In order to put pressure on Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan withdraws from the power grid linking the region. Power lines from Turkmenistan deliver electricity to Tajikistan while Uzbek power supplies both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Without steady supplies, these impoverished and mountainous countries will face severe shortages and unheated homes. Kyrgyzstan will get humanitarian assistance from Kazakhstan for the short term, but both Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan need to update their own transmission lines in order to secure the needs of their population. Replacing the Soviet-era grid requires a lot of money that these countries don’t quite have, though Kyrgyzstan’s Russian-aid windfall could certainly be put toward this.
Uzbekistan recently completed domestic projects updating their electricity grid, rendering them self-sufficient. Now it wants to increase pressure on its neighbors in order to get exactly what it wants in regards to dam projects, etc. It will still suffer shortages at peak hours, but it is on its way to energy independence. Turkmenistan achieved electricity independence in 2003. For more information on how the Soviet Union built failure into the infrastructure of Central Asia, Jamestown Foundation has an excellent article.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
