Postcard from Bishkek

I came across some fantastic photographs the other day of the snow which fell in Cairo last month – apparently it is the first time the Egyptian capital has seen such weather for 112 years – arriving as the storm Alexa battered the Middle East.

Such events have aroused great interest – especially in these days when scientists, politicians and laymen, debate the potential implications of a change in the global climate.

Although there is evidence in support of this contention, that seems very convincing, there are still those who say – “it’s nothing new”; just the normal cycle of weather patterns that it working its way out. They point to other examples of extreme weather which have been experienced over the years … culminating, of course, in this weeks Polar Vortex that has seen temperatures plummet so that in some places it was actually colder than on Mars, This has resulted in even more startling photographs – including some that portrayed Hell “frozen over”.  The photographs of the pyramids were probably all the more striking because of the location and the fact that we normally associate Egypt with the desert and heat … but there have been a host of other photographs showing the record breaking weather conditions around the world this last week.

However, they have also been contrasted with older photographs: The Niagara Falls frozen over … in 2014 and 1911 … the East Coast under layers of snow … in 2014 and 1966 … and so in.  In other words, although this week has been particularly spectacular … it is not necessarily a unique situation.

Take, for example, those photographs of the pyramids.  Well, there were three days in 1949 when snow fell in Los Angeles.  On 9th January snow fell across the city and and indeed most of Southern California.  It’s true that there wasn’t much snow in the civic center – only about half an inch, (that’s just over a centimeter) – but the San Fernando Valley accumulated almost a foot of it,  (about 30 centimeters), transforming what was usually a semitropical paradise into a “Winter Wonderland”.

Well, it’s been a bit of a winter wonderland here as well – but, I suppose, we are more used to it.  The snow fell, but has since melted … the temperatures fell and it turns out that it was actually warmer in Moscow than it was in Bishkek … that’s pretty unusual and some people have been using the word “unprecedented”.

 

At least, I suppose, the snow should good for skiing … which is quite important for us because the last couple of years there has been considerable interest in trying to develop Winter Sports tourism here in Kyrgyzstan.  Traditionally, the tourism season in Kyrgyzstan is very short.  When I first got involved in tourism here, we used to talk in terms of two or three months – June, July and August … but in fact, it turns out that the high season is really just six weeks – 42 days – the latter half of July and August.

Kyrgyzstan does have considerable skiing potential – especially for heliskiing on virgin slopes and a number of specialist skibases … we have a number clustered around Bishkek – but they note that their season is also very short … once again about six weeks … and the snow cover can be variable.  During the Soviet period the Skibase just outside Karakol was used for training for the Soviet Ski teams and an entrepreneur bought it during the privatization and invested in the facilities creating a Western style ski center.  It’s been operating at full swing for a couple of years now and because it is higher the season is  longer – maybe five months.  It has proved to be quite popular and got a big boost this week by being included in the list of Top 10  ski Resorts in the Russian edition of Forbes magazine.  Malodetz – Well Done.

We made another 10 Ten list as well this week, this one published by the Globe Spots on line travel portal.  Needless to say, people made a lot of the inclusion but they missed a number of what I think are important points.  I an not sure, for example, how important this list really is … there are a number of similar lists published every year and, although we’ve appeared on some the more important ones in the past – e.g. Lonely Planet’s – this year we seem to have dropped off the radar – whilst some of our neighbours and what could be called our “competitors” have been included as “up and coming” destinations.  Still, it’s an achievement …  Malodetz - Well Done.

One of the reasons they quoted for greater interest in Kyrgyzstan is the “new” relaxed visa policy … it’s nice to see that getting credit especially when we see other countries around the world adopting similar measures … Kazakh citizens, for example, will soon be able to get a visa on arrival in India.  Hey, even the Brits can’t do that.

