Postcard from Bishkek

Saturday sees the annual Varsity Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge Universities.  The race was first staged in 1829 but has only been an annual event since 1856, (with two breaks for the two World Wars, although during the second world War there were four “unofficial” races).  The “light blues” of Cambridge have won 80 of the encounters and the “dark blues” of Oxford 75.  There has been one draw, in 1877 when both teams crossed the finish line after twenty four minutes and eight seconds of physical exertion and frantic rowing.

It’s estimated that as many as quarter of million will line just over four miles (almost seven kilometers) of the banks of the River Thames between Putney and Chiswick Bridges to see the two crews row the course.  Somewhere around seven to nine million in the UK will join them in spirit if not person, watching the event on television, and estimates suggest that more than ten million others will watch worldwide.

If these spectators are hoping for drama and excitement, they are likely to be disappointed.  The basic tactics employed by both teams are to go fast at the beginning in order to establish a lead, (if possible taking advantage offered by the bends in the course of the river), pulling in front of their opponents and seizing the faster current over the deepest part of the river and then maintain their lead through the later stages of the race.  As a result, usually one team of eight rowers will pull their boat out ahead and then stay there until they cross the finishing line and although, in a tight race, the lead may change hands, it rarely ever happens in the latter half of the race.

So, where’s the excitement?, the tension?, the drama?  Most of these spectators know nothing about the sport, and so they will probably miss all the finer points of skill and tactics as the race unfolds.  They might be rewarded with some startling turn of events, like in the year when the two boats came so close, (as they vied for the advantage of the faster current), that they “crashed oars”.  Maybe a boat will sink.  Both teams have twice suffered this indignity, having to concede as their opponents cross the winning line alone.  On one occasion both boats sank, (the race was re-run), and in another the Cambridge boat managed to sink before it even reached the starting position. To be honest, however, the spectators are probably there just for the sense of occasion, the spectacle, the tradition.

After all, it’s a great British sporting event.

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You will have gathered that the Boat Race is not something that I particularly miss now that I am here in Kyrgyzstan – it’s not up there with Marmite, Branston Pickle and Cadbury’s Cream Eggs when people ask me what I miss.  I always had difficulty watching the twenty or so minutes as the two teams exhaust themselves pulling on their oars.  I’m sure it is important to them, but I ask myself, “What’s the fuss all about?”

That’s a question I have been asking myself, again, this week.  That’s not to say that nothing happened during the week – just that a lot of what has happened has been like the Boat Race … not particularly spectacular, dramatic or exciting, (for which, incidentally, I am grateful – we’ve had more than our fair share of each of those this last year), but rich in tactics, skill and significance which can easily be overlooked by the mass of observers.

Maybe the lack of drama and excitement is a result of the fact that we have had two public holidays.

(Actually, last week I made a mistake – I said that there were no more public holidays until Independence Day at the end of August.  Almost immediately I got an email back reminding me that I had overlooked Mayday, Constitution Day and Victory Day in the first ten days of May.  Whoops, sorry!)

Anyway, Monday was Norus, an ancient Zoroastrian festival, held at the time of the Spring Equinox.  Although its origins predate the prophet Mohammed by something like one and a half millennia, it has been adopted as a major festival in this part of the Islamic world.

Then, Thursday was the anniversary of the People’s Revolution, in 2005, when the White House was stormed by protestors, Askar Akaev fled the country and was overthrown to be replaced by his one-time Prime Minister, Kurmanbek Bakiev.  In the rest of the world these events are known as the Tulip Revolution.  This anniversary only became a public holiday in 2008, so this is the fourth time it has been “celebrated”.  I can’t say that it was ever a popular holiday, but this year there was a difference.  Apart from the debate over whether we should have a holiday at all, (and, if so, then should it be on March 24th , April 7th, or should they both be holidays?), a lot more was made of it.

