Since Kyrgyzstan is a part of Central Asia, events in this country affect both ongoing and planned projects and agreements throughout the region. The political crisis in the country, related to the third revolutionary change of power resulting from mass protests, led to a range of consequences, including those in its foreign policy. Major international […]
The largest lake group in Belarus, including more than 50 lakes spanning 130 square kilometres, is located around Braslav. The lakes are connected by numerous, but mostly shallow, rivers and streams with a length of more than 300 km. The most famous of the Braslav lakes are the Drivyaty, Tsno, Nespish, Nedrovo, Potsekh, Voyso, Boloyso, […]
The Caspian basin has historically been at the centre of production and trade cultures of Central Asia, Iran, the Caucasus and the Volga region. It has formed an important link in the magnificent Silk Road culture that connects Eastern countries and Europe. Today, the basin is an important player in the world economy, with annual […]
INTERVIEW: AMBASSADOR WILLIAM MOSER William H. Moser was nominated by President Trump as the United States Ambassador to Kazakhstan in 2018 and sworn in in 2019. He has been a diplomat since 1984 and has experience of Kazakhstan from his previous posting in 1996 when he served in the then-Embassy in Almaty as a management […]
Vladimir Zhirinovsky is no stranger to controversy. The founder of the Liberal Democratic Party in Russia, he has been involved in politics and public life for most of his career. A fervent Soviet Union idealist, whose magnus opus, “The Last Break Southward” set out in no uncertain terms that he felt the only solution for […]
Don’t be afraid of mistakes Alia Shekhmametieva was born in St. Petersburg. She graduated from the university with a degree in Environment Designer. Before entering her specialty, she was in two minds about it for a long time, because her interest in creating was always very deep. Alia Shekhmametieva considers herself as an aspiring […]
Alexey was born in Ukraine. He started drawing at school. He loves to draw nature, sky, water … He studied at the Kharkov cultural and educational school in the direction of folk instruments. In Kharkov, he worked in amateur music performances. Seriously began to draw after serving in the Army, he took painting courses. He […]
Interview Alexander is a sculptor, artist, and teacher. He has been working as an artist-sculptor. He gives preference to the social genre in sculpture. The sculptor is concerned about a person and his place in society, his values, his thoughts and deeds, his feelings and attitude to what is happening. He is the winner […]
INTERVIEW Zulkhumar Khamdamovna from 1994 till 2015 she worked as a teacher, from 2015 she began writing poetry and essays. The theme of her work is the knowledge of the truth of life. For 5 years (2015-2020) she wrote more than 70,000 lines of poetry, more than 2,000 sheets of essays. Books are her […]
At the age of 27, Vladimir began writing poetry and articles, many of which were published in newspapers and magazines. He graduated from two universities,and in 2011 his first book of a journalistic nature with the title “My language is my friend” was published. His other book such as “Guards of Hippocrates” – was highly […]
COVER STORY Victoria is a writer, poet born in the Chita region. Graduated from Moscow State Technical University. Bauman. Author of two novels and seven collections of poetry. She has been published in magazines in Israel, Russia, Germany, Bulgaria and others. Also she’s a Winner of the Russian Literary Prize medal. Laureate of several […]
INTERVIEW Sultan Akimovich is a writer, playwright. People’s Writer of the Kyrgyz Republic (2011). Laureate of the CIS Interstate Prize. He’s known as an acclaimed playwright and theater director. Author of more than two dozen plays. Performances based on his plays have repeatedly won victories, incl. Grand Prix, at theater festivals in Germany, Tatarstan, Uzbekistan, […]
Shahsanem is a writer, film critic, translator, international business, tourism,. In 2001 she moved to Scotland, married. I work in Edinburgh. Writer and translator. I work in a private company and do creative work in my spare time. I participate in Literary Festivals organized by the OCA Magazine team. I promote the Culture of the […]
Sariya Aga Mamad kyzy, graduated with honors from the institute, full-time postgraduate study. Since 1976, candidate of chemical sciences. Editor of the magazine “Society and Woman”. She is the owner of the “Golden Pen” by the Azerbaijani media, 2013. Member of the Writers’ Union of Azerbaijan 01.16.1913 Member of the Russian Writers Union (RSP) since […]
Sagynbubu was born in Kyrgyzstan. She has been a Member of the Union of Writers of Kyrgyzstan since 2014. She’s very interested in opera classical works, from time to time she’s singing opera. Sagynbubu Berkinalieva also performed on stages and expressively read the poems of Kyrgyz poets. Winner of a diploma for outstanding poetry and […]
