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Weather

Storms and Abnormal Heat: Turkmenistan Experiences Severe Weather

From February 20 to 22, dust storms with storm-force winds swept across Turkmenistan. The storm damaged greenhouses and crops in a number of regions, and the week was memorable not only for the destruction it caused but also for the historic temperature records it set. Strong winds hit the country on February 20. In the Akhal region, gusts reached 18-23 m/s, and in the Mary region, 17-22 m/s. On the Beaufort scale, these readings are classified as storm force. In other regions, the wind was also very strong. Dust storms broke out in the east of the country and in some parts of the Ahal region. In the town of Turkmenabat, wind speeds reached 23 m/s, and visibility was reduced to 500 meters. Similar readings were recorded in the towns of Serkhetabat and Bayramali. In the town of Mary, visibility dropped to 300 meters, and in the village of Tagta-Bazar to only 200 meters. The storm knocked down trees, damaged road signs, and affected some buildings. The most significant damage occurred in rural areas. In the Mary and Lebap region, private farms and plots were affected. The wind blew away greenhouses, and their frames collapsed directly onto the beds, destroying cucumbers, tomatoes, and other crops. Flower growers also suffered serious losses. Many had expanded their acreage and hired additional workers to prepare for the peak sales period around March 8, but the storm deprived them of their harvest and any chance of compensating for months of low demand. The region has previously faced the devastating effects of natural disasters. In 2020, a hurricane caused extensive damage in the Mary and Lebap regions, knocking down buildings and trees and claiming dozens of lives. Some families have still not recovered from those events. At the same time, despite the regular occurrence of strong winds, no effective system has been created to protect farms and the population from such phenomena. As noted by Meteozhurnal, the current weather situation is due to the northwestern intrusion of air masses. High wind speeds continued on February 23, prolonging the period of adverse conditions. The week was marked not only by storms but also by unprecedented heat. For several days, temperatures were more typical of April or May. The peak occurred on February 19, 2026. In the city of Esenguly in the Balkan region, located in the southwest of the country on the coast of the Caspian Sea, the temperature reached 36.2°C. This is the absolute maximum in the history of meteorological observations in Turkmenistan. The previous record of 32.9°C was set in 1946 in Serakhs, Akhal region. On the same day, temperatures above 30°C were recorded in several regions. In the Balkan region, the thermometer rose to 33.4°C in the town of Etrek and 30.6°C in Makhtumkuli. In Baharden, Akhal region, it reached 33°C. Records were also broken in other cities, albeit with lower values.

Winter Olympic Games

From Denis Ten to Mikhail Shaidorov: Kazakhstan’s Thorny Path to a Gold Medal at the Winter Olympics

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Italy have officially come to a close. At the end of the competition, the Kazakh team won one gold medal and placed 19th in the overall medal standings. This is the country’s best result since 1994, when the team finished 12th at the Lillehammer Olympics, with skier Vladimir Smirnov winning gold. This time, Kazakhstan’s only medal was secured by figure skater Mikhail Shaidorov, who became the first Olympic champion in the history of Kazakh figure skating. It is not the country’s first Olympic medal in the sport, however: in 2014 figure skater Denis Ten won bronze. On February 14, Shaydorov paid tribute to Denis Ten, Kazakhstan's bronze medalist at the 2014 Olympics. “I think Denis Ten influenced not only me but also figure skating in Kazakhstan as a whole. He opened the door for many skaters, including me. And that is incredibly important. I hope that the medal I won today will open new doors for the younger generation, the children of Kazakhstan, who will know that there are no limits,” he said. Denis Ten, who tragically died at the hands of petty thieves in the center of Almaty, did much to popularize figure skating in Kazakhstan. He dreamed of opening his own school and founding an ice show for this purpose. Shaidorov is one of dozens of boys and girls inspired by the achievements of the Almaty native, who learned to skate at the Ramstor shopping center. The future champion took his first steps on the same rink. As residents often say, Almaty is a big village where everyone knows one another. In fact, there is limited accessible ice in Almaty, which is why Shaidorov was forced to train in the Russian city of Sochi, as Denis Ten had previously trained in Moscow. One of the defining stories behind the young skater’s journey is connected to his training. His father, Stanislav Shaidorov, a former professional figure skater and multiple national champion, helped him pursue his ambitions, including selling a car to invest in his son’s training. Stanislav is acquainted with Russian coach and Olympic champion Alexei Urmanov. In 2017, Urmanov held training camps in Yoshkar-Ola, Russia, where young Mikhail Shaidorov performed his first double axel. “Six months later, we returned to Urmanov. He assessed Misha's progress. Over the course of a year, we learned all the triple jumps, but we had to constantly change rinks. We called every day to arrange a time, which was not always convenient for us. Finally, in the fall of 2018, we were faced with a choice: continue renting ice in Almaty at our own expense or move to Russia to train properly. I called Alexei Evgenievich. He said, ‘Okay, come on over.’ That same day, I sold my car, and the next day we bought tickets and flew to Sochi, where Urmanov works,” recalled Stanislav Shaidorov. Mikhail, who was 14 at the time, later said in an interview that he had asked his father to leave...

