Cryptocurrency ownership is gaining popularity across Central Asia and the Caucasus, according to a report prepared by a group of financial services companies. Uzbekistan has the highest adoption rate for crypto assets in the regions and ranks 33rd globally.

The Russian-language report, titled Digital Assets in Central Asia and the Caucasus, shows that almost 1.5 percent of Uzbekistan’s population, or roughly 512,000 individuals, owns cryptocurrency. The 15 licensed cryptocurrency exchanges and outlets operating in Uzbekistan handled over $1 billion worth of transactions in 2024, the report adds. 

Just two years ago, Uzbekistan ranked 87th in global crypto adoption. In 2023, the country shot up to 25th in the world rankings before falling back to 33rd this year. Despite slipping, Uzbekistan still outpaces its Central Asian neighbors when it comes to crypto asset adoption. Kazakhstan ranked 57th in the world and Kyrgyzstan 76th, according to the report. Tajikistan and Turkmenistan were not ranked.

Kazakhstan’s ranking might be much higher, if not for a far-reaching government regulatory initiative covering cryptocurrency production and usage. No official data on crypto assets is available for Kazakhstan, but some independent estimates indicate 8 percent of the population may hold cryptocurrency.

In 2021, Kazakhstan emerged as a leading center for cryptocurrency mining following a crackdown in China on the practice, which requires immense amounts of electricity. By the fall of that year, Kazakhstan’s global Bitcoin hashrate, an indicator of the amount of power being used to produce cryptocurrency, was over 27 percent. During the same period, the country experienced power outages as the electricity grid buckled under the rising demand.

The Kazakh government in following years introduced measures to hinder crypto mining, including the introduction of steep tariffs for intensive power usage. As a result, the country’s Bitcoin hashrate fell to 4 percent in May 2023. 

The number of mining operations in Kazakhstan likewise plummeted between 2021 and mid-2023, going from 330 to 26. But over the past 15 months, the number of mining outfits have risen to 51, the report states. At the same time the government took steps to hinder mining, it introduced regulatory changes to enable officials to better monitor crypto transactions. In late 2023, Kazakhstan also introduced a digital currency under Central Bank supervision that is designed to compete with cryptocurrencies.

In the Caucasus, Georgia has the highest global ranking in crypto asset adoption, coming in at 54th. That position, however, is 17 spots lower than Tbilisi’s ranking in 2022. Armenia was 77th and Azerbaijan came in at 92nd, according to the report, which was sponsored by a variety of financial services entities, including Mastercard, KPMG and the National Payment Corporation of Kazakhstan.

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The first use of drone-based lidar in Central Asia has enabled archaeologists to uncover details of two newly discovered medieval trade cities high in the mountains of Uzbekistan.

The team used this cutting-edge technology to map the archaeological scale and layout of the cities, which are among the largest ever documented in the mountainous parts of the Silk Road, a broad network of ancient trade routes that connected Europe and Eastern Asia.

The research, led by Michael Frachetti, professor of archaeology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and Farhod Maksudov, director of the National Center of Archaeology in Uzbekistan, was recently published in Nature.

High-Resolution Insights into Ancient Urbanism

The drone-lidar scans provided remarkably detailed views of the plazas, fortifications, roads, and habitations that shaped the lives and economies of highland communities, traders, and travelers from the sixth through 11th centuries in Central Asia. The two cities are located in rugged terrain 2,000 to 2,200 meters above sea level (roughly comparable to Machu Picchu in Peru), making them unusual examples of thriving mountain urbanism.

Unveiling the Complexities of Mountain Urbanism

The smaller city, today called Tashbulak, covered about 12 hectares, while the larger city of Tugunbulak reached 120 hectares, “making it one of the largest regional cities of its time,” Frachetti said.

“These would have been important urban hubs in central Asia, especially as you moved out of lowland oases and into more challenging high-altitude settings,” he said. “While typically seen as barriers to Silk Road trade and movement, the mountains actually were host to major centers for interaction. Animals, ores, and other precious resources likely drove their prosperity.”

“This site had an elaborate urban structure with specific material culture that greatly varied from the lowland sedentary culture,” Maksudov said. “It’s clear that the people inhabiting Tugunbulak for more than a thousand years ago were nomadic pastoralists who maintained their own distinct, independent culture and political economy.”

