OCA MAGAZINE #26

WITH EURASIA

RASHIDOV

100

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

[ EURASIA ]

SHARAF RASHIDOV’S 100TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY: REMEMBERING THE UZBEK STATESMAN AND A WRITER

COLLECTIVE SECURITY IN EURASIA: MANAGING DIVERSITY AND MULTIPLE THREATS TURKMENISTAN – AN EMERGING FORCE ALTYNAI ASYLMURATOVA: EVERYONE CAN SEE THE REAL BEAUTY AIDEX: COMING TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE MORE

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BUILDING THE LANDBRIDGE

ISSN 2053-1036 RRP: £7.50

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This is a major new history of an increasingly important country in Central Asia.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. A succession of armies and empires, tribes and khanates, appeared and disappeared, before the siege and destruction in 1219 of the ancient Silk Road city of Otrar under the Mongol leader Genghis Khan. The emergence of the first identifiable Kazakh state in the sixteenth century was followed by early contacts with Russia, the country which came to be the dominant influence in Kazakhstan and Central Asia for three hundred years. The book shows how Kazakhstan has been inextricably caught up in the vast historical processes - of revolution, civil war, and the rise and fall of communism - which have extended out from Russia over the last century. In the process the country has changed dramatically, from a simple nomadic society of khans and clans, to a modern and outward-looking nation.The transition has been difficult and tumultuous for millions of people, but Vanished Khans and Empty Steppes illustrates how Kazakhstan has emerged as one of the world’s most successful post- communist countries.

ISBN: 978-0993044403 AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM

FROM THE EDITOR towering Kazmunaigaz building in Astana leaves folk in little doubt, as did the many pavilions that showed off the pipelines, infrastructure and buildings of their own hydrocarbon monopolies. Turkmenistan’s luminescent gas pipelines, Uzbekistans eco-capsules juxtaposed with uranium mine maps and Azerbaijan’s interactive oil field all proposed that the future of greener energy is some way off, at least in the countries of the old Silk Road.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF NICK ROWAN PUBLISHER MARAT AKHMEDJANOV

OCA MAGAZINE 26/ 2 SUMMER - FALL 2017 FRONT COVER: SHARAF RASHIDOV (SEE P. 6) MAGAZINE PUBLISHED FOR EURASIAN CREATIVE GUILD

CONTACT INFORMATION EMAIL: PUBLISHER@OCAMAGAZINE.COM WWW.CENTRALASIA.TRAVEL WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

DEPUTY EDITOR ALEKSANDRA VLASOVA, DESIGN ALEXANDRA REY EDITORIAL TEAM MARIA INDINA, ZAYNAB M DOST, GARETH STAMP, RAZA SYED, CHRISTOPHER SCHWARTZ, SHAMIL AKMEDJANOV, ANNA SUSLOVA CONTRIBUTORS STEPHEN M BLAND, ZAYNAB M DOST, NICK FIELDING, PAUL WILSON, GARETH STAMP, SHAHSANEM MURRAY, GORDON MURRAY, LAURA HAMILTON, MARGARITA AAB, ANNA LARI, NICHOLAS RUTHERFORD, NIGEL PETERS, ADAM KAPANOV, PAUL SAWYER, MARIA INDINA, MARINA BASHMANOVA.

ECG BOARD DAVID PARRY - CHAIRMAN MARAT AKHMEDJANOV - VICE CHAIRMAN ANNA LARI - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ADVISORY BOARD GULSIFAT SHAKHIDI (TAJIKISTAN) SÖLVI FANNAR (ICELAND) SHAHSANEM MURRAY (UK) DAVID WILLIAM PARRY (UK) NADEJDA KOLYSHKINA (RUSSIA) STEPHEN M. BLAND (UK) GARETH STAMP (UK) LENAR SHAEHOV (RUSSIA) MARINA BASHMANOVA (KYRGYZSTAN) ALAN COX (UK) NICK ROWAN (UK) ELENA BEZRUKOVA (KAZAKHSTAN) CYRUS YAVNEH (USA) ALEKSANDRA VLASOVA (UK)

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

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.

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As the last of the crates of packed-up pavilions ship themselves home, it is difficult to see the brave, utopian vision that Kazakh set forth to promote leaving participants with hope that the world is committed to change and new, alternative energies in any serious way for now. However, although Kazakhstan complains that many in Europe still do not take it seriously on the world stage, its hosting of Expo and appointment to the UN Security Council, do show that it is increasingly becoming a relevant international player. Constitutional reform is happening, particularly in the judicial system.

It’s economy is modernising, investing in human capital Dear Readers, and new industries. A symbolic plan to abandon Cyrillic After months and years of hard promotion and the script and move to Latin alphabet signals its intention brave challenge that Kazakhstan took upon itself to to interact more significantly with the western world. host the 2017 Expo, the three months of showcasing If progress on human rights issues can make serious Kazakhstan to the world have now come to an end. inroads, then Kazakhstan might just be turning the corStrangely, for all the marketing, very little of life on the ner into a nation that Europe and the world will start ground and the messages of Expo 2017 made their way to take very seriously, and that is good for Kazakhstan into an international press more pre-occupied with and the rest of Central Asia.

North Korea, Caribbean Hurricanes and Wimbledon tennis. This magazine attended only in non-official ca- Once more, I hope you enjoy the issue and the wide pacities, as passing bystanders rather than heralded re- range of articles focusing on cultural, economic and political events. The world seems to be turning at a porters of the event and its main themes. faster pace than ever before ad technology sweeps us The main theme of Expo 2017 was about future en- by, but Eurasia continue to hold on to its traditions and ergy. It was about how countries will look to develop culture as strongly as before and I hope you will enjoy greener, more efficient and highly innovative forms of everything it has to offer in this magazine and in your feeding their hungry power needs. Although the irony own travels and dealings in the region. of a country that has been fuelled by extraction of fossil fuels to get to where it is today will have not have escaped many, the glossy showcase of air conditioned glass buildings and pavilions can have escaped the attention of none. While Norway has done a fine job of building itself from oil and then turning to greener electricity, Kazakhstan still has a way to go to persuade Editor-in-Chief the world that it really can wean itself off of fossil fuels.

And even further to go to lead this change.The proudly

Yours,

Nick Rowan

Special gratitude for cooperation and support to Embassy of Azerbaijan to the UK. Embassy of Kazakhstan to the UK. Embassy of Tajikistan to the UK. Embassy of Kyrgyzstan to the UK.

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COVER STORY and became an editor of Qizil O’zbekiston (Red Uzbekistan) in 1947. Rashidov quickly rose as a prominent writer and got appointed as the head of the Uzbekistan Writers Union in 1949.

Simultaneously, he pursued his career as a politician. His interest in public life leads him to become secretary of Samarkand province’s party organization in 1944. Six years later (1950), ambitious Rashidov was in Tashkent, as a member of Uzbekistan’s Politbiuro – the highest governing body of the republic’s party. In 1959, Sharaf Rashidov became the chief of the Uzbek communist party. During his long-term service up until his death in 1983, Uzbekistan got many benefits including investments in agriculture, the establishment of factories and plants. The capital, Tashkent, got an underground network, the first in the region, and was widely recognised as a cultural and literature center of the USSR. Rashidov’s knowledge enabled him to act as a diplomat too. Although he never held an ambassadorial post, Rashidov helped to negotiate a number of important international agreements on behalf of the Soviets during the Cold War. He co-led numerous Soviet delegations to Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Birma, Vietnam, China and Mongolia; participated in Bangdung conference, the first ever large-scale Asian–African Conference (1955) and organised Asia and Africa Writers’ Conference with a participation of over 50 countries in Tashkent (1958).

Sharaf Rashidov’s 100th birth anniversary: remembering the Uzbek statesman and a writer This year marks the 100th anniversary since birth of Sharaf R. Rashidov, the first secretary of the Uzbek communist party (in office from 1959 until 1983).

Rashidov was born on November the 6th 1917, the day before the Bolsheviks under Lenin seized power in Russia. His birthday seems symbolical as he would become the highest ranking official in Soviet Uzbekistan.

In addition, this Uzbek man was one of two Central Asians (the other one being Dinmukhamed Kunayev, a Kazakh) to play a special role in the Soviet hierarchy and history.

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According to eyewitnesses, Rashidov had an oustanding intellect and charisma. A native of Jizzakh in Uzbekistan, he was not just a politician, but also an excellent communicator, diplomat and a writer. With a degree in philology from the Uzbekistan’s University of Samarkand, he started working as an editor of a Samarkand newspaper Lenin Yo’li (Lenin’s Path).The Second World War forced Rashidov to take a break and go to fight in the Northwestern front of the Soviet army. He fought bravely but was sent home after being wounded in 1942. Upon his return to Jizzakh, he resumed writing

Cooperation with India was particularly dear for Rashidov not least due to cultural similarities and strong historical ties between the two countries. Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, often mentioned Babur, the Timurid born in Andijan and the founder of the Moghul Empire in India, as a remarkable example of a unique link between the two nations. Rashidov used this historical tie to build an effective relationship between the Uzbek SSR and India at a modern time. In 1955, Rashidov was on a diplomatic goodwill mission for USSR to Kashmir. A year later, he wrote a novella titled “Kashmirskaya Pesnya” (Kashmir Song) acknowledging Dina Nath Nadim’s opera “Bombur ta Yambarzal”. It is no coincidence that the Kashmir theme will be significant for Rashidov in the years to come. Following the ceasefire in Indo-Pakistani war over Kashmir, he got into talks between the two adversaries and organised a meeting between India’s Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistan’s Ayub Khan and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Although the 1966

meeting was officially led by Alexei Kosygin, Rashidov made sure to have it in no other place but Tashkent. As per the Tashkent declaration (1966), India and Pakistan agreed to pull back to their pre-conflict borders and decided to restore economic and diplomatic relations.

The declaration expressed the India and Pakistan leaders’ gratitude to “the Government and friendly people of Uzbekistan for their overwhelming reception and generous hospitality”.

Rashidov was also involved in an important Cold War episode, perhaps the most challenging one. Desperate for a counter balance after the US deployed missiles in Turkey, Nikita Khruschev, the Soviet boss, wanted to “reciprocate” via Cuba, torn between the revolutionaries and Batista forces. Nobody knew what Fidel Castro would say to an offer to place Soviet missiles on Cuba’s soil, which in theory contradicted his goals.

Despite the Soviet Ambassador to Cuba, Alexander Alekseev’s open disagreement, Khruschev decided to risk it. He needed a skillful communicator for the mission. According to some observers, he had been long watching Rashidov’s efforts in developing the USSR’s ties with Asia and Africa, so he cherry-picked Rashidov for the job. In 1962, Sharaf Rashidov set off to Cuba together with Marshal Sergei Briyusov, commander of the Strategic Rocket Froces, disguised as a simple engineer “Pavlov”. The USSR media described Rashidov’s visit as a “visit of irrigators and meliorators led by the head of an agricultural, cotton-producing republic”.

This was a bogus claim concealing the Soviet offer to

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COVER STORY deploy missiles on Cuba. The nukes and the personnel were supposed to be shipped on vessels pretending to transport machines for irrigation. Given that such vehicles were made in Uzbekistan, his trip to Cuba was not expected to raise suspicions. At first, the Soviet delegation bewildered Castro.Yet, after listening and consulting with Che Guevara, Castro agreed to the proposal saying “If that is necessary to strengthen the socialist camp...”. Reportedly, Castro was encouraged by Che Guevara’s approval who said “Anything that can stop the Americans is worthwhile”.

When the Soviet missiles on Cuba were discovered, a major international outcry occurred. The US navy attempted to quarantine the island and the situation escalated. It was then time for John Kennedy’s intellect and diplomacy to resolve the Cuban missile crisis peacefully. For some, the situation was a dangerous game that put the world at the risk of a nuclear annihilation. From a rational point of view, the Soviets pursued the matter knowing that Kennedy was an intellectual and a pragmatic who would avoid a nuclear strike at all costs.The risk did in fact play off. In a secret agreement, the US agreed to Khruschev’s demand of shutting down its bases in Turkey and Italy (the main reason launching the Cuban adventure of Rashidov), and guaranteeing the non-invasion of Cuba. In return, the Soviets fully dismantled their missiles in Cuba.

Despite Sharaf Rashidov’s success and contribution to the USSR in general and to Soviet Uzbekistan in particular, later in life he had to go through difficulties. With Leonid Brezhnev’s passing and a new leadership of Yuri Andropov, Rashidov came under the scrutiny of the new Moscow top official. For years, the whole Soviet system had been operating based on falsifications of production in return for allocation of resources from the center. Uzbekistan was no exception, yet the the so-called “Uzbek affair” became a true scandal due to an internal USSR power struggle. Following the allegations and criminal investigations against Uzbek officials in the early 1980s, Sharaf Rashidov found himself under constant and not entirely fair pressure. It seems that he suffered a heart attack after a call from Andropov, who deliberately demanded more cotton from Uzbekistan knowing that there was none.

When Rashidov passed away on the 31st of October 1983, a purge in the establishment followed. Many Uzbeks felt that Uzbekistan was unfairly singled out as the

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investigations were not handled objectively but “ordered from the top”. Yet, a year later, some of Rashidov’s supporters were denouncing him publicly blaming him for every economic crime in the country. The absurdity reached its peak when the grave of Rashidov was transferred from central Tashkent to a remote cemetery. For years to come, none of Rashidov’s merits was mentioned in any official press. It was not until the independence of Uzbekistan, when the statesman’s reputation was rehabilitated by the resolution of Uzbekistan’s first president Islam Karimov (1938-2016).

Sharaf Rashidov is probably one of the most interesting historical figures in modern Uzbekistan history. His diplomatic and organizational skills brought many benefits to Moscow. Despite the controversies of his “reign”, he also played a crucial role in raising Uzbekistan’s economic and cultural profile. During his service, Tashkent started playing a special role in maintaining and building the USSR’s ties with Asia and Africa. He personally engaged in projects aimed at the development of Uzbekistan’s rural areas. Until now many people in Uzbekistan remember him as a leader and compliment his good manners, knowledge, modesty and exceptional organizational talent. In 2017, for the first time Uzbekistan is likely to celebrate his birthday on an official level. As the years went by, Uzbekistan opted to look at this individual’s legacy objectively. Like any prominent politician’s life, Sharaf Rashidov’s path was neither black nor white but had multiple shades of grey.

By Zaynab M. Dost

This beautifully illustrated novella offers a sensitive reworking of an ancient and enchanting folk story which although rooted in Kashmir is, by nature of its theme, universal in its appeal.

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

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

ISBN: 978-0-9930444-2-7 AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.CO.UK

HISTORY

RETRACING ATKINSON’S HISTORIC JOURNEY TO KHI-GOL

to come along. Together with my friend, the photographer David O’Neill, we set off from London for Irkutsk at the beginning of July.

On 23 May 1851, the English explorer Thomas Witlam Atkinson, along with his wife Lucy and two-year-old son Alatau – along with several Cossacks and Buryat guides - set out from Irkutsk in Eastern Siberia on a journey that would take them to some of the remotest and wildest places in the world. Their first goal was to travel east to the Sayan Mountains of Western Buryatia and from there to make their way south towards Lake Khovsgul in northern Mongolia.