Nina Belomestnova is a freelance journalist, historian (anthropologist), writer. Engaged in scientific and ethnic journalism. In journalism, holder of the titles “Journalist of Siberia”, 2016, “Golden Pen of Russia”, 2017. Winner of the Y. Rytkheu International Literary Prize in 2016 for the nomination “small prose”. OCA: Tell us about yourself and your activity / work? […]
Marina Podlesnaya was born in Moldova. She’s a poet, writer, museographer of the House-Museum of A.S. Pushkin in Chisinau, member of the Administrative Council of the Writers’ Union of Moldova A. S. Pushkin; board member and member of the ballroom committee of the Center for Russian Culture of the Republic of Moldova; organizer and presenter […]
International media forum dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan and the election of our country as Vice-Chairman of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly was held in Ashgabat On September 16, 2020, International media forum dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan and […]
Lenar (Lenar Shaekhov), a Tatar poet, children’s writer, translator, publicist. Born on 4 October 1982 in the village of Taktalachuk of the Aktanyshsky District of the Republic of Tatarstan (Russia). Graduated from the Menzelinsk Pedagogical College, Department of Tatar Philology and History of Kazan State University, Post Graduate Programme. Chief Editor of the Tatarstan Book […]
Larissa was born in Uzbekistan, her childhood and youth were spent in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. She graduated from university in Kazakhstan. After receiving her PhD, I taught economics in Central Asian and Caucasus countries. At the moment she lives in the USA. She’s a prose writer. Her historical novel “The Fine Thread of […]
John is an author, playwright, songwriter and poet, and chairman of the Eurasian Creative Guild. He is the author of over thousand books on many topics, and has been shortlisted for the Young People’s Science Book Prize five times. He is also a translator of literature from Russia and Central Asia. He was joint winner […]
Hamid Larbi is a journalist and poet, born in Algiers, currently lives at Montpellier. He is the author of various essays and poetry collections translated into Spanish, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Arabic and Serbian languages. He received the journalism award from the Press Circle of Milan for Giornalistàesterain Milan, Italy.He won the Silver Medal at […]
Gareth is originally from the UK, with Welsh routes and heritage. He originally trained as a designer and then, over thirty years ago, he found his passion for education, both teaching shared ideas and learning new things every day. He worked in Kazakhstan for nearly nine years in a wide variety of educational settings; from […]
Elvira Svetlova was born in Russia. She graduated from Pedagogical University. After moving to Almaty, Elvira’s articles were published in many media sources. She also wrote several books. She received the title of Doctor of Creative Sciences and Teachings of the Moscow Academy of Sciences. OCA: Tell us about yourself and your creative activity/work ES: […]
Elena graduated from Ryazan State Pedagogical University, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Geography. Elena took part in research expeditions, scientific conferences, won several competitions of poetry and scientific works. She is a laureate of international and all-Russian music competitions of songs for children and teenagers. Her poetry is multifaceted, extending to recitations to music, the […]
Elena is a founder and director of a ‘Premium Group’ company in Kyrgyzstan, a member of the Eurasian Creative Guild, a recent chairman of the Expert Council in the category of “Translation”. Hobbies: literature (writing articles, children’s stories, poems, dubbing texts), foreign languages (individual teaching, drawing up progressive training programs, consulting), painting, travel. OCA: Please […]
Michael Daniel is a British independent researcher, composer and filmmaker with Baltic & Slavic roots. He created an intergenerational memory project “Józefa’s Letters” that’s been widely exhibited throughout the Eurasian space. In 2019, he made and co-scored the documentary short film “Józefa’s Letters” which has received 9 official film festival selections. Visit: https://vimeo.com/michaelsagatis OCA: Tell […]
Born in Russia, Margarita began her studies as a pianist and choral conductor in St Petersburg Academy of Art. Since 2002 she has worked in Norway and gradually extended her repertoire from classical and romantic composers to contemporary music. After completing her Master Degree in Choral Conducting at the Norwegian Academy of Music Margarita worked […]
