archive

Out of USSR’s shadow

From Economic Sociology, a special issue on Russia. Mazbaev of the Antarctic: A 57-year-old geographer goes through icy hell to plant Kazakhstan’s flag at the South Pole. Patrick Kingsley on how tiny Estonia stepped out of USSR's shadow to become an internet titan. Scott Horton on Uzbekistan as a values challenge for NATO. What happens to traditional culture when an isolated town in the Caucasus is reshaped in the image of a Western tourism center? A review of Internal Colonization: Russia's Imperial Experience by Alexander Etkind. Kyrgyzstan is in the midst of building a Western-type democracy in an undemocratic regional environment. Tara McKelvey on cozying up to Central Asia’s most brutal regimes. The ongoing tension between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan is causing headaches and heartache for many Tajiks. Figuring out right from left: In post-communist politics, the leftists and rightists continue to shape-shift. With the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko staining its global reputation, can Ukraine find a way out of its political purgatory? A review of Eight Pieces of Empire: A Twenty Year Journey Through the Soviet Collapse by Lawrence Scott Sheets.