Fallout From Assault on Tashkent Schoolboy Reaches Russian Foreign Ministry

On September 23 a teacher at a school in Tashkent's Chilonzor district slapped a student when the child asked for the Russian language class to be taught in Russian. The Children’s Ombudsman of Uzbekistan, Surayyo Rahmonova, has begun an investigation into the incident -- but not before news of the assault reached Russia. Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that she was concerned about the content of a video of the slap that was posted on social media. “We have requested official clarification from the Uzbek side,” Zakharova commented. “The Uzbek side is urgently asked to give the media material a legal assessment and, if justified, to take action against the perpetrator of cruel treatment of the child. We are keeping this issue under the closest attention.” The leader of Uzbekistan’s Milli Tiklanish (National Revival) party and deputy speaker of the lower house of parliament, Alisher Qodirov commented on Telegram that “it would be better for [Russia] to deal with their own affairs [which are] full of problems than to deal with our internal issues. The violation of rights of an Uzbek child at a school in Uzbekistan will be investigated in accordance with Uzbek laws.” A vocal critic of Russian influence, earlier this year Qodirov proposed a ban on the provision of public services to persons who don’t speak the Uzbek, and the promotion of Soviet ideology and symbols in Uzbekistan.

A Bone of Contention: Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan at Loggerheads Following World Nomad Games Kokpar Final

Astana largely managed to turn the 5th World Nomad Games into an exemplary international sporting event free of politics and disagreements. Overall, the Games stood in stark contrast to the Olympics in Paris earlier this year, when the International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow a handful of athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under a neutral flag led to calls from some counties for a boycott. However, the culmination of the Nomad Games saw an unpleasant incident at the final of the most popular event, which resulted in a fallout between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/nomad-game-2.mp4"][/video]   A blow with a kamcha On September 12, an incident occurred during the Kokpar final, in which the national teams of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan met, when a player from the Kazakh team, which was underperforming, struck a Kyrgyz rider with a kamcha (whip). At this point, the game was stopped, and a squad of law enforcement officers immediately surrounded the culprit. After the offender was suspended from proceedings and given a time penalty, the game continued, and Kazakhstan, having leveled the score, won the match in overtime. The Kokpar final at the previous Nomad Games, hosted by Turkey, also ended with a marginal Kazakh victory in the derby between the long-standing rivals. However, unlike in 2022, this time the Kyrgyz national team did not accept defeat in silence. At the awards ceremony, the Kyrgyz team ripped off their silver medals, raised their country's flag, and defiantly left the arena. “We knew it would be unfair, but not to this extent. The referees were swearing at us, and the police were beating our players," the Kyrgyz captain said. "A KNB (national security) officer came up to me, showed me his ID card, took my picture, and started to intimidate me, saying I was sowing discord between nations. The pressure was strong. After the scuffle, when the score was 3-1 in our favor, we were asked to leave the game. They said the refereeing would be fair... We didn't think the Kazakhstani side would allow such disorganization and injustice. If Kazakhstanis have pride, they won't celebrate such a victory.” The press service of Kazakhstan's National Security Committee promptly denied the allegations, saying their officers were not involved in providing security for the Games. Tastanbek Yesentaev, the Chief Judge of the World Nomad Games in Astana, threatened the Kyrgyz team with a 2-3 year suspension from the competition for showing disrespect. This statement only served to further inflame proceedings. At a briefing on September 16, four days after the final, Ramis Kudaibergenov, an expert on the Kyrgyz Kok-Boru Federation, stated that the Kazakh national team committed 14 gross violations of rules in the final of the Kokpar, and given a level playing field, the Kyrgyz team would have won 5-1. “Everyone blames the referee, but the whole system is culpable. We prepared the players based on previous games, but there were so many infractions we didn't take into account. We were able to...