Gulnara is a stage movement researcher, professional ballerina – leading soloist of the Kazakhstan Opera House, master of arts (choreography), certified specialist in functional anatomy. Author of documentaries about classical ballet, founder of the “Gift” award for graduates of the Almaty Choreographic School named after Seleznev. Author of a number of scientific articles from the […]
Nurym is a mathematician, business manager, ideologue of general prosperity (through natural market / ‘Islamic’ economic system), scholar of philosophy of religion, theologian, author of scientific works, articles in the press and interviews with major media, blogger, translator. He is an author of dozens of scientific publications on philosophy of religion, appeared in the media […]
Stephen M. Bland is a freelance journalist, award-winning author, researcher and editor specialising in post-Soviet territories. His book on Central Asia was released in 2016, and he is currently putting the finishing touches to a book about the Caucasus. www.stephenmbland.com OCA: Tell us about yourself and your work SMB: My name is Stephen M. Bland; […]
Laurent has been working in the banking industry. He worked in the accountancy of a private aviation company and I have worked for the TPG Transport Publics Genevois, a State Company for public transport in Geneva twenty years as Manager of the Trolleybus Operations. He has been passionate about Central Asia since 2007, with many […]
Business coach and owner of the “Elena Bezrukova Center” aimed at training and consulting,she is also practicing psychology. Her work experience over 26 years. More than 5000 specialists have been trained by her programm and now they successfully apply learned knowledge. Education: pedagogical, economic, psychological. Elena Bezrukova has Kazakh and international certificates for conducting training […]
Anatoly Skarghin was born in Kyrgyzstan, worked in the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 1995 went out on pension from the Ministry of Internal Affairs — deputy minister’s position. He is the president of the International Public Association “Generals of the World – for Peace,” the Police Major General. ECG: Tell us […]
Founder of CIC ” Communities Art of Life” Humanitarian, NLP Master practitioner certificate Coach, Public speaker, Well-being Mentor / Coach, Performed in NHS High-security hospitals – art therapist. Farmer Olympic athlete – the Moscow Olympic Game 1980 Survivor of severe child abuse and domestic violence I was born in Latvia into the times during […]
The two provinces in the south of Armenia, Vayots Dzor and Syunik, are a spectacular strip of land at the very bottom of the Caucasus. The highway that runs through them, between the towns of Yeraskh and Meghri, passes over the mountains that separate the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh in the east from the Azeri […]
In the modern world the idea of “how a wedding should look like” has changed and yet all we want for this day is for it to be perfect and remarkable. It does not matter what your nationality is or where you are from because in any county a bride and groom are extremely excited […]
www.ocamagazine.com #35 summer 2020 text & photos by Mikhail Rybakov Vasily Koren, is still a little-known name in Belarus, but for the first time this name, significant for the Belarusian historical and cultural heritage, has begun to be heard on the streets and in the media in Belarus. In January 2020 in the State Museum […]
The Tariverdiev International Organ Competition is one of the world’s largest organ contests. For organists, it has the same significance in Russia as the Tchaikovsky competition does for pianists and violinists. Outstanding organists from a number of countries have been on the competition’s panel on several occasions, including Martin Haselböck, Michel Chapuis, Jean Guillou, Thierry […]
www.ocamagazine.com #35 summer 2020 text and photos by Pavel Podzorov pavelspne@tut.by The modern world is complex and diverse, it is full of opposing trends. Never before our earth has been subjected to such political and physical overloads. Never before has man taken from nature so many resources and never been so vulnerable to the power […]
www.ocamagazine #35 summer 2020 text by Tara Pandeya Dance is an integral part of life in Central Asia; it can be seen both in rural settings and on the proscenium stage, from highly developed virtuosic classical styles to nuanced and subtle folk-dance forms. Western audiences might be surprised to learn that Central Asia has an […]
Arrest, prison, GULag, suffering, and death – all are images that come to mind when we think of the Stalin era Great Purges of the 1930s. Solzhenitsyn’s GULag Archipelago and the memoirs of survivors document this period of a government’s war against its own people in heart-wrenching detail. It was a war fought so successfully […]
WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM OCA#35 SUMMER 2020 Interview with Michael Schena recorded by Saniya Seilkhanova Growing up in Plymouth, Massachusetts and later studying at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he pursued a degree in International Affairs, Michael Schena decided to pursue a career that would allow him travel and work. A regular visitor to […]
In 2021 the L.N. Gumilyov ENU celebrates a quarter of a century since its birth. The young and promising university was founded on 23 May 1996 by merging two well-known universities – Akmola Civil Engineering Institute and Akmola Pedagogical Institute. The first intake of students amounted no more than 1000 people. The university was in […]
I am from Afghanistan. I am Uzbek by ethnicity and Uzbeks are the least privileged and the most marginalised ethnic group in Afghanistan. Educational opportunities are scare for an Afghan Uzbek woman in the male-dominated society. I managed to complete my masters degree in International Public Law with distinction. I am among the very few […]
www.ocamagazine.com oca#35 summer 2020 Since 1999, Utah Valley University (UVU) has partnered with the International University of Kyrgyzstan (IUK). The important feature of their academic exchanges was to study and share experiences of economic development in mountain areas, which are affected not only by traditional challenges from nature such as high altitude, harsh climate, environmental […]
WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM OCA#35 SUMMER 2020 text by Marc David Miller For several years I have been out of the Central Asian market. Upon my return in 2019, I saw many changes in the region, changes that are not necessarily good or bad but that investors need to be aware of in order to understand the entire […]
WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM OCA#35 SUMMER 2020 text by Gareth Stamp As the whole world is coming to terms with what is a ‘new world’ post pandemic, the spotlight is falling on the response of countries to the crisis and as of equal importance how they are dealing with economic recovery. At the time of writing (mid May […]
WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM OCA#35 SUMMER 2020 As Ukraine continues to look towards the EU for its future, OCA Magazine met with the Ukrainian Ambassador to Belarus, in order to find out more about the European geopolitical direction of the country, as well as the development of Ukrainian-Belarusian relations. OCA: What is the regime of work of your embassy during […]
OCA #35 SUMMER 2020 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM interview prepared by Saniya Seilkhanova INTERVIEW: ALDONA GRUPAS Born in Riga, Latvia, to Lithuanian parents, Aldona Grupas later moved to Klaipėda in Lithuania, before resettling in the UK, where she embarked on a geriatric-nursing career. She has written books for Lithuanians who move to the UK to help them […]
Last Sunday, Solidarity with Uzbekistan, a digital fundraising campaign benefited from yet another webinar to help raise money for the vulnerable people affected by COVID-19 lockdown in the country. An interesting lecture about the Savitsky Museum given by its former director Marinika Babanazarova was fully booked. Held at 3pm in London, the Zoom-session attracted over […]
“I arrived at my station in Kaliningrad as if posted there by an army of desires entering through the gate with a firm set jaw into the guarding teeth of iron girders driven into the soft soul of the soil by hammering heels as bold as yours approaching a fateful encounter quite naughty amidst ghosts […]
Establishment of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic on 28 May, 1918 was a glorious page in Azerbaijani history. Committing to principles of democracy and secularity, ADR was the first parliamentary republic in the Muslim East, granting women the right to vote before most western democracies. ADR fell in April 1920 after Bolshevik invasion. Nevertheless, it laid the […]
International Extinction Rebellion and the Legacy of the 2003 London Anti-war marches I have been following the discourses and actions by Extinction Rebellion for a while now, pretty much ever since its inception in London. It is an quite an endeavour and a very brave approach of handling current climate issues and the potential for […]
This interview with portrait painter Sergey Pavlenko was recorded by Oksana Karnovich, Director of the Galina Ulanova Museum-Apartment in Moscow, and Maria Lvova, Member of Russian Heritage in the United Kingdom. We are in the very centre of London, on the busy, but cozy High Street Kensington. The reason was for the participation in the […]
Stories and reminders of Uzbekistan’s great scientists and scholars of the past can be found everywhere in the country. Travellers on the magnificent Tashkent subway, when stopping at the Kosmonavtlar station, can walk the length of the platform and view a gallery of those who built, influenced and pioneered the Soviet space program. In chronological […]