Technological Advancements in Archaeological Exploration

Lidar technology is commonly used to map archaeological landscapes blocked by dense vegetation, but it has additional value where vegetation is sparse, such as the mountains of Uzbekistan. “Drone operation is strictly regulated in Uzbekistan, so this discovery is also thanks to the political support and permissions we received through local partners and government,” Frachetti said.

The centimeter-level scans allowed for advanced computer analysis of the ancient archaeological surfaces, providing an unprecedented view of the cities’ architecture and organization. “These are some of the highest-resolution lidar images of archeological sites ever published,” Frachetti said. “They were made possible, in part, because of the unique erosion dynamics in this mountain setting.”

A Blend of Modern Tech and Ancient Discovery

Frachetti, Maksudov, and their team first discovered the highland cities using predictive computer models and old-fashioned foot surveys between 2011 and 2015, tracing presumed routes of the Silk Road in southeastern Uzbekistan. The project took years to materialize. The extra time ultimately proved to be a blessing, allowing the researchers to make the most of the latest advances in drone-based lidar. “The final high-res maps were a composite of more than 17 drone flights over three weeks,” Frachetti said. “It would have taken us a decade to map such large sites manually.”

Frachetti and graduate students in his Spatial Analysis, Interpretation, and Exploration (SAIE) Lab compiled the drone-lidar data into 3D models, which were passed to Tao Ju, a professor of computer science and engineering, and Xiaoyi Liu, an undergraduate student, both at the McKelvey School of Engineering at WashU. Ju and Liu applied computational algorithms to analyze the archaeological surfaces and auto-trace millions of lines to predict likely architectural alignments. The final step was to match the digital output with comparable architectural cases, revealing a huge ancient city otherwise invisible to the naked eye. “The project reflects a truly interdisciplinary effort,” Ju said. “The analysis techniques have potential applications in many domains that utilize lidar scans.”

Future Excavations and Implications

Both cities warrant much closer inspection, Frachetti said. Preliminary digging at one of the fortified structures at Tugunbulak suggests that the fortress — a building protected by three-meter-thick rammed earth walls — might have been a factory where local metalsmiths turned rich deposits of iron ore into steel. Such industry would have been a key feature of the city and its economy.

It’s already clear that Tashbulak and Tugunbulak weren’t just remote outposts or rest stops. “The Silk Road wasn’t just about the endpoints of China and the West,” Frachetti said. “Major political forces were at play in Central Asia. The complex heart of the network was also a driver of innovation.”

Frachetti hopes to use the same combination of on-the-ground detective work and drone-based lidar to get pictures of other high-altitude settlements along the Silk Road and beyond. “We could really change the map of urban development in medieval Asia,” he said.

Reference: “Large-scale medieval urbanism traced by UAV–lidar in highland Central Asia” by Michael D. Frachetti, Jack Berner, Xiaoyi Liu, Edward R. Henry, Farhod Maksudov and Tao Ju, 23 October 2024, Nature.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08086-5

The expedition was supported by the National Geographic Society.

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According to the Tajik MFA information department, the parties discussed the prospects for the expansion of cooperation between the countries of Central Asia and Italy in the political, economic, trade, water and energy, environmental protection, transport, tourism and educational sectors.

They reportedly also exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues being of mutual interest, including current threats and challenges, the situation in Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy says Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister also Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani welcomed the Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to Villa Madama in Rome on March 29 for the 3rd Italy-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting.

“Italy views with great interest the opportunities presented to Italian companies in Central Asia: establishing a strategic partnership with Central Asian countries and strengthening economic and industrial cooperation in the fields of water resources, the environment, and higher education is a priority. For this reason, over 30 of the most important Italian companies and trade associations will attend today’s meeting,” commented Mr. Antonio Tajani

The Italian Government has reportedly promoted the intensification of relations with countries in the region, as demonstrated by the business forums organized with Uzbekistan (in June 2023), Kazakhstan (in January this year) and Tajikistan (last April).

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy says these initiatives are in line with the growth diplomacy action carried out by the Ministry and its diplomatic network on the initiative of Minister Tajani.  Business activities with other states in the region are currently being planned. Particular attention is being paid to regional projects in the fields of infrastructure, agriculture, machinery and energy involving all the countries of Central Asia.

