Japan between internationalism and isolationism
The first Europeans visited Japan in the 16th century. As elsewhere, they established trade posts and started to convert locals…
How did India, Pakistan and Bangladesh come into being?
The urge for independence As some #well-travelled experts might remember from the two pages they read about Indian history before…
50 years ago, Chinese people began to worship mangos
From 1958 onwards, the Communist Party of China implemented a number of reforms in agriculture and industry to become a…
No human rights but plenty of white cars under life president Berdimuhamedow
When Turkmenistan’s first post-Soviet dictator died in 2006, his personal doctor and the country’s minister of health was elected to…
Saparmurat Niyazov: who needs libraries with a prophet dictator?
When the Soviet Union broke down, Saparmurat Niyazov had been the boss (= first secretary) of the country’s Communist Party…
A short introduction to Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan consists of 95 per cent desert and is, following established geographical standards, in the middle of nowhere. Still, Russia…