Tajikistan-Born Singer, Criticized in Russia, Prepares to Release an Anti-War Song

In 2023, Tajik-Russian singer Manizha Sanghin, harshly criticized in Russia for her public comments on sensitive issues, travelled to the picturesque “Valley of the Forty Girls” in southern Tajikistan to record an anti-war song to be released on Friday. The mountainous location, known to Tajiks as Childukhtaron, derives its name from ancient lore about a group of girls who turned into towering rock formations when an invading force swept through their homeland. Whether the girls-turned-rocks were meant to block the invaders, or simply bear silent witness, depends on the telling. Tajikistan-born Sanghin said she felt an affinity for the girls as standing at the foot of the rock, she recorded ‘Gun’. Written a decade ago, the song was originally about the devastating civil war in Tajikistan in the 1990s but had been put to rest after being abandoned by music producers in Britain. Following  Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, they talked about the song again and the singer, a goodwill ambassador for UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, said in YouTube video, "I thought, I have to release it. Because now, it's not just a song about war in Tajikistan. It's a song about war in Ukraine, in Gaza, and all wars around the globe." Music producer Liz Horsman who described Sanghin as" brave in the face of ongoing investigations into her anti-war stance,” readily agreed to record the song and since the war made travel between Britain and Russia impossible, the pair arranged to meet in Tajikistan. Seven months pregnant with her daughter, Sanghin described her return to her homeland as “very poetic”. Over the years, the singer has sparked a fair share of controversy. In 2021, when she represented Russia at the Eurovision contest with a song called “Russian Woman,” she was condemned for advocating women’s and LGBT rights. She was then denounced online and Russian promoters cancelled many of her concerts after she criticized the invasion of Ukraine. She was further alienated following her comments about the brutal treatment of several Tajik suspects in a terrorist attack that killed 144 people at a Moscow music venue in March. Sanghin condemned the attack but described the abuse of the suspects as “public torture.” “I am a systemic victim of cyberattacks and cyberbullying. Sometimes I have to block thousands of bots a week and sometimes daily... They follow, mass unfollow and report my profile,” Sanghin said on Instagram in May. “Instagram’s algorithm then thinks that I am breaking community rules and doesn’t show my posts to most of my followers. (Sometimes it can last for months).” Sanghin asked followers on the social media platform to leave a comment or just a heart emoji as a possible way to help her “get out of this ‘shadow ban.’”  

China to Help Kazakhstan Plant Artificial Forests on the Aral Sea

On July 23, Kazakhstan’s minister of ecology and natural resources Erlan Nysanbayev met scientists from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to discuss the creation of artificial forest plantations on the dried base of the Aral Sea. Following a proposal to establish a joint Kazakh-Chinese center to resolve environmental issues on the Aral Sea, the Chinese scientists will visit the Kyzylorda region to closely examine work being undertaken on the dried sea base. Spanning across Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea was once the fourth largest inland body of water in the world, covering 68,000 km². The destruction of the Aral Sea first dates back as far as the U.S. Civil War, when, finding his supply of American cotton under threat, the Russian tsar decided to use the sea’s tributaries to irrigate Central Asia and create his own cotton bowl. With 1.8 million liters of water needed for every bale of cotton, the water soon began to run out. By 2007, the Aral had shrunk to one-tenth its original size. Up until the late-1990s, the land surrounding the Aral Sea was still cotton fields; today, it’s largely an expanse of salinized grey emptiness. The desiccation of the landscape has led to vast toxic dust-storms that ravage around 1.5 million square kilometers. Spreading nitrates and carcinogens, these storms – visible from space – used to occur once every five years, but now strike ten times a year. According to reports, Kazakhstan intends to plant saxaul shrubs on 1.1 million hectares of dried-up sections of the Aral Sea by 2025. Through joint efforts of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and the region's administration, 544,500 hectares of saxaul have been sown over the past three years, with a further 275,000 hectares to be planted on the former seabed this year. Wind-borne salt and dust cause significant damage to areas adjacent to the Aral Sea and their inhabitants. Every year, over 100 million tons of salt, dust, and sand are blown from the bottom of the former Aral Sea and mixed into the air.

