Our People > Times of Central Asia

Articles

Latest Baikonur Space Launch Helps to Set a Record

It seemed almost routine: One American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts traveling to the International Space Station in a Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. After all, the Russian-run facility in a remote, barren part of the Central Asian country has been a mainstay of travel to the station for many years. But the three-hour trip on the Soyuz on Wednesday made some space history, increasing the total number of people currently in Earth’s orbit to a record of 19. The previous record of 17 was set last year. The trip brings the number of people currently on the International Space Station to 12, including seven Americans and five Russians, according to NASA. The group will get a little smaller on Sept. 23, when one American and two Russians are scheduled to depart. There are also three people on China’s space station and four people led by billionaire Jared Isaacman on the five-day Polaris Dawn mission, for a total of 19. The new arrivals at the International Space Station are NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. They’ll spend about six months in space and return to Earth in the spring of 2025. It’s the fourth trip to space for Pettit and Ovchinin and the second for Vagner. NASA and Roscosmos currently have a “cross-flights” deal involving travel to and from the International Space Station for three Russian cosmonauts on the U.S. Crew Dragon spacecraft and three U.S. astronauts on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. The two space agencies are working on extending the agreement beyond the spring of 2025, the Russian news agency Interfax reported in a story with a Baikonur dateline. It quoted Kenneth Bowersox, NASA associate administrator for space operations. The joint missions are one of the rare areas of collaboration between Russia and the United States at a time of heightened tension over the Ukraine war.

2 weeks ago

World Nomad Games

Video Highlights: World Nomad Games Day Four

The fourth day of the World Nomad Games, themed as the “Gathering of the Great Steppe,” saw events taking place across Astana once more. TCA went to the Powerful Nomad competition, and took in national dances and some theatrical sabre combat: [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/4.mp4"][/video]

2 weeks ago

International Russia borders

Latvia Coaches Central Asia on Borders While Hardening Russia Frontier

Last month, Central Asian border and law enforcement authorities on a training visit to Latvia got a look at the Baltic state’s border with Russia, which the Latvian government is fortifying because of tension over the Ukraine war. Officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan met in the Latvian capital of Riga on August 27-29 to talk about how to secure their own borders and work together on trade corridors. The trip ended with a visit to Latvia’s 330-kilometer border to the east with Russia, where “conference participants got acquainted with the infrastructure, equipment and specifics of the border surveillance,” said an EU-backed agency that promotes Central Asian border security and is known by the acronym BOMCA. Unlike the Central Asian countries, Latvia is a NATO member that has provided military aid to Ukraine and considers Russia and Russian ally Belarus, with which it also shares a border (160 kilometers), to be adversaries. Latvia is preparing strongholds, anti-tank ditches and ammunition depots along its border with both countries. The border buildup of Latvia, which was invaded by both Soviet and German forces during World War II before eventual Soviet occupation, differs from the experience of Central Asia’s former Soviet republics, which were formed in the 1920s and 1930s. Of those Central Asian countries, only Kazakhstan shares a border (at about 7,600 kilometers) to the north with Russia, which has longstanding security and trade relations with the region despite the often harsh legacy of Soviet rule. Still, Latvia’s role as a leader of the 20-year-old European Union program to help Central Asia develop and integrate its border management systems comes at a fraught time for the Baltic country as it hardens its borders with Russia and Belarus. The Central Asian officials who inspected Latvia’s border with Russia last month also toured the Border Guard College of Latvia in the eastern town of Rēzekne, whose landmarks include an arch of the ruins of a castle that was mostly destroyed during fighting centuries ago. A Russian military drone entered Latvian airspace from Belarus and fell in the Rēzekne region on Saturday, according to Latvian defense officials. Defense Minister Andris Sprūds said that air defense and electronic warfare development will “allow us to limit the operation of drones of various uses." Latvia has also grappled with illegal crossings by migrants coming from Belarus, which has denied Western accusations that it facilitated border breaches in order to put pressure on the European Union. The EU-backed border training for Central Asia started long before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and is designed to help Central Asian countries with their own challenges, which include drug smuggling and human trafficking. There are historical border disputes in Central Asia, but some have been moving toward resolution. Currently, Latvia and neighboring Lithuania are hosting several months of training for Central Asian handlers of K9s, dogs that search for illegal drugs and explosives. Latvia, in turn, is getting its own help from allies. Earlier this year, the United...

3 weeks ago

World Nomad Games

Video Highlights: World Nomad Games Day Three

The third day of the World Nomad Games, themed as the “Gathering of the Great Steppe,” saw events taking place across Astana. TCA went to the Martial Arts Palace and the Alau Ice Palace to take in the in the Koresh (Tatar belt wrestling), Assyk atu, Mas-wrestling, Kurash, and Kazakh kuresi. Watch our video highlights from day three here: [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Nomad_3-day.mp4"][/video]

3 weeks ago

Diplomacy Bilateral Relations International Cooperation International Relations

New U.S. Ambassador to Turkmenistan Outlines Priorities For Cooperation

At her first press briefing in Ashgabat, the new U.S. Ambassador to Turkmenistan, Elizabeth Rood, outlined key areas of cooperation between the two countries. She paid particular attention to economic development and investment attraction. Rood emphasized that the U.S. Embassy intends to actively engage with Turkmenistan's government, private sector, and educational institutions to create new jobs and employment opportunities and diversify the national economy. Rood also emphasized four critical areas of work: combating climate change, economic sector development, security issues, and promoting fundamental freedoms. Regarding climate challenges, Rood emphasized Turkmenistan's role in mitigating climate change and welcomed President Serdar Berdymukhamedov's pledge to limit methane emissions. Ambassador Rood also emphasized the importance of supporting civil society in Turkmenistan, including upholding fundamental freedoms and combating forced and child labor. In addition, she expressed her intention to strengthen ties between the peoples of the two countries, noting her inspiration from the determination of Turkmen youth to learn exact sciences and the English language.

3 weeks ago