Incidentally, Thursday was also the World Tuberculosis Day, an event which was, unfortunately, overshadowed by the holiday, although it was marked by the Ministry of Health and several donor agencies who held a number of meetings to publicize the issue.  Kyrgyzstan wasn’t alone in this, as events around the world seemed to conspire to take the focus of the media away from the fight against this terrible disease. At one time it was responsible for something like a quarter of all the deaths in the UK, and it is still a rampant danger to the health and wellbeing of humanity.  OK, I admit that I am biased because I have a personal interest in that my mother had TB when I was born and lost a lung through it, but it seems to me a pity that more of the world’s attention wasn’t paid to this.

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Amongst the themes of the week’s events has, once again, been the powerplay for influence between the “superpowers”.  It’s just like the competing teams of rowers on the Thames, each seeking to pull in front of their “opponents” to stymie them and make it difficult for them to overtake them.  Sometimes it looks as if America has gained the upper hand, but at others Russia takes a dominant position.  This week it looks as if it was Russia’s week and the Russians are taking the lead.

During the week, for example,  there was an economic forum that looked at co-operation with Russia.  Some of the businessmen went down South to explore business opportunities in the troubled region.  I thought that was interesting for the fact that it shows they see potential in that developing that troubled region.  Also, it provided an interesting reply to the Investment Advisor who this week gave a list in pointer of short, pithy, one-liners such as: “Don’t invest in something you wouldn’t feed to your kids”.  The commentary made it clear that he was making a general point about ethical investment and he was not really saying invest only in agriculture and food processing.  One of his other dictums was: “Don’t invest in countries you can’t spell”, and in support of this position he said: “Guinea-Bissau, Djibouti, Vanuatu are clearly going to be “adventurous” areas to invest in however you spell them, but the various -stans (Kyrgyzstan, anyone?) might also test your spelling abilities and appetite for risk ”.  Now, I am not that there is no risk, (or even a low risk), but risk is inherent in any investment, as is shown in the Stock Market warnings that past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future results.  It is up to the investor to judge whether they are prepared to accept that particular level of risk and, if I read him correctly, the author was saying that the element of risk was probably too great for most potential investors.

On that theme, the news wires seem finally to have picked up on the destruction of a plant, (buildings and equipment), at a gold mine in the Talas region, by a crowd of protesting locals.  It’s not clear what led to the event, but it has got the mining companies anxious and doesn’t bode well for the attraction of further investment. 

However, having said all that, the answer to the author’s question “Kyrgyzstan, anyone?” is apparently, “Yes” – and not just to Kyrgyzstan as a country, but also to a particularly troubled region within the country.  That could be a big “plus” for Russia and Russian influence in the country if the investment actually materializes.

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Almazbek Atambaev, the Prime Minister, went to Russia and had discussions with his opposite number, Vladimir Vladimirovich, (Putin).  There are rumours about what actually happened, (was he really waiting in the corridor for half an hour?, did Putin really show him a video of his deputy Prime Minister meeting with Maxim?, and if so, when was the video taken?), but rumours are just that, rumours.  What we actually know about developments in the relationship is what has been released in official statements.

We know, for example, that the Kyrgyz side decided not to pursue their request for an increase in the rent for the Russian base in Kant, (in contrast to the ever increasing demands to increase the rent charged to the Americans).  We also know that they decided to hand over 48% of the shares in the Dastan Defence plant to Russian investors, (and, incidentally, a 75% stake in Kyrgyz Gas).   We also know that the government has taken a decision to examine the issue of joining the Customs Union with Russia, Kazakhstan and Belorussia and the Ministry of Economic Regulation has established a commission to examine the issues raised by doing so.

Russia, for their part, agreed to continue supplying fuel to Kyrgyzstan duty free, (but presumably under certain restrictive conditions so that it isn’t sold on to third parties, tax free, as it was before).   A Russian governor is proposing to start flights on the Bishkek-Omsk route, which should help Issyk Kul if they actually materialize in time for the summer season, and the Orenburg region proposes to open a consular office in Kyrgyzstan.  The Russians have also said that they are willing to help further with the construction of the Karamba-Ata-1 power station, the cost of which has more than doubled, from 1.7billion dollars to somewhere between three and four billion dollars.  Also, a group of Russian cosmonauts are due to pay a visit to Bishkek and Osh, as part of the celebrations of the 50^th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s historic flight into space.

