond of Grudinovka and lovingly arranged his ancestral home, building

not so much a chic as a cosy, truly Russian manor house. Later, during the Napoleonic War, Dmitry Alexandrovich became the governor of Mogilev. He requested burial in his beloved Grudinovka, which his grateful descendants did.

Polish king Vladislav IV hazelnuts for the construction of the St. Nicholas Church in the Grivlyansky hundred with premises ``for spiritual people and Cherntsy ...”.

The foundation of the St. Nicholas Monastery in Mogilev is associated with historical figures who were directly related to the church life of the city. In April 1636, the Metropolitan of Kiev, Peter Mogila, received from the

The Palace of Prince Potemkin, in the city of Krichev, which was restored in 2008; Potemkin’s Palace in Krichev - an architectural monument of the 18th century, built in the style of classicism

The city block of historical buildings and places of worship in Mstislavl; The Assumption Pustynsky St. Nicholas Monastery of the 17th century in Monastery, or the Male Pustynsky Monastery in Mogilev (a monument of Baroque architecture); It honour of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, was first mentioned in the inventories of the cities of is located near the city of Mstislavl. Until recently, you Vitebsk and Mogilev. It is known that the church was could only admire the ancient ruins, but now there is originally wooden and was located in the Old City an active revival of the monastery with the assistance (Nagorsky Posad). It was consecrated on April 25, of the government of the Republic of Belarus and the 1580, but robbed in 1598.

Orthodox Church.

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HERITAGE

Rifgr after the division of the Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth, some gentry refused to take the oath of allegiance to Empress Catherine II, for which they immediately lost all their real estates - a large number of castles, estates and cities. The inhabitants of these vast areas did not want to come to terms with the Russian government. It took a strong hand to keep the new territories in obedience. But Catherine figured out how to solve the problem that had arisen.

She began to distribute truly royal gifts - entire cities, villages, regions. The recipients of these always turned out to be the military leaders who distinguished themselves in the recent Crimean War. All of them had a very decisive disposition.

Bobruisk Fortress is a monument of fortification art of the first half of the 19th century. It was erected on the territory of the old city of Bobruisk to defend the western borders of the Russian Empire according to the project and under the guidance of engineer Karl Opperman. Throughout its history, the fortress has been used as a military facility. Long-term defensive structures were made of bricks with vaulted ceilings and loopholes.

Ruins of the Bykhov castle. The town of Bykhov was formed on the right high bank of the Dnieper in the XIV century as a private property of the Lithuanian prince Svidrigailo. The stone fortress town was built in 1610 by the famous military leader Jan Karol Chodkiewicz. Chodkiewicz received permission to build a fortress from the king after a sudden attack by the Cossack troops.

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A significant part of the cultural heritage of the Mogilev region account for monuments of wartime history: The Buinichi Field of the Mogilev region is famous for the fact that at least three major battles of historical significance took place on it in the period from the 15th to the middle of the 20th century. On the Mogilev land, bloody battles took place more than once.

So, the famous Buinichi field near Mogilev was the site of a battle in 1595 between the insurgent peasants and the Cossacks led by Nalivaiko with an 18,000-strong horse army of magnates of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Shklov. The Savior Transfiguration Church is a monument of eclectic architecture, where features of the pseudo-Byzantine and “modern” styles are combined. Between the wings of the cross there are 4 three-tiered turrets. The hall overlaps are cylindrical.

The most complete information about the history of the region can be obtained in 24 museums of the Mogilev region, the most famous of which are the Mogilev and Bobruisk local history museums, the Mogilev Art Museum, and the Belynichi Art Museum.

by Vitalina Golovach An aspiring director, a creative person and a member of the team of the Eurasian Creative Guild with more than 5 years of experience in filming and editing.

Expert field - media and communication.

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TOURISM

LINKING TOURISM AND CONSERVATION IN KYRGYZSTAN When I first entered Kyrgyzstan, back in 1998, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the mountains and the friendliness of the people. During my stay in Kyrgyzstan, Ala-Archa National Park, 41 km to the south of Bishkek, became my favourite destination for weekend hikes. I also traveled to many places around the lake Issyk-Kul and visited the remains of former Soviet tourist attractions. I saw the potential in future tourism in a co-operation with nature, local communities and people.

There is still something to do to reach the UN-target of a complete, representative and well-managed network of 17% protected land areas. Resources are needed to develop and maintain national parks and other protected areas. Tourism could play a vital role in covering part of the funding needed for these protected areas.

Tourism in Kyrgyzstan A paper (2017) from University of Central Asia examines the current state of the Kyrgyz tourism sector and In 2016 I was back with a group of Norwegian friends. identifies obstacles impeding its dynamic and sustainWe planned a 10 days round-trip together with a Bish- able growth. Kyrgyzstan is far from reaching its tourist kek based travel agency and had a splendid tour. My potential. The limited choice of tourist products comfriends all rated Kyrgyzstan as being a big surprise with pounded by their short seasonality are also hamperamiable people and stunning beauty. ing growth in the sector. One recommendation was to expand the network of community-based ecotourism Protected areas in Kyrgyzstan groups.

Kyrgyzstan has established 87 protected areas covering nearly 1.5 million hectares and account for 7,4% of A Green Economy week was held in the Kyrgyz Rethe country’s total area. This includes 13 national parks. public back in 2018, with a message that a transition

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to a greener and more inclusive economy is key for advancing the sustainable development of the country.

Daniyar Imanaliev, head of the Economy and Investment Department of the Government’s Executive Office said that the sectors of the economy in the Kyrgyz Republic such as agriculture, tourism, hydro-energy, and energy are heavily dependent on natural resources. Therefore, greening these sectors must be a priority, leading to a more thoughtful approach to consuming natural resources, more effective production, and national competitive advantage from the application of new technologies. During the upcoming five years, the government will make a transition to green economy, starting from the adoption and working with legislature, establishment of new institutions for promotion of the green economy, such as Center of Climate Financing, Fund for Project Preparation, Green Loan Fund, et cetera, and currently we are working on sectoral strategies along with the massive awareness-raising campaigns.

