Field Reports
OPPOSITION LEADERS JAILED IN KAZAKHSTAN
By Marat Yermukanov, Kazakhstan (8/14/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The Kazakhstani public is getting used to political persecutions, which often take ugly forms. The majority of people, who usually grumble about declining living standards, take the arrest of a political activist as a part of a government campaign against the "criminal filth", to use the expression of the Minister of Interior. That deeply-rooted public contempt for bribe-takers and corrupted officials is skillfully exploited by the authorities in crushing too vociferous critics of the regime.
GRAIN SURPLUS THREATENS SMALL FARMS IN KAZAKHSTAN
By Marat Yermukanov, Kazakhstan (8/28/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Far from being a boon, last year's record harvest turned into a major headache for grain producers in Kazakhstan. While agricultural officials are racking their brains over how to sell off millions of tons of grain from last years stock, disenchanted farmers doubt the ability of the government to effectively handle the situation on the market.
There was every reason for the former communist leaders to call Kazakhstan "the major granary" of the Soviet Union.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION SPARKS CONTROVERSY IN AZERBAIJAN
By Gulnara Ismailova (8/28/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Lately, debates at government level regarding the introduction of a special discipline on religious issues in secondary schools' curriculum have become noticeable in Azerbaijan. Discussions on this theme gained salience with the new educational year approaching.
The teaching of basic religious matters in the secondary schools of the country was proposed several years ago by the head of the Muslims' Spiritual Directorate of the Caucasus Sheikh-ul-Islam alhaji Allahshukur Pashazade, and recently supported by the State Committee on working with Religious Organizations (SCWRO) Rafiq Aliev.
MEETINGS IN SUPPORT OF PRESIDENT AKAEV IN KYRGYZSTAN
By Anna Kirey (8/28/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A series of meetings in support of President Askar Akaev took place in Bishkek, as well as the Northern and Southern regions of Kyrgyzstan during the past week. They were said to be citizens' reaction to "provocation" of opposition parties. A week before that, opposition leaders Adaham Madumarov, Topchubek Turgunaliev and Ismail Isakov and human rights activist Ramazan Daryldaev presented a new bloc called "For the resignation of Askar Akaev and reforms for the people".
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Joint Center Publications
Analysis Niklas Swanström and Leah Oppenheimer, "Invisible Ink: Looking for the Lost Trade between China, Russia, and Central Asia", ISDP Policy Brief, 13 March 2013. 
New Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr with Adib Farhadi, Finish the Job: Jump-Start the Afghan Economy, December 2012.
Conference Report Cheryl Benard, Eli Sugarman, and Holly Rehm, Cultural Heritage vs. Mining on the New Silk Road? Finding Technical Solutions for Mes Aynak and Beyond (in cooperation with the Alliance for the Restoration of Cultural Heritage) December 2012.
Article Svante E. Cornell, "The 'Afghanization of the North Caucasus: Causes and Implications of a Changing Conflict", in Stephen Blank, ed., Russia's Homegrown Insurgency: Jihad in the North Caucasus, Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, 2012.