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The ex-soviet central Asian republics are packed full of secret police -- until 2006, Turkmenistan boasted one of the world's most famous totalitarian regimes u
by jnbiche 13y ago
The ex-soviet central Asian republics are packed full of secret police -- until 2006, Turkmenistan boasted one of the world's most famous totalitarian regimes under his Amazingself-for-life President Niyazov, and although his successor has made some reforms, things haven't gotten much better since Niyazov's death. The other republics share the same kind of government to a greater or lesser extent. IWPR at http://iwpr.net http://iwpr.net has amazing independent coverage of Central Asia, the Balkans, and Africa, and is a good place to keep abreast of what's going on in those regions.
You may be thinking of the former Eastern Bloc countries, which with a few notable exceptions have followed a much more democratic path after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
- guard-of-terra 13y agoTurkmenistan is something special, I've heard of that. I'm not saying anything about "democratic path". That I am saying is about nobody caring about anything (probably with an exception of taking bribes) in most of ex-USSR countries.
- turar 13y agoKazakhstan is nothing like Turkmenistan in this regard. In fact, it's nothing like Uzbekistan even. In terms of personal freedoms, average life in Kazakhstan is on par with the US, if not "freer" than the US. It's certainly no police state.
- madaxe 13y agoAgreed. Kaz is very free, compared to, say, Kyrgyz, or Uzbek, or Turkmen. It's also very free compared to the US. You can see the "secret" police. They stand out like sore thumbs, as they're mostly Russians, and dress different, and harass people. I think that she may have mistaken overt police corruption for a police state. The two are not synonymous.
- jnbiche 13y agoI agree, and shouldn't have painted all the Central Asian republics with the same broad brush (that wasn't really my intent, but I see how it came out).
- geoka9 13y agoI'd say this is probably true for Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as those countries have powerful authoritarian leaders that fully enjoy the benefits of the security apparatus left over from the USSR. Tajikistan is different as the president's power is somewhat limited the further away you go from the few important cities. Don't know much about Kazakhstan, but I suspect it's more or less like Uzbekistan.
- madaxe 13y agoBeen there. Nothing like Uzbekistan. And Uzbekistan is nothing like Turkmen. Just because they're in the same (HUGE) part of the world doesn't make them all the same. Mexicans, Americans, Ecuadorians, what's the difference?
- geoka9 13y agoThey are not all the same. I was replying to the OP's comment: > The ex-soviet central Asian republics are packed full of secret police.
- medeu 13y agoIt is common mistake to count all countries with names ending "*stan" as one totalitarian region. I live in Kazakhstan whole my life (30yr) and I or all my friends hadn't any issues with police. We have one big drawback, it's called corruption, but all countries have to pass through this desease.
- madaxe 13y agoYup - exactly what I just said. Kaz is VERY free compared to the US. Put it this way - at the border between Kaz and Uzbek, we... Stole the border guard's hat. Wore it. In front of him. Stole his gun. Wore it. In front of him. Then all sat around together laughing and joking eating pot noodles. Had we done the same in the US, I would not be writing this, as I would likely have been shot dead on the spot.