Incidentally, there are moves afoot to extend the visa policy even further …  but not, unfortunately, by extending the list of countries in the visa-free category.  The plan is to grant special investment visas, including residence permits, for people making a significant investment in the country, (and they do mean significant … so I wonder how many people will qualify).  Interestingly, I see that the the British government are being criticized for proposing exactly the same …

Returning to the weather, the Kyrgyz ambassador to the UN made a speech in a UN conference about the problems faced by communities in mountainous regions of adapting to climate change including, the rapid melting of glaciers, frequent natural disasters, the deterioration of biodiversity, the destruction of ecosystems and land degradation.

He didn’t mention the “oil spill” which is threatening Issyk Kul … but then, maybe he knows nothing about it.  I haven’t seen any mention about it in the local press, although the “whistle blower” (I know – that’s too strong a word in this context) who has been trying to raise the issue for several years has finally managed to attract the attention of a foreign news service.  The term “oil spill” might also be a bit misleading summoning images of oil tankers running aground and discharging their cargo on the high seas … or an oil drilling platform that discharges its product into the ocean.  It seems that several years ago – in the Soviet period, an oil depot in Balykchy developed a leak and the oil managed to seep into the ground … and has been slowly, but surely, seeping away underground and edging nearer and nearer the lake ever since … nobody seems to know exactly where it is and how soon it might actually “the pearl of the Tien Shan”.

It’s not just the effect of climate change that has attracted attention when we talk about the “environment” – there was a report issued about the work of the local authority which raised a number of issues to do with the “quality of the environment” – the decrease in the amount of public spaces and parks, worsening infrastructure, roads, and facilities – the mismatch between the needs of the residents and the capacity and ability of the city to meet them.  Top of the list, however, was the low level of trust felt by residents with the municipal authorities.

When it comes to the road system – there has long been comment that the city’s road are overcrowded.  It came as little surprise to learn that there are over a million vehicles registered in the country – with a population of just over five million.  As the Deputy Prime Minister put it – that means that virtually every family has a vehicle of some sort … for example, a tractor.  Although that’s what the figures might imply … globally … I think it’s a bit much to say … as it will include commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses so it might have been better to break the figures down a bit more.

A bit more striking was the news that in the last five years alone, Kyrgyzstan has imported over six million mobile phones … which is something like 1.3 times the population.  OK – so some will be stuck on the shelves in shops waiting for some someone to buy them, and there are some people who carry two phones (I actually know someone who had three and used to sit in meetings with all three lined up on the desk in front of him), and that are some are disposed of and have to be replaced when they break down, get run over by a car, dropped in the toilet, left on the back seat of the taxi or are stolen …  but – even so – that says an awful lot about the society we are living in.

Low levels of trust was also cited as a reason people were reluctant to contribute to Social Security … along with the fact that the services they receive are seen as pretty minimal – with low levels of pensions and benefits.

Lack of trust in politicians seems to be a global malaise … but it will be interesting to see if one step undertaken by a news agency might have any impact on the situation.  They took the 33 tasks the government was set in their programme for 2013 and tracked the progress made to date, creating a list – a long list – of “promises fulfilled” in 2013.  Despite the headline … I’m not sure how they defined the term “fulfilled” as many of the tasks are ongoing, they did point to some successes.

When it comes to the economy, it’s been announced that it’s been announced that GDP has grown by “no less than 10%” … the vagueness implied by that phrase is presumably down to the fact that they don’t yet have full dta for the end of the the year.

Which brings us to the other “climate” that people focus on here – the “investment climate”: here, however, there’s conflicting evidence … Although the data for the first nine months of 2013 suggests that there has been an increase in the level of investment, a review of investors suggested that they seem to see a deterioration in the overall investment climate.  Of course, as they say here, Hope dies last and there is a tendency for optimism, it was said that 2014 should provide a breakthrough for investment – especially with relations with Arab nations.  The reason for that could be because we have had delegations from the Arab world here … the Saudi’s in particular want to build a logistics center near to the airport to support trade between the two countries – which probably means export of sheep but there are signs that they also interested in other products.