The Atkinsons’ journey lasted all summer, with the couple not returning to Irkutsk until the beginning of September. For several years I had wanted to retrace parts of this journey into regions which, even today, are remote. I had already traced the

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Atkinsons’ travels in what is now Eastern Kazakhstan, but this would be far more daunting, involving riding on horseback, negotiating high mountain passes and travelling in areas where the only trails that exist are those made by indigenous hunters.

Slowly the plan came together. I found a company in Irkutsk that could organise transport and local guides and horses. When I sent them details of the Atkinsons’ journey through the mountains, they responded with a route that took in most of the important places the couple visited – and which Thomas painted. It seemed logical to offer the chance of participating in this journey to the living descendants of the Atkinsons and I was delighted when Steve Brown – a great-great-great grandson of the travellers – and his family agreed

The goal of our journey was a remarkable valley in the Eastern Sayan Mountains called Khi-Gol, or the Jombolok Volcano Field. Thomas Atkinson had noticed a massive trail of lava as he had ascended a river valley and deciding to follow it to its source, had come across this remarkable valley. A gigantic eruption about 7,000 years ago had led to the lava trail, which is over 70kms in length, but the most recent eruption had taken place in about 750CE and is even mentioned in The Secret History of the Mongols, as being the reason that the ancestors of Genghis Khan had left this region and moved further south onto the Mongolian Steppes.

To get to the valley is not easy. The first part of our journey was over 400kms by road to Mondy, a small Buryat town on the Mongolian border.

From here we turned off the main road for another

150kms down a track to the small town of Orlik, following the course of the Irkout River. En route we caught our first glimpse of Munkhu Sardyk, which at 3491m is the highest mountain in the region. After a night in huts, we set off in a 10-tonne Zil truck for the remaining 63kms to Khoyto-Gol, a camp based around some remarkable thermal springs, which are sacred to the local Soyot people. Despite the comparatively short distance, this was a nine-hour marathon across very rough terrain, including a substantial bog where we had to use winches to pull our truck out of the deep mud.

Finally, late at night, we reached Khoyto-Gol, where our Soyot horsemen were waiting for us.

The Soyots are a Turkic people, similar to the nearby Tuvans and are mostly shamanists. There are around 3,000 of these people in the Eastern Sayan who live mostly by hunting and cattle farming.

Some of them still keep and ride reindeer.

Our first challenge on leaving camp was the 2420-metre Cherby Pass, which was so steep

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HISTORY es across to explore the valley. Our difficulties became greater as we proceeded forward; in some places, the lava filled the valley up to the perpendicular face of the precipices, which compelled us to take our horses over its broken surface.”

that we had to lead our horses up to the treeless tops, from where we could see the snow lying in sheltered gullies. Summer is very short here and all around wild flowers were in bloom, making the most of the warmer temperatures. From here we travelled down the other side, past Lake Kelead Zaram and on towards the Jombolok Volcano Field.

Before long, we got our first sight of the valley, with the distinctive upturned-bowl shape of the Peretolchin Volcano. Named after a Russian geologist who disappeared in the valley in 1914, the cone is beautifully proportioned and sits alongside the less clearly defined Atkinson Volcano, thus named by Russian geologists in 2011. They decided to give the name to Atkinson “to restore historical fairness”, according to their scientific paper on the valley. Thomas Atkinson was certainly the first outsider to visit the valley and so it is only just.

This is how Atkinson described the approach to the valley in his book, Oriental and Western Siberia: “About noon on the second day we reached a point where another deep and narrow valley joined the Djem-a-louk from the south; and in this there was also a bed of lava evidently produced by the same eruption, which was so rugged, and intersected by such deep fissures, that it was impossible to take our hors-

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Soon he had reached the Jombolok Volcano Field itself: “On the afternoon of the second day, we beheld the top of a huge cone, and, as the sun was setting, stood on its summit looking upon the terrific scene around. I at once began sketching a view of this wonderful region, and gave orders to a Cossack to have a fire and preparations made for our night’s encampment. Large trees were growing on the sides of the cone, wood was close at hand, and water could be got at no great distance.”

Three kilometres across the valley from Peretolchin lies another volcano cone called Kropotkin named after the famous Russian anarchist, Prince Peter Kropotkin. Many people know about his writings on anarchy, but less known is his work as a geologist in the service of the Russian Tsars.

Kropotkin, when stationed in Irkutsk, read one of Thomas Atkinson’s articles about his visit to the Jombolok Volcano Field and in 1865 decided himself to make the journey, partly in search of a huge waterfall that was rumoured to exist.

Having reached the valley and set up our camp, our next task was to find somewhere to mount a plaque recording Thomas Atkinson’s initial visit and the visit by his descendants almost 170 years later to the same spot. We found a rock outcrop at the base of the Atkinson Volcano and bolted to it the plaque we had brought with us, engraved in both Russian and English. We held a moving ceremony to mark this wonderful moment.

We spent some time exploring the valley, most of which is covered in a huge lava field in which myriads of wonderful flowers flourish during the summer. Then several of us rode on again in search of the Kara Noor Lake. The lake, formed as a result of the original volcanic eruption, is the subject of one of Thomas Atkinson’s paintings. The 25km journey there was very tough, with the horses struggling through bogs, rivers and forests. But after more than six hours hard riding we made it to the lake, arriving at exactly the place that the Atkinsons made their camp in 1851. Our Soyot guide, Rinchin, assured us that no other outsiders had visited this place, probably since the Atkinson’s visit all those years ago.

From the nearby river that ran into the lake we were quickly able to catch half-a-dozen grayling for dinner and to reflect on the beauty of this isolated spot.

All too quickly it was time to return from this remarkable valley. We packed up our camp and made our horses ready for the journey, back over the Cherby Pass to Khoyto-Gol. We left with strong memories of this extraordinary place, a valley unlike anywhere else in Siberia. During our journey we met no other travellers except for a couple of Soyot hunters and their dogs. The Jombolok Volcano Field remains almost an isolated today as it was during the time of the Atkinsons.

On our way out, as we once again crossed the bog where we had had to use winches, we had a remarkable meeting with a Russian geographer who was also on his way to Jombolok. Vladimir Chernikov and his companion, Sergei Izupov, had cycled all the way from Krasnoyarsk in central Siberia in order to lay a plaque at the base of the Kropotkin Volcano celebrating the 150th anniversary of the publication of Peter Kropotkin’s paper on his visit to the valley.

No-one who took part in this expedition will ever forget it. And now that a plaque has been placed there, travellers to this remote spot will be reminded of the role played by an English couple in bringing it to the attention of the world.

Nick Fielding August 2017

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POLICY CSTO is, thus, a modern security organisation, fully in line with the post-Cold War geopolitical reality. So, it is based not on the ideological unity, but on the time-proven Westphalian principles of international relations, set in the UN Charter. Those are, first of all, sovereign equality, independence, territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs. It means that it is a joint enterprise driven by national interests, defined by each member-state and collectively.

In that regard the CSTO is contrasted by the present state of NATO, a security alliance, created at the time of Cold War to be a military tool of the ideological confrontation. That reality is gone, and the ideology that underpinned that security paradigm is no longer relevant. The dissolution of the Warsaw Treaty Organisation was the right response to the radical change of geopolitical coordinates. Unfortunately, the NATO was preserved as an old alliance, which is at the core of its problems ever since.

COLLECTIVE SECURITY IN EURASIA: MANAGING DIVERSITY AND MULTIPLE THREATS 25 years ago several independent states, formerly Republics of the Soviet Union, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Belorussia, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, signed the Collective Security Treaty. 10 years later they established the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). Even this chronology shows that it was not an easy process. It took time for the member-states to assess their own security interests and requirements, as well as the overall security picture in the region they share.

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lots of opportunities for cooperation in Afghanistan have been missed. The CSTO has been net-working on security matters with such organisations as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), doing its bit in harmonisation of integration processes in Greater Eurasia.

It is worth noting that primary security concerns of the member states are in the area which was the site of the famous Great Game of the 19th century.

The present security cooperation, rooted in contemporary reality, is a direct opposite of that great power game. Now it is by the regional states for the regional states.

The CSTO has achieved tangible progress and brought quite a few positive outcomes with their impact felt beyond the region. It is working primarily to ensure stability in its area of responsibility by way of addressing transnational threats, such as terrorism, organised crime, drug trafficking, illegal migration. The member-state established the ColThe search for a new raison d’etre gave birth to lective Peacekeeping Force to help tackle those the idea of a global NATO, then brought the al- threats. liance back to its Cold War mission of territorial defence. The greatest damage to European secu- A high level of trust and mutual understanding has rity was done by its expansion towards Russia’s been achieved among the CSTO partners as a reborders. The resulting confrontational dynamics sult of gradual integration, including regular joint explains a paradox when the very membership in exercises, daily contacts of our border services, asNATO becomes a source of insecurity. Now we sistance in training of personnel, supply of special have to deal with the consequences of the Euro- equipment and weapons. A complex approach to pean Union’s foray into zero-sum geopolitics as a security allowed us to strengthen external borders.

NATO proxy in Ukraine.

Our key priority remains finding negotiated regional solutions to crises and conflicts in our neighbourThat is why starting from scratch was a huge hood, especially in Afghanistan. The expansion of advantage for the CSTO. Nobody rushed things the “Islamic State” to Afghanistan, which brings through. Nobody sought to dominate partners the terrorist threat emanating from that country or push forward some hidden agendas. Instead, to a new, higher level, requires a coordinated remember-states were dealing with real problems sponse on the part of all regional and international as they arose in real life. It is a light flexible alliance players and their organisations. The CSTO is open unlike cumbersome highly bureaucratised entan- to such cooperation. It includes NATO whenever gling alliances of the past established to fight the alliance is ready for that. wars. The lack of ideological bias helps to cooperate with other organisations in Eurasia. For us it was not a problem engaging with NATO, especially when the alliance led the international military Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the presence in Afghanistan. Although NATO wouldn’t United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern even engage in a dialogue with the CSTO for the Ireland Alexander Yakovenko’s article twisted logic of not willing to “legitimise” it. So,

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CULTURE ed a craze of young people playing the guitar. You could hear people practising in all the courtyards.

Desks in the high school were inscribed with graffiti in English, things like ‘I Love Beatles.’ I tried to imitate them in my clothing, in everything. I began to grow long hair. My headmaster chastised me for it.

“In 1975, my friend and I created an English language group, singing Beatles, Rolling Stones and Slade covers. On TV and in the media at the time, there was no information about Western pop music. We listened to Voice of America and the BBC, recorded them on tape and passed them on. I painted a portrait of John Lennon and Paul McCartney and hung it in my room. My father would say to his friends as a joke, ‘this room belongs to our relative who lives in the city of Liverpool in distant England.’”

I asked Gabit how the regime had reacted to this Western phenomena being embraced so wholeheartedly.

Back in the USSR: The Spirit of Beatlemania in Kazakhstan The site of a Silk Road oasis laid waste by the Mongols, the modern history of Almaty began with the construction of a Russian piedmont fort in 1854, around which a minor provincial centre grew. Upon hearing that Trotsky had been exiled to Alma-Ata in 1928, one of his enemies quipped that ‘even if he dies there, we won’t hear of it soon.’

Married to the outside world by the arrival of the Turkestan-Siberia Railway in 1930, the advent of World War II saw Nazi-threatened factories and their workforces relocated from the Eastern Bloc.

At the same time, an influx of forcibly resettled Koreans arrived from Russia’s Far-East, the population of the city increasing tenfold within thirty years.

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Nowadays, despite being replaced by Astana as the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997, Almaty remains Central Asia’s most cosmopolitan city, vibrant and oil-rich. In shady Panfilov Park, the Ascension Cathedral glows in shades of yellow beneath candy chequered domes and golden turrets. To the south, where Almaty rises towards the Tien Shan Mountains, a clutch of hulking monuments celebrate the nationhood which the Central Asian state has enjoyed since the fall of the Soviet Union.

At the western end of this main drag, a cable car ascends the 1,100-meter Kok-Tobe (Green Hill) above the city, a welcome respite from the sweltering summer heat where a cast bronze of the Beatles takes pride of place. Erected in 1997, it once claimed to be the only statue in the world

of the ‘fab four’ together. Kissing their metallic likenesses, laughing babushkas hung from their necks. It all felt a bit incongruous until I spoke to Gabit Sagatov.

“The spirit of Beatlemania is huge in Almaty,” he told me, “so it’s natural that the first monument to the Beatles to be built in the CIS should be here.”

Gabit Sagatov grew up in Kyzylorda, a sleepy provincial capital in the Kyzyl-Kum Desert.

“Ever since I was a child, I loved singing,” he said.

“I sang the songs of Kazakh artists and songs from popular Soviet movies. In 1974, I heard the Beatles for the first time. I was shocked; it changed my musical perception dramatically. Their music start-

“We didn’t feel much pressure,” he said. “Komsomol members (the Leninist Youth Communist League) were Beatles fans themselves. Hundreds of thousands of boys and girls and later millions of people in the USSR succumbed to Beatlemania.

The authorities couldn’t ignore the stupendous amount of interest. LPs with Beatles songs like ‘Octopus’s garden’ and ‘Come together’ began to appear in stores, though it wasn’t written on them that they were Beatles songs. I still have those records.”

Sagatov’s brush with fame arrived in 1993, courtesy of the BBC documentary series Holidays in the Danger Zone, for which his band the Kazakh Beatles were invited to play at the renowned Cavern Club, where his heroes’ careers had begun.

“We did two gigs at the Beatle Week Festival in Liverpool. I’ve played in London and Washington,” he told me. “I have a photo of me crossing Abbey Road.”

By Stephen M. Bland

BUSINESS

The First UK Trade Mission to Kyrgyzstan

CATBIG was pleased to organise and manage the first UK trade mission to visit Kyrgyzstan, from 27th February to 1st March 2017. This was made possible by the decision in 2012 to open a British Embassy with a Resident Ambassador, and then with the addition of a Prosperity Officer (Ahmet Shamiev) in 2015 the resource became available to host and plan a trade mission. The British Ambassador, Robin Ord-Smith MVO, was very supportive of the idea, having also hosted the first British Trade Mission to Tajikistan back in 2013.

The mission was led by Nigel Peters, Director of British Expertise International, and comprised 15 companies in the target sectors of education & training, infrastructure, consultancy and tourism.

The delegation met the Minister for Economy, Mr Arzybek Kojoshev, the Head of the Investment and Export Promotion Agency, Mr Alymbek Orozbekov with other Government officials, and representatives of the private sector including Mr Askar Sydykov, Executive Director of the International Business Council.

The mission members all spoke at a business seminar and afterwards had a busy programme of meetings. The programme finished with a round table discussion with all the development organisations working in Kyrgyzstan, chaired by the UK Department for International Development Head of Central Asia, Peter Fernandes Cardy.