All this could lead to a closer link between tourism and conservation work.

How to combine tourism and conservation?

In 2007, GRID-Arendal Norway, a centre collaborating with UNEP, developed a project named “Linking Tourism & Conservation”. GRID-Arendal invited experts from different parts of the world to collect examples of different financial mechanisms of tourism supporting protected areas. In 2009 examples of support by education or political action were also added, and the project became an official part of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism (GPST). In early 2014, Linking Tourism & Conservation (www.ltandc.org) was registered as Norwegian NGO and continued to develop this project. The global LT&C network of active tourism and conservation engaged members seeks to create LT&C-Examples worldwide, where tourism is supporting protected areas.

Many sustainable, responsible and/or eco-tourism initiatives support the establishment, management or the further development of protected areas or a conservation initiative in a natural area, done through finances, education, or political action.

LT&C has developed into a global network of members with competence and interests in both tourism and conservation.We create synergy and facilitate the sharing of knowledge and expertise among our members.

I am convinced that there are many good examples in Kyrgyzstan, which could be profiled as LT&C-Examples and shared with others. And Kyrgyzstan could learn from the work and experience members of the global network are sharing.

Future tourism in Kyrgyzstan Tourism in a post-Covid 19 society will hopefully be more focused on sustainability. Time will change, and those focused on eco-friendly and greener tourism will be winners.

With its stunning nature and fantastic culture, Kyrgyzstan deserves to be in the forefront of sustainable and eco-friendly tourism. By having this focus, both protected areas and tourism could develop and be profitable.

by Reidar Braathen

Author of the text: Nata Chebotari Photos: General Directorate of Culture of Gagauzia, Maria Bratan WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM 51

ART

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TAKE ALL OF THE OPPORTUNITIES AND TRY YOURSELF My name is Ludmila Budanov. I was born in Borissoglebsk, which is a small suburban town in Russia. I spent four years at the music college, specialising in piano followed by five more years at the Academy of Theatre and Music in Tallinn and then I graduated as a music teacher.

Due to the “perestroika” (reforming of the economic and political system in the former Soviet Union) I ended up in Germany, Bremen and soon became a business woman. With that I’ve got self-confidence and inner freedom and I remembered my childhood dream of drawing. I visited private lessons with a well-known German artist for a few years and it helped me to grasp the realistic-style school of painting. I have studied composition and classic oil painting technique, but I felt the chains of realism restraining my imagination.

My childhood dream - sweeping large strokes with layers of bright colours on canvas and creating my own shapes - still did not come true.

The next milestone in my life took place in Cyprus.

The sea, the mountains and the sun became that inspiring power that refilled my inner being. And finally, my creativity was born! The fear was gone, along with thoughts of what is right or wrong, good or bad. I followed my intuition and my instinct and started getting positive feedback about my unique painting technique and the bright, original selection of colours. I realise the significance of music on the way to reach my goal – since painting has musicality and music contains a colourful dimension!

My artworks can be seen in the “ART COLLECTOR’S CHOICE“ book (London, Japan), also I’m a participant of lots of international exhibitions, for instance in the Netherlands, Spain, USA, Germany, Taiwan, China etc.

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TOURISM

MAGIC EDGE BURABAY

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TOURISM In Northern Kazakhstan, among the wide steppes and small hills, there is a unique natural forest oasis - the Shchuchinsk-Burabay resort zone. It is based on the Burabay tract, which is located in a natural mountain-forest complex, in a strip of mountains, plains and hills.The zone is full of picturesque places, combining mountain cliffs, similar to Altai and the Caucasus. Also there are more than thirty beautiful lakes and a beautiful pine forest.

History People have lived on the territory of Burabay since ancient times. During the excavations of the Aktas site (an archaeological site near Borovoye), tools made of stone and bone were discovered, so that indicates that people lived here 300 thousand years ago, in the Paleolithic era. Later discoveries (“Barmashinsky jewelry”) also confirm the active settlement of this territory in various historical periods.

With the emergence of the Kazakh Khanate, the history of the region is firmly intertwined with the history of the Kazakh people and is closely connected with the name of Ablay Khan (1711-1781), one of the major political and military leaders of Kazakhstan.The life and poetic heritage of Birzhan, Akan-sere, Baluan Sholak, Ibrai Sandybaev, Saken Seifullin, Sabit Mukanov, Gabit Musrepov are also associated with Burabai.

The Burabai mountains are made of granite, which is used as a building and facing material. In addition to granite there are deposits of building materials - clay, quartz sand and limestone.

More than 90 different minerals, including semi-precious ones, can be found here. There are pegmatites in the depths of the region, which are the source of obtaining mica-muscovite, and rare metals - lithium, beryllium, tantalum and niobium.

Together with the country, the region experienced And there were found jasper, tourmaline, chrysoall the historical events of the era - the revolution, prase, gold and platinum. the civil war, the West Siberian rebellion, the establishment of Soviet power, the Great Patriotic Lakes and rivers War, the virgin lands and much more.

The region has always been famous for its lakes.

The clean water attracts people who had settled Geology and natural resources here, and the abundance of fish made it possible Local mountains form a small ridge elongated to to feed themselves even in the most difficult times. the west, 35 kilometers long. The highest point of the entire ridge is Kokshe (Sinyukha) peak. Its The study of Burabay lakes began at the end of height is 947 meters above sea level. Scientists sug- the 19th century. The first hydrogeological studies gest that this mountainous upland is the remains were carried out in 1895-1904 in connection with of an ancient destroyed volcano, in the inner part the search for sources of water supply for the Siof which is a modern natural oasis.

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The relict peat bogs have survived. There are also open sphagnum bogs overgrown with undersized pine (“ryam”) or birch forest with an admixture of pine (“sogry”). The largest number of northern plants is found in and around the bogs: lingonberries, cranberries, sedges, horsetails, etc. The thickness of the peat layer of the bogs reaches three meters.

The territory has large reserves of a variety of edible mushrooms. In Burabay, according to foresters, there are about a hundred varieties of edible mushrooms.

