Category: Voices on Central Asia

The lives of women in Central Asia before Russian colonization are often portrayed in a miserable light. European travelers did not leave much visual evidence about local women. Women in… Continue reading The Lives and Work of Soviet Kazakh Women in Photos. From the Central State Archive of Film, Photo Documents, and Sound Recording of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The Central State Archive of Film, Photo Documents, and Sound Recording of the Republic of Kazakhstan – http://kfdz.kz/ was set up almost 80 years ago but has recently expanded to include… Continue reading Archival Treasures of Kazakhstan Offer New Images and Voices of Its History

Over the past few years, there has been a marked increase in the volume of content on the topic of how to be a “true Kazakh woman.” Among the most… Continue reading Falling Off the Pedestal: Victim-blaming and Nationalism in Kazakhstan

A revolutionary spirit, an opponent of imperial and Soviet power, and a supporter of the idea of an independent Ukraine, Fyodor Shcherbina was one of the first scientists sent by… Continue reading Studying the Steppe on Imperial Orders: Fyodor Shcherbina and His Expedition

This July, Gaudy Boy will publish an English-language anthology of Kazakhstani women’s writing entitled Amanat. The anthology brings together short stories and essays by 13 women from three generations (ranging… Continue reading Why We Translate Central Asia While All Eyes Are on Ukraine

Author Aksana Ismailbekova Aksana Ismailbekova is a research fellow at Leibniz-Zentrum-Moderner Orient (ZMO). Ismailbekova completed her PhD dissertation at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology and Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg in… Continue reading Women, Kinship, and Property in Central Asia

For the last few years, Professor Cholpon Koichumanova has been working on a project studying the role and place of women in modern Kyrgyzstan. The project has been implemented with… Continue reading Rural Women in Kyrgyzstan: “Ayalzattyn tagdyry: mezgil kүүsүndө” (Women’s Fates Don’t Choose Times). An Interview with Cholpon Koichumanova

I am a scholar-activist from the Caucasus residing in the US. I am a mother and a scholar of Anthropology, Islam, and Gender; my work does not fit easily within… Continue reading A Reflection on Gender Studies in Central Asia by Svetlana Peshkova

Monomakh’s Cap used to crown the Russian tsars. Created in the early fourteenth century, the cap is topped by a simple gold cross, inlaid with precious stones, and trimmed with… Continue reading The Turkic Roots of Monomakh’s Cap: An Interview with Guzel Valeeva-Suleymanova

Pavel Azbelev, archaeologist and guides’ educator at the State Hermitage Museum, Russia, discusses the frozen treasures of Pazyryk culture, a Scythian nomadic Iron Age archaeological culture whose artifacts and mummies… Continue reading The Treasures of Pazyryk Kurgans in the Hermitage Museum

While working in the archives of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, I came across an interesting document. It was a list of the… Continue reading Jewelry of Central Asia: Past and Present of the Art Tradition

What are the origins of the Kazakh nation? What is common between Kazakhs, Uzbeks, and Cossacks? In this interview, Joo-Yup Lee tells us about political vagabonds – ambitious brigades that… Continue reading Political Vagabonds of the Steppe and Their Influence on Modern Eurasia. A Conversation About Qazaqlïq With Joo-Yup Lee

Around the world, “art and artistic activism is a dynamic practice that combines the creative power of art, which moves us emotionally, with the strategic planning of the activities necessary… Continue reading Documentary Center in Tashkent Documents Untold Stories and Unfurls Symbolic Meanings