Our People > Stephen M. Bland

Stephen M. Bland

Managing Editor and Head of Investigations

Stephen M. Bland is a journalist, author, editor, commentator, and researcher specializing in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Prior to joining The Times of Central Asia, he worked for NGOs, think tanks, as the Central Asia expert on a forthcoming documentary series, for the BBC, The Diplomat, EurasiaNet, and numerous other publications.

His award-winning book on Central Asia was published in 2016, and he is currently putting the finishing touches to a book about the Caucasus.

Articles

Nuclear waste

Central Asia Makes Progress on Uranium Cleanup, but Major Risks Remain

Radioactive waste lies beside the river in Mailuu-Suu, a former uranium town in Kyrgyzstan’s picturesque mountain landscape. Engineers preparing to secure it found a problem inside one of its dams. Additional drilling revealed tailings within the dam structure itself. Two subsequent studies concluded that waste from two connected ponds would have to be moved to a safer location. The discovery changed the cleanup design and increased its cost, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s revised master plan. Material that planners had intended to secure in place could no longer safely remain there. Once known as Mailbox 200, the town was founded in 1946 for a secret Soviet uranium program. Its workforce included Germans treated as politically suspect and former Red Army soldiers punished for surrendering during World War II. Uranium mining and processing at Mailuu-Suu ended in the late 1960s, leaving waste buried along the river. Cleanup is expected to continue until 2032. Even then, the authorities will need to maintain the restored sites and check that contamination remains contained. Mailuu-Suu illustrates why Central Asia’s uranium cleanup has stretched across decades. The waste sits in places where rivers and unstable slopes can carry it beyond the original industrial sites. Making those places safer requires extensive engineering, followed by public oversight that must outlast the contractors. [caption id="attachment_56370" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] Archival photograph of Mailuu-Suu’s old mill and uranium tailings; image: Peter Waggit/IAEA[/caption] The International Atomic Energy Agency’s latest assessment, published in January 2026, records substantial progress. Four out of seven priority sites have been remediated since the original regional plan was adopted in 2017. But Mailuu-Suu remains one of the largest and most complex projects, with work expected to extend beyond the updated regional plan’s 2030 horizon. Across the region, former uranium operations left radioactive residue after mining and processing ended. The IAEA describes facilities abandoned without adequate plans for safe closure. National governments inherited responsibility for sites where no private owner remained to pay for the work. The geography compounds the situation. The IAEA’s original planning framework identifies tailings ponds near major rivers in seismically active areas. Flooding or a landslide can undermine containment and lead to contaminated materials traveling downstream. The location of a deposit therefore helps determine the urgency and design of its cleanup. At Mailuu-Suu, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced a €23 million grant in 2023. The original design included soil covers two meters thick to reduce water entering the waste and prevent access to it. The project concerned more than two million cubic meters of tailings along the river and its tributaries. Following the devastating 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria, Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Construction required further checks on the dams’ stability. Drilling revealed tailings inside the dam at pond seven. Subsequent studies found that the waste in ponds five and seven could not safely remain in place. The IAEA plan warns that a strong earthquake could cause the dam to collapse, allowing water-saturated waste to liquefy and enter the river....

4 days ago

Podcast

Pannier and Hillard’s Spotlight on Central Asia: New Episode Out Now

As Managing Editor of The Times of Central Asia, I’m delighted that, in partnership with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, we are the home of the Spotlight on Central Asia podcast. Chaired by seasoned broadcasters Bruce Pannier of RFE/RL’s long-running Majlis podcast and Michael Hillard of The Red Line, each fortnightly instalment will take you on a deep dive into the latest news, developments, security issues, and social trends across an increasingly pivotal region. This week, the team covers world leaders arriving in Bishkek for the SCO summit, one Central Asian state proposing new martial-law amendments that could concentrate enormous power in just a handful of institutions during a national crisis, Tashiev's charges being amended yet again as questions continue to grow over his political future, a Central Asian state striking an unusual military deal with a European partner, the Turkmen Border Service holding talks with its Afghan counterparts, the completion of a major new railway line in Kazakhstan, and plans to build what could become the tallest tower in the region. Before turning to our main story this week, where we look at the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan and what the event tells us about the country, the region, and the way Central Asia is presenting itself to the wider world. - Jonathan Campion (British Alysh Competitor) - Stephen M. Bland (The Times of Central Asia) - K. Krombie (The Times of Central Asia) Special guests: Stephen M. Bland, Managing Editor at TCA; K. Krombie, Senior Editor at TCA, both of whom covered the event on the ground; and Jonathan Campion, who competed for Team GB in the Alysh Wrestling.

