Postcard from Bishkek

Back in the autumn of 1962 a film was released which was to have a significant effect on the genre of espionage movies in the West: Dr. No, based on the James Bond novel by Ian Fleming.  Indeed, Bond is not just a Western icon, even here everyone knows about James Bond.

Although it was the first of the Bond films, the book wasn’t the first in the series of Bond novels  - that was Casino Royale, published in 1953 … Dr. No was the sixth, published in 1957.  It wasn’t even intended to be the first Bond film … that was supposed to be Thunderball, (which had been published in 1961 and was eventually to be the fourth film in the series – it was also the first of the Bond films that I saw, I have to admit that I came to the films late; having been introduced to both James Bond and Dr. No in the form of the comic published by DC comics …  ber known for superheroes like Superman and Batman.)

Man of the features in that first film were to become fixtures throughout the rest of the series … but one difference in the film from the book the organization of Bond’s arch nemesis … SMERSH, which was replaced by SPECTRE – a global terrorist organization.

SMERSH was supposed to be an intelligence agency of the Soviet Union …  similar to the KGB, the name being a portmanteau word derived from  Spetsyalnye MEtody Razoblacheniya SHpyonov (meaning Special Methods of Spy Detection) … but anectdotally also known as SMERt SHpionam, (meaning Death to Spies) – a title supposedly attributed to no-one other than Josef Stalin himself.  In fact, SMERSH really did exist.

It was an “umbrella” term referring to three counterintelligence agencies in the Red Army during the Second World War, and formally created on 19th April, 1943, (although some – Western – sources suggest it was on the 14th … but I trust the Russian sources are more likely to have the date right), by a decision of the People’s Commissars of the USSR to combat espionage, sabotage, terrorist activities of foreign intelligence services, the fight against treachery and treason in the units and institutions of the Red Army, desertion and mutilation on the fronts.

Between then and 4th May 1946, when it was disbanded and its functions were transferred to the KGB, it is credited with detecting some 30,000 “spies”, 3500 saboteurs and more than 6000 terrorists.  As a military organization, it is claimed, it played no role in the suppression of the civilian population which is usually attributed to the actions of the NKVD.

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Of course, Smersh and the NKVD belong to the past – the Soviet Union and the Cold War.  Since 1991, Kyrgyzstan has been an independent nation and been following a different path … albeit a somewhat rocky one … adopting the “free market economy” and moving toward a parliamentary democracy.

It’s not been a smooth path …

Although the government are upbeat about many positive signs in the economy, there are also some worrying signs.

Apart from the trouble that the mainstay of the Kyrgyz economy, the Kumtor Gold Mine, has had to face … the decision by the parliament to back a new draft law “On Glaciers” may, according to one of the company’s Vice Presidents, make it impossible for the mine keep working as it is based high in the mountains on the edge of a glacier.

One of the other mainstays of the Kyrgyz economy is the remittances – the money sent back home by migrant workers employed in Russia and Kazakhstan.  Unfortunately the  level of remittances fell in the first two months of the year – by almost 12.5%.

Incidentally, there was an interesting piece about the country’s demographics … the population getting younger as the birthrate rises, the mortality rate falling …  and so many of the older generation seek work abroad.  About a third of the population of children or adolescents … and if last weeks comments from both the Ministry of Defense and the Sports Agency about the health of the younger generation are anything to go by, there are questions about the fitness of the population.  The paper referred to the potential problems that this could create for the long term social cohesiveness of the country.

In order to try and defeat the “brain drain” ( … that phrase takes me back to my childhood – but in those days it was applied to the outflow of talent from the UK to places like America and Australia), the authors stress the need for stable economic growth.

The value of the som has also fallen since the start of the year … by about 10%.

 

There’s been a fair amount of discussion in the continuing debate about the pros and cons of joining the Customs Union.  In what may have a “self inflicted injury”, one government official tried to say that we wouldn’t face any massive price rises if we did join … quoting examples drawn from the experience of Kazakhstan … which saw some prices rise by 12%.  True, he had lots  of other statistics – but that’s the one that seems to have caught people’s attention.

The surprising economic news during the week was that since the start of the year, our major export partner has been … not Russia, China, not even Switzerland who buys virtually all out gold … but apparently the UAE.

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In terms of the political system … the transformation into a parliamentary system has also seen its own problems … apart from revolutions the new government has just started work and  it’s already come under attack.  Djoormat Otorbaev, the new appointed Prime Minister, is known as a reformer who specialty is economic affairs … so everyone is expecting (hoping for) an economic miracle.

President Atambaev made a statement that the government has to get down to business and show definite signs of success within two months, or else it should be dismissed.  So much for the general idea of a new Head of Government enjoying a “honeymoon period” … two months is not even 100 days.

The leadership of one of the opposition parties has seized on this and, along with comments about the less than positive aspects of thr investment climate and criticism of a decision to give the new, (as yet unfinished), Karambata Ata power power station as surety for a loan, has called for his resignation.

Mind you, they don’t seem to be too happy with the President either … one of their leaders has claimed that, although we’ve taken the step of becoming a parliamentary democracy, there’s still far too much power concentrated in the hands of the Presidency.

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Echoes of the Cold War seem to have resurfaced with two other draft laws which will affect the presentation of news … the one proposing criminal sanctions for promoting “non traditional” sexual relations – so called “Gay Propaganda”, and other criminalizing “false reporting” in the media.

