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Kyrgyzstan

Riot police check spectators' bags as they guard an area at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall prior to the concert of the rock group Picnic and the symphony orchestra Tavrichesky, in St. Petersburg, Russia, March 27, 2024.

Central Asians in Russia face increased scrutiny, discrimination after mass shooting 

Race

Russia has detained four suspected shooters in the Crocus City Hall mass shooting. The suspects are all from Tajikistan. Now, there are reports in cities across Russia that people from Central Asia are experiencing a rise in harassment, mistreatment and xenophobic behavior.

event gathering

In Kyrgyzstan, a fight to keep alive the memory of a century-old rebellion against Russia

Ukraine
billboard over building

LGBTQ Russians are fleeing to Central Asia

LGBTQ
In this photo taken on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, an elderly man sits inside a bus in the station of Moscow, Russia. More and more migrants from the Central Asia are coming come to Moscow in search of work.

Russia’s war creates economic hardships for Central Asian migrants

Ukraine
The walnut forests of southern Kyrgyzstan sprawl along the tops of steep hills. They are believed to be the largest natural walnut forest on earth.

Kyrgyzstan’s walnut forests dwindle with increased cattle farming, climate change

Environment
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Many of the Jewish graves in Kyrgyzstan are adorned with Stars of David.

The Jewish graves in Kyrgyzstan are fading. But a small Jewish community continues to thrive. 

History

An estimated 40,000 Jews fled fighting in the western part of the Soviet Union during World War II and sought refuge in Central Asia. Today, only about 1,500 Jews still live in Kyrgyzstan, but the small community continues to thrive.

Citizen scientist Pavel Plotitsyn is on a mission to help citizens gauge air quality in Central Asia, where air pollution is a health major hazard.

This citizen scientist is on a mission to help gauge air quality in Central Asia

Environment

Until recently, residents of Central Asian cities didn’t have a good way to check the air quality before stepping outside in the winter, when pollution especially stagnates in the air. Pavel Plotitsyn took matters into his own hands, building low-cost air sensors and a website to help gauge air quality on any given day. 

Some Afghan students were relocated to the American University of Centra Asia in Bishek, Kyrgyzstan, when Kabul fell to the Taliban.

Some Afghan university students find refuge — and hope — in Kyrgyzstan

Afghanistan

On a recent morning, students at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA), in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, gathered for the school’s annual Afghan culture day. Dressed in traditional clothing representing ethnicities from all over Afghanistan, students performed Afghan dances and recited poetry on a small stage decorated in black, red and green balloons — the colors […]

A snow leopard sunbathes in the wild.

Kyrgyzstan’s remaining snow leopards under threat due to climate change, COVID

Environment

The Snow Leopard Trust works to protect vulnerable snow leopards that face wide-ranging threats primarily due to climate change.

Sooronbay Jeenbekov is shown walking past the blue, yellow and red national flag.

Kyrgyzstan’s president says he’s quitting to avoid bloodshed

Global Politics

Kyrgyzstan’s embattled president said Thursday he was resigning following protests over a disputed parliamentary election, the third time in 15 years that a leader of the Central Asian country has been ousted by a popular uprising.

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