1 week ago

Banking

Uzbekistan Pitches Decades of Tax Breaks to Financial Firms

Uzbekistan is offering qualifying financial firms nearly half a century of tax exemptions to set up in Tashkent. The goal is to attract private capital into an economy where state-owned banks still control most banking assets. On September 10, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev appointed his daughter, Saida Mirziyoyeva, to head the planned Tashkent International Financial Centre, Reuters reported. She has led the presidential administration since 2025. Mirziyoyev announced the project at June’s Tashkent International Investment Forum, promising free capital movement alongside tax incentives. Its legal framework would draw on English common law principles, as is the case with Kazakhstan’s Astana International Financial Centre. Who Gets the Tax Breaks? Under the founding law, qualifying participants would receive income and social tax exemptions on financial services income until January 1, 2076. Eligibility requires an actual economic presence in the center and compliance with its rules. The income incentives exclude members of multinational groups with annual revenues of at least €750 million in two of the preceding four fiscal years. Those firms face a domestic top-up tax. The offer is therefore less generous for large multinational groups. A global bank would need a commercial reason to enter Uzbekistan beyond the prospect of a lower tax bill. Most of the foreign businesses operating in Uzbekistan are already concentrated in Tashkent. Almost 63% of the country’s foreign-invested enterprises were based in the capital as of June 1, 2026. Financial firms entering the city would therefore have an existing customer base to pursue, although the numbers alone reveal little about demand for particular services. The domestic banking market does offer scope for competition. In its 2026 assessment, the IMF reported that nine state-owned commercial banks accounted for 63% of banking assets. It also noted delays in privatizing two large banks and urged the authorities to withdraw directed and preferential lending. The center could attract private lenders and help more Uzbek businesses obtain loans. However, simply moving existing deals there to reduce tax bills would do little to expand access to credit. Astana’s Head Start Kazakhstan has operated its financial center since 2018. Its AIFC Court sits outside the national judicial system and uses procedures based on English common law. Businesses can also agree to bring disputes there even when those disputes originate outside the center. The court works directly with Kazakhstan’s authorities to enforce its judgments, and says its first ruling resulted in full payment through private bailiffs. That gives prospective users a concrete example of how a commercial judgment can lead to the recovery of a debt. Uzbekistan’s law likewise provides for an independent commercial court and nationwide recognition of its final judgments. It requires judgments to be published within 30 days, subject to limited confidentiality protections. For lenders, that could reduce uncertainty about committing money to an unfamiliar market. Tashkent would still need to establish a record of decisions and enforcement comparable to the experience available in Astana. The law allows 12 months to adopt essential operating rules, extendable by six months. Activation then requires...

