EXPLORING VLADIVOSTOK'S ABANDONED MARITIME FORTRESS

Underneath the hills of the Russian city of Vladivostok are the remnants of what used to be one of the world's most powerful maritime fortresses... READ MORE›

HOW THE USSR'S EFFORT TO DESTROY ISLAM CREATED A GENERATION OF RADICALS

They did, and by the '70s Islam had made a comeback in much of Central Asia... READ MORE›

CENTRAL ASIA'S DICTATORS FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH TRUMP

In 2012, the Kremlin put pressure on Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambaev that eventually forced the United States to close its air force base in the country... READ MORE›

'DEMOCRACY WAS HIJACKED. IT GOT A BAD NAME'

The town of Sokh, for example, is part of Uzbekistan, but fully surrounded by Kyrgyzstan, and its 20,000 population are almost entirely ethnic Tajiks... READ MORE›

MIRZIYOYEV SCORES LANDSLIDE WIN IN PRESIDENTIAL POLL

Uzbekistan's acting President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has won a tightly controlled presidential election following the death of longtime ruler Islam Karimov... READ MORE›

UZBEKISTAN ELECTION: ACTING PRESIDENT EXPECTED TO WIN EASILY

Uzbekistan is holding its first presidential election since the death of Islam Karimov, the man who ruled the Central Asian country with an iron fist for 27..... READ MORE›

UZBEKISTAN HOLDS FIRST ELECTION SINCE SOVIET RULER'S DEATH

Karimov led Uzbekistan since before the Soviet collapse, first as its communist boss and then as president... READ MORE›

UZBEKISTAN HAS FIRST ELECTION SINCE SOVIET-ERA RULER'S DEATH

Under authoritarian leader Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan's relations with its ex-Soviet neighbors were strained by disputes over water, energy and other issues... READ MORE›

'SHOW WORLD MY MUM IS ALIVE,' SAYS SON

But Islam Karimov Junior says his sister and mother were prevented from going and he himself could not risk the trip back home... READ MORE›

ISLAM KARIMOV DIES AT 78 ENDING A LONG RUTHLESS RULE OF UZBEKISTAN

MOSCOW -- Islam Karimov, a ruthless autocrat who ruled Uzbekistan for almost three decades, died on Friday in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent... READ MORE›

The Aral Sea has been retreating over the last half-century since a massive Soviet irrigation project diverted water from the rivers that fed it into farmland... READ MORE›

UZBEKISTAN TO HOLD PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ON DECEMBER 4

Uzbekistan will elect a new president on December 4 following the death of long-time leader Islam Karimov, Reuters news agency reported... READ MORE›

UZBEKS VOTE ON EXPECTED 4TH TERM FOR AUTHORITARIAN

Mr. Karimov has led impoverished, landlocked Uzbekistan since it was still part of the Soviet Union and has used his 26 years in power to eliminate all opposition and even criticism... READ MORE›

ISLAM KARIMOV, UZBEKISTAN STRONGMAN WHO EXPLOITED ANTI-TERROR FIGHT, DIES AT 78

President George W. Bush, right, meets with the president of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, in the Oval Office at the White House in 2002... READ MORE›

WORLD MOURNS DEATHS OF 224 PEOPLE KILLED IN RUSSIAN PLANE CRASH

Airport authorities said all 224 people aboard Metrojet Flight 7K9268 en route from the resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh were Russian, the Russian news agency RIA reports... READ MORE›

VIDEO POST REPORTER EJECTED FROM KERRY MEETING WITH UZBEKS

Secretary of State John Kerry was meeting Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov, after she asked a question about the U.S... READ MORE›

TURKEY IDENTIFIES NATIONALITIES OF AIRPORT BOMBERS

But an enduring question was why the militant group chose not to send its Russian-speaking fighters on such missions... READ MORE›

FEARS FOR LEGENDARY SAVITSKY ART COLLECTION AFTER DISMISSAL OF MUSEUM DIRECTOR

The Savitsky Karakalpakstan art museum holds about 90 000 artworks paintings from the 1920s and 1930s along with archaeological finds and examples of Karakalpak folk art... READ MORE›

PUTIN ENCOURAGES IRAN TO JOIN RUSSIA-LED EURASIAN ALLIANCE

In some branches of the economy Russian-Iranian cooperation has already become strategic, Putin noted... READ MORE›

HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTSA?? DISMAY AS UZBEKISTAN AUTOCRAT CLINGS TO POWER

Human rights activistsa?? dismay as Uzbekistan autocrat clings to power... READ MORE›

UZBEKISTAN HOLDS ITS BREATH OVER FUTURE AS PRESIDENT ISLAM KARIMOV IS BURIED

President Vladimir Putin called Karimov's death a heavy loss for the people of Uzbekistan ... READ MORE›