In comparison with the fauna of the surrounding steppe, the fauna of Borovoye is more diverse.

There are more than 200 species of birds, 54 species of mammals. In rivers and lakes, there are 22 species of fish, 1 species of amphibians. There are 5 types of reptiles. berian railway and the settlements arising at the place of its passage.

Not so long ago, wolverines and lynxes were found in the forests of Burabay. There were even

The most significant lakes in the region are Bolshoye Chebachye, Maloye Chebachye, Shchuchye, Borovoye and Katarkol which are rich in fish. In the 1940s, valuable commercial fish such as peled and carp were brought into local water bodies and acclimatized. They have taken root well and still live in the Burabay lakes.

In addition to these reservoirs, there are also mountain and steppe lakes. Some of them dry out completely in the summer, forming a layer of white salt on the surface, but in the fall they are again filled with water.

Vegetable and animal kingdoms There are more than 700 plant species in the Borovsky forest area, including 95 rare and endangered species. Pine is the largest tree species. In wetter forests, birch and aspen grow along with pine.

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TOURISM

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brown bears, but they were killed in 1995. Earlier, large artiodactyls - elk and maral - also lived here.

Later, hybrid Askanian deer were brought into the forests, which multiplied and now inhabit the Borovoe forest. In addition to them, the Siberian roe deer and wild boar also live there.

Among the predatory animals there are wolf, fox, corsac, badger, Siberian weasel, ermine, weasel, steppe polecat and pine marten. In 1930, the teleut squirrel was successfully acclimatized. A white hare and a European hare are found along the edges of the forest. Bats inhabit rock crevices and attic spaces. Insectivores are inhabited by hedgehogs and several species of shrews.

Therapeutic factors Borovoe is famous not only for its picturesque views. The fame of the healing properties of the nature of the region has always attracted people.

In the early 1870s, the first mill appeared on the Gromovaya River, around which the village of Borovoe was formed. Later, it became a summer cottage for wealthy people of the region and even remote areas.

The importance of Burabay as a medicinal area at first was associated mainly with the possibility of obtaining good kumis here. Then a new factor, no less valuable than kumis, emerged - this is the climate, and at the same time the balneological factor - mineral water and healing mud. The climate and kumis made Borovoy famous as a resort for pulmonary patients. Its balneological values made it possible to treat rheumatism and patients with gastrointestinal problems here.

a lot of interesting and new things about their place of rest.

There are many sights in Burabay. Due to centuries of weathering of stones and rocks, they sometimes take on a very bizarre shape. Here you can see stones that look like a camel, a baby elephant, a calf, and a crocodile. There is a Stone skating rink, Three Sisters rocks, Zheke-batyr massif, the famous Okzhetpes cliff and Zhumbaktas rock-island. All this is reflected in numerous legends and stories.

In winter Burabay offers skating rinks, ice slides, ski rental, skates and other winter entertainment.

Not far from Lake Shchuchye there is a small ski resort “Ak-Zhelken” and the complex “Kazakhstan Lapland”.

“Whoever, for one reason or another, has been here in the summer, will rarely limit himself to this one time; in a year, two years later, he will come Tourism and rest here again and again, and again ... ”, this is how Burabay is a great place for tourism and recre- General G. Katanaev wrote about this wonderful ation. On its territory there are sanatoriums, land in 1915 boarding houses, health resorts, rest houses and campings. Such types of tourism as health-improv- And it is true. ing, ecological, educational, excursion, sports are very popular here. People who come to Burabay

by Pavel Kossovich visit excursions, walk in the forest, go fishing, learn WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

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ECG EVENTS

FIRST INTERNATIONAL “VOICES OF FRIENDS” FESTIVAL OF POETRY AND VISUAL ARTS IN BOROVOE

From 8 to 12 September the first international festival “Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art” was held in the resort area of Borovoe, organised by the public organisation Eurasian Creative Guild (London) with the support of the British OCA Magazine, publishing house Hertfordshire Press and hotel Rıxos Borovoe.

The Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art Festival is a part of the Eurasian Culture Week (ECW), which has been hosted by the Eurasian Creative Guild in London since 2017. The festival brought together dozens of creative people, experts and professionals in their field from different parts of the world to present themselves, their work and exchange experiences.

The Opening Ceremony of the festival was held by the vice-chairman of the Guild Marat (Mark) Akhmedjanov. The general director of the Rixos Borovoe hotel

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Jesper Francl and the deputy akim of Akmola region Aina Musralimova also welcomed the guests and participants of the Voices of Friends festival. The event was attended by the Head of the Department of Culture of the Akmola region Sabitova Aigul, the Chief specialist of the Department of Culture of the Akmola region Beisembayeva Dina, the Head of the Museum of Literature and Art Nurbek Nuralin, representatives of the local government Akhetova Aliya, Popov Yuri, Bystritsky Vladimir and others.

In the evening of the same day, there was an opening of the first international art-residence in Kazakhstan (Schuchinsk) - ECG Horizons. This is a space for Eurasian writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers and other creative people who want to work and develop together.

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EVENTS On September 9, the presentation of the corporate member of the Guild - the Literary Agency from Russia “Large Print” took place. Representatives of the agency Kristina Biktasheva and Ivan Mitryaykin presented the works of their authors Olga Chernienko, Oleg Shtelman, Grigory Bystritsky, Boris Alekseev, Leon Smith, Lana Rementsova, Arina Lezhina, Saria Mammadova.

The representatives also shared information about why it is important to promote your creativity and how to do it correctly, and then donated the books to the library fund of the creative residence “ECG Horizons” and expressed their desire to cooperate with the publishing house Hertfordshire Press on the publication of the graphic novel “Elish and the Wicker Tale” in Russian.

In addition to the agency, other members of the Guild also made their own presentations. Among those are the writer Marina Alyassova, who shared the story of writing the book “Do not marry girls”. In her book, Marina talks about relationships between people, about the institution of the family, about dreams and problems with finding yourself. Then a children’s poet and writer from Belarus, winner of the Open Eurasia - 2019 contest Mikhail Kunitsky, who recently published a fairy tale for children “A Journey on Four Legs” in cooperation with the British publishing house Hertfordshire Press, made his presentation. In the end, the aspiring author Vadim Kuramshin from Petropavlovsk told the guests about his activities and shared his plans regarding the publication of the book.

