Kyrgyz President-elect Almazbek Atambaev has made headlines by announcing that the U.S. air base outside Bishkek – currently known as Transit Center at Manas -- should be shut down by 2014.

American soldiers will leave the Manas base completely after the current lease agreement expires in mid 2014, Atambaev said in his first press conference after the October 30 elections, which he won with over 60 percent of the vote.

"I don't want some country to launch a retaliatory strike on the base," Atambaev said, adding that the U.S. is often engaged in conflicts in different countries.

Previously, as prime minister, Atambaev made similar remarks against Kyrgyzstan's hosting of the air base, an important transit point for Western forces in Afghanistan.

With his new status, however, his warning over the Manas base has attracted unprecedented attention from regional media, which began reading between the lines and speculating over the future of Kyrgyzstan's relationships with the United States and Moscow.

Leaning Toward Russia?

"U.S. State Department Alarmed Over The Fate of Manas Airbase In Kyrgyzstan," one headline screamed in ferghana.ru, a popular website that focuses on Central Asian news.

"Kant Overcomes Manas. Americans To Be Evicted From Kyrgyzstan," announced Russia's "Izvestiya" daily within hours of Atambaev's press conference on November 1. (Kant is a Russian air base located some 20 kilometers from downtown Bishkek.) 

In another report, "Izvestiya" said Atambaev "made his first political decision in favor of Russia."

​​The publication quotes experts as saying that the "decision over Manas demonstrates that the new Kyrgyz president has already determined who his allies are."

There will be "U.S. pressure" on Kyrgyz leaders over the Manas issue, the newspaper predicts, adding that Bishkek will be hoping for Russian support.

Quoting sources inside the Russian Finance Ministry, "Izvestiya" reports that Russia is expected to approve a $107-million loan to Kyrgyzstan through the Eurasian Economic Community as a token of such support.

The Russian-led regional grouping brings together six former Soviet states, including Kyrgyzstan.

Limits To Presidential Authority

In any event, however, even if Atambaev wants to end the U.S. military presence in his country or decides to favor Russia in Bishkek's policymaking, does he have the authority as president to do so?

It might not be so easy, considering that Kyrgyzstan's newly minted constitution significantly limits the president's powers.

According to Article 64 of the constitution, which demarcates presidential authority, the president has no political power to determine foreign policy.

"The current agreement over Manas -- signed by the U.S. and Kyrgyz government -- will expire in 2014, but it will be automatically extended for another year unless one of the two sides says they want to discontinue the contract," explains Omurbek Tekebaev, a leading Kyrgyz politician. "They would have to make it known six months before the expiration of the agreement."

Tekebaev, who was the Chairman of the Constitutional Council, which drafted the constitution, made it clear that it is up to the Kyrgyz government to decide whether to terminate or prolong the Manas agreement.

Meanwhile, taking into account Kyrgyzstan's ever-changing political scene and its history of revolutions, it is hard to say what might happen between now and 2014, and who will be calling the shots when the Manas deal runs out after three years.

-- Farangis Najibullah

Register marriage: check. Plant trees with the president in special wedding center park: check. Visit earthquake memorial: check. Visit Monument to the Constitution: check. Visit Monument to Independence: check. Visit...

And the list goes on, part of new lengthy requirements laid out for newlyweds by the Turkmen ruler in remarks anticipating the October 28 grand opening of the "Palace of Happiness" hotel complex.

The detailed list of instructions has couples visiting a total of four memorials the day of their registration, far more than the one obligatory visit customary for newlyweds in the region.

Envisioning a "green oasis" of verdant trees lovingly cared for by starry-eyed young couples, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov told officials on October 21 that "it wouldn't be bad if couples continued to visit the garden for important celebrations and family anniversaries, and during such visits planted even more trees."

The Turkmen leader clearly hopes the seeds planted will bear fruit -- in more ways than one. Their children, he proclaimed, shall "rest in the shade of trees planted by their parents."

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Such a romanticized, almost surreal picture of family life and domestic bliss is hard to square with Turkmenistan's reputation for human rights abuse and widespread poverty. The small, resource-rich Central Asian country has one of the highest indexes of social inequality in the world.

The nation has also been under authoritarian rule for decades. After gaining independence in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the former head of the Turkmen Communist Party ran the country. Following his death in 2006, Berdymukhammedov, came to power in a carefully orchestrated election.

The new requirements are clearly meant to coincide with events celebrating the nation's 20th anniversary of independence on October 27 as well. The tree-planting ritual "could start a new tradition to build family life and strengthen family values," Berdymukhammedov was quoted as saying in an October 21 Turkmen State News Agency report.

