By Erica Marat (5/17/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Rysbek became politically active after his younger brother, Tynychbek Akmatbaev, died in a October 2005 prison riot. Tynychbek, a member of parliament, headed the parliamentary committee on organized crime. In the days following Tynychbek’s assassination, Rysbek collected crowds in central Bishkek to demand the resignation of Kyrgyz prime minister Felix Kulov down.

By Gulnara Ismailova (5/17/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The leaflets include messages noting that it is not necessary to establish gravestone monuments above the tombs of close relatives. They claim it is enough to set up a raw stone without inscriptions above a grave mound. Leaflets also teach that it is note necessary to arrange commemorations following the death of a person.

By Muhammad Tahir (5/3/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

If all goes according to plan, the pipeline will relieve Ashgabat’s dependency on its traditional gas customers, Ukraine and Russia. Under the agreement signed by Niyazov and Chinese President Hu Jintao, Beijing agreed to buy 30 billion cubic meters of Turkmen natural gas annually for a period of more than 30 years, possibly starting in 2009. Niyazov’s view is even more ambitious – he believes the pipeline could be in operation one year earlier, delivering 50 billion cubic meters of gas by 2010, and carrying Turkmen gas as far as the Chinese port city of Shanghai.