On September 10, a presentation of the children’s adventure book by Christoph Schleissing “The Wonderful Adventures of Yuloph” took place, followed by a literary marathon by online participants from France, Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Crimea and Great Britain.

The program was intense not only offline, but also online. With the support of ECG Expert Councils, zoom conferences were held on the topic “The era of bloggers - challenges and prospects”, “Is it easy to write a detective story?” , “Poetic bridge between the shores of friendship”, “How was the very first almanac “Voices of Friends” created?”. The main event was the conference dedicated to the special issue of OCA magazine - OCA PEOPLE, on the theme “Blue Diamonds of Eurasia. Who creates modern classics? ”. The meeting was moderated by the main person of OCA People - 2021, a literary agent from Kazakhstan, Bakhtygul Makhan-

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betova, with the support of the director of the festival, Anna Lari.

In addition to presentations and conferences, the festival included master classes from business coach Elena Bezrukova “How to bring your creativity to the world”, from the vice-chairman of the Guild Marat Akhmedjanov “How to publish your book in London?” and from the representative of the creative association “Art-Burabay” Yussuf Krykbessov on intuitive painting.

The film block of the festival consisted of screenings of films from the winners and participants of the Eurasian Film Festival. Films such as “Pop” by Vladimir Khotinenko, “Duel” by Anastasia Baulina, “Baluan Sholak” by Nurgeldy Sadygulov and “None” by Nevrida were presented.

On September 11, a presentation of the Lyra musical and poetry group and the Art-Burabay creative association took place. During presentations the guests of the Burabay region learned a lot about the talented and enterprising people who live there.

Burabay National Park under the guidance of Pavel Kosovich, publisher of the Bohemia magazine, with the support of Elena Tsygvintseva.

During the festival, there were exhibitions of paintings by such artists as: Yussuf Krykbessov, Marlan Nyssanbaev, Maksat Kantarbaev, Elena Bezrukova, Rina Akhmetova, Lidia Drozdova, Diana Anpilogova, Evgenia Serebryakova, Maria Luzina, Victoria Uskova, Elena Tsygvintseva, Nelly Filippova, Milana Yussufova, Rashit Minikhanov.

The main intriguing part of the festival was the announcement by the Executive Director of the Guild of Secret Kaunis and the Awarding Ceremony of the winners, finalists of the “Voices of Friends - 2021” poetry and art competition.

Poetry Category Winners: 1st place - Julia Olshevskaya-Hatzenboller (Germany) 2nd place - Rashit Minikhanov (Kazakhstan) 3rd place - Olesya Zaytseva (Russia)

On September 12, the group of the guests visited the

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EVENTS Visual Arts Category Winners: 1st place - Eduard Kamenskikh 2nd place - Aruai Tasmaganbetova (Kazakhstan) 3rd place - Gulnara Dzholdoshbekova (Kyrgyzstan) In addition to the main certificates, special certificates were awarded to Victoria Levin (Israel), Yussuf Krykbessov (Kazakhstan), Maria Andranyuk (Kazakhstan), Mikhail Ananov (Georgia).

The official Award Ceremony was attended by Khassenov Galym Kenzhebekovich - assistant to the district akim, Karimov Aleksey Mansurovich - press secretary of the district akim, Karsybaeva Damesh Sadvakasovna - Head of the Department of Culture and Language development and Director of the Higher Technical College - Orazalin Shokan Zhetpisbaevich and other representatives of local authorities.

A special moment of the ceremony was the presentation of the Grand Prix to the winner of the III Eurasian Film Festival Taalaibek Kulmendeev for the feature film “Munabiya” and the official presentation of certificates of the Arkady Bezrukov Prize, the prize from Aiya Maksutova to the winners of the 9th Open Eurasia - 2020 competition.

The final phase of the ceremony was a speech by Jesper Francl about the further cooperation of Rixos Borovoe with ECG (London) and the announcement of the second “Voices of Friends” festival from 13 to 17 May 2022.

Official participants of the festival (offline and online): Anpilogova Diana - USA - Ukraine, Kantarbayev Maksat - Kazakhstan, Krykbessov Yussuf Zhagiparovich - Kazakhstan, Drozdova Lidia Dmitrievna - Kazakhstan, Nyssanbayev Marlan Kenesovich - Kazakhstan, Akhmetova Rina Vitalievna - Kazakhstan, Amankeldiev Akimzhan - Kazakhstan, Makhanbetova Bakhtygul Shahzadaevna - Kazakhstan, Tlepina Barshagul Nuradinovna - Kazakhstan, Yussufova Milana Kamalovna - Kazakhstan, Abdybachaeva Sabina - Kyrgyzstan, Nurtaza Aknur - Kazakhstan, Anna Lari - Russia, Taina Kaunis - Russia, Mark Akhmed (Marat Akhmedjanov) - Great Britain, Artemyeva Nadezhda Anatolyevna - Kazakhstan, Kossovich Pavel - Kazakhstan, Akmatov Azimbek Kazatovich - Kyrgyzstan, Alyassova Marina Vasilievna Kazakhstan, Biktasheva Kristina - Russia, Kulmendeev

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Taalaibek - Kyrgyzstan, Kunitskiy Mikhail Petrovich Belarus, Mitryaykin Ivan Pavlovich - Belarus, Bezrukova Elena - Kazakhstan, Nelly Kopeikina - Russia, Abdaliyeva Perisat Koshoevna - Kyrgyzstan, Goylo Gayane Vilfridovna - Russia, Oksana Zhukova - Crimea, Karpuk Lyudmila Illarionovna - Kazakhstan, Hoteya - Kazakhstan, Shpanko Marina Vladimirovna - Kazakhstan, Adolina Gordon - Germany, Aitikenova Raushan Takeevna - Kazakhstan, Nadezhda Nikolaevna Krybrennikova Kazakhstan,Yulia Olshevskaya-Hatzenböller - Germany, Loskutova Natalya Vitalievna - Russia, Victoria Levin Israel, Roza Red - Russia, Cathie Cayros - France, Hosiyat Rustamova - Uzbekistan, Aldona Grupas - Great Britain, Elena Ananyeva - Germany, Nargisa Karasartova - Kyrgyzstan, Bubuira Bektenova - Kyrgyzstan.