KERRY TIES UZBEKISTANA??S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD TO COOPERATION ON MANY FRONTS

Sanctions imposed in 2004 over human rights abuses were waived by the White House that year in recognition of Uzbekistan's supporting role in the war in Afghanistan... READ MORE›

TAJIKISTAN EUROPEAN GROUP REBUKES GOVERNMENT OVER CRACKDOWN ON OPPOSITION PARTY

Tajik authorities banned the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan this week with a local court labeling it a terrorist organization... READ MORE›

UZBEK PRESIDENT'S DEATH PUTS A NEW SPOTLIGHT ON THE STRANGE STORY OF THE COUNTRY'S 'JAILED PRINCESS'

Within only six years, Karimova went from being Uzbekistan's deputy foreign affairs minister to the reputed owner of the country's largest conglomerate... READ MORE›

ISLAM KARIMOV RE-ELECTED UZBEKISTAN'S PRESIDENT IN PREDICTED LANDSLIDE

08 BST Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan's authoritarian president since 1990, has won re-election in a predictable landslide victory that will put him in office for another five years... READ MORE›

KYRGYZSTAN AND UZBEKISTAN TURN TO CIVILIAN MILITIAS TO SECURE BORDERS

Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan turn to civilian militias to secure borders Central Asian countries are looking to volunteers to help strengthen security along ill-defined frontiers... READ MORE›

NEW RUSSIAN MIGRATION LAW BOOSTS ISLAMIC STATE RECRUITMENT IN TAJIKISTAN

Bobonazarova likened Tajikistan's dependence on the Russian market to a hostage situation ... READ MORE›

EGYPTAIR JET LANDS IN UZBEKISTAN AFTER HOAX BOMB THREAT

Egyptian officials told the Associated Press news agency that the plane resumed its journey to Beijing about four hours after landing in Urgench... READ MORE›

CENTRAL ASIAN MIGRANTS FEEL THE PAIN OF RUSSIA'S ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

The reality is that Russia's economic problems are likely to result in a worsening situation in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan... READ MORE›

RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE CHIEF WARNS ISLAMIC STATE GROUP MAY INVADE CENTRAL ASIA

MOSCOW Russian intelligence has warned of an increased risk of Taliban or Islamic State group fighters staging an invasion of Central Asia... READ MORE›

BLOC LED BY RUSSIA AND CHINA CRITICIZES U.S. OVER MISSILE DEFENSE

Russia's relationship with the United States is at its lowest point since the Cold War because of the Ukraine crisis... READ MORE›

10 YEARS AFTER ANDIJAN MASSACRE, UZBEK REFUGEES REMAIN SILENCED BY FEAR

State TV makes no announcement about Islam Karimov but situation may become clearer on country's independence day... READ MORE›

UZBEKISTAN SAYS AILING PRESIDENT IN CRITICAL STATE

Karimov has run an authoritarian regime in the Central Asian nation since 1989, suppressing opposition and cultivating no apparent successor... READ MORE›

KERRY MEETS AUTOCRATIC UZBEK LEADER

Secretary of State John Kerry met Uzbek President Islam Karimov on Sunday during a tour of Central Asia, a rare high-level U.S... READ MORE›

UZBEKISTAN PRESIDENT ISLAM KARIMOV WINS ELECTION WITH 90 PER CENT OF THE VOTE, PROMPTING CRITICISM

Tashkent Uzbekistan's strongman President Islam Karimov has extended his decades-long grip on power following a weekend poll decried by Western vote monitors as lacking genuine competition... READ MORE›

UZBEKISTAN PRESIDENT IN CRITICAL CONDITION, GOVERNMENT ADMITS

Friday's announcement comes as diplomatic sources say Islam Karimov is dead... READ MORE›

HOW KARIMOV'S DEATH WILL TEST RUSSIA-CHINA RELATIONS

The ensuing power vacuum and leadership scramble will lay bare the true nature of the indeterminate Russia-China nexus... READ MORE›

UZBEKISTANA??S NEW LEADER PLEDGES BETTER TIES WITH RUSSIA, U.S.

Uzbekistan, Central Asiaa??s most populous nation, borders Afghanistan, making it of strategic interest to Russia and the United States... READ MORE›

UZBEKISTAN PRESIDENT ISLAM KARIMOV WINS ELECTION WITH 90 PER CENT OF THE VOTE, PROMPTING CRITICISM

Tashkent Uzbekistan's strongman President Islam Karimov has extended his decades-long grip on power following a weekend poll decried by Western vote monitors as lacking genuine competition... READ MORE›