One of the biggest questions facing the economic environment, however, is still the Kumtor situation – and the constant state of uncertainty surrounding the mine.  The fact that the President has referred the memorandum back to the government for yet further work – taking into account the country’s national interests – and having it withdrawn from the parliamentary agenda has only deepened uncertainty about what is going to happen.  The cabinet held an urgent debate but as details of the President’s concerns still haven’t been made public, we don’t know what the contentious issues are – yet alone what may be done to help meet them.

In the meantime commentators warn that if a solution isn’t found before the Spring … we could be in for yet more political and social instability … so, all in all, the mine remains a sword of Damocles hanging over the future of the country.

The possibility of future unrest was highlighted by the impending elections for the Mayor of the country’s two biggest cities: Bishkek and Osh.  I suppose that there won’t really be a problem here in Bishkek … after all, there is only one candidate for the job – most of the political parties deciding not to submit anybody’s name for nomination.  He is currently a regional governor and used to be the head of Customs … but in the past he has attracted a certain amount of controversy – mainly over a the question relating to his passport.  His main threat is apathy … the post is elected by the municipal authority and two thirds of the 45 councilors have to participate in the voting and the “winner” has to accumulate a majority of all the possible votes – so of the 45 councilors, at least 30 have to vote and at least 23 have to vote for him.  As his party has 21 seats on the body … he’ll have to have support from some other quarters … but, although technically it could be a problem,  I am not sure that will be.

The situation down south is a different story … with the “deposed” mayor having been nominated in a field of candidates … I don’t think anyone expected him to fail the Kyrgyz language examination … and he didn’t – the real test will come when the votes are cast in the council chamber.  Some analysts seem to think that although he is a populist,  and a successful at that, there are divisions among the political parties represented on the council … and that he might not find it as smooth sailing as he might once have thought.

I am not convinced … but I do think that we are in for an interesting time ahead … If he is elected, then it might create difficulties for the government that dismissed him … although I am not sure that it would actually constitute “throwing down the gauntlet” – but if he loses, then there could be public outburst about the “darling” of the people being deprived of his rightful place and challenging the result.

(As an aside … Google often brings a smile to my face when it translates the Russian words for “elected representative” as “darling representative” … so I thought the term appropriate here).

As it happens, there has been speculation that Janysh Bakiev, (the brother of the former President who is blamed for giving the order to shoot in April, 2010), has been in Urumchi making plans to ferment trouble … following the election.

The British government seem to have taken it seriously, because they have amended their “travel advice”, warning about possible security problems in connection with the elections.  This was picked up by several news agencies here … but one of them – an official government news agency – carried the headline: “The UK government has asked not to travel to Kyrgyzstan on the eve of the election of mayors of Bishkek and Osh“.  Although the report itself was fair and quoted directly from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office announcement – “Mayoral elections will take place in Bishkek and Osh on 15 January. Take particular care during this period and monitor media reports regularly. Demonstrations on political and socio-economic themes occur both in central Bishkek and in other parts of the country. You should avoid all demonstrations” – I was still in a state of shock.  Apart from the fact that they only issue “advice” not “requests” or “instructions” … how can serious responsible journalists go so far beyond the material to create an eye catching headline?

As it happens … the advice also goes on to say in relation to Terrorism, “There is an underlying threat from terrorism”, which is fairly generic and could be said about most destinations.  It goes on, however, to say “Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers. There has been some terrorist activity and armed violence, particularly south and west of Osh.  You should maintain a high level of vigilance in public spaces and near to public buildings, and pay attention to any security announcements by the Kyrgyz authorities.”

This week there has indeed been some news in this respect.  Someone was arrested in Osh for trying to burn down the Christmas Tree – sorry, New Year tree – in the central square.  He was described as a supporter of “religious extremism” and was intending to “intimidate the public and disrupt the celebrations”.   Hmmm.

A bit more serious was the news that arrests have also been made of people recruiting people to travel to Syria to take part in the fighting there.