Meanwhile, the Tajik MFA information department says that day prior to this meeting, Tajik representatives participated in separate thematic sessions were held on issues of water and energy, transport and education.

Source: Asia Plus

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The four suspected gunmen under arrest are all citizens of Tajikistan, a central Asian nation that was once part of the Soviet Union. Following the Crocus City attack, Russian police started rounding up and deporting workers who are originally from Tajikistan, as well as from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The attack, which Russia has blamed on Ukraine, also sparked massive police raids, document checks of migrants as well as harassment towards central Asian immigrants . There are an estimated 10 million labour migrants from central Asia living in Russia, according to the Russian interior ministry. Central Asian migrants have seen Russia’s recent labour shortages, the result of of conscription and the Ukraine war, as an opportunity to find work.

What might change?

Russia’s war in Ukraine has also been an opportunity for these republics to choose a more independent political path, while Vladimir Putin’s attention was elsewhere. A complete break with Russia is unlikely due to geographical proximity and intertwined economies. But there have been some signs that central Asian nations are interested in making their own political decisions without constantly checking with Russia.

One was the refusal of Kazakhstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in June 2022 to recognise Russia’s annexation of the partially occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk into the Russian Federation. Tokayev also said that Kazakhstan had no intention of helping Russia to circumvent western economic sanctions. The region also did not support Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008. But central Asia republics were more reluctant to condemn the annexation of Crimea in 2014, taking a more neutral position. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine the region has been looking for opportunities to build its relationships with other nations without upsetting Russia.

Leaders of central Asian republics have also shown their disapproval of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in more subtle ways. Most of them, except Turkmenistan, opened their borders to accept thousands of Russian citizens looking for refuge and to escape conscription. This did not go unnoticed in Moscow, where measures to reverse immigration were introduced.

Meanwhile, at home these regional leaders find fewer people who speak Russian and are interested in Russian culture. Polls indicate that many people in central Asia (49% in Kyrgyzstan, 43% in Kazakhstan) blame their current economic problems on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There have been anti-war protests in Kazakhstan and some entertainment venues are refusing to host Russian stars. Central Asian media outlets have been blocked in Russia for trying to cover the war in Ukraine objectively.

However, at the United Nations general assembly, these states either abstain from voting to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine or vote with Russia on resolutions, including one on violations of human rights in Crimea.

Historically, Moscow sees its role in the region as a security guarantor, and as a founding member of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) which aims to ensure peace and stability in the region. Russian paratroopers arrived in Kazakhstan after Tokayev had requested assistance from the CSTO with the protests that broke out in January 2022. The unprecedented unrest, known as Bloody January, started peacefully but quickly turned violent.

People took to the streets to protest a sharp increase in fuel prices, clashing with police and looting and attacking government property.

Despite the apparent need to restore order, the Kazakh public was disgruntled by such a blatant intervention in the country’s internal affairs. There was a general air of relief when Russian troops left.

Overall, central Asia is walking a fine line between pursuing more independence from Russia and not disturbing the regional balance of power.

One sign of change was a meeting in 2023 between regional presidents, including Sadyr Japarov of the Kyrgyz Republic and Tokayev, with US president Joe Biden in New York and with German chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin. It appears that while central Asian countries were not ready to talk about regional security, they were interested in discussing green energy, climate change, and stabilising Afghanistan.

What the west wants

The west will see this as an opportunity to build alliances and to offset Russian influence, given the area’s strategic importance and abundance of natural resources. By fostering these relationships, western countries can potentially secure energy supplies and promote stability in a region historically dominated by Russia. In return, central Asian republics might seek economic investment and technological development, and potentially support to strengthen their political independence.

As Russia prepares for a long war, there are likely to be further opportunities for central Asia to forge a new relationship with the west, but any shift is expected to be gradual.

Source: The Conversation

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This was discussed during a meeting between Uzbekistan’s Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov and his Kazakh counterpart, Alikhan Smailov.

The delegation of Uzbekistan, headed by Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov arrived in Almaty (Kazakhstan) to participate in the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council and Digital Forum.

At the meeting, the sides noted the rapid development of strategic partnerships and alliances between the two countries in the spirit of friendship, good neighborliness, and mutual respect, and representatives of both countries defined specific tasks for further development of multilateral relations.

