A combination of severe cold and antiquated infrastructure this winter is leaving millions of people in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in the dark. Power outages are posing an especially difficult test for Kyrgyzstan’s nascent parliamentary democracy.
The annual Commonwealth of Independent States summit -- held this year in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe – will probably be remembered most for what happened on the sidelines.
The summit itself was a snoozefest. Only seven presidents of the 10 CIS member states attended the Dushanbe gathering, which began September 3. The meeting concluded with only vague promises to expand cooperation.
DUSHANBE -- Tajikistan's state energy supplier has announced the early end of winter electricity rationing, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.
Barqi Tojik deputy chief engineer Rashid Gulov told RFE/RL on February 21 that due to high water levels in reservoirs it is possible to end restrictions earlier than originally planned.
Tashkent is expanding its de facto trade embargo against Dushanbe, levying new tariffs for trucks crossing the border, and continuing to delay train freight bound for Tajikistan. Seven months into the blockade, Tajik businessmen are hurting, and the government is worried about its long-term economic impact.
Energy issues, specifically major price hikes for utilities, proved the undoing of Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s administration in Kyrgyzstan. The provisional government now in power in Bishkek has to take care to avoid the same pitfall.