They also fit the over-arching narrative of his leadership: that personal happiness is best nurtured under the close, watchful eye of the government -- even if that means certain civic liberties (like what to do on your wedding day) won't be taking particularly deep root.

-- Kristin Deasy

Tajik newspaper reporter Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov has been held in solitary confinement for nearly a year and faces 16 more years in prison. His case shows how the country's authorities deal with criticism.  

Ismoilov is a reporter for "Nuri Zindagi," a village newspaper with a circulation of 2,000, at best.   

The charges against Ismoilov include extortion, criminal libel and insulting public officials, and inciting regional hatred. The verdict, initially expected in early October, has been postponed by a court in Tajikistan's northern Sughd Province.  

In the meantime, Ismoilov's lawyer has come under pressure, too. A criminal case has been launched against Muhabbat Juraeva, charging her with abuse of office. She rejects the accusation.

So, what did Ismoilov do to justify being kept behind bars since November 2010 and to prompt prosecutors to ask for a 16-year prison sentence -- punishment normally saved for crimes such as murder and rape?

The charges of libel, insult, and inciting hatred are connected to Ismoilov's reports, in which he criticized alleged corruption among local authorities and a lack of transparency in the distribution of land in his native Asht district, among other topics.  

He has been accused of extortion for allegedly receiving four planks of wood – worth less than $50 -- from a relative who works for the local government.  

Several witnesses have confirmed that the wood, which the local administration was no longer using, was, indeed, donated to the reporter. The relative has since retracted his statement but the charges haven't been dropped.

The prosecutors have engaged the state committee on language to examine the tone of the reports to back their accusations. According to the committee's findings, there are some words that could be categorized as "insulting."  

For instance, Ismoilov likened the hasty construction of the district prosecutors' headquarters to Soviet-era projects of national importance. And he called a high-ranking local official a "commander of the construction battalion."

But, even if there are two or three insulting words in his articles, "would you send a journalist behind bars for 16 years?" asks Dodkhudo Saimiddinov, the head of the language committee. "In our country, murderers get 15 years."

The charges against Ismoilov have outraged his colleagues both in Tajikistan and outside the country, who say his case is aimed at sending a threatening message to all journalists in Tajikistan.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has called for Ismoilov's immediate release.

"If journalists who criticize government officials face criminal charges, lengthy investigative detention, and punitive prison sentences, Tajikistan risks stifling public discourse," the OSCE representative on freedom of the media, Dunja Mijatovic, said in a statement.

Like Ismoilov, another Sughd journalist, Urunboy Usmonov, a BBC reporter charged with having associations with the banned group Hizb ut-Tahrir, is awaiting his verdict. Usmonov denies the charge.

"Unlike journalists in the capital and big cities, reporters in small provincial towns are alone and defenseless," says Juma Mirzo, Ismoilov's former colleague.

A harsh verdict in the Ismoilov case would have an "enormous chilling effect" on all journalists in Tajikistan, the OSCE says.

It would once again show that criticism of the authorities is not tolerated in Tajikistan. Not on any level. It's as simple as that.

-- Farangis Najibullah

Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon apparently takes great pride in breaking records. 

A month after officially raising the country's flag on the world's tallest unsupported flagpole in the Tajik capital, the president began construction of what is going to be Central Asia's biggest mosque, not far from downtown Dushanbe.

Rahmon demonstrated a hidden skill when he took control of an excavator to start digging the foundation for the building.

The $100 million project will be completed by 2014, Tajik officials told local media. The Persian Gulf kingdom of Qatar is putting up 70 percent of the cost of the project, with Tajikistan raising the rest.

The mosque will accommodate some 115,000 worshippers at a time -- or approximately one-sixth of the population of Dushanbe, a city of some 700,000.

The construction of the mosque initially started in 2009, but the project was halted for unknown reasons.

The plans are being implemented at a time when Dushanbe has come under criticism for putting pressure on religious institutions.

Dozens of mosques has been closed down or denied registration in different provinces, with authorities saying they did not meet requirements.

Officials in the southern Khatlon region are set to turn several unregistered mosques into gyms and aid stations, AsiaPlus news agency recently reported.  Some 16 mosques in Khatlon's Jomi district have been turned into cultural centers.

Over 1,000 Tajik religious students were brought home from foreign Islamic schools last year, after President Rahmon warned they faced the risk of becoming terrorists and extremists.

Officials in Dushanbe maintain they do not restrict freedom of religion. There are currently over 3,800 officially registered mosques in Tajikistan, including some 40 grand mosques.