Chess

KazChessLab Opens in Kazakhstan Amid Plans to Teach Chess in Schools

The KazChessLab innovation laboratory has been officially inaugurated at the Kazakh National Women's Pedagogical University (QyzPU) in Almaty. The project is supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and is a partnership between QyzPU and the Kazakhstan Chess Federation. KazChessLab is a modern educational platform designed to prepare chess teachers for secondary schools. The program is intended for students majoring in pedagogy and is offered as a minor. Upon completion of the course, graduates will receive certificates confirming their eligibility to teach chess in Kazakh schools. At the opening ceremony on February 20, Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek highlighted the importance of developing chess in Kazakhstan. “In 2023, on the instructions of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, a strategic chess development plan was approved. Every child should be introduced to chess and master the game from an early school age. Today, Kazakhstan demonstrates high achievements in chess, and qualified teachers are essential for further development,” the minister said. “The opening of KazChessLab at our university is an important step aimed at updating educational content and enhancing the professional potential of future teachers,” said Beibitkul Karimova, Chair of the Board and Rector of QyzPU. “Chess is not just a game, but a tool for developing strategic thinking, responsibility, and perseverance. Training teachers capable of teaching this subject at a professional level is one of the pressing challenges of our time.” Timur Turlov, President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, described the opening of the laboratory as a milestone. “Kazakhstani chess has been consistently moving toward this goal for several years. These young specialists will not only teach children the rules of the game but also contribute to their intellectual development. I am confident that the synergy of modern infrastructure, a strong teaching school, and government support will take chess and chess education in Kazakhstan to a whole new level,” he said.

Uzbek Diaspora

Uzbek Janitor Awarded for Saving Child from Seventh-Floor Fall in St. Petersburg

A janitor from Uzbekistan who saved a seven-year-old boy from a seventh-floor fall in St. Petersburg has been awarded state and public honors following the dramatic rescue. The Times of Central Asia reported yesterday that the incident took place on Petrozavodskaya Street, where the child was seen standing on the ledge outside an open window. Moments later, the boy lost his balance and fell. A janitor identified as Khayrullo, a native of Uzbekistan, was working near the building at the time. He noticed the danger and moved closer. As the child fell headfirst, Khayrullo caught him midair and held him tightly against his body, absorbing much of the impact. According to a presidential decree, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev awarded Khayrullo Saydullayevich Ibadullayev the Jasorat medal for bravery. The decree stated that he acted in an emergency situation, risking his own life and health to save the child and demonstrating courage and selflessness. Russian media also reported on the recognition. Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the television network RT, announced on X that the 38-year-old Uzbek citizen had received the fourth Tigran Keosayan Award for his heroism. The award, established by Simonyan, is presented to individuals who demonstrate bravery and dedication, particularly in protecting children and vulnerable people. In addition to the honor, Ibadullayev will receive a monetary prize of one million rubles, equivalent to approximately $13 000. The child survived the fall and was hospitalized. Doctors described his condition as stable.