The Russians are not having it all their own way, however, and they still have to win over the more nationalistic elements of the population.  This week, for example, one person I know was told to go back to Russia while he was “still in one piece” and able to do so – even though he isn’t actually an ethnic Russian, he was born here, (and so is a Kyrgyz citizen), grew up here, has a family here, and so considers Kyrgyzstan his home has no wish to leave.

The Megacom case, which looked last week as if it was going to be a stumbling block in the path of Kyrgyz-Russian relationships, continues to simmer away.  There have been analytical articles attempting to trace the history of the service, the different companies involved and their relationships.  I am not sure that these have helped to clarify the situation, and yet more contenders for the 51% of the shares that have not already nationalized have emerged from the woodwork.  A hoped for audit of the company by an “internationally renowned” firm were dashed when Ernst and Young declined the business, saying, (as I understand it), that information had been withheld from them in the proposal stage when a contract was being negotiated, any results are likely to be used in legal proceedings concerning ownership and they were concerned for the safety of their employees. The government seems determined to do something, however, top try and resolve issues surrounding the troubled sector and have decided to establish another, public, company to enter the market.

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The fallout from the revolution continues pervade the news. Bakiev has been charged, (in absence, along with some of his “cronies”), with further offences and has issued a rebuttal from Belorussia.  The relatives of some of the victims who died last April are protesting and been warned by the Prime Minister of politicians manipulating their grief.  It was announced that the money found in safe deposit boxes following the revolution in April last year, (and said to belong to Bakiev “and his cronies”), has all been deposited in the National Bank, some USD35 million and an unspecified number of gold bars.

The Kazakh authorities have concluded their investigation into the death of the Kyrgyz journalist who was tied up and thrown out of a window in Almaty.  There has been a lot os speculation that this was a contract killing ordered by Kyrgyz authorizes as he had been highly critical of Bakiev, but they have concluded that it was a robbery that went wrong.  Although this seems to have satisfied the Kazakh authorities, I am not sure, however, that it has satisfied either the Kyrgyz or international observers.

The future of the coalition government is still in the balance, although the Prime Minister says he has answered the points raised by the Ata-Jurt party last week.  Ata Jurt seem, however, to put the question on hold for a little longer.

Despite the fact that the President, Roza Otunbaeva, announced that she wanted the Finance Police to be disbanded, they have apparently earned themselves a reprieve, although a staff reduction of something like 30% has been proposed.  Criticism of the handling of some high profile cases, (especially the Megacom mobile telephone operator), by some of the other law enforcement bodies has apparently convinced the government that the Finance Police should be reprieved and made the sole body that can investigate “economic crimes”.   Interestingly, a day before the announcement was made, the Finance Police exposed a couple of examples involving the illegal issue of passports.

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Elsewhere in the news this week, Prince Rahim Aga Khan, the eldest son of the Aga Khan, paid an official visit to Kyrgyzstan.  He was involved in a variety of discussion, but a car in his motorcade was hit by a minibus near the Hyatt Regency hotel, causing a traffic jam, and some nervous tweets on Twitter.

Some convicts in all six of Kyrgyzstan’s penal colonies have apparently started a hunger strike, in protest against the government’s crack down on organized crime.

We’ve had another earthquake, in roughly the same locality as last weeks.  As far as I can tell, there were no casualities and no serious damage.

Perhaps the strangest new item of the week is that the parliament has established a working group to change the country’s Flag and National Anthem.  Incidentally, earlier in the day, one of the deputies had suggested starting each session by singing the anthem and then proceeded to do so.  Unaccompanied.  He’s obviously got a better singing voice than me.

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I have quoted these news items as examples to show that although Kyrgyzstan has been supplanted in the news bulletins of the global media by stories emanating from places like Egypt, Libya and Syria, things are happening and that, just as in the Varsity Boat Race, the finer points associated with them may well pass by many observers unnoticed and unremarked.

On a different note, on Thursday and Friday of next week, I am due to go to Naryn for our regular monthly visit, so the postcard may be a little late.

Tags: Expat, Life_in_Kyrgyzstan, Weekly_Postcards