A number of good business opportunities were identified, and all the mission members agreed it was a very worthwhile mission, which we hope will be repeated in 2018.

by Nigel Peters

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EVENTS

ASTANA ECONOMIC FORUM – 2017 The Astana Economic Forum (AEF) is an annual event that gathers prominent politicians, businessmen and economists to discuss challenges of the global economy. In 2017 the AEF discussions focused on issues in the following three areas: Sustainable Economic Growth, World Trade and Infrastructure, Innovations and Green Economy.

The discussions on Sustainable Economic Growth culminated in the following recommendations: • It is necessary to ensure macroeconomic stability through balanced fiscal policy and flexible monetary policy; • To develop new measures of national wealth and welfare. The traditional GDP measure creates a false picture of economic prosperity; • To develop small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that aim innovations and participation in global processes; • To introduce international settlement and payment unit, which will be backed by specific real assets.

Discussions on innovations and “green economy” resulted in the following recommendations: • It is necessary to address barriers that prevent development of digital technologies; • To stimulate Smart City practices and technologies; • To expand collaboration in research and development, including access to experimental research results; • To establish World Council on Green Energy under the auspices of the United Nations and Global Electronic Portal on Green Economy in order to pool efforts and coordinate national, sectoral programs.

Participants of discussions on World Trade and Infrastructure developed the following recommendations: • To develop a mechanism for a new coordinated economic development policy in the framework of new globalization and de-globalization processes; • To build a common infrastructure that can help reduce cross-border costs and increase trade turnover; • To consider the possibility of building the “Lianyungang Port - Khorgos and Dostyk - Aktau Port - Eurasia Channel - Azov-Black Sea Basin” multimodal channel, which will increase the share of cheap water transport in Eurasian transit; • To consider innovative approaches to address issues of information security of world trade.

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PEOPLE A premiere of Manon ballet, choreographed by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, was held at the Astana Opera in April 2017. This choreographic masterpiece of the 20th century is based on the novel “Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut” by Abbé Prévost, set to music by Jules Massenet.

Every ballet theatre wants to stage this ballet, but it was virtually impossible for a young Kazakh theatre to qualify for it. Only respect and trust for Altynai Asylmuratova, one of the best worldwide renowned ballet dancers, who is now artistic director of Astana Opera, allowed the ballet to be brought to the capital of Kazakhstan in its fullest author’s version. Altynai Asylmuratova, People’s Artist of Russia, the Mariinsky Theatre soloist and prima ballerina of the Royal Ballet (1989-1993) successfully danced Manon with consent of the ballet’s author. This is one of the reasons why Deborah MacMillan, widow of the choreographer, agreed to support such an audacious project.

OCA: Altynai, what criteria do you use when you choose a ballet for the Astana Opera and why did you prefer Sir MacMillan, rather than Sir Ashton or Robbins?

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Altynai Asylmuratova: It is very likely that in the future we will see performances of Frederick Ashton or Jerome Robbins at the Astana Opera… As for the list of productions, Astana Opera is a great theatre conforming to the latest global requirements, including stage size, working conditions, technical equipment and many other criteria. This is why it is like a precious casket, which I want to fill with the treasure of ballet art. For the tercentenary history of choreography, Russian and foreign choreographers created great performances that constitute a “gold fund” of world ballet. I believe these are the performances that must become pearls sparkling in the necklace of Astana Opera.

We started from La Bayadère (music of Ludwig Minkus, choreographed by Marius Petipa), a masterpiece of Russian ballet. Then we had Notre-Dame de Paris choreographed by Roland Petit.

It was chosen because our ballet company was equal to it, and the performance itself was new for Kazakhstan in all aspects. A bit later we held a premiere of Don Quixote (music of Ludwig Minkus, choreographed by Marius Petipa, staged by Alexander Gorsky), another jewellery of Russian heritage classics. The next step is Manon ballet by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, a distinguished British choreographer, who created modern choreographic masterpieces. Manon, as I see it, is one of the best and most difficult of his ballets.

OCA: But there is also Romeo and Juliet choreographed by MacMillan, the plotline of which is more familiar to our audience…

AA: I believe that his version of Romeo and Juliet, created just after the tour of the Bolshoi Theatre in London in the 50s, is one of the best… But if Romeo and Juliet was choreographed with greater or smaller success, Manon in this regard is a unique performance existing only in the author’s version. At that, the performance succeeded not only in terms of choreography, but also in terms of music. Sir MacMillan selected new pieces of music by Jules Massenet for the ballet, which had never been played in the opera of the same name.

After all, this performance is still very common to the audience. These are just a few arguments in favour of Manon.

OCA: You danced the role of Manon at the Covent Garden Theatre, when Sir Kenneth MacMillan was the chief choreographer of the Royal Ballet. Could you appear on the Western stage?

AA: Thanks to Natalia Makarova, Mikhail Baryshnikov and perestroika. The thing is that Farukh Ruzimatov and I were the first Soviet ballet dancers, who went abroad without any sort of official escort. Before this, only so called defectors could perform abroad, and it was prohibited even to commemorate them at home. According to unspoken instructions from those in uniform, in case of a casual encounter with such a ballet defector, one should have crossed the street! Then the “Iron Curtain” falls and yesterday’s public enemies sud-

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PEOPLE graphic material to the performing dancer. They are responsible for making sure that there is no detail left to chance. This is how we worked on Manon. Whereas I was in a special condition, alone in a foreign country, without knowing the language, it was different in the context of choreographic training. Naturally enough, the main task for me then was not to fail, quickly assimilate and not to miss anything important. And Sir MacMillan came every now and then to see how the work was going in terms of “yes-no” or “correct-incorrect”.

But then Sir MacMillan congratulated me after the performance for the premiere and said a lot of complements. And very recently, here in Astana, Lady Deborah MacMillan, the wife of the choreographer, told me that he emphasised me and liked the way I danced.

OCA: Many distinguished ballet dancers like the role of Manon for the possibility to gain approval not only for their technique, but also their acting skills. How well did the young ballet dancers from Astana Opera personify the character?

AA: The performance was staged within the shortest possible period of time. British choreographers were involved in the work, and they tried to explain to the dancers the history of the creation of the ballet, as well as the nuances of performance. For their part, our ballerinas did their best, but it is a little too soon to speak about full personification of the role of Manon. For me it is still a skeleton, which in the course of time should adopt more bright features. Today we have laid the basis for further work on this role, and I am certain that time and experience will add new colours to choreographic interpretation of the role of Manon by our dancers. denly become heroes… Even though ballet dancers managed to furtively communicate in spite of everything, still nobody was ready for such a flying transformation. This is why, even standing on one stage with yesterday’s dissidents, and legally working with them, seemed absolutely incredible and even funny… In 1987, at the invitation of an ABT production of Mikhail Baryshnikov we danced La Bayadère in the US, choreographed by Natalia

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Makarova, and later I was offered a personal permanent guest contract with the Covent Garden Theatre.

OCA: What was it like working with Sir Kenneth MacMillan?

AA: For one thing, each choreographer has people directly responsible for the transfer of choreo-

OCA: How did you work on the role of Manon at the Covent Garden Theatre?

AA: Natalia Makarova, for whom Manon was one of the most favourite characters, really wanted me to dance this role. Of course I read the book, thoroughly examined the scenario, generally did everything as was right and proper in such cases.

However Natalia Makarova gave me some rath-

er unexpected advice: “Speak French at home…

Every language assumes its own special culture of movements, and even the pronunciation of French words will add plastic nuances to the role of Manon.” This really helped me.

OCA: Today you are artistic director of the Astana Opera, head of the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography, choreographer and ballet mistress… Which role do you prefer?

AA: I like most to work with artists in a rehearsal room. I just forget about time there… I am a practitioner: papers and reports are not my thing.

However artistic leadership is vitally important for me: it gives absolutely different opportunities. I can fill up the list of productions, invite interesting choreographers, and help young talented people.

The theatre is in the process of development, and this requires a coordinated work of not only ballet, but of all the people involved in its development.

It is a living affair that requires total dedication, discipline and a professional attitude. It is essential for me that ballet dancers are not just performers, but are also passionate about their work as members of special choreographic culture.

OCA: What are your future ballet plans?

AA:I have a lot of plans and wishes… I want to surprise the audience with something new, like doing the choreography of Jiří Kylián, but his dance technique requires special training. We will work on this as well. I think our repertoire could be refreshed with some romantic ballet too. Robbins has interesting performances as well. I prefer time-proven performances that are popular among the audience though. We will combine the classic and modern. At that, I believe that even the most audacious choreographic findings must be justified by content.

Moreover, ballet must include a sense and aesthetics, since everyone can see the beauty.

by Adam Kapanov

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SOCIETY OCA: Why did you decide to found AidEx? Nicholas Rutherford: Having seen the proliferation of defence fairs, corporate and capitalist events that do little to help developing countries, I felt there should be an alternative – an appropriate event of equal high-standing that could champion peace, be a forum for discussion amongst the world’s aid workers and a suitable market place for products and supplies needed by the A&D agencies working for a better world.

OCA: When is next AidEx event going to take place?

NR: AidEx Nairobi will take place on 13-14 September. It will bring together 500 high-level professionals from the government alongside local and major international NGOs and the UN and Red Cross.

Following this, AidEx Brussels will take place on 15-16 November at Brussels Expo. This event brings together over 2,000 aid and development professionals with 200 suppliers of innovative products and services in the largest event of its kind in the world. The overarching conference theme for both events is Aid and Development Effectiveness: Results Through Transparency and Accountability. This year we are introducing a new conference stream specialising in international development and speakers in both conferences will come from government, NGOs and the commercial sector.

AIDEX: COMING TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE MORE OPEN CENTRAL ASIA INTERVIEWS NICHOLAS RUTHERFORD, FOUNDER OF AIDEX

For this quarterly edition OCA met Nicholas Rutherford, the founder and event director of AidEx – the world’s leading platform in aid and development sector. It comprises a conference, exhibition and networking opportunities with high-profile aid and development professionals from around the world. Today, AidEx is the must-attend event for experts in the sector and is a unique forum that bridges the gap between civil society and the commercial sector.

Nicholas kindly agreed to answer the magazine’s questions about his effort to make a difference in this world.

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OCA: Please describe your latest AidEx event and its most important highlights?

NR: AidEx Dhaka successfully launched in July 2017 under the theme Bangladesh: A Champion in Development, to celebrate how far the country has advanced and most importantly what needs to be done if it is to continue progressing.

A major highlight included a fantastic keynote speech delivered by the executive director of the world’s largest NGO; BRAC’s Dr. Muhammad Musa who explored Bangladesh’s development journey since the seventies.

OCA: What products, services and goods can be presented at AidEx? NR: The AidEx exhibition floor is split into show zones to showcase the latest products, services and innovations. The Logistics and Communications Zone includes the latest in communication technology as well as some of the world’s leading experts in freight-forwarding, and a number of businesses that specialise in new practices, administrative methodology and the transportation of goods within the developing world. In the AidEx Medical Zone, exhibitors will display a wide range of products concerned with medical evacuation, inoculation and disease prevention, as well as eye care and other field-related equipment and procedures. The Shelter Zone at AidEx is an opportunity to see cutting-edge products alongside more traditional tents and shelters. A number of new sanitation products, alongside a comprehensive range of water and solutions, are being exhibited in the W.A.S.H. Zone. The Energy Village features the latest in energy and solar solutions and new for 2017, International Development at AidEx will bring together consultancies, development banks and construction companies. The Agora Zone is at the heart of the exhibition, and features a mix of all kinds of products, many vehicles and vehicle modifications are on display as well as relevant A&D services, country Pavilions and a number of UN Agencies and NGOs. OCA: What are the main challenges when it comes to bringing the NGOs together with private businesses?

NR: This is not a typical business to business scenario. Aid agencies have to be very careful selecting their commercial partners and suppliers. Orders are often large and necessitate that companies have the capacity to meet a particular need. Suppliers need to understand the different purchase procedures, timelines and protocol within the sector. At AidEx in Brussels, UN Global Marketplace exhibit specifically to explain these differences and sign-up suitable suppliers who can then be given UN approval to work with multi different UN agencies.

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SOCIETY OCA: What are AidEx ambitions for the long-term future?

NR: AidEx is striving to become a thought-leader in the aid and development sector. It aims to be at the very heart of the aid and development community, supporting A&D professionals and offering them a platform to engage with each other and find solutions to global problems. Since launching AidEx in Brussels, our strategy has been to engage with aid professionals in locations all over the world where aid agencies are at work.

The addition of our satellite events in Nairobi and Dhaka helps us to better connect with professionals locally, to connect north with south and to provide a platform for experts who are at the cutting-edge of their region and who offer a more accurate view of what is truly happening.

OCA: The world is evolving and so are different security threats. What do you think are the most important challenges facing developing countries?

NR: Developing in line with the needs of the very people who live there – sustainable models of development which includes facilitation and holistic methods of working. Data collection is fundamental to providing the accurate amount of resources.

The biggest but perhaps most important challenge ahead is building trust in the sector which has been tainted by corruption and disproportionately negative media narratives. The key to achieving this is transparency – getting every single government and other participatory aid and development agency around the world to open access to their data and information. This is why transparency is our theme for AidEx 2017.

OCA: How can Central Asian NGOs and businesses participate in AidEx? NR: AidEx is free to attend for NGOs and they can register for our events at our official webpage. For businesses interested in booking a stand, please contact myself at nicholas.rutherford@montex. co.uk.

Interviewed by Zaynab M. Dost

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SPORT Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games come to Turkmenistan A recent addition to the international multi-sport games circuit is the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) which hosted its 5th edition in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in September. 5500 athletes from 64 countries, including for the first time athletes from 19 countries in Oceania plus uniquely an African refugee team, descended upon the Turkmen capital to contest 21 different sports.

The bidding for, preparation and hosting of AIMAG formed part of a Turkmen government initiative led

by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. This initiative aimed to expand sporting opportunities and inspire excellence within the nation, particularly amongst the youth. Aside from the Games providing genuine inspiration for increased sports participation with all its inherent health and social benefits, the awarding of AIMAG also presented Turkmenistan an opportunity to present its rich culture and hospitality to the world.

AIMAG – Combat Disciplines to the fore AIMAG is unique amongst multi-sports events in its constituent sports. Whilst offering a selection of familiar Olympic disciplines such as cycling, swimming, equestrian and weightlifting, there is a very strong bias as the name suggests, towards combat sports. Asian countries have performed exceptionally well in combat sports on the world stage but have enjoyed fewer opportunities to showcase their range of prowess at Olympic level where these are limited to just boxing, wrestling, judo and, more recently, taekwondo.

TURKMENISTAN – AN EMERGING FORCE IN SPORT Multi-sport games such as the Olympics are familiar to us all. Every four years the eyes of the world focus towards a major city such as London, Rio or Beijing as the finest athletes on the planet pit their skills in a media-frenzied cauldron of sporting excellence. Such formats are not unique to the Olympic movement of course. We in the UK have been enjoying the Commonwealth Games since 1930 and pan-continental games are well-established around the world.

From September 17th – 27th,Turkmenistan played host for the very first time to one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious games, one which eschewed a heavy slant towards the indigenous wrestling styles of Central Asia.