INTERVIEW: EVGENII DOGA Moldovan musician, Evgenii Doga, dismissed his life of poverty and paralysis to realise his dream of becoming a musician. His fascinating story is uncovered here. OCA: How did you become such a talented creative person in Moldova? Evgenii Doga: I liked music from my childhood, but I could not even imagine that […]
The media call him the “Belarusian Nick Vujicic” (Originally a world famous preacher from the USA, born without legs and hands). Only in early 2017, at the age of 34, Alexey Talay began practicing professional sports. He has achieved incredible results in a short period of time – he was awarded the Master of Sport […]
I used to dream of visiting Central Asia. For 12 years, first while studying in Russia, and then working in jobs connected with the Russian-speaking world, I longed to one day find myself in a city on the Silk Route, talking with the people, and immersing myself in the markets. In 2017 I booked a […]
The vice-сhairman of Eurasian Creative Guild (London), Marat Akhmedjanov, visited the official opening ceremony of the international conference “TAPI – the Pipeline for Peace and Cooperation” and the roadshow “Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan” which took place in the Al Maha conference hall of the Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights Hotel on 24 February 2020. […]
Michael Gifford joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1981, with his first ambassador role coming in 2004 when he served as the British Ambassador to Yemen. He then moved to be the Deputy Head of Mission in Cairo before becoming the Ambassador to North Korea in October 2012. Following intensive Russian language training he […]
My trip to Tajikistan in the summer of 2019 was one of my most memorable adventures ever. I’ve been travelling full-time for the past 9 years and seen some stunning destinations, but not many countries have touched me like this little Central Asian country did. What exactly makes Tajikistan so special? 93% of the country is covered in mountains, […]
In Conversation: Shalva Natelashvili Sixty-two year old Shalva Natelashvili is no ordinary Georgian politician. Born in the northern mountainous part of Georgia, he graduated from Tbilisi State University with a degree in Law before pursuing a post-graduate degree at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian federation. He began […]
From 13th to 17th November, the eighth Open Eurasian Literary Festival and Book Forum (OEBF 2019) was held in Brussels (Belgium). Open Eurasia is an international initiative that for the eighth year brings together creative people from all over the world – writers, poets, translators, artists and other talented people. This year, festival guests represented […]
From October 1st to 6th 2019, Great Britain, attracted artists, artisans, writers, filmmakers and art-lovers to its capital. Attendees enjoyed the creativity and culture of the Eurasian region through exhibitions, films, and creative meetings. Eurasian Culture Week was organised by the Eurasian Creative Guild (London), with the support of Premiere Cinemas Romford, The Mercury Shopping […]
TEDxLambeth officially debuted on Friday 11th October 2019 at the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) in London, UK, attracting 70 attendees from all over the globe including New York, Trondheim and Almaty. A year in the making, this gathering brought together 12 remarkable speakers and performers, not to mention […]
By profession, Ludmila Dubcovetcaia is a doctor working in the Department of Immunology of the Municipal Dermatovenerological Dispensary of Chisinau. However as a part time writer she strives to reach out and touch the hearts of others. If her poem or story stirs someone’s soul, then she is fulfilling her creative mission – which is […]
The map of Russian places in Great Britain, originally developed on the basis of the free Google Maps service in 2015 for the website of the Russian Embassy in London, has now become the most complete and clear illustration of the deep historical ties between Russia and the United Kingdom. At the time of launch, […]
The Irish playwright Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) never visited Central Asia, but given how he revelled in the American Wild West, with all its raw edges, I suspect he would similarly have loved the “new frontier” atmosphere of the steppes of Kazakhstan. However, that was not why I was invited to Almaty and Taras, to talk […]
Don’t underestimate the potency of soft power grounded in education and people-to-people contact. Both are the backbone of deepened relationships, and the global community needs to invest in strengthening those ties with the Central Asia region. Soft power is an axiom of international relations and multilateral ties. Within this framework, education and research is a […]