Contacts: guild@ocamagazine.com www.rus.eurasiancreativeguild.uk www.hertfordshirepress.com www.ocamagazine.com Reference: Eurasian Creative Guild (London) —The Eurasian Creative Guild unites hundreds of cultural figures from all over the world: writers, musicians, dancers, illustrators, graphic designers, sculptors, poets, as well as anyone who considers himself a creative person.

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book of the year HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

CATALOGUE

BLUE RIVER

by Zinaida Longortova (2016) ENG / KHANTY HARDBACK ISBN:978-1-910886-34-2 RRP: £17.50

CRANES IN SPRING

by Tolibshohi Davlat (2015) ENG / RUS HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-06-9 RRP: £14.50

MAN OF THE MOUNTAINS

by Abudlla Isa (2014) ( OCABF 2013 Winner) ENGLISH PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0-9930444-5-8 RRP: £14.95

KASHMIR SONG

by Sharaf Rashidov (translation by Alexey Ulko, OCABF 2014 Winner). 2017 ENGLISH RRP: £24.95 ISBN: 978-0-9930444-2-7

AND LONGER IFE LASTS

by Ion Jani ISBN: 978-1913356163 RRP: £9.99

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THE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR THE DAY THAT DAD RETURNED Maral Hydyrova (2017) ENGLISH PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-65-6 RRP: £12.50

KAРА Автор Султан Раев (2015) РУССКИЙ / RUSSIAN ISBN: 978-1910886137 RRP: £24.50

WIND ISBN: 978-1910886915 RRP: £17.50

best female AUTHOR

ALDONA GRUPAS NURSE, GIVE ME A PILL FOR DEATH true stories ISBN: 978-1910886922 RRP: £9.95 PB / £14.95 HB

FOREMOTHER ASIA

by Natalia Kharlampieva (2016) ENG / SAKHA HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-22-9 RRP: £17.50

LIFE OVER PAIN AND DESPERATION

by Marziya Zakiryanova (2014) ENGLISH HARD BACK ISBN: 978-0-99278733-2 RRP: £14.95

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME S.S. NAZAROVA (2017) ENGLISH ISBN: 978-1-910886-60-1 HARD BACK RRP:£17.50

THE LAND DRENCHED IN TEARS

by Söyüngül Chanisheff ENGLISH PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1910886380 RRP:£24.50

RECYCLED

by Anna Komar HARDBACK ENGLISH ISBN: 978-1910886816 RRP:£17.50

MY NEIGHBOURHOOD SISTERS

by Gulsifat Shakhidi (2016) ENG / RUS HARDBACK ISBN:978-1-910886-35-9 RRP: £19.95

Тегеран-1360 Жанна Голубицкая ISBN: 9781913356118 Paperback RU |2020 £19.95

WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

67

POETRY

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

COLORFUL TEARS

by Khosiyat Rustam ISBN: 978-1-913356-12-5 RRP: £12.95

MY HOMELAND, OH MY CRIMEA

by Lenifer Mambetova (2015) ENG / RUS HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-04-5 RRP: £17.50

“THE WORLD DISSOLVES LIKE A DREAM” by Leyla Aliyeva, 2018 ENG HARDBACK 978-1-910886-76-2 RRP: £14.95

The “LIRA” award for the best poetry in the literary competition “Open Eurasian Book Forum and Literary Festival - 2019”

In this jewellike collection of poems from Kyrgyz poet Sagyn Berkinalieva, the poet explores her own personal destiny and her memorable insights into love, plumbing the raw feelings that cut through her heart in the course of one memorable encounter. Berkinalieva’s own unique and genuine voice shines through poignantly on every page.

SAGYN BERKINALIEVA

Published works: 1) «Sheet covered with the dust» (Publishing house «Biyiktik» – 2014).

2) «Girl dancing in the sky» (Publishing house «Great mountains» – 2019).

In 2016 she took part in the competition for young poets and won the Audience Award.

Diploma winner for active participation in the competition of young poets «Mekenge taazim» and «Besh Akin» in 2017.

Diploma winner of the Festival of Eurasian Week of Culture, which was held in Great Britain (London).

In 2019 she had participated in an International Competition of Eurasian Creative Guild in Belgium (Brussels).

She won the first place in the nomination of poetry and was awarded the «Lyre» medal for the best female lyrics.

In 2019 she was awarded «The Best Poet of the Year» in Kyrgyzstan.

SAGYN BERKINALIEVA

Member of the National Writers’ Union of Kyrgyzstan, member of Eurasian Creative Guild, member of the Writers’ Union of North America (German department).

GIRL DANCING IN THE SKY

Poetess – Berkinalieva Sagynbubu Abdusamatovna (Kyrgyz Republic)

edited by John Farndon

GIRL DANCING IN THE SKY

RRP: £12.95

I THINK WE SHOULD JUST LIVE

by Ekaterina Khlebnikova ISBN: 9781913356217 Paperback ENG \RU | 2020 £9.99

GIRL DANCING IN THE SKY

by Sagyn Berkinalieva ISBN: 9781913356217 Paperback ENG | 2020 £12.95

ONE OF YOU

by Lenar Shaehov ISBN: 9781910886472 Paperback ENG | 2017 £9.50

68 OCA MAGAZINE

BELARUSIAN WHALES

by Anastasiya Kuzmicheva ISBN: 9781910886458 Hardcover EN |2017 £14.50

МАЭСТРО И МУЗА Сергей Белый ISBN: 978-1-913356-28-6 Hardcover RU |2021 £17.50

WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

69

history

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

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: £24.95

PAPERBACK ISBSN: 978-1-910886-05-2 RRP: £14.50 KANYBEK IMANALIEV THE KAGANATE Overall, The Kaganate is a remarkably skilful and fabulously imaginative prose poetry collection, which explores the overwhelming need for young men to be destructive, the overtly pagan sensibilities of the authors native Kyrgyzstan, along with those disciplines required by adolescent boys to channel instinctive animosities away from their parents into the rigours necessary to become worthy young warriors in such a way that his volume proves virtually obsessive. After all, each one of these observations evokes a subtle type of “second puberty” occurring between older men assaying values above mere materialism, sexuality, and having children - in order to focus on shared spiritual concerns.