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Ashgabat 2017 boasted no less than nine different combat disciplines. Many of the world’s best practitioners of kurash, sambo, sport ju-jitsu, kickboxing, muaythai, taekwondo, olympic wrestling (freestyle and greco-roman), belt wrestling and traditional wrestling entered the mat or ring to contest in excess of 200 sets of medals.

Some of these disciplines may be little known to the average UK citizen but, to summarise, they may be categorised into the purely striking (punching and kicking) activities of kickboxing, muaythai and taekwondo and the grappling sports of kurash, sambo and the other wrestling disciplines.

Straddling the middle is sport ju-jitsu, a hybrid of limited touch-type striking and grappling which originated in Japan. Also leaning more towards centre ground now is sambo which developed in Russia during the Soviet Union era. Sambo is a synthesis of the wrestling and self-defence methods of the constituent republics combined with Japanese judo. Sambo is better known as a purely grappling style, but now offers two separate disciplines, sambo wrestling and combat sambo.

Combat sambo contains all the techniques of its wrestling parent plus the addition of full-blooded kicks and punches to the head and body.

Kurash – a global sport Whilst the striking combat disciplines at AIMAG have their roots in southern and eastern Asia, sambo contains a wealth of techniques derived from Central Asia’s indigenous wrestling styles, in particular Kurash from Uzbekistan.

Kurash, although providing a major contribution to sambo, was able to retain its own identity through the Soviet era, surviving through its traditional appearance at Uzbek weddings and festivals. Since Uzbekistan’s independence in 1991, kurash blossomed into an international sport in its own right.There are now over 100 national federations spread across every continent and kurash was the only grappling sport included in the previous edition of AIMAG held in South Korea.

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SPORT For UK readers, it is worth noting that while Uzbekistan and Central Asia remain at the epicentre of kurash in terms of quantity and quality of participants, the British Kurash Association was a founder member of the International Kurash Association in 1998. Since then, the BKA has successfully organised nine Islam Karimov International Tournaments plus the World Junior and Cadet Championships at Harewood College, Bournemouth in 2012.

To the uninitiated, kurash appears similar to judo minus the ground fighting. Contestants take hold of each other’s jacket and attempt to throw the opponent onto their back. Kurash allows a very wide choice of gripping options using the jacket, sleeves and belt leading to total emphasis on clean, spectacular and dynamic throws.

Even in the non-combat sports, where most pre-event favourites came from the other competing nations, Turkmenistan demonstrated their ascendancy by taking a healthy sprinkling of medals to add to the combat haul.

In all three of these traditional forms, to achieve absolute victory a wrestler must pin both his opponent’s shoulders to the floor. A point is also awarded for taking the opponent to the ground from a standing position or forcing them out of the competition area.

Olympic success beckons

In AIMAG the three traditional styles featured were Turkmen classic and freestyle “Goresh” (which, like kurash, can also still be seen in its original form at festivals and weddings), Kazakh Kuresi and Pahlavani.

Traditional wrestling styles unite

Turkmenistan win 89 gold medals!

Whilst kurash exists with an independent, International Olympic Committee recognised international governing body, many other wrestling styles with more localised followings now exist under the umbrella of United World Wrestling. UWW (formerly FILA) is the IOC recognised governing body for the Olympic wrestling styles of freestyle and greco-roman. UWW has broadened in recent years to encompass many of the traditional belt, backhold and uniform-gripping variations found around the globe.

AIMAG proved to be a huge success for the hosts. A spectacular and colourful opening ceremony, as good if not better than any previous Olympic ceremony, paved the way for two weeks of unprecedented medal success and national celebration for Turkmenistan.

Belt wrestling

Turkmen martial artists lead the way

UWW has established a common rule set for belt wrestling thus providing a shared platform for the numerous Asian belt wrestling variants to compete under a common ruleset. Interest has extended beyond Asia into Europe and the USA in the last 10 years as belt wrestling, at which Turkmenistan are the world’s leading nation, increases in popularity around the world.

It was the martial arts where the vast majority of the home medals were won. As expected, Turkmenistan reigned supreme in traditional wrestling (23 gold medals from a possible 25) and belt wrestling (39 golds from a possible 48). Founder nations Uzbekistan (9 golds from 15) and Thailand (7 golds from 14) dominated kurash and muaythai respectively. However, Iran upset the established order in taekwondo with 7 golds compared to Korea’s 4.

Belt wrestlers maintain a grip on the opponent’s cloth belt in an effort to bring their opponent to the ground.

Bouts consist of a set of usually short and explosive rounds making for spectacular throws.

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loosely splits into three forms. Fixed belt is where wrestlers maintain a belt grip throughout, free belt allows the wrestler the option to grip the belt or not according to choice and finally no-belt where wrestlers compete beltless.

The home country won no less than 245 medals including 89 golds! Traditional sporting superpower China (97 medals, 42 golds) finished way behind in second place in the medals table.

Traditional wrestling

Iran were also impressive winners in kickboxing too as well as dominating in olympic wrestling where they have consistently been in the top two or three world nations for many years.

Traditional wrestling is a general term covering virtually every other global style under the sun. International traditional wrestling under the auspices of UWW

Turkmenistan’s other martial arts successes saw them head the medal table in sambo and sport ju-jitsu as well as place second in kickboxing and kurash.

In his closing address, Olympic Council of Asia President HE Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah congratulated President Berdimuhamedov and the Turkmen people for hosting “the best ever Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games”, promising to return to Ashgabat for future multinational sports competitions.

Thus AIMAG proved Turkmenistan possesses the ability and infrastructure to organise events on a global scale. Hosting the Asian Games is now a realistic possibility and, longer term, maybe the Olympics. By successfully staging these large-scale international meetings, Turkmenistan’s global profile will continue to rise thus leading to increased economic and social benefits for the nation.

Ashgabat 2017, produced Turkmenistan’s finest fortnight of sport and proof that they are a rising force ahead of Tokyo 2020. It is surely just a matter of time before Turkmenistan achieves its first Olympic champion!

By Paul Sawyer is former British champion and international competitor in kurash, sambo and judo and is currently General Secretary of the British Kurash Association For a detailed results and photographs check out the official Games website www.ashgabat2017.gov.tm

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EURASIA key secured the south-eastern flank of the free world, joining NATO as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” and a bulwark against the Bolshevism of the USSR. Whether in trade, security co-operation, on addressing the Syrian and refugee crises, the Cyprus issue and relations between NATO, Russia and post-Soviet Asia, Turkey remains a critical ally for Britain today in numerous areas. This August for example saw British Minister for Europe and the Americas, Alan Duncan make his fifth official visit to Turkey since the July 2016 failed coup attempt. Averaging at almost one every 3 months, Mr Duncan’s recent trips show just how crucial the partnership between our two countries is.

If the fact that Turkey was the second and final stop following the US on a diplomatic tour by Prime Minister Theresa May last January didn’t confirm this already, the importance of this friendship is truly hammered home by William Hague’s comments in March last year that Ankara was the allied capital he called the most as Foreign Secretary after Washington.

BRITAIN AND TURKEY: A STRONG, ENDURING PARTNERSHIP The Anglo-Turkish relationship is an old one with many milestones. Turkey’s predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, opened its first London embassy in 1793 and made a trade agreement with Britain as early as 1838. Less than two decades on, both countries found themselves on the same side,

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allying against Russia during the Crimean War of the 1850s. At this time, Turkey’s role was of paramount importance to Britain as a barrier to Tsarist expansion in the Mediterranean. After a century, this role evolved as the Turkish Republic signed the Washington Treaty in 1952. In doing so, Tur-

What’s more is that in some ways, our countries have rather lot in common over Europe too. As Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım put it when asked about accession to the European Union earlier this year in a joint press conference with Theresa May, “the ones who enter are pişman (regretful) the ones who don’t enter are pişman”. He effectively summarised certain problems with the EU that both countries share. While neither Britain nor Turkey are entirely happy about the cession of sovereignty to an international body that comes with full membership of the bloc, they both understand the importance of open and frictionless trade with it whether through accessing the Single Market or Customs Union respectively.

rather than bad tenants”. In effect, this could well be in the interests of all sides. Britain, Turkey and the EU trading, co-operating closely in numerous sectors as three distinct entities and benefiting as a result, would fulfil another key principle of trade, that—quoting Mr Hannan fully this time—“prosperous neighbours make the best customers.”

Bilaterally, London and Ankara are on the right track. During her January visit Mrs May announced a multi-million pound agreement that British and Turkish aerospace companies would collaborate on building the next generation of Turkish fighter jets. Her counterpart Mr Yıldırım also declared that the two would make a free trade deal after Brexit, in keeping with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s comments last year that he was hoping for a “jumbo” trade agreement with Ankara.

UK-Turkey trade, already at an impressive volume of £13.22 bn last year, is also forecasted to grow after Britain leaves the EU. Businesspeople are getting ready to seize upon these new opportunities as the Turkish-British Chamber of Commerce and Industry prepares to hold its annual UK-Turkey Business Forum in Istanbul this month with Turkish Government endorsement.

With such strong foundations, similar outlooks and mutual interests, the UK-Turkey partnership is going strong, and looks set to go even further.

While Turkey at present still pursues accession despite several spats with EU member states in the not too distant past, it may be that a similar partnership to the one Britain is pursuing may ultimately be a preferable outcome. Indeed, paraphrasing the Conservative MEP and prominent Brexit campaigner Daniel Hannan, both countries, may be better off as the EU’s “good neighbours

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VIEW

China’s gargantuan Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road initiative, ‘One Belt, One Road’ for short, promises much.

President Xi Jinping has hailed its proposed super-grid of rail track, oil and gas pipelines, superhighways and shipping facilities as this century’s economic game-changer, a project that will bring about ‘a new type of industrialization’ and ‘promote the common development of all countries.’

But some have their doubts. As Beijing has a track record when it comes to ‘Silk Roads’, we would do well to consider History,.

One Road?

Since the term ‘Silk Road’ was coined in the nineteenth century, commentators have enthusiastically inked this ‘ancient highway’ onto their historical maps, none more so than the Chinese government. The image of a thin black line snaking its way across Asia, camel caravans laden with silk, suits Chinese purposes well, and visitors to Xi’an (China’s ancient capital) are constantly reminded it was the very ‘beginning’ of the Silk Road, the all-powerful terminus. The tourism bureau has even built an over-sized camel caravan statue to ‘mark the spot’.

One Belt, One Road: One Myth?

Yet, antiquity’s most successful economic network was never a single road, rather a complex spider-web of smaller, interconnected trading routes, ‘Silk Roads’ in other words, strung out across Eurasia. Nor were they designed to serve Chinese markets, or European for that matter, rather tracks evolved around their Central Asian heart, serving cities like Samarkand, Bukhara, Merv and Balkh, which for much of the first millennium were as rich as if not richer than their Occidental and Oriental counterparts. But make no mistake, all economic ‘roads’ in the current Chinese Communist Party (CCP) plan begin and end in Tiananmen Square.

Perhaps in an attempt to disguise this stark truth, President Xi has now banned all mention of ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR), and has switched to the softer ‘Belt and Road Initiative’.

by Paul Wilson is the author of The Silk Roads guide book (Trailblazer), and The Alphabet Game (Hertfordshire Press). He is an advisor to the UNWTO’s Silk Road Project and regularly speaks at the Open Central Asia Literary Festival.

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http://www.smh.com.au/cqstatic/12z7v7/Silk_road_map_729.jpg

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VIEW

Made in China?

Goods like silk have been coming to Europe from China by land for centuries, but just as the ‘Silk Roads’ were a Central Asian network, trade came through Central Asian (primarily Sogdian) middlemen. European and Chinese merchants making long trans-continental trips, were very, very rare, and before the likes of the Polos unheard of.

Moreover, silk was merely one of a host of different goods. Slaves and horses were just as crucial a commodity, as was glass, paper and jade, with China importing as much as it exported. Thus caravans were as likely to go north and south as east or west, and the network grew to cover great swathes of the Eurasian landmass, peaking in the Mongol period.

Nevertheless, the scale of President Xi’s ‘New Silk Road’ dwarfs all that has gone before. In June 2017 twenty eight heads of state met in Beijing, alongside the chiefs of the IMF, World Bank and UN. In total, sixty five countries are to be involved, with a 4.4 billion total population reach and 30% share of the global economy. Nor is OBOR limited to Asia and Europe, as African cities and Indian

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Smooth as Silk?

Ocean ports also feature heavily. For this reason some critics fear China is seeking global strategic and economic domination, and might even want to make the Renminbi the main trade and investment currency. Experts are also concerned it may leave countries laden with massive debts if projects fail and loans turn sour – not improbable in unstable, high-risk markets such as Pakistan and the Central Asian Republics.

What’s more, Beijing is making sure that this time round all middlemen are Chinese. According to the outgoing president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, these Chinese intermediaries have been allowed to ‘hijack’ OBOR and are using it ‘as an excuse to evade capital controls, smuggling money out of the country by disguising it as international investments and partnerships.’

Of the one trillion dollars promised as investment

by China, analysts question how much actually has been and will be spent in partner countries.

A significant indicator might be that for every five trains full of cargo set to leave Chongqing for Germany each week, only one full train will return.

Beijing claims that OBOR will bring economic stimulus to its poorer western regions, and in the process ease simmering tensions amongst the ethnic minorities that live there. But not everyone agrees. China is one of the world’s ‘Top 5’ Oil and Gas producers, thanks largely to these ‘ethnic-minority’ provinces, and many indigenous leaders claim that as natural resources are unlocked, so the demand for autonomy/independence will increase. Uighurs, Tibetans and Mongolians are still the majority in their own lands, don’t forget, even if it is by ever-decreasing margins. If separatist voices in Xinjiang (East Turkestan), Tibet and Inner Mongolia grow louder, Beijing may find that political problems cannot be solved with economic carrots.

Similarly, not all of China’s neighbours are welcoming OBOR with open arms. Pakistan has had to station 15,000 troops to protect its China Pakistan Economic Corridor, but that is nothing compared to India’s concerns. Relations between the Delhi and Beijing have long been strained, and India views OBOR with deep suspicion – this month

its army chief even warned of the need to prepare for a simultaneous war against China and Pakistan combined. Similarly, Delhi fears the proposed Maritime Silk Road could lead to their ‘encirclement’, with the various port developments becoming ‘dual-use’ facilities for the Chinese navy. As the proposed maritime route will impact on China’s growing claims in the South China Sea, Vietnam, The Philippines and Malaysia are also alarmed.

Eurasia’s ancient trade routes were the product of a symbiotic relationship, a delicate balance between the steppe-nomads and city-dwellers of Central Asia. If historians are arguing that continued promotion of an ancient ‘Silk Road to China’ renders Beijing guilty of cultural obfuscation (if not appropriation), should we be surprised if President Xi’s critics warn ‘One Belt, One Road’ might be better remembered as ‘One Belt, One Trap’?

