Information Resources

For anyone trying to follow along with what is going on in southern Kyrgyzstan, I've compiled a list of the more trustworthy English language sources, in response to frustration with what the mainstream press is reporting.

Slate had an Explainer article that may have had more pieces of misinformation than actual words.

Foreign Policy started off right by implying that there are more Russians than Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan. Once you get a basic, easily checked fact like that wrong, it's hard to trust the rest of what you have to say.

The NYT isn't doing too horribly, but they suffer from the problem of trying to fit a complex narrative into easy bullet points.

Basically, if you read anything that says "ethnic hatred!" or "it's all about class!" or "provacateurs did it! Innocent Kyrgyzstanis would never do such things!" it's probably way too simplistic. So if you're trying to get an idea of the situation, about which little is still known, here are some starting points:

Eurasianet archives: Here's the link to their page of articles on the unrest.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty also has a good backlog of articles as well as current coverage.

NewEurasia gets a lot of locals in on the reporting action.

And Registan is one of the best blogs covering Central Asia out there.

And for those wanting to help in a humanitarian sense, the best place to check thus far is probably the Facebook page Stop the Violence in
Kyrgyzstan! with suggestions for writing to senators, organizing aid, etc

There are other sources out there--leave ideas in the comments!