ISBN: 978-1910886960 HB RRP:£19.95

VLADIMIR TULINOV THE GUARDSMEN OF HIPPOCRATES No people suffered more during the Second World War than the people of the Soviet Union and the soldiers of the Red Army. Tens of millions perished and further millions were wounded – horrific numbers, which would have been even higher if it weren’t for the efforts of the army of doctors, nurses, and medics who treated the wounded and the suffering. V.M. Tulinov’s The Guardsmen of Hippocrates brings the reader up close to the men and women who fought to save the lives of those struggling to resist the Nazi invasion.

ISBN: 978-1910886946 HB, RRP: £19.95 WEST MIDLANDS HO!

by Aldona Grupas West Midlands Ho! is a compelling work of local history, focused on a particular corner of England but set against a background of tumultuous international events.In the book, Lithuanian author Aldona Grupas reveals the personal tales of Lithuanian migrants who moved to Britain in the wake of World War II. Unable to return to their homeland due to the Soviet occupation, from 1947 onwards, several thousand refugees swapped the refugee camps of Allied-occupied Germany for basic accommodation in Britain, along with jobs in manufacturing and agriculture. In the following decades, they put down roots in Britain, all the while keeping their Lithuanian identity alive. In a series of interviews, Grupas teases out the personal experiences of five members of this migrant community in the West Midlands of England.

PAPERBACK

70 OCA MAGAZINE

ISBN: 978-1913356231 RRP:£19.95

classicS

THE PLIGHT OF A POSTMODERN HUNTER Chlngiz Aitmatov Mukhtar Shakhanov (2015) ENG HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-11-3 RRP: £24.95

THE GREAT MELODY KINDLE EDITION

by Tabyldy Aktan RRP: 2.40 ENGLISH

“SHORT STORIES FROM AZERBAIJAN” 2018 ISBN: 978-1-910886-72-4 RRP: £19.95 ENG HARDBACK

I AM LOOKING TOWARDS THE EAST

by Gulsifat Shakhidi, 2017 ISBN: 978-1910886663 RRP: £19.95 HARDBACK ENGLISH

BRÄNNANDE SOL, ISANDE VIND, LEVANDE STÄPP

by Dulat Isabekov ISBN: 9789198244977 Hardcover Swedish |2020

A POETIC TREASURY FROM BELARUS: A CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF VERA RICH

by David ParryJim Dingley SBN: 9781913356040 Hardcover EN \ BY|2019 £14.95

GOETHE AND ABAI

by Herold Belger ISBN: 9781910886168 Hardcover EN|2015 £19.95

WHEN EDELWEISS FLOWERS FLOURISH

by Begenas Saratov and (Shahsanem Murray) ISBN: 9780955754951 Paperback ENG 2012 £12.95

WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

71

SERIES

HOWL novel

by Kazat Akmatov (2014) PAPERBACK ENGLISH –RUSSIAN ISBN: 978-0993044410 RRP: £12.50

shahsanem murray

SHAHIDKA/ MUNABIA

by KazatAkmatov (2013) PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0957480759 RRP: £12.95

THE NOVEL “ARHAT”

by Kazat Akmatov (2015) LANGUAGE ENG PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1910886106 RRP: £17.50

THE TURKIK SAGA Kairat Zariyanov (2016) LANGUAGE ENG HARD BACK RRP:14.95 ISBN: 978-0-9927873-7-0

UNDER THE WOLFS NEST Kairat Zariyanov (2012 LANGUAGE ENG /KAZAKH HARD BACK RRP:14.95 ISBN: 978-0-9927873-7-0

kairat zakyryanov

13 STEPS OF ERIKA KLAUS

by Kazat Akmatov (2013) PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0957480766 RRP: £12.95

Raushan

Burkitbayeva - Nukenova

KAZAT AKHMATOV

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

SHADOWS OF THE RAIN Raushan Burkitbayeva - Nukenova (2016)LANGUAGE ENG HARD BACK RRP:19.95 ISBN: 978-1-910886-31-1

THE WORMWOOD WIND Raushan Burkitbayeva - Nukenova (2015) LANGUAGE ENG HARD BACK RRP:14.95 ISBN: 978-1-910886-09-0

COLD SHADOWS Shahsanem Murray (2016) LANGUAGE ENG PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-27-4 RRP: £12.50

72 OCA MAGAZINE

FINDING THE HOLY PATH

by Shahsanem Murray (2014) RUS ISBN: 978-0-9930444-8-9 ENGL ISBN: 978-0992787394 PAPERBACK RRP: £12.50

TRAVELOGUES FRIENDLY STEPPES. A SILK ROAD JOURNEY

by Nick Rowan (2012)

THE SILK ROAD REVISITED

by Nick Rowan (2020)

This is the chronicle of an extraordinary adventure that led Nick Rowan to some of the world’s most incredible and hidden places.

Take a trip along this remarkable historic trading route that once ran from Venice, through the Mediterranean, across Turkey and Iran, through the Caucasus and Caspian Sea, onwards via Central Asia and finally to China.

HARD BACK ISBN: 978-0-9927873-4-9 PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0-9557549-4-4

HARDBACK RRP: £34.99 ISBN: 978-1-913356-07-1

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: £14.50

MEET THE ‘STANS

by Christopher Jones “If you want to travel in peace, you must howl like the wolves among whom you find yourself,” a 19th century French explorer advised on entering Central Asia. Which was simply the Central Asian version of raising your negroni and slurring ‘When in Rome’. Thankfully, the author discovered, the negroni’s had since made their way to Central Asia, or at least Almaty, as part of the somewhat inconsiderable encroachment made by the modern world.

HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-913356-15-6 RRP: £17.50 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:14.95 ISBN: 978-1-910886-29-8

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73

children award winning HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

RHYMES ABOUT BOYS

by Lyudmila Dubkovetcaia (2019) HARD BACK ENGLISH ISBN: 978-1-913356-03-3 RRP: £17.50

MENIK THE MAMMOUTH

by OGDO (2017) PAPERBACK ENG ISBN: 978-1-910886-62-5 RRP: £12.50

СОФЬИНЫ НЕБЕСА, ИЛИ ВОЛШЕБНЫЙ ДАР ГНОМОВ Оксана Гордийко (2019) ISBN: 978-1-910886-97-7 RRP: £14.50

LEIA THE LITTLE MOUSE

by Arina Chunaeva (2019)

TALES OF GRANDMA GULSIFAT

by Gulsifat Shakhidi

ELISH AND THE WICKER TALES

by Kamran Salayev PAPERBACK SQUARE ENG ISBN: 978-1-910886-88-5 RRP:£12.50

HARD BACK ENGLISH ISBN:978-1-910886-90-8 RRP: £22.50

Дневник Ёжика - путешественника, или Где живёт счастье? by Надежда Серебренникова ISBN: 9781913356095 Paperback RU| 2020 £19.50 ELISH AND THE WICKER TALE

by Timur Akhmedjanov ISBN: 9781913356194 Paperback ENG | 2020 £9.99

74 OCA MAGAZINE

HARDBACK ENGLISH ISBN: 978-1-913356-01-9 RRP: £22.50

JUNIOR

THE GOAT THAT WANTED TO TRAVEL ISBN: 978-1913356170 RRP: £9.99

THE EGRET AND THE COW

by Gareth Stamp ISBN: 978-1913356149 RRP: £9.99

РАИМ ФАРХАДИ ОСТРОВ СТИХОВ стихи ISBN: 978-1-910886-56-4 RRP: £14.50

The door to a fairy tale

by Denis Kuvaev ISBN: 9781910886632 Hardcover EN| 2017 £22.50

AYSU AND THE MAGIC BAG

by Maide Akan (2016) CARDBOARD ISBN: 978-1-910886-24-3 RRP: £10.00

ЭТО ЗАВИСИТ ОТ МЕНЯ 7 СПОСОБОВ ИЗМЕНИТЬ ЖИНЬ К ЛУЧШЕМУ Автор Меган Вернер (2017) PAPERBACK RUSSIAN ISBN: 9781910886397 RRP:£9.95

Crane by Abu-Sufyan ISBN: 9781910886236 Paperback EN| 2016 £12.50

POOL OF STARS

by Olesya Petrova (2007) PAPERBACK ENG / RUS ISBN: 978-0955754906 RRP: £4.95

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75

DISCOVERY GUIDES & TRAVEL COMPANIONS

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

100 EXPERIENCES OF KYRGYZSTAN

by Ian Claytor ENG ISBN: 978-0957480742 RRP: £9.50

101 Zážitok Z Kazachstanu Editori: Nick Rowan a Roman Vassilenko ISBN: 9781913356255 RRP: £9.50

100 EXPERIENCES OF MODERN KAZAKHSTAN

by Vitaly Shuptar, Nick Rowan and Dagmar Schreiber ENG ISBN: 978-1-910886-15-1 RRP: £9.50

THE TASTE OF CENTRAL ASIA COOK BOOK

by Danny Gordon ENG ISBN:978-1-910886-09-0 RRP: £9.50

DISCOVERY KYRGYZSTAN travel guide

by Ian Claytor ENG, DE, FR, RUS, JAP ISBN: 9780955754920 RRP: £5.95

76 OCA MAGAZINE

DISCOVERY UZBEKISTAN travel guide

by Andrea Leuenberger ENG, DE, FR, RUS, JAP ISBN: 9780957480704 RRP: £5.95

DISCOVERY KAZAKHSTAN travel guide

by Vitaly Shuptar and Dagmar Schreiber ENG, DE ISBN: 9780955754937 RRP: £5.95

DISCOVERY TAJIKISTAN Travel Guide

by Vitaly Shuptar ENG ISBN: 978-09557549-6-8 RRP: £5.95

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77

The scientific and theoretical platform and methodology of the “cognitive-communicative concept of translation studies” are presented on the basis of the “cognitive-linguacultural methodology and the theory of intercultural communication”.

The professional and functional model of a modern translator has been proposed and the competence-based educational paradigm has been developed on the conceptually-grounded platform.

SALIMA KUNANBAYEVA

E IDG BR

INTERNATIONA LP R

S ES

CA M

The work can be applied to the theory and practice of training as well as to the process of upgrading translators, philologists and specialists in the fields of intercultural communication, foreign language education and in other spheres of international correlation.

2016

KUNANBAYEVA S.S.

CONCEPTUALLY-GROUNDED COGNITIVE-LINGUAL BASICS OF FORMING A MULTILINGUAL

KUNANBAYEVA S.S.

The manual is focused on the conceptual basics of cognitive linguistics in the theory and practice of intercultural communication and the formation of a multilingual personality. It describes the patterns of the formation of a global intercultural space; dwells on the conceptual and theoretical foundations of “intercultural communication” as an independent scientific branch; the ways and cognitive-process components of the formation of the “language personality”; the methodological grounds of translation studies and foreign language education.

CONCEPTUALLY-GROUNDED COGNITIVE-LINGUAL BASICS OF FORMING A MULTILINGUAL

CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

RRP: £14.95 CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

ISBN: 978-0957480780 RRP: £19.95

ISBN: 978-1-910886-67-0 RRP: £19.50

ISBN: 978-1-910886-99-1 RRP: £14.95

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1910886267 RRP: £18.50

ORAZALY SABDEN

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1910886267 RRP: £17.50

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!