At a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, China has urged the other members to tighten up control of the internet .. to “prevent ‘external forces’ from fermenting revolution” along with measures to strengthen the management of non-government organisations and in order to “discover, analyse, counter and regulate” factors of uncertainty and thus avoid any repetition of colour revolutions.

I wonder if that means I am going to have to be even more careful with what I write in future …

Anyway, I suppose that some control on the internet is called for.  A couple of examples: we normally get some something like twenty or thirty comments posted on our websites every day … virtually all of them spam … well, during this last week, is spiked at something like 500 a day … most of them claiming to be adverts for Nike.  If I had a pair, I think I would burn them.

A bit more serious, the website of the State Property Fund has been hacked by Syrians protesting the role of America in their country … I suppose there is some logic behind that … twice.

Incidentally, the Muftiat has advised the faithful that they should not get involved in Syria.

As it happens, not everyone in Kyrgyzstan sees the internet as a threat … apart from the plans for the expansion the e-government, the Antimonopoly Agency announced a plan for the mass “internetization” of the Northern provinces (Talas and Chui oblasts and Bishkek city), to bring the internet into every home in the region … with the hope to extend the scheme throughout the rest of the country.

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Knowing my predilection for statistics, these attracted my attention in the debate over whether or not right hand drive vehicles should be banned.  The figures are pretty impressive … but …

Over the last year there has been a continuous effort to try and ban them – but each time the attempt has hit been blocked.  The emphasis moved from a total ban to a ban on imports, then to simply banning them from commercial use – as taxis.  Now the argument has come back to a ban on importing such vehicles, proposed by the Ministry of the interior …  The reasoning boils down to accident statistics.

Apparently 13% of the vehicles in the country have the steering wheel on the right hand side of the vehicle … most having been imported from Japan as they offer a cheaper option.  In the last five years the import of such vehicles has risen by 40%.

Apparently, according to the Road Patrol Service, (the traffic police), these vehicles represent about 13% of all the registered vehicles in the country … although that raises another question – especially when the parliament has just been debating the need to impose fines on those who fail to register their vehicles.

Given that percentage, the argument goes, only something like 1000 of the 7500 road traffic accidents in the country should involve right hand drive vehicles – but last year there were almost 1500 … and the report said that those accidents were “caused” by the right hand drive vehicle – not just that they were involved.  The report was further complicated by the figures quoted that only 7 out of 1000 left hand drive vehicles were involved in accidents compared to 12 per 1000 right hand drive.  To add emphasis, the the number of deaths was quoted … 276 people dying as a result of accidents “caused” by right hand drive vehicles in 2013 – up from 100 the previous year.

In the meantime, a spokesman from The Ministry suggested that drivers of right hand drive vehicles having the steering wheel moved to the other side … which he said would cost about USD1000.

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Perhaps the saddest news of the week came with a pair of stories from different parts of the country … one concerning a child who lost their life to a stun grenade in Talas, and the other concerning two youths killed and four injured when a grenade went off down in the Batken oblast.  The circumstances behind both incidents are not yet clear and the investigation continues – although it looks as if the latter case is a hangover from an incursion by militants back in 1999/2000.  The incident occurred in a remote village that was actually cut off by snow necessitating a 12 kilometer hike to the nearest settlement before the injured could be taken to hospital.

Let me finish the postcard this week with some news about the weather … Last weekend we experienced a late cold snap and snow storm.  The snows caused havoc on some of the roads as the a result of avalanches.  It also caused some damage to the apricot blossom …which is a pity because we had been treated to a fine display.

Down South, instead of snow they had heavy rains which washed away a bridge … fortunately no one was hurt in the incident but a village was cut off unless the villagers took a long detour.  Fortunately it doesn’t seem to have stooped the blooming of the Aigul flower … a very rare flower that grows only in part of the Batken oblast.

Despite the heavy rains, the water flow in the rivers is lower than is usual at this time of the year and there are fears for the water levels in the reservoirs that feed the countries hydro electric power stations.  That has raised yet further fears about the possibility of a shortfall in the supply next winter … and the need to raise tariffs.

 

As usual, there’s a whole host of stories that I haven’t the time or space to cover … but the way that history – like fashion – comes and goes in cycles, I’ve no doubt that they’ll crop up some time in the future.

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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:

• “Photos … the best souvenirs …” - One of the mantras associated with responsible tourism runs: “Take only photographs, leave only footprints!” … - 13/04/14
• Going to the flicks - Fancy a night out … at the pictures … in Bishkek …: - 14/04/14
• Tax Day - Taxing thoughts … today, April 15th is Tax Day in the US … - 15/14/14
• History Man – Vladimir Mikhailovich Ploskikh - A little late for his birthday … but a look at Kyrgyzstan’s own “History Man” - 16/04/14
• Billiards - On the “birthday” of the game of Snooker … a look at Billiards here in Bishkek – 17/04/14
• Bishkek Monuments and Sites - The International Day for Monuments and Sites – is markjed every year on 18th April … and there are many sites in Bishkek designated as being of Historical and Cultural Importance in Bishkek - 18/04/14

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Tags: In_the_News, Life_in_Kyrgyzstan, Weekly_Postcards