Mountaineering

Reporter Christopher Wren, Member of 1974 Team That Found Climbers´ Bodies on Lenin Peak, Has Died

Christopher S. Wren, a journalist for The New York Times who was part of a 1974 American expedition that discovered the bodies of seven Soviet women climbers on Lenin Peak, on today’s border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, has died at the age of 89. Wren died at home in Vermont on February 15, the newspaper reported, quoting his daughter Celia Wren. The journalist reported extensively from the Soviet Union and China during the Cold War, as well as other regions, and his report on the discovery of what he called “one of the worst tragedies in modern mountaineering” was among his most dramatic dispatches. Wren, an experienced mountaineer, was with a team that found the bodies of the all-female Soviet group on Lenin Peak, a 7,134-meter mountain in what was then part of the Soviet Union. Many international climbers had gathered there that year at a time when the Cold War dominated global politics. The body of an eighth Soviet climber was found after Wren and his teammates left the site. “The Soviet press did not report the deaths of the country’s best women climbers until after I had returned to Moscow and revealed the disaster in The New York Times,” Wren wrote in his 1990 book The End of the Line: The Failure of Communism in the Soviet Union and China. Usually accessed from the Kyrgyz side, Lenin Peak is not the highest mountain in Kyrgyzstan, nor is it considered the most technically difficult. Russian climber Natalia Nagovitsina and an Italian friend, Luca Sinigaglia, died last year on Pobeda Peak, the country’s highest mountain at 7,439 meters above sea level. Kyrgyzstan’s Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Federation says Lenin Peak is popular among “beginner climbers.” The peak, the federation says, “is one of the most accessible 7000s in the world for climbing, one of the five world peaks in terms of popularity, and its base camp - Achyk-Tash - is the most convenient in terms of infrastructure accessibility among peaks of this height.” Infrastructure and communications at the mountain were more basic half a century ago, and the perils of high altitude, the cold, winds and storms are significant. In 1974, Russian expedition leader Elvira Shatayeva and her party got into trouble in a storm as they descended from the summit. In radio calls, she told base camp that they were dying and, according to Wren’s book, her last words were: “Please forgive us. We love you. Goodbye.” Heading toward the summit after the storm cleared, Wren and his group found the bodies of the stranded Soviet women. “A body is stretched on the snow before us. With a chill of recognition, I know it is Elvira Shatayeva, the women's team leader with whom I sat and talked one evening several weeks earlier,” Wren wrote in a 1974 article. The Soviet media blamed the storm for the disaster. But Wren said he wondered if more transparency and communication among climbing teams at Lenin Peak, despite heightened tension and rivalry between...

Higher Education

American AI Company to Help Kazakhstan Develop University Admissions Exam

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the AI-based education company ETS say they are developing a new university admissions exam, the Admissions Insight Test (AIT), as part of a partnership launched in November 2025 to modernize the country’s national admissions system. Officials say the test is also meant to support the international recognition of results in future. “The Admissions Insight Test represents a decisive step forward for Kazakhstan’s higher education system,” said Sayasat Nurbek, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Science and Higher Education. “By building this new admissions exam in partnership with ETS, we are strengthening trust, fairness, and global alignment in how students enter our universities. This work positions Kazakhstan to lead in education innovation while ensuring our students are prepared for success in a rapidly changing, international, and AI-driven world.” ETS, which is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey with offices worldwide, said the AIT would be modular. “Subject Modules” would align with the school curriculum and a student’s intended field of study. Separate “Skills Based Tests” would measure critical thinking, academic writing and research skills, communication, quantitative and digital literacy, and creative or design thinking. The ETS Research Institute is expected to work alongside Kazakhstan’s education leaders and National Testing Center specialists, using AI and advanced analytics to streamline development and deepen the insights universities get from results. Kazakhstan already uses nationwide testing as a central gateway into university, and policymakers have linked admissions changes to a broader push to become a regional education hub. “Around the world, governments are rethinking how education systems measure readiness for the future and they are turning to ETS because trust, rigor, and global expertise matter,” said Kadriye Ercikan, Senior Vice President of Global Research at ETS. “Our work with Kazakhstan reflects the same responsibility we bring to partnerships with education systems worldwide: applying the strongest measurement science, responsible innovation, and AI-enabled approaches to help countries build assessment systems that are fair, credible, and internationally respected.” The project sits alongside Kazakhstan’s higher education transformation and its decision to join OpenAI’s Education for Countries program as officials look to prepare students for an AI-shaped economy.