ADB to Support Climate-Friendly Business Environment in Tajikistan

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) says it has approved a $50 million policy-based grant for a program that will help the government of Tajikistan foster a climate-responsive business environment and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country. The program aims to transform Tajikistan's business environment through digitization, reforms to increase exports, improvement of infrastructure governance, fiscal transparency, and support for climate-friendly SMEs. Underscoring ADB's commitment to supporting Tajikistan in its transition to a green economy, ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov commented, “By promoting climate-responsive investments and improving the overall business environment, we aim to stimulate economic growth, create green jobs, and enhance the country's resilience to climate change." The program will support reforms subsidizing climate-friendly SMEs, and prioritizing funding for female entrepreneurs. It advances digitization and e-commerce through the Agency for Innovation and Digitization and the approval of the E-Commerce program. The program will also support enhanced public investment management through assessments to recommend improvements and prioritize climate-focused projects. Fiscal transparency will improve the Ministry of Finance’s capacity to publish government finance statistics. The program will also promote international trade and investment by streamlining trade documentation processes and updating regulatory frameworks for issuing local and green bonds.

U.S. to Assist Kazakhstan in Rare Metals Exploration

In Astana on July 18, the U.S. Department of State and Department of Energy, in coordination with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Energy, held the 2024 U.S.-Kazakhstan Strategic Energy Dialogue. The U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan reported that the Dialogue deepened cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United States on the shared priorities of enhancing energy security, accelerating the clean energy transition and methane mitigation, and developing Kazakhstan’s critical minerals sector. Deputy Assistant Secretary Kimberly Harrington from the Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources and Deputy Assistant Secretary Joshua Volz from the Department of Energy’s Office of International Affairs co-led the U.S. delegation. U.S. and Kazakh energy and international affairs experts discussed the current progress and plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sustainably mine and refine critical materials. They also discussed civil nuclear cooperation, renewable energy sources, energy security, and global nuclear security. The U.S. Department of State also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kazakh National Geological Service and National Mining Company Tau-Ken Samruk to expand and diversify the supply chains of critical minerals. According to the National Geological Service, the main goal of the memorandum of cooperation is to explore the promising regions of Kyzylorda and East Kazakhstan to extract rare metals. With this memorandum, the U.S. Department of State will support Kazakhstan in financing geological exploration and providing technical expertise for these projects.

A Eurasian Perspective on the Historic Conviction of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez

On July 16, a federal court in New York found United States Senator Robert "Bob" Menendez (D) guilty on 16 counts in a corruption trial, including charges of accepting bribes to benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar, obstruction of justice and extortion. He is the first U.S. senator to be convicted as a foreign agent and the charges collectively carry a potential sentence of 222 years in prison. Bribery charges involved receiving gold bars worth over $100,000 and more than $480,000 in cash as well as a Mercedes-Benz for his wife. “This wasn't politics as usual. This was politics for profit,” summarized Damian Williams, an attorney for the Southern District of New York. According to federal prosecutors, among other things, Menendez helped secure millions of dollars of U.S. aid for Egypt and used his office to assist a multi-million-dollar deal with a Qatari fund. Egypt’s intelligence and military officials are said to have bribed him and his wife at a time when U.S. military aid to the country would have paused due to human rights concerns. Menendez also used his official position “to protect and enrich” individuals in exchange for payments, including helping a New Jersey businessman secure a halal certification monopoly with regards to U.S. meat exports to Egypt. Striking similarities to another recent “influence-for-sale” scandal For many Europeans, this U.S. case resembles the European Union’s own Qatargate scandal, which broke out in 2022 and unveiled how foreign governments (Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania) have been channeling hundreds of thousands of euros to a ring of elected European Parliament officials who, in turn, were leveraging their authority to benefit these clients. The services included “attempts to manipulate the Parliament” and “scheming to kill off six parliamentary resolutions condemning Qatar’s human rights record” as Politico reports. In his plea deal, Antonio Panzeri, the chief of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI), admitted to receiving bribes as well as to leading and participating in a criminal organization. This criminal organization reportedly doled out bribes to EU officials through two NGOs named Fight Impunity and No Peace Without Justice, which were allegedly set up to launder money and help fund the scheme. In Menendez’s case, the money ran through his wife’s consultancy. Qatargate allegations extended beyond the Middle East and North Africa. For instance, Atlantico.fr reported that Panzeri and his associates may have been corrupted by at least two Kazakh criminal figures. Europeans appeared lenient on corruption as Panzeri only received a five-year prison sentence, of which four would be suspended and the one year he’d serve would be under house arrest with an electronic bracelet. Momentum behind investigations of key suspects has since waned, leading the EU Observer to call Qatargate “a missed opportunity to bring Europe to justice”. Foreign policy priorities pushed by Senator Menendez need to be re-examined When public officials are found to have used their office to promote external interests, their past policy activities should be closely examined. Bob Menendez has been a member of U.S. Congress since 1993 and chaired the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 2013 to 2015, and again from 2021 to 2023. As the chairman, he held significant influence over shaping U.S. foreign policy by overseeing legislation, treaties, and diplomatic issues. The position allowed him to set the agenda for policy discussions, influence strategies, and advocate for specific approaches to international affairs, all of which had an impact on global alliances and challenges. In Menendez’s defense, most of his calls for support and condemnation with regards to foreign governments appear to be evidence based and endorsed by other U.S. law makers. However, given recent revelations in his court case, it is fair for the public to question whether his actions were scoped, scripted, sourced, timed, or targeted in a fashion to serve a particular paying client.  Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director of the American non-profit organization Democracy for the Arab World Now, believes that Senator Menendez's conviction is an “important step in accountability” but adds that the U.S. government “must do much more to investigate, root out and punish these naked acts of corruption and undue influence by Middle East dictatorships that are rotting our democratic institutions”. Menendez was indeed consistently critical of Middle Eastern regimes associated with authoritarian rule such as Iran and Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, he remained favorable towards Qatar, which is not surprising given that the federal charges against him included receiving bribes from Qatar and activating the office of the U.S. President to arrange a meeting with a member of Qatar’s royal family. Judicial Watch has reported that Qatargate’s “metastasizing corruption scandal” reached the U.S., involving politicians and political operatives, mentioning Menendez as being caught in the “Qatargate crosshairs”. Menendez was also an outspoken champion of Armenia and sided against its adversaries, namely Azerbaijan and Turkey. On September 21, 2023, he led bipartisan legislation banning most assistance to the government of Azerbaijan while authorizing foreign military financing for Armenia. He also led campaigns for the U.S. to recognize the WWI-era massacre of Armenians in present day Turkey as “genocide”. Addressing the Senate floor on November 13, 2023 about the humanitarian crisis in Armenia, he warned against the influence of “malign actors” of Turkey, China, Russia, and Iran. Following news of his conviction, on 18 July, Turkey’s Hurriyet news outlet trumpeted the headline “Anti-Türkiye Senator may receive life sentence: Menendez burned.” His wife since 2020, Nadine Menendez, was born in Lebanon to Armenian parents and has been an advocate for Armenia. Why the Menendez case is relevant for Central Asia Central Asian news outlets have shown limited interest in the U.S. Senator’s conviction and his activities in the region. Many of his criticisms of, and condemnations for, Central Asian states were consistent with those raised by other U.S. government offices. On the other hand, as it has become evident that Menendez commercialized his office, the details behind his political activities including his meetings and correspondence with those representing foreign interests as well as any funds received (campaign finance or other) should be under further scrutiny. We have compiled the below brief chronology of some of his key political actions impacting Central Asian states:

• On July 29, 2019, Menendez co-led a letter to the President of Kazakhstan asking for the release of a prisoner accused of being involved in a multi-billion-dollar bank fraud, which was orchestrated by a notorious fraudster and opposition figure named Mukhtar Ablyazov. Ablyazov faces three concurrent 22-month sentences in the U.K. (2018) and has other judgements against him in the U.K. and U.S. exceeding $5 billion overall (2015, 2022, 2023 and 2024). The senators’ letter also gave credence to claims put forth by a murky Europe-based NGO that has lobbied for at least one other money launderer in addition to Ablyazov, and has links to Russia’s defense industry through the family of its founder and president.
• On May 7, 2020 and June 29, 2020, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan each received a letter from Menendez and other U.S. senators asking for the “release” of “detainees imprisoned for peaceful activism who are also at high risk of contracting COVID-19”. Each letter named one to three detainees and expressed reasons why they should be released.
• On December 6, 2021, Menendez and five other senators urged the U.S. Secretary of State to “ensure human rights are at the center of the United States’ developing partnership with Uzbekistan during the upcoming Strategic Partnership Dialogue”. The senators wrote that despite much-lauded reforms, Uzbekistan remained among the world’s most repressive countries and was at risk of reversing recent gains.
• On October 7, 2022, Menendez and three other senators pressed U.S. Secretary of State to establish an international investigation mechanism, under the auspices of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) or the OSCE, to probe Kazakhstani security forces’ actions during the January 2022 violent protests which left over 200 people dead. Two weeks later, on October 25, 2022, UNHRC issued an opinion based on a single source, focusing on the detention of Karim Massimov, the former head of Kazakhstani intelligence, who was arrested for his alleged role in plotting the violent unrest that transformed into a coup attempt. UNHRC asked to “take urgent action to ensure the immediate unconditional release of Mr. Massimov”. In 2023, Massimov was sentenced to 18 years in Kazakhstan for high treason, attempting a coup and misuse of power. There are reports on his alleged links to grand scale bribery and embezzlement. In the letter, Menendez and other senators also asked for a review of U.S. security assistance to Kazakhstan.
• On November 22, 2022, Menendez and another senator sent a letter to the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, expressing “concerns over an escalation of violent harassment of journalists and the government’s failure to protect freedoms of speech and press” and mentioning appreciation for the accreditation for Radio Ozodi journalists, an affiliate of Radio Liberty.
• On August 8, 2023, Menendez sent a letter to Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov asking him to investigate allegations of assisting Russia or its proxies in evading international sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine. He criticized the country for “democratic backsliding and widespread human rights violations” and urged the president to “lift all restrictions on independent media and journalists, release imprisoned human rights defenders, and repeal measures restricting fundamental freedoms such as the freedom of association.” Japarov denied the accusations.