Another news report that “opposition members” were moving their families out of Kyrgyzstan came as a bit of a surprise … I am not sure if it was intended as a harbinger of potential yet more unrest – it was a short report and didn’t carry much detail … perhaps the most interesting point in it was the wry comment asking how you could have “an island of democracy” without any opposition.

 

The big news of the week, however, hasn’t been the weather … or the economy … or even the Mayoral elections in the two biggest cities in the country … it’s been the scandal over the video clip posted on the internet that I mentioned last week – showing the Mufti in intimate circumstances with a woman.  He doesn’t deny that it was him but insists that he was with his wife … his second wife apparently.  I presume he is aware that under Kyrgyzstan law second marriages aren’t legal … the attempts to bring in legislation to do so have, so far, all been defeated.

Even some Muslims seem to have found this hard to accept and there were calls for his resignation – as an “adulterer”.  To be fair … he resigned … but was full of accusations of machinations by those his opponents to blacken his name … even naming names.  One of those implicated – the head of the State Commission for Religious Affairs, denied any involvement in the affair basically saying that the “former” Mufti should look to his conscience.

 

Then there was a call by Dr. Nazarliev, a narcologist and former Presidential candidate who has set up his own clinic for treating drug addicts, to legalize marijuana.  I’m not sure if there was anything in the timing of his appeal – following hot on the legalization of cannabis (in some strictly controlled circumstances) in Colorado.  He argues that such a step would help reduce the number of addicts, reducing crime rates and rescuing them from the grips of organized crime … as well as increasing government revenues by additional taxes.

Needless to say the authorities don’t agree with him.

 

There has been so much more going on – despite of, (or maybe because of), the fact that we have been emerging from the long New Year holiday period … but I want to leave you with two quick statistics … I wasn’t even going to comment on them apart from reminding you of the “Claytor maxim” – that statistics tend to raise more questions than they answer … but I couldn’t resist it:

• In Kyrgyzstan there are 14 jobseekers for every job … but the published unemployment figures are so low … so where are they all? … or does it simply mean that there are really so few jobs? and
• The Patent office have revealed that since 1993 they have registered almost 4000 inventions in the country, (3983 to be precise … almost 2500 of them from residents), and that’s 999 more than there were a year ago!  Hmmm – they certainly seem to have had a busy year!

 

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Postcard from Bishkek: the weekly postcard that I send out as an email also gets posted on the website ianbek.kg each week – and there are other postcards which don’t get sent out.  This week, for example, there has been the following postcards:

• Why not? … Why not Kyrgyzstan?? - Why? is a powerful question … but so is Why Not? … so Why Not come and visit Kyrgyzstan? - 05/01/14
• A Merry Little Christmas  - Christmas may have come and gone in the West … but it’s not too late to wish people a Merry Little Christmas … January 6th is known – especially in Ireland – as “Little Christmas” – 06/01/14
• Make it Snappy - 7th January may well be Christmas Day for the Orthodox … but it is also an important anniversary in the history and development of photography – 07/01/14
• Jumash Dudusaliev – Happy Birthday! - Jumash Didsaliev is a young violinist busy making a name and reputation for himself … and not just here in Kyrgyzstan – 08/01/14
• Alternative anniversaries …  - It may not be have been a “birthday” but for me Thursday was a personal milestone of sorts – the 32,000,000th … – 09/01/14
• Going to pot- Colorado has passed a law legalizing Cannabis (under certain conditions) … and so has Uruguay … should Kyrgyzstan follow suit, after all we grow the stuff here!  - 10/01/14

It is possible to follow me on Facebook, (where we also have specific pages for Celestial Mountains, the Silk Road Lodge, The Celestial Mountains Guesthouse in Naryn  and also links.kg, Kyrgyz Diary and Kyrgyzstan Visitki … and not forgetting ianbek), and also on twitter, (@Bishkekpostcard and @celestialMTC ).

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Tags: In_the_News, Life_in_Kyrgyzstan, Weekly_Postcards