INTERVIEW: ROMAN ROMANOV, DIRECTOR OF THE GULAG HISTORY MUSEUM, MOSCOW The GULAG History Museum in Moscow, Russia, covers one of the darkest eras in human history. The GULAG – the acronym for the Russian translation of ‘Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps and Colonies’ – best embodies the repression of the Soviet system in […]
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NEW ICTM STUDY GROUP The ICTM Study Group on “Music of the Turkic-speaking world” was established in 2006 at the Music Department, SOAS, University of London. This Study Group is dedicated to the practice, documentation, preservation, and dissemination of traditional music and dance as found throughout the wide area of the […]
I remember the first time I entered Uzbekistan, more than a decade ago. My car, an already rather battered Isuzu Trooper, broke down in the no man’s land between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and had to be push started to make it across the border. It wasn’t an auspicious start. With a trio of friends, I […]
The recent international tourist forum “Ulytau-2019” in Nursultan City attracted participants from more than 30 countries, including the UK, USA, Italy, France and others. President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan announced that the government of the country would continue putting special attention and billions of dollars into promoting his country as a major tourist destination. Indeed, […]
SAIDMUROD DAVLATOV Business mentor, owner and co-owner of 23 types of businesses, Davlatov has individually trained 292 entrepreneurs and coached 30 US dollar millionaires over the course of five years. The premier of the movie, The Mentor is set to be held in Moscow in 2020. The plot is quite simple and is based on […]
A brief analysis of overseas development assistance to the Central Asian Republics. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, abrupt national independence incited a sharp rise in poverty, inequality, and the disintegration of public services across Central Asia. A multitude of development challenges lay ahead for the five Stans: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and […]
Aktam Khaitov has held many roles in Uzbek politics. Currently the Leader of the Uzbekistan Liberal Democrat Party, he cut his teeth in several previous government roles as Minister of Employment and Labour Relations and General Director of the Uzbek Agency of Standardisation, Metrology and Certification (Uzstandard). Uzbekistan has changed significantly since the death of […]
From 6th to 10th June 2019, Premiere Cinemas in Romford, London became the centre of attention for directors, producers, actors and designers from Eurasian countries. As part of the third ‘Romford Film Festival’, for the first time, the ‘ECG Eurasian Film Festival’ (London) featured alongside it as a contributing partner. Founded in 2017 by British […]
“Viking Extraordinaire”, Sölvi Fannar, doesn’t believe in following just one career path, in fact he has actively pursued several. He has acted in films, played music professionally, modelled, been a sports athlete, dabbled in poetry, and even spent time as a health professional. Recently, he is better known for his work in films, especially working […]
The problem of distorting general history, a departure from the principle of objectivity in compiling history textbooks, and the lack of holistic basic research on the history of culture and science of Central Asia has long been troubling many historians, scholars, scientists and other representatives of the intellectuals. Scientists and historians of the Central Asian […]
The territory of Ile in Xinjiang was occupied by Russian troops in 1871. After ten years, in the year 1881-82, the Ile area was returned to China. For the second time (after Alaska) the Russian Empire refused the almost-conquered territory that was lying at its feet like a ripe melon … Ile area Numerous rivers, […]
Born in Belarus, Marc Chagall is a talented painter, a bright art practitioner of the avant-garde of the twentieth century who took over the world with his unique style and special outlook on life. Chagall is one of the few artists who formed a whole era in art. It is hard to name a person […]
After meeting eight young Kazakhs at the International Olympiads of Linguistics, I decided to fly from Canada to see my friends again and at the same time, discover the land of the Kazakhs… My name is Nathan Samson, I am now 18 years old and I study Linguistics at the University of Ottawa. Last year, […]
As many parents believe that watching cartoons is either harmful or not of much use, nowadays, it has become fashionable not to show them to children. This opinion, however, does not hold true; good animation can contribute to the formation of a child’s personality, because high-quality cartoons, as with books and movies, help to develop […]