2 weeks ago

World Nomad Games

World Nomad Games Face Growing Pains as Crowds Swell

On many levels, the sixth World Nomad Games were a success. Large crowds filled venues in Bishkek and around Issyk-Kul, with organizers saying more than 200,000 people had visited Kyrchyn Gorge by September 3. The opening ceremony alone drew swathes of spectators, and the Games brought traditional sports before an international audience on a scale far beyond their first edition in 2014. However, when the skies opened in the Kyrchyn Gorge, the crowds, journalists and athletes alike found themselves stranded. Long queues waited impatiently for buses that had stopped coming. The mountain setting that made this part of the festival so memorable left visitors dependent on transport that could not reliably get them home. The scene captured a problem that followed the Games from their opening in Bishkek to the final competitions at Issyk-Kul. Kyrgyzstan had created an event that people wanted to attend in large numbers, but arrangements for those crowds repeatedly fell short. The sixth Games, held from August 31 to September 6, brought an international sporting festival back to its birthplace. More than 3,000 athletes from 104 countries attended, compared with 583 competitors from 19 countries at the first edition in 2014. That expansion gave the homecoming much of its energy. It also increased the demands on venues and the transport connecting them. At the new Bishkek Arena, around 29,000 people attended the opening ceremony. The stadium was still under construction, with its formal opening scheduled for October. Inside, eventgoers sang along with local performers, and even some security guards joined in. The enthusiasm was unmistakable. The arena presented practical problems, however, with spectators having to duck under girders and concrete struts in the concourse to reach their seats. Concession stands quickly ran out of bottled water as the numbers built. A sign reading “All food is gone” offered a blunt assessment of the catering arrangements. Tension grew around the shortages. For those spending hours inside the venue, access to drinking water was a basic requirement that the opening night failed to deliver. The Ministry of Health later said 55 participants and spectators sought medical assistance during the opening, including two injury cases. No serious injuries were recorded, and nobody required hospitalization. [video width="848" height="478" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/WhatsApp-Video-2026-09-09-at-14.40.50.mp4"][/video] There was also a roughly 90-minute pause during the event while dignitaries arrived for the formal ceremony. The show finally resumed on a grand scale, but the wait extended an already long evening in a venue struggling to supply its audience. By the time headliner Nicole Scherzinger took to the stage, the arena was half-empty, with people walking for hours past roadblocks as police whistled furiously at their attempts to get home. Transport problems became more prominent once the Games moved to Issyk-Kul. Footage seen by TCA showed people fighting to board shuttle buses. Travel between venues frequently became an ordeal, with visitors unsure whether they would be able to get onto any vehicles. The organizers responded to the early queues. On September 2, the Games’ media headquarters said 40 additional...

2 weeks ago

World Nomad Games

Kazakhstan Tops World Nomad Games Amid Conflicting Medal Counts

Kazakhstan finished at the top of the 2026 World Nomad Games medal standings, although conflicting published results have left questions over the final tally. According to the rules, the team with the most gold medals wins. The sixth edition ended in Kyrgyzstan on September 6, following a week of traditional sports around Issyk-Kul. The Games opened in Bishkek on August 31 before competition moved to venues around Cholpon Ata and Kyrchyn. Qazinform reported that Kazakhstan finished with 32 gold medals and 74 medals overall. Kyrgyzstan placed second despite collecting more medals in total, because gold medals determined the rankings. The outlet credited the host nation with 84 medals, including 30 gold. It placed Russia third with 36 medals and Mongolia fourth with 21. Uzbekistan completed its top five with 19 medals. Kyrgyzstan’s presidential press secretary, Askat Alagozov, acknowledged a “technical discrepancy” in the count on September 7, according to state news agency Kabar. He said the organizing committee decided to count the medals of three Kazakh athletes separately, putting Kazakhstan first in the overall team standings. “We congratulate our Kazakh brothers on their victory!” Alagozov said. He emphasized that the Games’ main achievement was bringing the two peoples together through mutual respect and fair competition. A further report carried by Asia News Network says Mongolia finished fourth with 26 medals. That differs from the 21 medals reported by Qazinform. These differences do not establish that medals were wrongly awarded, but they do mean the available accounts cannot be combined into a definitive final table. For Kazakhstan, the closing day proved decisive. Its athletes added six gold medals as the country secured first place. Alagozov’s statement confirmed Kazakhstan’s first place, although published medal totals still differ. Kabar also reported that the Games’ media headquarters said no official medal or overall team standings were maintained between countries.

