stephen bland
The Country Where Rappers Are Forced to Suck Up to the Government
Since 2014, hip-hop has essentially been banned in the central Asian country of Tajikistan. So what have rappers done to get their songs on the radio? Compare their president to a god.
Uzbekistan's Dictator Is Dead – What Happens Next?
Gods don't foresee their own demise, so the death of Islam Karimov has left a power vacuum with a range of colourful candidates.
I Took a Trip Down Tajikistan's 'Heroin Highway'
The proliferation of flashy cars in one of the poorest countries in the world has led to a new local saying: “It is no longer ‘How much did it cost?’ but ‘How many kilos did it cost?’" A study released in 2007 estimated that drug money added up to 3...
The Toxic Uzbek Town and Its Museum of Banned Soviet Art
Ukrainian-born art collector Igor Savitsky collected thousands of avant-garde artworks banned in the Soviet Union under Stalin and founded the State Art Museum of the Republic of Karakalpakstan in the mid 1960s. Today the museum houses works from a...