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EVENTS between people and nations,” says Filip Perkon, the RFW founder and General Producer. “We believe that by creating an international platform for showcasing all Russian themed films we can provide a place for cultural dialogue and mutual understanding. For the second year running, we select the best contemporary films with a Russian theme, whether from Russia or based on Russian literature, events or people, and we showcase these to British audiences all over the UK. On top of screenings, we have carefully curated education, industry and exhibition programmes to provide a full spectre of Russian film culture”.

Russian Film Week: Glimpses Beyond Borders

The second Russian Film Week will be held in London and five other U.K. cities between 19th and 26th November 2017. The programme will include film screenings, including world premieres, exhibitions and charity events. Audiences will have an opportunity to take part in master-classes, attend talks and round-table discussions, receptions and other entertainment events. There will be a Women in Film Day, a Music in Film event, an event dedicated to the centenary of the Russian Revolution, Ecology Day and a big networking event for industry specialists from both countries. RFW will once again host The Golden Unicorn Awards Charity Gala.

The Golden Unicorn Awards form an integral part of Russian Film Week. They were created to celebrate the best achievements of Russian cinematography in promoting the image of Russia abroad and the best achievements of foreign filmmakers in producing films about Russia or set in Russia. The reason for the name stems from our cross-cultural mission: the unicorn is a mythical creature that only appears to the chosen ones and it is found both in Russian and British folklore dating back centuries.

Russian Film Week is a very young festival, launched in the UK in 2016, and it has immediately become the most prominent Russian film event to be held outside Russia and the most successful cross-cultural national film festival in Great Britain.

More than 50 top directors, actors and producers from Russia, UK and Europe attended it and the audience exceeded 4,500 people.

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The RFW is an independent film festival, designed to breach all political, social and cultural barriers and reach out to ordinary people to show the variety and depth of contemporary Russian filmmaking.

“The foundation of Russian Film Week is rooted in our belief that cultural endeavours build bridges

Project to save the Amur tiger in Russia.

The aim is to raise awareness of this issue’s urgency and importance among the political and business elite and media both in Russia and worldwide.

In 2017, which is also the cross–cultural Russian– British Year of Science and Education, RFW holds a special competition for the best Young Filmmakers Short Documentary on the theme of ecology.

This is a joint project with the Synergy University in Russia and there is a special Golden Unicorn– Synergy Award for the winner. The aim is to involve young people in the task of preserving the wildlife and natural environment of our planet and to spur their responsibility for its future.

The winning entries will be shown together with the main RFW programme and also at the RFW Ecology Day, which will feature a photography exhibition dedicated to nature and wildlife preservation and the beauty of the Russian landscape.

There will be a special focus in the WWF photography and documentaries about the Amur tiger.

www.russianfilmweek.org

The festival is a non–profit event, organised with the help of volunteers. Each year RFW supports a different charity and holds a charity auction to collect funds. In our inaugural year, 2016, pronounced the Year of Cinema in Russia, RFW supported Gift of Life UK charitable foundation, established by two renowned Russian actresses to help children with cancer in Russia. In 2017, the Year of Ecology, RFW supports the WWF UK Tiger Conservation

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CONNECTION

‘True Connection’ Festival Edinburgh 2017

from the Burana Tower, Kyrzgystan, Venice, the North of England and Scotland. This was followed by ‘We used to Write Love Letters and Watch the Sunrise’ by Welsh born Paul Morgan, and ‘Snow day’ shot in Russia by Denis Fillipov.

An exhibition entitled ‘Art and Wool’ comprised a collection of contemporary ‘felt paintings’ by emerging Kyrgyz artist Gulzada Hamra. Gulzada now resides in London but her the roots of her art in subject matter and technique, are firmly planted in the traditional craft of her homeland.

The first of the two plays was ‘The Wisdom of Norwegian Shaman’, based on a poem by Norwegian writer, Johan Alstad. Actor David Melville Wingrove, originally from Canada, recited the monologue accompanied by music performed by Shirin Abdyllaeva, and dance by two ‘forest angels’ Benjamin Neumann and Anvar. It was also the first time that the Scottish audience had been treated to ‘Ooz Komyz’, a popular Kyrgyz song!

On 10th March 2017, like-minded people with an interest in the arts gathered together in the heart of Edinburgh for the first True Connection Festival initiated and organised by Shahsanem Murray.

The aim of the event was to illustrate fundamental human concepts which connect people throughout the world, regardless of their different cultural backgrounds and the environments in which they live.

These connections were illustrated through three short films, two plays, books, music and an exhibition entitled ‘Wool and Art’. Participants, were aged between 6 and 80 years old, including emerging and well- established performing artists, playwrights, film makers, authors and Hertfordshire Press publishers, all of whom contributed to the

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genial atmosphere. For local visitors, the festival offered a rare and delightful opportunity to meet people from as far afield as Central Asia and experience for the first time, a taste of each other’s arts and cultures. Throughout the day, two filmmakers, Diego Alamazan and Juan Martos , interviewed participants and members of the audience and the resulting short film, edited from hours of footage will not only provide a widely accessible flavour of what took place but hopefully, inspire the development of for similar projects, collaborations and gatherings in the future.

Shahsanem Murray, author of three books published by Hertfordshire Press, also studies film and, specially for the festival, produced ‘ A Common Spiritual Connection’ comprising footage

In the second play, ‘ A Lady Lost in Time’, UzbekBritish actress Zaynab M. Dost played the lead, supported by Rosie Sweetnam, and Brian Thomson (Old train clock) and Benjamin Neumann (calendar).

From the perspective of sharing cultural diversity, Scottish born amateur actor Brian Thomson presented his own highly amusing and inventive version of Roberts Burns’ “Address to a Haggis”.

The day ended with a song about friendship from Shirin Abdullaeva, a Kyrgyz born artiste living in Edinburgh and long standing, active supporter of many cultural events organised by Gordon Murray and Shahsanem Murray, founders of the Edinburgh based, ‘CASS’: Central Asian-Scottish Society.

The organisers are grateful to all of those mentioned for their kind contributions and in addition, thank invited guests Marat Akhmedjanov, Publisher of OCA magazine and Founder of Eurasian Guild, and Laura Hamilton, editor, for their support, and Osmon Celik and Agne Celik of the Fig Tree Restaurant for their generous hospitality.

Written by Gordon Murray.

Editor Laura Hamilton.

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ART The tradition of the festival is connected with the names of great people, who greatly contributed to development of world ballet art. The founder of the festival is one of the brilliant choreographers of the 20th century Yuri Grigorovich. The festival was attributed to his 90th anniversary.

Rudolf Nureyev, after whom the festival was named, is one of the most famous and scandalous dancers of the 20th century. He danced on the best stages of the world and his duet with English ballerina Margo Fontaine became legendary. First he felt his passion for ballet in the Bashkir Theatre of Opera and Ballet, when his mother led him to a seven-year old boy for the ballet “Crane song”. He made his first ballet steps also in this theatre. In the Fifties , Rudolf Nureyev left Bashkiria, but still he is a national hero and the international festival of ballet art and choreography college of Bashkir, that is working in the best traditions of ballet school, were named by Rudolf Nureyev.

Rudolf Nureyev

Soaring Feeling of Beauty THE 21ST INTERNATIONAL BALLET ART FESTIVAL NAMED AFTER RUDOLF NUREYEV WAS HELD IN THE CAPITAL OF THE BASHKIR REPUBLIC DURING MAY-JUNE 2017

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The festival opened with a new stage design of the first Bashkir performance “Crane Song”, which became a classic of national choreography. Along with classic dance in the ballet, which is harmonically connected with national motifs, a spectacular ritual scene, dances of brave hunters and competition of dexterous jigits all compete. And a flight of the beautiful cranes is imprinted by dancing as a symbol of freedom.

“Swan Lake”, “Bayaderka”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Le Corsaire” and “Esmeralda” were featured on the festival as well. And the festival ended with a grandiose gala concert at which famous compositions from classical ballets were presented to the audience, as well as world premieres of modern choreography.

Outstanding dancers from Russia and abroad participated in the festival. Among them were the soloists of the Paris Opera, the ballet of San Francisco, the Slovak National Theatwe, the State academic Bolshoi Theatwe of Russia, the Kremlin Ballet Theatre, the Mikhailovsky Theatre (St. Petersburg), the Ballet Theatre of Yuri Grigorovich (Krasnodar), ballet groups of the theateres of Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk.

The ballet “Romeo and Juliet” of the Yekaterinburg State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre was staged by Vyacheslav Samodurov, who in 2017 became the laureate of the Russian National Theatwe Award “Golden Mask”. The choreographer was the former prime of the Mariinsky Theatre, the National Ballet of the Netherlands and the English “Covent Garden”. Vyacheslav Samodurov says about his work: “…There is a tradition in the dance theatre to represent the Capulets as bad, and the Montagues as good. But in my opinion, basically there cannot be signs of plus and minus.

The situation is terrible. “Romeo and Juliet” is a ballet about love and a certain share of inevitability. We can see how people’s hopes are destroyed by situation of social division”.

British stage designer Anthony McEwan devised an original idea in ballet decoration, he created a realistic feeling that the stage had almost collapsed. By this way he expressed an idea that the Capulets and the Montagues were not so strong,

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ART

him with Margot Fontaine, including in the famous film “Evening with the Royal Ballet”. Besides the great classic compositions the gala concert presented to the public several world premieres of modern choreography: “Heaven” , “Dolls” , “Colors of love” , “Male world” , “Collision”. Director of the gala concert was Andrey Melanyin from the Bolshoi Theatre (Moscow).

The 21st year of the festival brought this event to a new level in terms of the scale of organisation and conduct. Russian and foreign critics appreciated the high level of organisation and the holding of festival events. Tickets for all the performances were brought out in a few weeks.

The main participants of the event shared their impressions of the festival with us.

stable and powerful as they thought. And even for such people the world can fall apart and pretty quickly.

The exotic and picturesque ballet, “Bayaderka”, for Ufa’s audience was featured by Honored Artist of Russia, National Artist of Bashkiria, Shamil Tergulov in 2003. And in 2017 the artists of the Bashkir Theatre of Opera and Ballet and invited soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre (Moscow) and the Slovak National Theatre performed the ballet. The first role

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of Rudolf Nureyev is noteworthy as it was Solor’s part from this ballet, which in 1961 he performed on tour in Paris. Later Rudolf Nureyev featured his version of the famous “Act of Shadows” twice at the Paris Opera and in the Royal Ballet of London.

In the romantic and adventurous ballet “Le Corsaire”, which was produced by Yuri Grigirivich, the focus was on spectacular action. Medora’s Pas de Deux and Slave from “Le Corsaire” was the first production of Rudolf Nureyev in the Royal Ballet and more than once brilliantly was performed by

Ilmar Almukhametov, director of the Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theatreq: “A festival is the opening of new names in the ballet world. It is a meeting with old and new friends and also meeting with audience. I decided to look at the traditional festival by a little bit new look, and to find a way to invite not only individual soloists, but also the whole group from Ekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk. The program of the festival was composed on the assumption of the ballet’s name, which Yu. N. Grigorovich produced. As the festival bears the name of Rudolf Nureyev it was logical to open it with the ballet “Crane song” , from which Nureyev’s work began. Invited ballets are those that are not in our permanent repertoire. We wanted to show something new to the audience. For example , “Romeo and Juliet”- a new way of choreography, a new reading of the classical ballet. The audience reacted to it magnificently.

Personally for me, an important event on the festival was the opening of the tombstone of our legendary ballerina Zaituna Nasretdinova. I had an inner feeling and inner duty that I had to do it. Thanks to the integration of ideas and people, it has happened”.

Leonora Kuvatova, chief choreographer of the Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theatre, artistic director of the Choreographic College named by R. Nureyev: “A festival is always fiesta, excitement and responsibility. We prepare for the festival all season. I would not want to boast, but some of the critics in previous years said about our corps de ballets: “I’ve gotten the point that the periphery is only geographical concept and the fact that it takes place in Ufa does not affect to the quality of performance “. It was a very good comment and now we are trying to maintain this level”.

Andrey Melanyin, Honored Worker of Culture of Russia, director, compere of performances at the Bolshoi Theatre (Moscow): “We’ve been cooperating with Ufa for a long time. This time, we managed to attract world famous stars to the festival. The program is huge, and it is kind of controversial artist’s marathon from different countries. I am impressed with the group of Bashkir Theater. It is a feat to provide such an amount of dance at the high level for such a short time”.

Graham Watts, ballet critic, UK: “The time passes when each school exists separately by itself. The processes of interaction, mutual exchange and mutual inspiration are impossible to stop. To separate one genre of art from another is become hard for critics, and producers can add any intricate fantasies even in classic works. There are synthesis of genres, spheres and forms of art. Where it leads? Even it is difficult to imagine what this search for new forms will turn into in the future.

One thing is obvious: just enriching each other, sharing experiences and opening new horizons, people of art will continue their creative mission in society”

by Marina Bashmanova

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OEBF 2017

NTERVIEW: YAKUTIAN WRITER, DO, RECOUNTS OEBF WIN

In 2016 The Maria Shevel Prize was awarded to Yakutian writer, Ogdo (Evdokiya Irintseeva), for her fairy tale titled, “Menik the little mammoth”.

The prize was awarded to Evdokiya by the Art Director of Hertfordshire Press, Aleksandra Vlasova. Evdokiya has dedicated her life to working with children and encouraging their creativity and works in the editor’s office for Yakutia’s children’s newspaper, Keskil, which is distributed across the republic.

Open Central Asia: We would like once again to congratulate you as a winner in the nomination of “The best work for children”. You received the prize named after Maria Shevel, which is a new prize for the international literature festival “Open Eurasia”. What did it feel like to win this prize for the very first time?

Ogdo: I thank you sincerely. To tell the truth, I was already very pleased when I got onto the shortlist. I could not believe my eyes and it seemed that it was enough already. My husband and adult sons sincerely congratulated me. I am of Sakha nationality and my husband is a representative of the Buryat people, so my children speak quite a few languages. Moreover, here, it was a message that experts in London had approved my fairytale and it immediately spread to my husband’s homeland: Baikal, Irkutsk region and Republic of Buryatia. Further, to dream still of something, I did not even dare. I left to go on a far away busi-

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ness trip so I heard of prize very late. I did not believe when it came around, and first I called up the Yakut national publishing house “Bichik” and thanked them because they asked me to write a fairy tale with a hero - a baby mammoth. Only on New Year’s Eve when congratulations went from everywhere, I understood that my “baby mammoth” departed to a long trip in the direction of foggy Albion and felt so proud that Yakutia is a true and ancient homeland of the real mammoth… and I am a part of this country.

OCA: Tell us a little more about who is the Yakut writer, Ogdo, and the pseudonym under which you write.

Ogdo: I come from a remote village, a fantastic place in the north of Yakutia, where I grew up until I was 6 years old. Then my family decided to move to another village, closer to civilisation, where I could go to school. After school I left for

the big city to study and after university I stayed to work there. All my life I missed my small homeland, where there were 5-6 houses, and all around us was a continuous taiga. I am a child of nature.