2 weeks ago

FIDE Chess Olympiad

Samarkand Expects Record Turnout for Chess Olympiad

Samarkand is preparing to host the largest Chess Olympiad yet, with organizers expecting 398 teams as Uzbekistan stages the tournament for the first time in Central Asia. The 46th Chess Olympiad opens on September 15 at the Silk Road International Tourism Center and runs until September 27, with the first round to be played on September 16, according to the official schedule. Organizers say 208 teams will compete in the Open section and 190 in the women’s competition. The expected field of 1,974 players includes 240 grandmasters. More than 4,000 guests are expected when coaches and delegation members are included. That turnout would exceed the 374 teams recorded by FIDE at the 2024 Budapest Olympiad. Both sections will be contested over eleven rounds, with four players competing for each team in every match. Teams may also register one reserve player. The Olympiad dates back to 1927. Its arrival in Samarkand brings the competition to a historic Silk Road city whose center is inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Uzbekistan enters the Open competition as the third seed, according to the organizers’ figures based on average team ratings. The United States leads the seedings, ahead of defending champions India. The U.S. team includes Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, and Levon Aronian, while Hans Niemann is set to make his Olympiad debut. Vincent Keymer will represent Germany, and France’s squad includes Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. For Uzbekistan, Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Abdusattorov bring top-ten credentials to the home challenge. Sindarov is fourth in FIDE’s September rankings, while Abdusattorov is seventh. The rankings cited by the organizers also place Nodirbek Yakubboev 39th and Shamsiddin Vokhidov 61st, giving the main squad four players among the world’s top 100. Former FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov has also been named in the main Open lineup. His inclusion adds experience to a squad built around Uzbekistan’s younger grandmasters. The hosts will field three teams in each section, opening places for emerging players. Nilufarkhon Imomkuziyeva and Khumoyun Begmurodov, both 16, are among those making their Olympiad debuts. In the women’s competition, Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova is set to represent Uzbekistan after playing for the United States at the 2024 Budapest Olympiad. Nafisa Muminova, Uzbekistan’s first woman grandmaster, will serve as captain. The organizers cite Afruza Khamdamova’s position at 26th in the women’s world rankings, with Tokhirjonova 80th. Uzbekistan’s women have climbed 17 places since 2025 to 21st in FIDE’s federation rankings, while the Open side has risen 15 places to sixth. India is the top seed in the women’s competition. Kazakhstan’s lineup includes three-time women’s world blitz champion Bibisara Assaubayeva, who also won Norway Chess Women 2026, securing the title in Oslo with a round to spare. Ukraine’s first board will be 16-year-old Anastasiia Hnatyshyn, who won the European Women’s Championship in June after entering the tournament as the 76th seed. Samarkand will also host the third FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities from September 10 to 18. Organizers expect a record 41 teams, compared with 26 at the inaugural event in...

2 weeks ago

World Nomad Games

Kyrgyzstan Beats Kazakhstan 12-0 to Win World Nomad Games Kok Boru Gold

Kyrgyzstan has won the kok-boru title at the 6th World Nomad Games after overwhelming Kazakhstan 12-0 in Sunday’s final at the Kok-Boru Arena in Cholpon-Ata. The hosts dominated the match and shut Kazakhstan out entirely. In the third period, Baytegin Omorbekov, Ernazar Koshumbaev, and Mirbek Mukashev added to Kyrgyzstan’s total, before Anarbek uulu Seitbek scored again as the margin widened. [video width="478" height="850" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/A-gY_JlG.mp4"][/video] The victory gave Kyrgyzstan the gold medal, with Kazakhstan taking silver and Russia bronze. The medal ceremony was held later on Sunday in Cholpon-Ata. The sport combines horsemanship, strength, and close physical contact, and remains one of the biggest crowd draws at the Games. Kyrgyzstan also defeated Kazakhstan 7-2 in the kokpar final, completing a sweep of the two major mounted team events on the final day of competition. Before the final, several men reportedly tried to force their way through a police cordon into the stands and were detained. The incident did not disrupt the match.