They also emphasized positive growth dynamics between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in all directions.

In particular, the volume of trade has more than doubled over the past 7 years, important joint projects are being implemented in various sectors of the economy, and interregional and cultural-humanitarian cooperation is expanding.

At the meeting, the parties exchanged views on these and other topical issues on the agenda.

Meanwhile, trade turnover volume between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan amounted to $4.3 billion.

Source: Trend

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A recent video from Qashqadaryo region, Uzbekistan, that allegedly showed the betrothal of a 7th-grade girl has sparked concern about child engagement practices. The video depicted a woman placing a piece of jewelry around the young girl’s neck, a traditional gesture often seen in betrothal ceremonies.

The Investigation and Findings

The Children’s Ombudsman, Surayo Rahmonova, conducted an investigation into the incident. The investigation revealed that the event took place in the Kokdala district and was, in fact, a celebration of the child’s birthday, not an engagement or wedding ceremony. The girl’s parents clarified that they harbor no intention of marrying off their daughter early. Instead, they aspire to educate her and support her ambition to pursue a career in medicine.

Addressing the Tradition of Early Betrothal

Rahmonova acknowledged that the tradition of early betrothal ceremonies still partially exists in the region. However, she emphasized that the Ombudsman’s office is committed to ensuring the child’s right to a healthy upbringing, education, and future autonomy in life decisions. The Ombudsman’s office will continue to monitor the situation vigilantly.

Opposing Early Marriage Practices

Early marriage practices are firmly opposed by the Ombudsman. Parents holding intentions to marry off their children early were warned about the legal consequences. Violating laws regarding the age of marriage and procedures for entering into marriage can lead to serious repercussions. The right of the child is paramount, and any practices or traditions that compromise this right will not be tolerated.

Source: BNN Breaking

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AKIPRESS.COM – Bukhara Regional Department of Preschool and School Education and Acharya University signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in retraining and advanced training of personnel, UzA reports.

According to the document, it is planned to train 1,600 teachers of computer science, English, and mathematics in advanced courses during the year.

A branch of Acharya University was opened in Uzbekistan’s Karakul district. Students are trained in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, business analysis, and other areas. The courses are taught mainly by teachers from India.

Source: Akipress

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As the new year looms ahead and all the year-in-review and what’s-to-come thinkpieces start rolling out, we too are feeling reflective.

How has the climate disinformation landscape shifted? Who’s tapped out, and who’s emerging? And why are UFOs and Uzbekistan part of the climate disinfo conversation? 

Just look at this picture that Bjorn Lomborg posted to X/Twitter. “Great to meet Deputy Minister of Health Elmira Basitkhanova,” the text caption reads. “Her ministry is responsible for many of [the] best value for money policies for Uzbekistan.” Two days earlier, Lomborg also posted similar pictures of himself smiling next to Uzbekistan’s deputy minister of digital technologies and the director of the Agency for Innovative Development.

Lomborg’s long sought to ply his trade to whomever will listen, so meeting with government officials from Uzbekistan to tell them how they should do their jobs is not exactly a new breakthrough for him.

But Lomborg’s bland self-promotion is a great example of the larger changes in the climate disinformation landscape on Twitter/X. While the platform was once a digital space where you could observe disinfluencers acting relatively unconstrained, arguing with critics and joking with their friends but not otherwise worrying about being caught behaving badly, that has clearly changed. One after another, disinfluencers’ feeds are giving way to stale and sterile self-promotion posts urging followers to buy their book or Substack subscription or t-shirts.

But that’s not to say that everything’s boring. While the climate-specific disinfluencers have gotten increasingly boring and buttoned-up, the general-purpose click-chasers who occasionally talk about climate change are only getting more unhinged, if such a thing is possible. So what’s not boring, is just so incredibly, painfully stupid. 

That’s where the UFOs come in. Michael Shellenberger‘s already abandoned his UFO conspiracy theory, but ousted Fox personality Tucker Carlson has picked up the thread for his “show” on X and the Tucker Carlson Network, his new propaganda effort.

So on the one hand, we can look forward to more professionalized disinfo in the form of staid press release-type content from lobbyists like Lomborg and Alex Epstein, and on the other, we can expect even more deranged content about extraterrestrials from the Twitter trolls.