Faig Ahmed dismantles and reforms Azerbaijani traditions of carpet making, creating remarkable new works of contemporary art. Through his art practice he reconsiders these ancient crafts and their history by deconstructing both their physical form and their traditions, and questions the conventions associated with their craft by repositioning them in the contemporary art environment. From […]
On May 15th 2019, the House of Friendship in Nur-Sultan hosted an exhibition dedicated to Chingiz Aitmatov entitled Tales of the Mountains and Steppes. The event was initiated by the Kyrgyzstan-Astana Ethnocultural Association and supported by The Eurasian Creative Guild (London). The main guest of the evening was Rosetta Aitmatova, the younger sister of Chingiz […]
Warakai is the daughter of Kharakai, the talking rabbit on the BBC radio who, during the brutal war of the 1990s, stole the hearts of Afghans. If I can say so, I knew her very well. And in case you haven’t heard, Warakai and I will co-present the new BBC Pashto children’s bedtime stories TV […]
Just hours before former President of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, was arrested at his home in Bishkek on charges of corruption, Open Central Asia magazine completed an exclusive interview with the man once heralded as bringing a new dawn to the history of the country. In this frank and open interview, we get an insight into […]
Open Eurasia is an international creative competition, now in its eighth year, which brings together creative people from all over the world. Writers, poets, translators, illustrators, videographers and publicists will be competing for a number of awards with a total prixe fund of $31,000. The winners’ money will towards design and print costs for books […]
In June 2019, the Eurasian Creative Guild launches the first festival of Eurasian films in London, the ECG Film Festival, which will be held as part of the Romford Film Festival. ECG Film Festival is a platform to promote Eurasian region cinema, bringing it to the English-speaking world! The Festival will introduce those in the […]
For more than a quarter of a century, Belarus and the United Kingdom (UK) have successfully cooperated in the trade, economic, cultural, scientific, and humanitarian spheres. The promotion of Belarusian brands abroad is a strategic task for state bodies, enterprises, and non-profit organizations. Besides, the point is not in the products by Belarusian companies only. […]
The name, Rauza Yeraliyeva, has finally become a true discovery for the fine arts circles of Kazakhstan! It is surprising, perhaps, that the formation of her creative biography began only after an eighty-year threshold. All this time after receiving art education in her distant youth, she did not sit back, wholly devoting herself to her […]
Two British contemporary artists, Nicholas Joubinaux and Tim Ridley have been chosen to travel to Azerbaijan from the UK in April 2019 to create new artworks. Taking inspiration from the similarities and differences between the UK and Azerbaijan’s cultural heritage, the artists creative investigations have already started to take shape. Ridley’s ‘Parrots in the trees’ […]
‘Don’t divide music into the serious and frivolous. Music can only be good or bad. You can compose a magnificent simple song and trashy opera.’ — Naum Shafer There is a city located in the centre of Eurasia, on the territory of Kazakhstan. The city is named Pavlodar. It was founded in 1721 in the […]
In July & August 2018, two British women Catherine & Hannah, undertook the 2500km drive, unaided, along the Pamir Highway, famously the 2nd highest road on Earth, reaching altitudes of 4500m and coursing through the heart of Central Asia. Their mission: to reach, live with and film the women living along it. During their time […]
1 On the wild steppes of Transbaikalia, Where people dig for gold in the mountains, A vagrant, bemoaning his fate, Is wandering with a bag on his back. 2 He walks through the thick taiga, Where only a few birds sing, He carries a tin can on his side, His feet are strapped in dry […]
On March 20th, at 8 o, clock in the morning, the huge aircraft landed at Manas airport after the journey of 30 minutes. Kyrgyzstan’s Manas Airline has started its direct flights from Kabul to Bishkek over the last couple of years but this was my first time travelling in a Kyrgyz airline, and I pretty […]
THE WELCOME TO GEORGIA – NATIONAL TOURISM AWARDS Georgia is one of the most beautiful and ancient countries in the world, with its untouched nature, history, mountains and architecture. This small country is a real paradise for all kind of travellers throughout tthe whole year. Let Tbilisi be the starting point of your unforgettable journey. […]
The spirit of Soviet times? Look no further than the main Belarusian national celebration – Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus. The celebration falls on the 3rd of July due to the liberation of Minsk in 1944 from Fascist invaders. Why this date? In 1996 a referendum was conducted by the Belarusian president, Alexander […]