2 weeks ago

World Nomad Games

One Target, 145 Meters: Kyrchyn’s Archers Take on Korea’s Long-Range Test

The archers formed a long, uneven line across the grass at Kyrchyn Gorge on Friday, bows rising almost in unison beneath a bank of clouds. Their target was 145 meters away, far enough for the arrows to climb visibly before dropping back toward the range. It was the final and most unfamiliar test in the World Nomad Games’ traditional ground archery program: a Korean-style competition at a distance many of the international entrants had never attempted before. [video width="1024" height="576" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/WhatsApp-Video-2026-09-04-at-17.18.45.mp4"][/video] A total of 196 archers from 51 countries took part in the traditional archery program at Kyrchyn. The first two days used Kyrgyz and Turkish targets at shorter distances. Friday’s Korean round pushed both men and women out to 145 meters. Under the special Korean rules, each competitor shoots 15 qualification arrows across three rounds. The top 16 men and top 16 women advance to a 10-arrow final. Korean national team archers served as judges and officials rather than competing, leaving international archers to take on one of Korea’s defining traditional distances. For Kristina Dolgilevica, coach of Great Britain’s ground-archery team and president of the UK Traditional Archers’ International Association, the distance changes almost everything. “You have to adjust and adapt in so many ways,” she told The Times of Central Asia. “Not just your technique, not just your aim. You have to also adjust and tweak your equipment.” The British longbows were only one part of a field whose equipment, experience, and expectations varied widely. Germany’s Jürgen Junkmanns had at least faced the problem before. The German prehistoric-archery specialist and bowyer has spent decades studying historical bows and said he had travelled to Korea several times to shoot there. Even so, he described the distance as unusual at home. “In Germany we don’t shoot these distances, so we’re not used to it,” he said. For Canada, there was no opportunity to practice it at all. Vancouver-based Patricia Gonsalves, founder of Lykopis Archery, has more than three decades of experience in traditional archery and was accompanying Canada’s sole competitor. “We can’t train this distance in Canada,” she said. “There’s nowhere that we can train for this.” The weather added another variable. Gonsalves said archers from British Columbia were accustomed to rain, but Kyrchyn’s rapid changes had forced them to think differently about their arrows and fletching. A strong gust matters more when an arrow remains airborne for so long. Austria’s Kunda Kiba came to Kyrchyn with far less experience. She said this was her first World Nomad Games and her first competition in this form of archery. Her assessment was simpler: “It was wonderful. It’s very fun, and that’s what I wanted.” The international mix was part of the appeal for Britain’s John Stanley, who was also writing about the Games for World Archery. He had only shot 145 meters once before, but the distance was not what made the week feel unusual. “Every 20 minutes, there’s some brand-new experience you’ve never had before,” Stanley said. “You’re sitting on...

2 weeks ago

World Nomad Games

Britain’s Horseback Archers Ride Into Kyrchyn at the World Nomad Games

At Kyrchyn Gorge on Thursday, a British rider released an arrow at a target from horseback as her steed carried her between the course markers, with the green slopes of the Tian Shan rising behind the World Nomad Games venue. Horseback archery brings the two disciplines together in a single run. Riders must control the horse while nocking, drawing, and releasing arrows at targets as they move down the track. The official Kyrgyz-style rules require the horse to remain in motion throughout the run. [video width="1024" height="576" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/This-one.mp4"][/video] The Games use two horseback archery formats. In the Kyrgyz style, riders race along a 100-meter track and shoot at small targets while keeping the horse moving. The Hungarian, or Magyar, style changes the challenge: riders pass a central tower carrying targets that can be shot repeatedly as the angle changes. Speed therefore counts alongside accuracy, but riders must also adapt to a horse they may have known for only a short time. [caption id="attachment_55346" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] Image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland[/caption] The venue is part of the spectacle. Beyond the course, a newly built clay fortress rises from Kyrchyn like a Silk Road settlement. It forms part of the Games’ “Universe of Nomads” ethno-town. Its buildings draw on regional architecture dating from the Middle Ages and were constructed with natural materials including soil, clay, and stone. [caption id="attachment_55352" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland[/caption] Inside the walls, visitors crowded around long tables and food stalls beneath traditional textiles as vendors bustled. Outside, rows of white yurts spread across the verdant valley floor. Golden eagles and falcons pealed nearby, as Kyrchyn is also hosting the Games’ traditional hunting with birds and other events. [caption id="attachment_55351" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland[/caption] In the gorge, the boundaries between competition and cultural festival largely disappear, with sport unfolding inside a temporary nomadic settlement rather than around a conventional arena. [caption id="attachment_55347" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] Image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland[/caption] Among the British riders competing at Kyrchyn are Becca Sweetman and Kristina Schapiro. TCA spoke with them after Thursday’s Kyrgyz-style runs. TCA: Is this a sport you have been doing for some time back home? Becca Sweetman: We’ve both been doing it for about eight years and competing for the British team for more than four years. TCA: How did it go today? Becca Sweetman: It’s a challenging competition because you have to change horses for every single run, which we don’t do at any other international competition. Kristina had a few amazing runs, and she’s currently in second place. Half the competition is done, so we’ll see how it continues. I managed to hit some targets, which is always good. [caption id="attachment_55349" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Image: Mae Pollard[/caption] TCA: Have you been to the World Nomad Games before, and what has your general impression been? Kristina Schapiro: It’s our first time competing in horseback archery at the World Nomad Games. It’s a little disorganized, but it’s an incredible experience. At the opening ceremony, I...