Ashgabat Hosts Seminar on Artificial Intelligence

The capital of Turkmenistan is hosting a two-day seminar , organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, on "Artificial Intelligence and its Impact on Freedom of Speech." During the event, international participants, including specialists from Austria and Bulgaria, will analyse the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies on freedom of speech and the role of the media in today's world through various workshops focusing on: the role of artificial intelligence in shaping public opinion and disseminating information;  the risks and opportunities associated with the application of AI in the media;  how to ensure freedom of speech in the context of AI development; and how to combat misinformation and manipulation in the age of artificial intelligence. Opening the seminar, William Leaf, Representative of the OSCE Centre in Turkmenistan, emphasized the importance of freedom of speech and media as integral elements of a democratic society. Noting Turkmenistan's growing interest in developing artificial intelligence, he welcomed the seminar as an important step in understanding its potential and possible challenges. Within the context of an exchange of views and the development of recommendations on the use of artificial intelligence in the media, the event provides a platform for discussions on how such issues affect the principles of freedom of speech and human rights and as such, relates to the OSCE Centre's ongoing assistance in implementing the National Human Rights Action Plan 2021-2025 (NHRAP) provisions on media freedom and freedom of expression.

Saudi Islamic Development Bank Increasing Its Presence in Central Asia

The Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has been particularly active in Central Asia so far in 2024. The growing IDB role is part of Central Asian region’s foreign policy shift toward the Arab world as financial backers to replace Russia, which is devoting huge attention and resources to its war in Ukraine, and China, which is increasingly reluctant to spend large sums of money in Central Asia after pouring in tens of billions of dollars there during the last 25 years. Some of the Central Asian governments owe China substantial amounts of money that they are unlikely to be able to pay for possibly decades. The Central Asian states have been members of the IDB for many years. Kyrgyzstan was first, joining in 1993, followed by Turkmenistan in 1994, Kazakhstan in 1995, Tajikistan in 1996, and Uzbekistan in 2003. One of the IDB’s three regional offices is in Almaty, Kazakhstan (the other two are in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Rabat, Morocco).  The IDB has been dealing individually with the five Central Asian countries on a wide range of projects and programs in recent months. Energy Resources In February, Tajik Minister of Economic Development and Trade Zavqi Zavqizoda announced a deal was reached for the IDB to provide $250 million to Tajikistan. Zavqizoda said $150 million of that would go toward construction of the Rogun hydropower plant (HPP).  The Rogun HPP was a Soviet-era project. Construction started in 1976 but was discontinued shortly after the Soviet Union collapsed. Tajikistan restarted work on the HPP in 2008. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has repeatedly said that building the HPP with a planned 3600 MW capacity will make the country energy independent and even allow Tajikistan to bring in extra revenue exporting electricity to neighboring countries.  In its 28 years as an IDB member, Tajikistan had received some $620 million from the IDB, so the $250 million announced in February 2024 represents a significant jump in IDB financial help. Not surprisingly, when IDB President Muhammad Al-Jasser visited Kyrgyzstan in June, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov sought IDB investment in the Kambar-Ata-1 HPP, another decades-old project with a multi-billion-dollar price tag that has barely made any progress in being realized during the 33 years Kyrgyzstan has been independent. Al-Jasser did not commit to IDB financing for the Kyrgyz HPP. However, less than a week after Al-Jasser was in Kyrgyzstan, the IDB was one of several international financial organizations that signed on at a conference in Vienna to be a members of a coordination donors’ committee for the Kambar-Ata-1 projects. At a meeting in Istanbul in February, the IDB reaffirmed its support for the Central Asia-South Asia-1000 (CASA-1000) project that aims to export electricity from HPPs in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Kyrgyz Energy Minister Taalaybek Ibrayev met with Al-Jasser in June during the latter’s visit to Kyrgyzstan to discuss funding for Kyrgyzstan’s section of CASA-1000. Not Only Energy In June, the IDB pledged up to $2 billion in funding for improvements to water management in Kazakhstan that included projects for repairing or constructing new reservoirs, dams,  and irrigation canals, as well as reconstruction of some 500 kilometers of the country’s major highways. Previously, Kazakhstan has received some $1.8 billion in IDB assistance since 1995. In late April, the IDB announced it was allocating $79 million for construction of housing for some 1,800 low-income families in Kyrgyzstan during the 2024-2028 period, and $10 million more in assistance for Kyrgyzstan’s education system. At the start of April, the IDB said it would provide $260 million for a 2024-2028 program to improve infrastructure in 21 rural districts in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand, Surhandarya, and Kashkadarya provinces. The money will go toward building new schools, local medical facilities, new water pipes to homes, and upgrading electricity distribution systems.  In early July, Turkmenistan reported the IDB would give $156.3 million for construction of three new oncological hospitals and training for the staff. During his visit to Kyrgyzstan in June, Al-Jasser discussed IDB financing for socio-economic programs, including ways to combat poverty with Kyrgyz Minister of Economy and Commerce Daniyar Amangeldiyev.  Nodirjon Turgunov, Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, met in early July with IDB Director General of the Project Planning Department Anasse Aisammi for talks on IDB funding for Uzbek projects in transport, logistics, education, agriculture, water management, ecology, and animal husbandry, as well as programs for women and young people. The Asian Development Bank, World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and other international financial organizations have been working with the Central Asian countries since shortly after the five states became independent in late 1991. The IDB has been on the margins of investment and loans in Central Asia for most of the last 33 years, but it appears the IDB is now strengthening its ties in Central Asia. 