-- Farangis Najibullah

Larry King, known around the world for his interview program on CNN, was in an unlikely venue this past week -- Kazakhstan -- where he moderated at the Eurasian Economic Forum KAZENERGY 2011.

The website zakon.kz cites Mr. King as admitting he knew little about Kazakhstan before his visit. King said he had lunch the previous week with Kazakhstan's ambassadors to the U.S. and UN who acquainted King with some of the details their country.

It was less clear what King knows about energy issues, even though he was visiting the "oil baron" country, which is also the world's leading producer of uranium.

Mr. King met with Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Masimov during a conference lunch and photos showed King autographing a copy of his book for the Kazakh premier. King said he wanted to interview Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, but that proved impossible during his visit to Kazakhstan.

King also reportedly said he was surprised musician Sting pulled out of a concert earlier this year in Kazakhstan in a sign of support for striking oil workers in the western part of the country.

The website tengrinews.kz quotes King as saying: "Why did Sting say there was no democracy here? What does a strike have to do with democracy?

In America there's democracy and strikes go on all the time." King continued, "The fact that there are strikes means there's democracy."

-- Bruce Pannier

Corruption in Uzbekistan's education system -- specifically, how teachers and faculty accept bribes to give students passing marks, or even to allow them into schools and universities -- is a trending topic worth watching.

So, too, are the rising number of amateur videos shot from the student POV that provide a rare window into the modern classroom environment in Uzbekistan.

Videos appearing on YouTube reveal that teachers there are contending with an increasingly brazen student body.

One video that has Uzbeks talking right now shows a person who is allegedly the daughter of a prosecutor verbally and physically abusing her teacher.

"Hey, professor, don't tell me what to do. I swear I'll strangle you, kill you here. Get up! Get up, I said!" she yells repeatedly.

As the tirade continues the teacher tries to calm his student by begging, "Please, please, let's talk after class." The girl switches to the rude form of addressing adults in defiance of Uzbek tradition and says, "I don't give a shit about your class."

The teacher attempts to leave the room but is continually intercepted by the young woman.

Another video shows young men waving money (U.S. dollars and Uzbek soms) in the face of their teacher as loud music plays in the room. One young man dances as his friend tries to give money to the teacher, who is clearly aware he is being filmed.

Several times the students try to put money into the teacher's shirt pocket. "He doesn't want dollars. Maybe soms will work" one says. "No, this singer does not sing for soms, give him dollars," another one says. At one point, when the young teacher tries to resist, one student says, "Scatter it on this mother @$*#%*!" as his classmate makes rain.

These videos are being held up as evidence of the impunity children of the rich and powerful believe they are entitled to because of their family connections. Whether this is actually the case is difficult to tell.

But they do show that Uzbek students, armed with cell phones, are in lock step with worrying trends documented in other countries' halls of edification.

Videos of physical abuse doled out by teachers against students have gone viral worldwide (see this example from Russia or this Russian news report of an infamous U.S. case) -- or vice versa.

And now, thanks to the wonders of video voyeurism, we can see that punk is not dead in Uzbekistan either.

-- Farruh Yusupov and Bruce Pannier

It seems Tajik pilgrims will stand out from the crowd when the annual hajj pilgrimage begins in Mecca next month. 

A new hajj uniform has been designed by Tajikistan's Committee for Religious Affairs and will soon be distributed to the country's 5,500 prospective pilgrims.

Men will don two-piece suits, while women wear long-sleeved dresses complete with head scarves, committee officials told local media.

The Tajik hajj uniform is embroidered with the country's symbols, possibly the nation's flag or coat of arms, religious officials said.

The inscription of the country's name, in Latin letters, will be prominently seen on women's head scarves and men's shirt pockets.

The garments come with matching suitcases. Taking Saudi Arabia's hot weather into account, the uniforms are made from a lightweight fabric.

The committee says having a special uniform will make it easier for trip organizers and the pilgrims not to lose each other among huge crowds during the hajj.

Tajik pilgrims might, indeed, look drastically different to others: the religious committee has hinted that in choosing the color, the designers have not opted for the traditional white.

The color and other details of the uniforms are being kept under wraps until they are handed over -- at $50 a set -- to prospective pilgrims shortly before their trip to Mecca.

According to the Islamic lunar calendar, the hajj is scheduled to fall between November 4 and November 9, 2011.

Every year, some 2 million Muslim men and women perform the hajj pilgrimage, the fifth pillar of Islam.

-- Farangis Najibullah