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Central Asia

Riot police check spectators' bags as they guard an area at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall prior to the concert of the rock group Picnic and the symphony orchestra Tavrichesky, in St. Petersburg, Russia, March 27, 2024.

Central Asians in Russia face increased scrutiny, discrimination after mass shooting 

Race

Russia has detained four suspected shooters in the Crocus City Hall mass shooting. The suspects are all from Tajikistan. Now, there are reports in cities across Russia that people from Central Asia are experiencing a rise in harassment, mistreatment and xenophobic behavior.

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, an elderly man sits inside a bus in the station of Moscow, Russia. More and more migrants from the Central Asia are coming come to Moscow in search of work.

Russia’s war creates economic hardships for Central Asian migrants

Ukraine
Many of the Jewish graves in Kyrgyzstan are adorned with Stars of David.

The Jewish graves in Kyrgyzstan are fading. But a small Jewish community continues to thrive. 

History
Sayfullo Saipov, the suspect in the New York City truck attack, is seen in this courtroom sketch appearing in Manhattan federal courtroom in a wheelchair in New York, NY, U.S., November 1, 2017.

No, Uzbekistan is not a hotbed for violent extremism and radicalism, experts say

Conflict
A bike lies in a bicycle lane following a truck attack on the West Side Highway in Manhattan, New York, on Nov. 1, 2017.

Trump bashes immigration and justice system after New York City vehicle attack

Conflict
A man walks on the roof of a traditional ger home while fixing the chimney of a coal burning stove on a cold hazy day on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Mongolian nomads say goodbye to herding, hello to smog

Environment

Climate change is forcing many of Mongolia’s nomadic herders to abandon their traditional lifestyle and move to Ulaanbaatar. That’s making a big smog problem in the city even worse.

President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan

Meet Central Asia’s leaders for life

Global Politics

Democracy is a blast when there are no term limits, or age limits.

A teenage horseman practices his draw between rounds of horseback archery. The event, known as "Atchan jaa atuu," requires riders to shoot at targets while at full gallop.

At the World Nomad Games, top athletes compete in horseback archery, eagle hunting and more

Culture

The mission of the World Nomad Games is the revival and preservation of nomadic people’s historical cultural heritage.

Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov attends a news conference in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Aug. 29, 2006.

Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov is dead

Global Politics

The strongman’s death ends more than 25 years of iron-fisted rule in the Central Asian nation with no clear successor lined up.

Saiga mass grave

What’s killing the endangered Saiga antelope of Central Asia?

Environment

The saiga, antelopes that have migrated across the Central Asian steppe since the days of the woolly mammoth, are suddenly dying by the hundreds of thousands. Some researchers suspect that bacteria reacting to the effects of climate change may be to blame for this catastrophic event.