Facing Pressures, Koytendag Nature Refuge in Turkmenistan Aims for UNESCO Status

Limestone canyons and grassy plateaus. Vultures, lynx and  markhor, a wild goat known for its corkscrew-style horns. Pistachio trees and juniper forests. The fossilized footprints of dinosaurs and a cave that runs three kilometers into the ground.  The Koytendag State Nature Reserve and surrounding areas in eastern Turkmenistan are a stunning refuge of biodiversity next to Uzbekistan and near Afghanistan. The ecosystem includes river valley plains as well as Ayrybaba, Turkmenistan’s highest mountain at 3,137 meters. Some 50,000 people live in the area. Conservationists are assessing whether the region, which faces pressures such as agricultural encroachment, illegal hunting and unregulated tourism, can become a UNESCO natural world heritage site. There are efforts to reframe the bid for UNESCO status as a “transnational nomination” that pairs Koytendag with Uzbekistan’s adjoining Surkhan State Nature Reserve and could reduce barriers to the movement of wildlife between the two areas. The Koytendag reserve encompasses about 27,000 hectares and the total area of the proposed heritage space in Turkmenistan is 122,000 hectares, according to UNESCO. The U.N. agency says Koytendag is somewhat similar to other mountainous reserves in Central Asia - Chatkal in Uzbekistan, Aksu-Dzhabagly in Kazakhstan and Sary-Chelek in Kyrgyzstan – “but unlike them has a number of highly distinctive geological features.” Turkmenistan’s “system of protected areas,” which includes mountain, desert and marine ecosystems, covers 4.38% of the country, or just over 2,150,000 hectares, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said. Turkmen officials have been working with international conservation groups to protect and restore biodiversity. Conservation X Labs, or CXL, has outfitted some Turkmen rangers with new field uniforms, including those at Koytendag reserve, according to Tatjana Rosen, director of Central Asia Programs for the U.S.-based group.  Rosen also said CXL and another group, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, hired an international expert in SMART conservation technology and bought rugged Blackview phones where the SMART software is downloaded. Koytendag rangers have the devices and can use the technology to collect, analyze and report data from the field. Integrating the technology at the national level is ongoing.     Another international donor active at Koytendag is the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, which has funded the conservation of pistachio orchards, the improvement of water supply, the education of local communities about the environment and other projects.   Last year, national and international conservationists conducted a weeklong field mission in Koytendag, surveying flora and fauna and also talking to local communities. At one point, the team chatted with shepherds tending their flocks about sustainable use of pastures and other employment options.    “Overall, it was noted that jobs are scarce in the villages and the demand for shepherding continues to increase,” the Center for Large Landscape Conservation said in a report on the trip.  A meeting of conservationists followed soon after in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan’s capital.  Speleologists have been interested in Koytendag's elaborate cave complexes for a long time. Earlier this year, researchers from the French Federation of Speleology visited Turkmenistan for more than 20 days, building on the work of numerous expeditions led by Russians and others in the last century.