We, the Yakuts, believe in the power of nature, I admire its might. My pseudonym is very simple: my name is Yevdokiya - in Yakut language it sounds Ogdoochchuya, and I, having greatly reduced this long complicated name, took only the first 4 letters, which turned out to be very unusual for readers. I’m a children’s journalist. The concept of a children’s newspaper is special, because a child is not going to read what is too “dry” and boring for him. When I was a student, children’s journalists were taught to write in literary language, accurately and succinctly, meaningfully and colourfully as a real work of fiction. I have mastered this for a long time, I fell in love with this kind of activity. So I easily began to write books. Now I have 8 books, the ninth will be released at the end of the year. I write novels and stories for adults, young men and children, but I’m currently introducing the genre of “literary writing” into Yakutian literature. This is new and interesting, and I seem to succeed, I see readers admire it.

OCA: Tell our readers about your work, “Menik the little mammoth”, which did not leave the members of the jury indifferent.

Ogdo: It must be admitted that first and foremost it was the request of the national book publishing house “Bichik”. They asked me to write an easy tale for children, so that the hero was a baby mammoth - a brand of the republic. And a little later the artists asked me to include in the plot something with a locomotive or a train, since they wanted to make a book with a 3D effect. I took everything into account. The tale turned out to be easy, you can say, it “led” me naturally. And I wrote it in two evenings, on Saturday and Sunday, since I was asked on the Friday, and by Monday I had sent the tale to “Bichik”. In general, when I start writing something, I usually immediately feel, whether or not this work is going to become “alive”. Therefore, I was delighted with the proposal, the idea immediately appeared and initially the journey of the mammoth, Menik, seemed to me very ridiculous and long. It was about a dozen small books. If it was my will, I’d show all the funny and colourful

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OEBF 2017 thoughts of the baby, who had just started to get acquainted with the unknown world. But it was an experience, I quickly stopped dreaming and tried to drive myself into the “frame” of the customer. As I was finishing the work on the fairy tale, I felt some dissatisfaction, because it was indeed possible to do it a little differently from the long original work.

OCA: Your work is not just a simple fairy tale - it is very complex and has a real plot, which can be appreciated not only by children, but adults too.

What target audience do you usually write for?

Ogdo: I work for adults, young men and children.

“Menik the little mammoth” was not only for a children’s audience. This fairy tale is designed for the kids, but for them to be read and explained by their parents. All the places mentioned in the plot are real and all of them are situated in Yakutia.

OCA: You have been working all your life in the republican children’s newspaper “Kaskil”. Did this help you in writing your works?

Ogdo: Yes, very much. Probably, if I was not a children’s journalist who knows very well the psychology of child-teacher-parents, since it is necessary for our work, I could not become a writer.

Journalism is about mobility and efficiency in the preparation of texts. This habit of my profession became the mainstay in writing.

OCA: Where do you get inspiration from, how do you come up with this or that plot for a future fairy tale?

Ogdo: I can say that I’m not a young lady, but I have managed to see something in the world, I lived a certain active life, so I have a lot of experience. I can be very emotional inside, but I’m a northerner and we are restrained by nature. Every man needs to release his emotions somehow. I do it in my works. And if specifically, my inspiration is my children; two boys aged 26 and 24 years old.

The elder is a teacher of Chinese and English and the younger now graduates from the medical institute, and is preparing to become a neurosurgeon.

I am in a hurry to tell them everything I know, so that even their future children would know how

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to make it easier for them to live. I want to teach them deal with various problems and solve them wisely. I write very fast. And when a work comes from somewhere inside you, it’s just an apogee, you only hope that your fingers are not tired of typing and won’t miss all the thoughts coming ... I do not know ... from somewhere above.

OCA: What plans do you have after winning the international literary festival?

Ogdo: I will have a synthesis book at the end of this year, which contains unexpected additions.

This is an interesting project, which I thought about unintentionally, when some kind of enlightenment occurred to me, then I just had time to draw everything up from my head. Then I thought it over and decided to take up this work. And in order to explain it all to publishers, I even had to make a sketch by hand. Finally I convinced them and set about writing 250 pages of text. I am thrilled they agreed to publish it, and I cannot wait to see this project in a material state. I also dream to get to your festival and see my “Menik the little mammoth” published in English

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

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

MENIK THE LITTLE MAMMOTH original story by OGDO ISBN: 978-1-910886-59-5 COMING SOON

ECG EVENTS

ECG Visits Almaty BiennialE The chairman of Euroasian Creative Guild, David Parry, took part in the international literary Bienniale in Almaty in June, 2017. The main theme of events was the influence of writers on the spiritual horizon of society and world sustainable development. The National library and the Union of writers of Kazakhstan acted as organizers of the Biennial in Kazakhstan.

The Biennial was part of the framework of cultural events relating to EXPO - 2017, with the support of the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan.

Participants were attracted by the prospect of meeting foreign publishers and translators, which included the head of the publishing house, Hertfordshire Press, Marat Ahmedjanov, and Welsh poet, playwright, and member of the Royal society of arts, the chairman of Euroasian Creative Guild, David Parry. David Parry told the audience about the basic trends in book publishing at literary soiree.

In the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, the IX meeting of the Euroasian Creative Guild under the supervision of David Parry was held on 14th June 2017 in the “Soho” business centre. During the meeting visitors learned about the work of Guild and about its projects.

Vice-chairman of the Eurasian Creative Guild, the publisher of the Hertfordshire Press, Marat Akhmedjanov, attended the 12th St. Petersburg International Book Salon. As part of the event, the second meeting of members and friends of the Eurasian Creative Guild also took place.

The chairman of Eurasian Creative Guild, David Parry, for the first time held a meeting of the Guild in the café, Books and Coffee, on16th June 2017 in Astana. It was held in an informal setting so that participants of the event could communicate personally with the British writer and playwright.

“The sales of the books are growing in the world at 6 %, and interest is particularly in short prose.

Recently, people have started to read more books,” Parry said.

During his visit David Parry held meetings with the Eurasian Creative Guild members in Astana, Bishkek and Almaty.

The Participants of the meeting contributed their own creativity, told the audience about themselves and listened as David Parry recite his poetry.

combined with events focusing on similar objectives.

The Book Salon was held in the Mikhailovsky Manege and adjacent streets providing a space with a total area of more than 50 thousand m² that was reorganized into a huge book district with interactive concert venues, stages, exhibition displays, pavilions and tents.

More than 240 publishing houses and book trade enterprises from 10 regions of Russia, as well as 20 countries of the near and far abroad, introduced to the public the novelties of art, children’s, educational, popular science, historical and encyclopedia literatures. The program of the Salon consisted of 250 business events and more than 150 cultural events. More than 40 authors and more than 250 thousand of people participated in the events of the Salon.

The collection of verses titled, “40 temples” by Marina Mihaylovskaya was also presented at the event in Almaty.

More than 80 people attended to learn about Guild projects, introduce themselves and get to know the chairman, David Parry, and also listen to verses from poetess, Marina Mihaylovskaya. The Guild meeting in region is unique in that the chairman David Parry, Vice-chairman Marat Ahmedjanov, and the chief executive, Anna Lari, were all present simultaneously along with 20 current members of Guild.

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St Petersburg Hosts Second ECG Meeting

The Eurasian Creative Guild is a meeting place for professionals, which serves as a common platform for uniting creative people of all spheres and forms of art, covering a wide range of activities which creative people from across the board can come together and discuss their work. Meetings take place regularly, across the world, and is often

This year honorable guests of the event were Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz, Princess Michael of Kent - the wife of Michael, Prince of Kent, and she presented her new book “The Queen Of Four Kingdoms” from the “Anjou Trilogy”, released in April this year in Russias.

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ESTABLISHED 2015 The Eurasian Creative Guild (London) is a public non-profit organisation, a new meeting place for creative talents. As an actual and virtual association, the Guild generates a framework within which creative people from across the board can come together and discuss their work. Indeed, the Guild has already enlisted dozens of significant cultural figures from across the globe due to its proactive support for writers, musicians, illustrators, graphic designers, sculptors and poets along with anyone who considers themselves to be creative and is seeking promotion of their work around the globe and a mutually beneficial cooperation.

Today the Eurasian Creative Guild is an international non-profit organization with headquarters in London, that is opened for all like-minded people, inviting to actual participation in the activity and occasions in a role that everybody determines to himself : as a member of Guild, in a role of participant of occasions or as a sponsor of events and projects. Overall, the Guilds mission is to ensure real dialogue and genuine interaction between designated representatives from all sectors of the creative (intellectual) elite, public and governmental organizations, as well as the business community. Thereby constructing, as this does, a mutually supportive forum for all member-creatives.

David Parry The current Chairman of Eurasian Creative Guild

ADVISORY & EXECUTIVE BOARD

SOLVI FANNAR ACTOR, WRITER, MUSICIAN, MODEL

NICK ROWAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ОСА MAGAZINE

CYRUS YAVNEH HOLLYWOOD PRODUSER

LENAR SHAEKHOV POET, TRANSLATOR, EDITOR

NADEZJDA KOLYSHKINA WRITER

GULSIFAT SHAKHIDI WRITER, JOURNALIST

SHAHSANEM MURRAY WRITER

ALAN COX RADIO HOST

ELENA BEZRUKOVA BUSINESS COACH

STEPHEN M. BLAND WRITER, MUSICIAN, PHOTOGRAPHER

MARINA BASHMANOVA SINGER, ART STUDIO DIRECTOR

ALEXANDRA REY GRAPHIC DESIGNER, PUBLISHER

GARETH STAMP DESIGN EXPERT

MARK (MARAT) AKHMEDJANOV VICE CHAIRMAN OF ECG

ANNA LARI OECBF DIRECTOR

The Eurasian Creative Guild (London) is a public non-profit organisation, a new meeting place for creative talents. As an actual and virtual association, the Guild generates a framework within which creative people from across the board can come together and discuss their work. Indeed, the Guild has already enlisted dozens of significant cultural figures from across the globe due to its proactive support for writers, musicians, illustrators, graphic designers, sculptors and poets along with anyone who considers themselves to be creative ...

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WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

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THE EURASIAN CREATIVE GUILD’S PROJECTS “OPEN EURASIAN LITERATURE FESTIVAL & BOOK FORUM”

“Open Eurasia Literature Festival & Book Forum” - an annual international contest, festival and forum, which unites poets, writers, artists, directors along with anyone else, who considers themselves to be creative from the Eurasia region and all over the world. Contest “Open Eurasia” is held within frameworks of the festival since 2012. Contest is organized in partnership with “Hertfordshire Press” publishing house, built on the principle of openness and interplay of all arts on the basis of literature.

OCA MAGAZINE

is a quarterly not-for-profit magazine, published in London since 2009, which connects and highlights the links between Europe and the Eurasian region. It promotes the cultures, politics, events and communities of both regions and opens a discussion and exchange of ideas between them to promote both business co-operation and tourist and cultural relations.

The magazine is for everyone interested in the region and also for natives from Central Eurasia who currently live in Europe. Magazine actively popularizes events taking place in the countries of Eurasian region and comes to be an only journal in Great Britain, which familiarizes Eurasian Economic Community and CIS countries to English-speaking world. Audience of printed and online versions’ of magazine reaches 50000 readers around the world.

A COMMON INFORMATIONAL SPACE “Open Eurasian Literature Festival & Book Forum ” and OCA ORZU Arts Festival

More than 1.300.000 visits of the website in a year, 3.000 contestants from 40 countries of the world. More than 50 events within the frameworks of the festivals, taking place in London and Eurasian region.

“OCA magazine”: 4 issues per eyar. 50.000 readers of print and web page worldwide

ECG BOOK SERIES - you can create your own personal book within the book series

“Eurasian Creative Guild (London).” The work will be published in the British capital, the home of many world famous writers, including William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Rudyard Kipling, Agatha Christie and JK Rowling. Your book will become a part of the history of mankind. It will receive its very own ISBN and the book will be given to the second library in the world - the British Library and the Legal Deposit. The book series, by Eurasian Creative Guild, will be placed not only on the largest popular shopping web site - Amazon, where tens of thousands of items are bought and sold every day – but also in online stores in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Great Britain and America.

ORZU ARTS FESTIVAL

ORZU ARTS FESTIVAL OPEN CENTRAL ASIA

International Festival “Open Central Asia International Arts Festival” includes art exhibitions, literary readings, musical performances and theatre plays. Festival has an impact on many aspects of public’s cultural, economic, educational and social life. Theatre groups of Uzbekistan, Sweden, USA, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Great Britain and China.

The annual collection of the “100 OUTSTANDING PEOPLE OF is a project, together with the publishing house Cambridge International Press.

EURASIA”

The publication seeks to enlighten, promote and recognize the region’s great people and their invaluable work. Chosen by an advisory panel from outside Eurasia, assembled for their breadth and depth of Eurasia experiences and knowledge, ”The 100 Outstanding People of Eurasia” will provide the first peer-assessed evaluation of the contribution of these great men and women, both historical and current.

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Book readings, presentations and exhibitions: more than 60 events in a year worldwide.

Audience in social networks: more than

100.000 followers of pages an groups

in Facebook, VKontakte, Одноклассники, Linkedin, Instagram, Youtube.

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JOIN US! REGISTRATION FORM EURASIAN CREATIVE GUILD (LONDON)

First name_____________________________________________________________ Last Name_____________________________________________________________ Date of birth____________________________________________________________ Place of birth____________________________________________________________ Place of residence________________________________________________________ Phone number (with area code)______________________________________________ E-mail____________________________________________________________________ Tell us about yourself ____________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Field of activity * Writer Poet Musician Actor Photographer Designer Sculptor Illustrator Dancer Graphic Designer Other:____________________________

HOW IT WORKS?

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

ON OUR SITE YOU CAN: • • • •

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

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

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FEE AMOUNTS:

50

individual

MEMBERSHIP FEES £50 INDIVIDUAL £30 CONCESSION £300 CORPORATE

Tell us about your art works (500 symbols) _____________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Is your work publicly available on the internet?

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

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

30

concessions

300 corporate

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

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

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

WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

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GEOGRAPHY OF ACTIVITIES OF THE EURASIAN CREATIVE GUILD HELD IN THE PERIOD 2015-2017г.

