Russian-Germans in Kyrgyzstan

Thursday I visited the Volksrat der Deutschen der Kyrgysischen Republik as part of my research for my book on the history of the Russian-Germans in Central Asia. The people there were very friendly and helpful. They let me use their library and agreed to assist me in finding people to interview about life during Soviet times. According to their figures there are still around 11,000 Russian-Germans left in Kyrgyzstan. But, they have become very dispersed. The isolated and compact settlements that previously existed in places like Nikolaipohl (now Leninpohl) in Talas Oblast have largely dissipated due to emigration. Despite these losses, the community is very well organized and has a number of regional centers throughout Kyrgyzstan.

Working on a new book

I have been working on a new book recently. It is a history of the Russian-Germans in Central Asia. I have 54 pages double spaced written so far. I still do not have a cool title for the work yet. If anybody has any suggestions please let me know.

I found another mystery novel

Yesterday I found a novel by Alex Cava for 80 som. Again I read the whole book in a day. Now that the number of foreigners in Bishkek is rapidly dwindling it is possible to find small parts of their former libraries for sale. I do not know how many Americans are left in the city, but it is not many.

Thank You

I would like to thank all of those people in the US, Canada and elsewhere who have stood by me and helped me in my recent time of need. Your support is greatly appreciated. Things are much better for me and my family now than they were in June in large part because of this assistance. I am truly grateful.

A New Start

Now that I am over 40 I am hoping to be able to get a new start on life. Granted it is not a very promising start at the moment. But, I am a lot better off than I was a couple of months ago. So I am hoping that the rate of improvement will continue and I can find a job at a university somewhere in the next year. If not then I need to reconsider my career. Maybe I can go back to making coffee. It certainly paid a lot better than teaching.

Political Islam in Central Asia

I noticed that Islamic militants staged an attack in Tajikistan recently. It is very unlikely anything like that will happen here soon. But, I do think there is a potential for an Islamic political movement to develop here. I have noticed that people have become increasingly religious recently. Most Kyrgyz still drink vodka during the day during Ramadan, but a growing minority have started actually practicing the tenets of Islam.

It has gotten cold here

The weather here in Bishkek went from boiling hot to freezing cold in a single day last week. It would have been nice to have had a short interval of moderate weather. But, overall things are much better now than they were in the summer.