2024 should be a fun year!  

Source: Daily Kos

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A former government minister in Uzbekistan has been arrested on embezzlement charges in a fresh hint of infighting among the country’s political elite.

Aziz Voitov is suspected of large-scale embezzlement and abuse of power and faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty, the Supreme Court said in a statement on December 18. No details on the alleged offenses have been provided.

Voitov, 43, had served as Agriculture Minister from 2022 until this October. He was removed from his post two months after his one-time superior, Sardor Umurzakov, was dismissed as head of the presidential administration. Both men previously worked at the Foreign Trade Ministry, where Voitov acted as Umurzakov’s first deputy.

The firing of Umurzakov in August sparked widespread speculation in Tashkent of cracks forming within the apparently monolithic power vertical. While Umurzakov’s star waned, another figure, the daughter of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Saida, saw an upturn in her fortunes. As part of the reorganization within the presidential administration, Mirziyoyeva was named as her father’s aide, essentially making her one of the most important people in the administration.

Voitov is only one of several Umurzakov-linked casualties. Several of the former presidential administration chief’s known associates have to date been either fired or demoted.

There are other clues of a purge of sorts being in the offing. Following news of Voitov’s arrests, local outlets reported on the detention of the head, or khokim, of the Tashkent region’s Bekobod district. Shukhrat Mirzayev, who was appointed to that position just a few months ago, is said to be facing charges of embezzling state funds.

President Mirziyoyev appears to be trying to cast all these developments as part of a broader onslaught against corruption. On December 19, he attended the unveiling of a Tashkent monument symbolizing the ongoing battle on graft.

The 12-meter lattice metal hand pointing upward stands for the “absolute rejection of corruption,” the presidential administration said in a statement.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, which was attended by the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Mirziyoyev said Uzbekistan was ready to “mobilize all its strength and potential” in its “responsible, uncompromising fight” against corruption.

Whatever efforts the government has undertaken since Mirziyoyev came to power in 2016 does not appear to have yielded especially fruitful dividends.

The Corruption Perceptions Index for 2022 compiled by Transparency International assigned Uzbekistan a score of 31, where 0 indicates significant corruption and 100 represents a clean bill of health.

Source: Eurasianet

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Iran is emerging as a dominant force in the Uzbekistani orange market, as it has been steadily boosting its exports of this product to Uzbekistan since 2021. Last year, Iran shipped more than four times as many oranges to Uzbekistan as it did in 2021, and increased its market share by more than threefold. This year, Iran further consolidated its position in the Uzbek orange market, edging out Turkey and other competitors, as reported by EastFruit analysts.

The Uzbekistani demand for oranges bounced back after a sharp drop in the year of the coronavirus pandemic, and resumed the upward trend that started in 2019.

Along with the recovery, the Uzbekistani orange market also underwent significant changes in the composition of its suppliers. Turkey, which used to be the main source of oranges for Uzbekistan, saw its share in this market gradually shrink since 2019, but the most dramatic decline happened in 2021-2022. Even though the total volume of orange imports in Uzbekistan grew almost fourfold from 2018 to 2022, the volume of Turkish orange exports to this market barely changed – from 1.7 thousand to 1.9 thousand tons. As a result, Turkey’s share in the Uzbekistani market plummeted by 3.7 times – from 67% in 2018 to 18% in 2022.

Meanwhile, Iran ramped up its orange exports to the Uzbek market starting from 2021. Before that year, Iran only supplied up to 130 tons of oranges per year to Uzbekistan, which made up no more than 2% of the total orange imports to this country. But in 2021, Iran sold 855 tons of oranges to this market – raising its market share to 11%, and in 2022 – 3.6 thousand tons, increasing its share in this market to 35%!

The share of other countries in 2022 dropped compared to the previous year, due to a more than twofold decrease in orange imports to Uzbekistan from Kazakhstan – from986 to 448 tons. Kazakhstan acts as a re-exporter of this product.

EastFruit analysts predict that by the end of this year, the volume of orange imports to Uzbekistan will keep growing, at a rate of 15-25% compared to 2022. At the same time, the annual volume of Iranian orange exports is expected to double compared to last year, which may account for around half or even more of the total orange imports to Uzbekistan.

Source: Fresh Plaza

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