ECG PARTNERS:

32 COUNTRIES - 50 CITIES

E IDG BR

INTERNATIONA LP R

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CA M

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

2016

МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ КЫРГЫЗСТАНА

1. London (Great Britain) 2. Cambridge (Great Britain) 3. Oxford (Great Britain) 4. Edinburgh (United Kingdom) 5. Oslo (Norway) 6. Berlin (Germany) 7. Dublin (Ireland) 8. Vienna (Austria) 9. Paris (France) 10. Istanbul (Turkey) 11. Bled (Slovenia) 12. Stockholm (Sweden) 13. Nicosia (Cyprus) 14. Moscow (Russia) 15. Yakutsk (Russia) 16. Paphos (Cyprus) 17. Ufa (Russia) 18 St. Petersburg (Russia)

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19. Kiev (Ukraine) 20. Astana (Kazakhstan) 21. Shymkent (Kazakhstan) 22. Almaty (Kazakhstan) 23. Kyzylorda (Kazakhstan) 24. Baikonur (Kazakhstan) 25 Atyrau (Kazakhstan) 26. Dushanbe (Tajikistan) 27. Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) 28. Tbilisi (Georgia) 29. Minsk (Belarus) 30. Tashkent (Uzbekistan) 31. Samarkand (Uzbekistan) 32. Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) 33. Osh (Kyrgyzstan) 34. Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan) 35. Bangkok (Thailand) 36. Pattaya (Thailand)

37. Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) 38. Simferopol (Crimea) 39. Yalta (Crimea) 40. Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) 41. Baku (Azerbaijan) 42. Varna (Bulgaria) 43. New York (United States) 44. Washington (USA) 45. Toronto, Canada 46. ​​Vilnius (Lithuania) 47. Tallinn (Estonia) 48. Lviv (Ukraine) 49. Brussels (Belgium) 50. Munich (Germany)

CONTACT DETAILS: EURASIAN CREATIVE GUILD LONDON C/O SILK ROAD MEDIA SUITE 125 43, BEDFORD STREET LONDON WC2E 9HA UNITED KINGDOM

CENTRAL ASIA E-MAIL:GUILD@OCAMAGAZINE.COM PHONE: +44 (0)7411 978 955 WWW.EURASIANCREATIVEGUILD.UK WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/EURASIANCREATIVEGUILDUK

ERNATION E INT AL IDG PR R B

S ES

CA M

ECG

2016

ACADEMIC BOOK SERIES ECG-2017: AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE YOUR WORK WITH THE WORLD’S SCIENTIFIC ELITE! Prior to publishing, all copies are approved by the editorial department. Books can be published in paperback and hardback to the following specifications: • Full colour cover and inside pages, or black & white.

• Up to 120 pages in 203 x 127mm format.

• 10 free copies for the author.

• 3 month lead time.

• Cost for publishing books in paperback is £2995 or £2250 (25% discount) for members of the Eurasian Creative Guild, which includes a logo from the Cambridge International Press, an ISBN, This year the Eurasian Creative Guild is working with the Cambridge International Press to launch an academic book series, focusing on the publication and distribution of educational and scientific books.

Those who are interested to participate will have their scientific works published in London, United Kingdom, by a team of specialists who have worked with writers such as Orozaly Sabden (Kazakhstan), Robert White (UK), Yuri Sigov (USA), Herald Berger (Kazakhstan), Salima Kynanbaeva (Azerbaijan), and others. The authors also have an opportunity to present their work at Cambridge University’s annual spring conference, and speak to scientists, politicians and researchers from international organisations.

The author will receive a 10% royalty from the publisher for every book sold and they’ll also have the chance to present their books at Cambridge University in 2018. In addition to this, the publishing house will make your book available through Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, and also archive it within the British Library’s legal deposit, ensuring that your work is accessible and preserved for future generations.

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Additional services available: • A personalised cover, including the publishers name and the ECG logo (£200) • Additional copies of the book discounted at 25% of the RRP in paperback (£12.5) • or hardback (£17.5) • Editing and correction services (£200) • Sending to universities, educational institutions and libraries in Europe (£25 per book) • or worldwide (£35 per book) • Additional pages (£5 per page)

If interested please send the following to authors@ocamagazine.com: • 100 word author biography • 100-150 word promotional text for the back of the book • 300dpi author photo • Maximum 25000 word manuscript in Word format

Deadline: 31st January 2017 If you are interested to participate, please register your interest here: www.eurasiancreativeguild.uk Contact details: Email - guild@ocamagazine.com author@ozamagazine.com Tel: +447411978955 Website - http.//ocamagazineguild.com

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ECG

Twenty-Two Books in 2017 for the ECG Book Series project

In Spring 2017 the Eurasian Creative Guild an- A list of the twenty-two books published by the nounced the launch of their Book Series project, ECG in 2017 is as follows: which was set up to provide opportunities for Eurasian authors to have their books published in En- • «40 храмов» Марины Михайловской; 40 glish, and presented to an international audience.

Temples by Marina Mikhailovskaya; • «The Art of Mature Love» Madina Demirbash; Along with having their book launched in London, • «Бои без правил» Питер Берман; Fights published authors under the Book Series project Without Rules by Peter Berman; also benefit from having an ISBN code, and their • «Из Сибири к свободе» Мурат Уали; From works being stored in the world’s second largest Siberia to Freedom by Murat Ouali; book depository, the British Library’s legal de- • «Belarusian whales» Kuzmicheva; posit, which ensures that published materials are • «Қияжол Ғұмыр» Назикен Алпамыскызы; preserved for the use of future generations. In adNaziken Alpamyskyzy; dition to this, authors are also granted access to • «Көк Түрік Көк Бөрі» Темирхан Медетбек; an international distribution system with the books Temirhan Medetbek; being sold in ten online stores worldwide.

• «Сағыныш...» Сауле Досжан; Saulie Doszhan;

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• «Тағдыр» Куаныш Жиенбай; Tahdir by Kuanysh Zhienbai; • «Жүректегi иман гүлi» Гүлзада Ниетқалиева; Gulzada Nietkalieva; • «Книга, которую еще никто не писал» Марсель Салимов; A Book That No One Has Ever Written by Marsel Salymov; • «Дверь в сказку» Денис Куваев; The Door to the Fairy Tale by Denis Kuvaev; • The Lines of Life Антонина Шустер; Antonina Shuster; • «Музыка между строк» Диляра Линдси; Music Between the Lines by Dilyara Lindsay; • «Один из вас» Ленар Шаехов; One of You by Lenar Shaykhov; • «Правдивые истории» Назым Сапарова; Trust of History by Nazar Saparov;

• «Остров Стихов» Раим Фархади; Poem Island by Raim Farkhadi; • «Как полюбить себя» Светлана Юдина; How to Love Yourself by Svetlana Yudina; • «Lines of the Life» by Nadezhda Kolyshkina • «Өң мен түс» Шамсия Жубатова; Shimsiya Zhubatova • Title coming soon, by Marina Bashmanova.

A presentation for the books published under the Book Series project will be held in London from 11-13th October and 17th-20th November in Stockholm.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND UPDATES PLEASE FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EURASIANCREATIVEGUILD.UK

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CATALOGUE

EURASIAN CREATIVE GUILD BOOK SERIES

66 OCA MAGAZINE

MADINA DEMIRBASH THE ART OF MATURE LOVE

ПИТЕР БЕРМАН БОИ БЕЗ ПРАВИЛ авантюрный роман

ГУЛЬЗАДА НИЕТКАЛИЕВА ЖҮРЕКТЕГІ ИМАН ГҮЛІ поэзия на казахском языке

ТЕМIРХАН МЕДЕТБЕК КӨК ТҮРІК - КӨК БӨРІ поэзия на казахском языке

ISBN: 978-1-910886-42-7 RRP: £9.50

ISBN: 978-1-910886-42-7 RRP: £9.50

ISBN: 978-1-910886-51-9 RRP: £9.50

ISBN: 978-1-910886-48-9 RRP: £9.50

МАРИНА МИХАЙЛОВСКАЯ СОРОК ХРАМОВ поэзия

СВЕТЛАНА ЮДИНА КАК ПОЛЮБИТЬ СЕБЯ? автобиография

КУАНЫШ ЖИЕНБАЙ ТАҒДЫР рассказы на казахском языке

НАЗЫМ САПАРОВА ПРАВДИВЫЕ ИСТОРИИ рассказы

ISBN: 978-1-910886-41-0 RRP: £14.50

ISBN: 978-1-910886-53-3 RRP: £9.95

ISBN: 978-1-910886-50-2 RRP: £9.50

ISBN: 978-1-910886-55-7 RRP: £9.50

ANASTASIA KUZMICHEVA BELARUSIAN WHALES poetry

LENAR SHAYEKH ONE OF YOU poetry

САУЛЕ ДОСЖАН САҒЫНЫШ... сборник рассказов на казахском языке

ISBN: 978-1-910886-45-8 RRP: £14.50

ISBN: 978-1-910886-47-2 RRP: £9.50

ISBN: 978-1-910886-46-5 RRP: £9.50

МУРАТ УАЛИ ИЗ СИБИРИ К СВОБОДЕ роман

РАИМ ФАРХАДИ ОСТРОВ СТИХОВ стихи

НАЗИКЕН АЛПАМЫСКЫЗЫ ҚИЯЖОЛ ҒҰМЫР поэзия на казахском языке

ISBN: 978-1-910886-44-1 RRP: £12.50

ISBN: 978-1-910886-56-4 RRP: £12.99

ISBN: 978-1-910886-49-6 RRP: £9.50

ДИЛЯРА ЛИНДСЕЙ МУЗЫКА МЕЖДУ СТРОК COMING SOON

MARSEL SALIMOV

ANTONINA SHUSTER THE LINES OF LIFE COMING SOON

DENIS KUVAEV THE DOOR TO A FAIRY TALE COMING SOON

THE BOOK WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN WRITTEN BEFORE

COMING SOON

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HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS CRANES IN SPRING by Tolibshohi Davlat (2015) BLUE RIVER

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

LANGUAGES ENG / KHANTY HARDBACK ISBN:978-1-910886-34-2 RRP: £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.

My Neighbourhood Sisters

professionals and housewives, grandmothers l unfolds, we learn how they value being able port each other in times of trouble. They also d experience of Zulfiya’s adopted uncle and gory Semenovich.

a powerful and beautiful book filled with e author’s imagination and her actual family, ognise aspects of ourselves and people from be drawn to reflect on that close camaraderie nse of community which in our current age,

RRP: £19.95

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

hakhidi’s novel is like looking through a phor, Zulfiya has lovingly pasted images of both er neighbours. And behind each picture lies ey protagonists are her close female friends; g Tajik women who are challenged by both s they wrestle to maintain traditional famical environment – the communal courtyard nk tea on a raised bed- may belong to Central ure are universal: infidelity, addiction, abuse, o sensitively described by Shakhidi that will over.

A Collection of Short Stories

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

LANGUAGES ENG / RUS RRP: £14.50

HARDBACK

ISBN: 978-1-910886-06-9

COLD SHADOWS Shahsanem Murray (2016) The story, set at the end of the 1980’s, revolves around a group of disparate individuals living seemingly unconnected lives in various countries.

But then a strange incident on the Moscow to Frunze train leads to the gradual exposure of complex web in which their lives, loves and profession’s have long been entangled.

LANGUAGES ENG PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-27-4 RRP: £12.50

MY NEIGHBOURHOOD SISTERS

by Gulsifat Shakhidi

FOREMOTHER ASIA

by Natalia Kharlampieva (2016)

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

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

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

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

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

GULSIFAT SHAKHIDI

CATALOGUE

apital city, My Neighbourhood Sisters proit community as it endeavours to adjust to y’s senseless civil war in the 1990s.

My Neighbourhood Sisters

LANGUAGES ENG PAPER BACK RRP:14.95 ISBN: 978-1-910886-29-8

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

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

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

Gulsifat Shahidi

GULSIFAT SHAKHIDI

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НА КЕ ИИ ЗЫ РС Я ВЕ КОМ СС РУ

+

LANGUAGES ENG / RUS RRP: £19.95

HARDBACK

ISBN:978-1-910886-35-9

LANGUAGES ENG / SAKHA RRP: £17.50

HARDBACK

ISBN: 978-1-910886-22-9

01/01/2017 23:25:28

MY HOMELAND, OH MY CRIMEA

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

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

SHADOWS OF THE RAIN Raushan Burkitbayeva - Nukenova (2016) In this bold and insightful second collection of Neo-Expressionist literatures, Raushan Burkit Bayeva-Nukenova invites her readers to revel in the cogitations of a Kazakh Radical Traditionalist. A literary position provoking the exploration of Eurasian motives, Central Asian reactions to London, nomadic love, and the contours of ethnic memory. Each one of which is lyrically scrutinized - along with the dissonant place of women in our postmodern world.

Indeed, unlike her highly successful and probing first volume The Wormwood Wind, the author of this present book seeks to extend her poetic analysis of current affairs, before taking her first tentative footsteps into prose.

LANGUAGES ENG HARD BACK RRP:19.95 ISBN: 978-1-910886-31-1

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HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS MAN OF THE MOUNTAINS

by Abudlla Isa (2014) ( OCABF 2013 Winner)

GODS OF THE MIDDLE WORLD

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

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

ISBN: 978-0957480797

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0-9930444-5-8 RRP: £14.95

PAPERBACK

RRP: £14.95

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

LANGUAGES ENG RRP: £24.95

HARDBACK

ISBN: 978-1-910886-11-3

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

PEACEMAKER THE SYRIAN CONUNDRUM

by Nurlan Onzhanov (2017)

REPENTANCE Yermek Amanshaev (2016)

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.

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

LANGUAGES ENG HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-52-6

LANGUAGES ENG PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-33-5 RRP: £14.95

WHEN EDELWEISS FLOWERS FLOURISH

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

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

ISBN: 978-0955754951

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HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

PAPERBACK

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

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

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

LANGUAGES ENG PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-25-0 RRP: £9.95

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HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS TALES FROM BUSH HOUSE (BBC Wolrd Service) by Hamid Ismailov (2012)

FINDING THE HOLY PATH

by Shahsanem Murray (2014)

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

“Murray’s first book provides an enticing and novel link between her adopted home town of Edinburgh and her origins form Central Asia. Beginning with an investigation into a mysterious lamp that turns up in an antiques shop in Edinburgh, and is bought on impulse, we are quickly brought to the fertile Ferghana valley in Uzbekistan to witness the birth of Kara-Choro, and the start of an enthralling story that links past and present. The beautifully translated text, interspersed by regional poetry, cannot fail to impress any reader, especially those new to the region who will be affectionately drawn into its heart in this page-turning cultural thriller.”

PAPERBACK RRP: £12.95

RUS ISBN: 978-0-9930444-8-9 ENGL ISBN: 978-0992787394 PAPERBACK RRP: £12.50

VANISHED KHANS AND EMPTY STEPPES

by Robert Wight (2014)

THE TURKIC SAGA OF GENGHIS KHAN AND THE KZ FACTOR

by Dr.Kairat Zakiryanov (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.

An in-depth study of Genghis Khan from a Kazakh perspective, The Turkic Saga of Genghis Khan presupposes that the great Mongol leader and his tribal setting had more in common with the ancestors of the Kazakhs than with the people who today identify as Mongols. This is an academic work that draws on many Central Asian and Russian sources and often has a Eurasianist bias - while also paying attention to new accounts by Western authors such as Jack Weatherford and John Man. It bears the mark of an independent, unorthodox and passionate scholar.

HARD BACK

HARD BACK ISBN: 978-0992787370 RRP: £17.50 Friendly Steppes: A Silk Road Journey chronicles an extraordinary adventure that led intrepid traveller Nick Rowan to some of the world’s most incredible and hidden places: from Venice through Eastern Europe, still recovering from brutal warfare; on to Turkey, the gateway to Asia, and much-misunderstood Iran; across the exotic steppes of Central Asia, emerging from Soviet domination; and finally into a rapidly developing yet still mysterious China. Intertwined with the majesty of 2000 years of Silk Road history, Friendly Steppes recounts not only the author’s travels but the remarkable impact that this trade route has had on modern culture.