3 weeks ago

World Nomad Games

Bruised but Unbowed: Former TCA Editor Takes on Alysh at World Nomad Games

For Jonathan Campion, a journalist and contributor to The Times of Central Asia, months of anticipation and two weeks of hurried training ended rather more quickly than expected at the World Nomad Games in Cholpon Ata. Inside the airless Gazprom sports complex on Wednesday, the stands were packed to the rafters as wrestlers competed in Alysh, the traditional Kyrgyz form of belt wrestling. Representing Great Britain, Campion entered both the classic and freestyle competitions. [caption id="attachment_55245" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] Image: TCA[/caption] The rules leave little room for retreat. Wrestlers remain standing and must keep hold of their opponent’s belt while trying to throw them onto their back. In classic Alysh, wrestlers cannot actively use their legs against an opponent, while freestyle allows trips and other leg techniques. The sport is one of Kyrgyzstan’s oldest traditional forms of wrestling, according to the official rules. Wearing the green jacket, white trousers, and red belt prescribed by the sport, Campion found himself locked chest-to-chest with opponents who had considerably more experience. His first bout, against a Belarusian wrestler, lasted four seconds. His second, against an Afghan opponent, was shorter still. Bruised but unbowed after his introduction to competitive Alysh, Campion spoke to The Times of Central Asia about why he entered the Games, what two weeks of preparation could and could not teach him, and what it felt like to march into the opening ceremony as a member of the Great Britain team. [video width="640" height="364" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/1fa1b61d-7341-413f-9474-d31b5d4ab6e0.mp4"][/video] TCA: Why did you decide to compete in Alysh at the World Nomad Games? Jonathan Campion: I’ve been to Central Asia a lot, especially Kyrgyzstan. Whenever I’ve been here, people have always wanted to learn about my culture. They’ve wanted to speak in my language and talk to me about the Beatles and English football. I’ve always felt a little ashamed and embarrassed that British people may not even know where Kyrgyzstan is, and certainly don’t know anything about its culture. I love sport, and I thought a good way to become closer to Kyrgyz culture, and to show people that British people can also take an interest in Kyrgyz culture, would be to participate in these Games. [caption id="attachment_55242" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] Image: TCA[/caption] TCA: Because you’d never done this before, how did you find the training, and how were your matches? Jonathan Campion: Before my first fight today, it had only been about two weeks since I really began practicing. I was lucky to find an amazing martial arts teacher in Norwich, where I live, who did absolutely everything he could with me, using his knowledge of judo, taekwondo, and other martial arts. I feel he got me to a point where I had prepared as much as I physically could. But nothing can prepare you for standing on the mat with a very strong opponent opposite you in a real fight. TCA: Who did you fight, and what were the scores today? Jonathan Campion: This morning I fought in the Alysh classic-style tournament. I was...

3 weeks ago

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