PAPERBACK

ISBN:978-1910886373 RRP: £14.50

НУРЫМ ТАЙБЕК ЛЮБОВЬ КО ВСЕМ, НЕНАВИСТЬ НИ К КОМУ! — СМЫСЛ ЖИЗНИ МУСУЛЬМАН-АХМАДИ послание Ахмадийское движение – единственное в исламе, объявившее, в соответствии с предписанием Мухаммада, военный джихад отмененным (с 1891 г.) в связи с появлением мессии-махди (и началом эры прав человека). Ахмад боролся против политизации ислама и восстановил первоначальную – мирную интерпретацию понятий “джихад”.

ISBN: 978-1-910886-73-1 RRP: £14.95

78 OCA MAGAZINE

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

AZERBAIJAN:BRIDGE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST

by Yury Sigov, 2015

ISBN: 9781913356255

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: £24.50 I AM LOOKING TOWARDS THE EAST

by Gulsifat Shakhidi, 2017 ISBN: 978-1910886663 RRP: £19.95 HARDBACK ENGLISH LOST PARADISE - TRUE PARADISE

by Gulsifat Shakhidi, 2019 ISBN: 978-1-913356-02-6 ENGLISH HARDBACK RRP: £19.95

IGOR SAVITSKY: ARTIST, COLLECTOR, MUSEUM FOUNDER

by Marinika Babanazarova (2011) LANGUAGE: ENG, RUS, FR ISBN: 978-0955754999 RRP: £10.00 SAVITSKY COLLECTION SELECTED MASTERPIECES. Poster set of 8 posters (2014) ISBN: 9780992787387 RRP: £25.00

WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

79

Dr. Gerald Mako , Cambridge University

THE RUSSIAN MENTALITY

red among them those d the initial impetus for ty’. on on a different scale y goal of his book is to he peculiarities of the ple, but also to what exvironment where busicommendable, and one nclusions of this book those at the country’s shape its economy,and

V. V. KOZLOV

V. V. KOZLOV

ussian mentality set in draws on the works of ts and authors in his reanged over the course the Russian mentality society, including the ilism, various types of ures, personnel policy, world. With interesting ssible avenues for the Russian Mentality is at er dull.

CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

THE RUSSIAN MENTALITY AS A FUNDAMENTAL FACTOR IN RUSSIAN MANAGEMENT METHODS

THE RUSSIAN MENTALITY

by V. V. Kozlov An exploration into the birth processes of the Russian mentality set in juxtaposition to Western mentalities, V. V. Kozlov draws on the works of many eminent philosophers, historians, sociologists and authors in his research. In analysing how the Russian state has changed over the course of millennia, the author focuses on the influence the Russian mentality has had on the development of modern Russian society, including the issues of management and governance, legal nihilism, various types of rights and freedoms, corruption in power structures, personnel policy, and Russia’s place an increasingly contradictory world. With interesting arguments on the roots of ‘Russophobia’ and possible avenues for the future development of civil society, Kozlov’s The Russian Mentality is at times illuminating, at others controversial, but never dull.

ISBN: 9781913356262 Hardcover ENG | 2021 £17.50

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: £24.95

THE EARTH IS OUR COMMON HOME

by Bakhyt Rustemov This book from the famous Kazakh international publicist reflects the international reality in which the Kazakh people lived and live for the last twenty-seven years after gaining their independence.

The reader is given the opportunity to understand how difficult the transition was from socialism to capitalism. The new life caught by surprise the majority of people of the country, that is the simple person. For all these years the author was in the midst of the people and has survived with them all the hardships and privations that usually fall on the shoulders of ordinary citizens. For many years he studied the relationship of people in society, the relationship of peoples and States.

HARDBACK

ENG

ISBN: 978-1910886878

RRP:£14.95

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: £24.95

80 OCA MAGAZINE

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: £14.95

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: £25.00

WANTED MAN

by Gary Cartwright (2019) “Gripping... an expose of how money talks in the EU and in individual member states. Corruption is a growing problem and as always, as this book shows, the guilty remain at large, and the taxpayer foots the bill.”

— Colin Stevens, Publisher, EU Reporter www.eureporter.co ISBN: 978-1-910886-95-3 PAPERBACK RRP: £9.95 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: £19.95 ENG

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81

CONTENTS 6

NAVIGATING A FIFTH TERM FOR TAJIKISTAN’S RAHMON

40

SODIK SAFOEV MEETS THE LEADING BRITISH MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES

10

KAZAKHSTAN FORGING OWN PATH OF DEVELOPMENT UNDER NEW PRESIDENCY

42

TASTE THE COUNTRY

14

URBAN PLANNING IN A POST-COVID WORLD

46

THE MOGILEV REGION - A GOLDEN PART OF EAST SLAVIC CULTURE IN BELARUS

18

THE NEW CABINET IN KABUL PROMISES TROUBLE FOR THE REGION

50

LINKING TOURISM AND CONSERVATION IN KYRGYZSTAN

22

ISMOILI SOMONI - A MAN OF WISDOM AND POLITICS

52

TAKE ALL OF THE OPPORTUNITIES AND TRY YOURSELF

26

RUSSIAN AND RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE LITERATURE IN AMERICA

54

MAGIC EDGE BURABAY

30

KUPALA FALLS ONCE AGAIN 60

FIRST INTERNATIONAL “VOICES OF FRIENDS”: FESTIVAL OF POETRY AND VISUAL ARTS IN BOROVOE

32

SHAROF RASHIDOV – THE MAN OF THE EPOCH

34

AIDEX IS BACK FOR 2021

36

EURASIAN CREATIVE GUILD AT THE ST. PETERSBURG INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC FORUM

CONTRIBUTORS DISCLAIMER 1. All articles/interviews submitted, regardless of the way they were submitted (by the author, approached by members of our OCA editorial team or otherwise), are subject to the Editor-in-Chief ’s and/or publisher’s approval at their sole discretion.Without such approval the article may only be published online, or may not be published at all.

2. Only articles/interviews submitted according to the “Contributors Guidelines” published on ocamagazine.com (such as articles being in the English language, on suitable and relevant subject, copyrights, number of words) will be sent to the Editor-in-Chief and/or publisher for approval.

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