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

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

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

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Since his first foray into Central Asia in 2006 during his Silk Road journey, Nick Rowan has developed an insatiable appetite for all things Central Asian. An Oxford University graduate, now working in the Oil industry in London, Nick spends much of his spare time exploring Central Asia and the Silk Road countries, having now travelled to all the countries on numerous occasions. He is Editor-in-Chief of Open Central Asia magazine and provides expert opinion and analysis on the region. When not at home with his wife in Buckinghamshire, where he now lives, his favourite evenings are those spent on the plains of Central Asia sitting in the warmth of a homely yurt, laughing and joking with its owners over a good bowl of laghman accompanied by freshly baked lepioshka bread.

A Silk roAd Journey

RRP: £24.95

LIFE OVER PAIN AND DESPERATION

by Marziya Zakiryanova (2014)

HARD BACK ISBN: 978-0-99278733-2 RRP: £14.95

RRP: £24.95

Nick

Friendly SteppeS:

A single unstated assertion runs throughout The Wormwood Wind, arguing, amid its lyrical nooks and crannies, we are only fully human when our imaginations are free. Possibly this is the primary glittering insight behind Nukenova’s collaboration with hidden Restorative Powers above her pen.

No one would doubt, for example, when she hints that the moment schoolchildren read about their surrounding environment they are acting in a healthy and developmental manner. Likewise, when she implies any adult who has the courage to think “outside the box” quickly gains a reputation for adaptability in their private affairs – hardly anyone would doubt her.

HARD BACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-12-0 RRP: £14.95

ISBN: 978-0-9930444-0-3

PAPERBACK ISBSN: 978-1-910886-05-2 RRP: £14.50

Rowan

THE WORMWOOD WIND Raushan Burkitbayeva- Nukenova (2015)

ISBN: 9780955754975

FRIENDLY STEPPES. A SILK ROAD JOURNEY

by Nick Rowan

Friendly SteppeS: A Silk roAd Journey Nick Rowan

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

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

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0-9557549-4-4

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

by Charles Van Der Leeuw 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

WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

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HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS SILK, SPICE, VEILS AND VODKA

by Felicity Timcke (2014) 13 STEPS OF ERIKA KLAUS

by Kazat Akmatov (2013) The story involves the harrowing experiences of a young and very naïve Norwegian woman who has come to Kyrgyzstan to teach English to schoolchildren in a remote mountain outpost. Governed by the megalomaniac Colonel Bronza, the community barely survives under a cruel and unjust neo-fascist regime. Immersed in the local culture, Erika is initially both enchanted and apprehensive but soon becomes disillusioned as day after day, she is forbidden to teach.

PAPERBACK RRP: £12.95

ISBN: 978-0957480766

HOWL novel

by Kazat Akmatov (2014) The “Howl” by Kazat Akmatov is a beautifully crafted novel centred on life in rural Kyrgyzstan.

Characteristic of the country’s national writer, the simple plot is imbued with descriptions of the spectacular landscape, wildlife and local customs. The theme however, is universal and the contradictory emotions experienced by Kalen the shepherd must surely ring true to young men, and their parents, the world over. Here is a haunting and sensitively written story of a bitter -sweet rite of passage from boyhood to manhood.

PAPERBACK ENGLISH –RUSSIAN ISBN: 978-0993044410 RRP: £12.50 SHAHIDKA/ MUNABIA

by KazatAkmatov (2013) Munabiya and Shahidka by Kazat Akmatov National Writer of Kyrgyzstan Recently translated into English Akmatov’s two love stories are set in rural Kyrgyzstan, where the natural environment, local culture, traditions and political climate all play an integral part in the dramas which unfold. Munabiya is a tale of a family’s frustration, fury, sadness and eventual acceptance of a long term love affair between the widowed father and his mistress. In contrast, Shahidka is a multi-stranded story which focuses on the ties which bind a series of individuals to the tragic and ill-fated union between a local Russian girl and her Chechen lover, within a multi-cultural community where violence, corruption and propaganda are part of everyday life.

PAPERBACK RRP: £12.50

ISBN: 978-0992787318

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

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0957480759 RRP: £12.95

HARD BACK ISBN: 978-0-955754913

THE NOVEL “ARHAT”

by Kazat Akmatov (2015)

KASHMIR SONG

by Sharaf Rashidov (translation by Alexey Ulko, OCABF 2014 Winner). 2015

The novel “Arhat” by the Kyrgyz writer Kazat Akmatov was presented in Moscow at the International Festival “Bibliobraz - 2007” in the Kyrgyz, Russian and Bulgarian languages. Then, the novel was introduced to public in New Delhi at the World Buddhist Congress as well as in a city Drahsalam where the Tibetan Dalai Lama XIV lives. The novel has been translated into English and other languages. “Arhat” caused a wide resonance at home and was awarded by a number of national and international awards as well recognized the best novel and the “National bestseller of 2007”. In the novel, it is a deal of the destiny of the Kyrgyz boy - the reincarnation of the great Tibetan Lama and poet who lived a thousand years ago…

LANGUAGES ENG PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1910886106 RRP: £17.50

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

RRP: £25.00

This beautiful illustrated novella offers a sensitive reworking of an ancient and enchanting folk story which although rooted in Kashmir is, by nature of its theme, universal in its appeal.

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

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

COMING SOON!!!

ISBN: 978-0-9930444-2-7

WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

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JUNIOR

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

AYSU AND THE MAGIC BAG

by Maide Akan

In anticipation of Expo 2017 in Astana, publishing house Hertfordshire Press presents first book by Maide Akan. Entitled Aysu and the Magic Bag, the book tells the amazing story of a girl whose life is no different from ordinary children, until one day she meets a magical bird. Thus begin the extraordinary adventures of Aysu and her quest to save the environment. Written with a charm and sophistication which belie her tender years, Maide Akan’s narrative is a seamless blend of fantasy and more modern concerns.

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

GOETHE AND ABAI

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

HARDBACK ENG RRP: £17.50

HARDBACK

ISBN:978-1-910886-16-8

CRANE

by Abu-Sufyan

HEIRS TO THE GREAT SINNER SHEIKH SAN’ON

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

Nabijon Boqiy An Uzbek writer PAPERBACK ENG

ISBN: 978-1-910886-32-8

RRP: £14.50

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

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

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-23-6 RRP: £12.50

POOL OF STARS

by Olesya Petrova (2007)

SERAGLIO’55

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

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

It is the first publication of a young writer Olesya Petrova, a talented and creative person. Fairy-tale characters dwell on this book’s pages. Lovely illustrations make this book even more interesting to kids, thanks to a remarkable artist Askar Urmanov. We hope that our young readers will be very happy with such a gift. It’s a book that everyone will appreciate. For the young, innocent ones - it’s a good source of lessons they’ll need in life. For the not-so-young but young at heart, it’s a great book to remind us that life is so much more than work.

PAPERBACK ENG ISBN: 978-1910886281

PAPERBACK ENG / RUS ISBN: 978-0955754906

RRP:£ 12.50

ALPHABET GAME

by Paul Wilson (2014)

PAPREBACK ENG ISBN: 978-0-992787325

RRP: £4.95

ЭТО ЗАВИСИТ ОТ МЕНЯ 7 СПОСОБОВ ИЗМЕНИТЬ ЖИНЬ К ЛУЧШЕМУ Автор Меган Вернер (2017)

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.

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ISBN: 978-1-910886-24-3 RRP: £10.00

RRP: £14.50

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

PAPERBACK

RUS ISBN: 9781910886397

RRP:£9.95

WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

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DISCOVERY GUIDES & TRAVEL COMPANIONS

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

THE GREAT MELODY

by Tabyldy Aktan ( dedicated to Toktogul Satylganov) E-BOOK ISBN: 978-1-910886-02-1 RRP:£3.24 BUYUK THEMURKHRON

by Christopher Marlowe PAPERBACK UZ ISBN: 9780955754982 RRP: £10.00 CHANTS OF THE DARK FIRE

by ZhulduzBaizakova PAPERBACK RUS ISBN: 978-0957480711 RRP:£10.00 KAMILA

by Rahim Karimov (OCABF 2012 Finalist) PAPERBACK KG / UZ ISBN: 978-0957480773 100 EXPERIENCES OF KYRGYZSTAN

by Ian Claytor ENG ISBN: 978-0957480742 RRP: £19.50

100 EXPERIENCES OF KAZAKHSTAN

by Vitaly Shuptar, Nick Rowan and Dagmar Schreiber ENG ISBN: 978-0-992787356 RRP: £19.50

RRP:£10.00

ISLAM, RELIGION OF PEACE AND CREATION

by Sheikh Abdsattar Haji Derbisali * Joint edition with Stacey International HARDBACK ENG ISBN: 9781906768683 RRP:£24.95 DANCE OF DEVILS, JINLAR BAZMI

by Abdulhamid Ismoil and Hamid Ismailov E-BOOK UZ ASIN: B009ZBPV2M RRP:£2.00 VICTORS

by Sharaf Rashidov E-BOOK COMING SOON KURMAJAN-DATKA

by Bubaisha Arstynbekova COMING SOON SILK ROAD

by Nick Rowan COFEE TABLE BOOK HARDBACK ENG COMING SOON

100 EXPERIENCES OF MODERN KAZAKHSTAN

by Vitaly Shuptar, Nick Rowan and Dagmar Schreiber ENG ISBN: 978-1-910886-15-1 RRP: £19.50

THE TASTE OF CENTRAL ASIA COOK BOOK

by Danny Gordon ENG ISBN:978-1-910886-09-0 RRP: £19.50 KYRGYZSTAN - 20 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE: BETWEEN SCANDALS AND CORRUPT ELITE

by Giorgio Fiacconi * Partner Edition By Times of Central Asia HARDBACK ENG ISBN: 9789967265578 RRP:£29.95 THE HOLLYWOOD CONUNDRUM OR GUARDIAN OF TREASURE

by Maksim Korsakov PARERBACK ENG ISBN: 978-1910886144 RRP: £24.95 LITERARY ALMANAC - TVORCHESKOE SODRUJESTVO - 1 RUS HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1910886014 RRP: £15.25

DISCOVERY KYRGYZSTAN travel guide

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

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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 KARAKALPAKISTAN travel guide

by Anja Weidner ENG ISBN: 978-0-9930444-7-2 RRP: £5.95

DISCOVERY TAJIKISTAN Travel Guide

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

LITERARY ALMANAC - TVORCHESKOE SODRUJESTVO - 2 RUS PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1910886212 RRP: £15.25

WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

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CA M

2016

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

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

PAPER BACK ISBN: 978-1910886267 RRP: £17.50

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

THE MODERNIZATION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION: THE LINGUOCULTURAL - COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH

by SalimaKunanbayeva (2013)

S ES

CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

ERNATION E INT AL DG I PR BR

ENGLISH

ISBN: ISBN: 978 – 0993044434

AZERBAIJAN:BRIDGE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST

by Yury Sigov, 2015

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

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.

PAPERBACK

HARD BACK ISBN: 978-0-9930444-9-6 RRP: £24.50

ISBN: 978-0957480780

RRP: £19.95

LOOKING WEST: A KAZAKH’S VIEW OF GREAT BRITAIN

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

PAPERBACK

ISBN:978-1910886373 RRP: £14.50

TERROR: EVENTS, FACTS, EVIDENCE.

by Eldar Samadov, 2015 This book is based on research carried out since 1988 on territorial claims of Armenia against Azerbaijan, which led to the escalation of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. This escalation included acts of terror by Armanian terrorist and other armed gangs not only in areas where intensive armed confrontations took place but also away from the fighting zones. This book, not for the first time, reflects upon the results of numerous acts of premeditated murder, robbery, armed attack and other crimes through collected material related to criminal cases which have been opened at various stages following such crimes. The book is meant for political scientists, historians, lawyers, diplomats and a broader audience.

PAPERBACK RRP: £9.99

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ISBN: 978-1-910886-00-7

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

ISBN: 9780992787387 RRP: £25.00

IGOR SAVITSKY: ARTIST, COLLECTOR, MUSEUM FOUNDER

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

LANGUAGE: ENG, RUS, FR

ISBN: 978-0955754999

RRP: £10.00

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CONTENTS 6

SHARAF RASHIDOV’S 100TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY: REMEMBERING THE UZBEK STATESMAN AND A WRITER

10

RETRACING ATKINSON’S HISTORIC JOURNEY TO KHI-GOL

14

COLLECTIVE SECURITY IN EURASIA: MANAGING DIVERSITY AND MULTIPLE THREATS

16

BACK IN THE USSR: THE SPIRIT OF BEATLEMANIA IN KAZAKHSTAN

19

THE FIRST UK TRADE MISSION TO KYRGYZSTAN

21

ASTANA ECONOMIC FORUM – 2017

23

ALTYNAI ASYLMURATOVA: EVERYONE CAN SEE THE REAL BEAUTY

40

RUSSIAN FILM WEEK: GLIMPSES BEYOND BORDERS

42

‘TRUE CONNECTION’ FESTIVAL EDINBURGH 2017

44

SOARING FEELING OF BEAUTY

48

NTERVIEW: YAKUTIAN WRITER, DO, RECOUNTS OEBF WIN

52

ECG EVENTS

54

ECG BROSHURE

62

ECG ACADEMY BOOK SERIES

64

ECG BOOK SERIES

66

ECG BOOK SERIES CATALOGUE

28

AIDEX: COMING TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE MORE

68

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS CATALOGUE

30

TURKMENISTAN – AN EMERGING FORCE IN SPORT

80

CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL PRESS CATALOGUE

34

BRITAIN AND TURKEY: A STRONG, ENDURING PARTNERSHIP

37

ONE BELT, ONE ROAD: ONE MYTH?

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Called ‘taboo-breaking… revolutionary” by RFE/RL, Stockholm Syndrome is one of the most controversial books to emerge from Tajik society in recent years. The story of a young woman’s struggle to choose between her career and motherhood, the novella shocked this traditional and conservative society. A remembrance of childhood and rumination upon challenges present and future, Nazarova’s work explores themes of immigration, identity and mental imbalance. Acclaimed as ‘ahead of its time’ by Persian reviewers, Stockholm Syndrome is an emotional tour de force.

Winner of the Best Female Author award at the Eurasian Literary Book Festival, Nazarova has been featured in BBC Persian’s “100 Most Influential Women.” Brought to international recognition by her novels Registan and Motherland – ‘one of the highest picks of prose in Tajik literature,’ - she is also the founder of Chashme Del, the first television programme in Samarkand to be broadcast in the Tajik language.

An avid campaigner against all forms of censorship, Nazarova has worked at newspapers in Samarkand and for the BBC Persian Service. Resident in Holland for the past eleven years, she is currently editor for the Central Asian and Afghanistan regions at Radio Zamaneh.

ISBN: 978-1-910886-60-1 COMING SOON TO OCABF 2017

dedicated to 100 anniversary of sharaf rashidov

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