17 June 2021
"The Left: What Does It Mean for the Countries of Central Asia?" (3rd meeting of the Discussion Club "RLS Central Asia", 17 June 2021)
Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan)
RLS Representative Office in Central Asia
RLS Representative Office in Central Asia
Left-wing political views currently have a certain prevalence in Central Asian societies. They are mainly discussed in social networks and range from radical adherents of Stalinism to moderate supporters of socially-oriented economics. Among the leftist agenda, ideas of social equality and justice are the most widespread in Central Asian societies. There are also populist equalitarian demands for access to housing, financial and material resources, free education and medicine, which have a pronounced paternalistic character and are characteristic of a significant part of the population of the countries of the region. At the same time, a part of the population of the Central Asian countries negatively assess the Soviet period in the history of their countries, while another part of the population idealizes the Soviet past and denies the modern political and economic system.
On June 17, 2021 the Representative Office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Central Asia held the third meeting of the discussion club "RLS Central Asia" on the theme: "The Left: What Does It Mean for the Countries of Central Asia?".
Can we talk about a "left-wing" way of thinking, a "left-wing" life position, a "left-wing" agenda for action? Are modern protests in Kazakhstan connected with the leftist position? How justified is it to identify the modern "left" position with the practices of building socialism in the USSR? Are there clearly defined goals and a modern ideological platform of leftist views in contemporary post-Soviet societies? These and other questions were examined on the examples of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Germany.
The online session was attended by experts and civil activists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Keynote speakers: Marlies Linke (Berlin, Germany), Bulat Sultanov (Almaty, Kazakhstan), Oleg Yurov (Uralsk, Kazakhstan), Azamat Temirkulov (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan), Vladislav Podofedov (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan), Natalia Yakovleva (Moscow, Russia).
Discussion Club "RLS Central Asia" was established by the Representative Office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Central Asia in 2020 with the aim of promoting the values of a just and solidarity society based on respect for human rights through public dialog and critical analysis of current issues of development of Central Asian countries.
On June 17, 2021 the Representative Office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Central Asia held the third meeting of the discussion club "RLS Central Asia" on the theme: "The Left: What Does It Mean for the Countries of Central Asia?".
Can we talk about a "left-wing" way of thinking, a "left-wing" life position, a "left-wing" agenda for action? Are modern protests in Kazakhstan connected with the leftist position? How justified is it to identify the modern "left" position with the practices of building socialism in the USSR? Are there clearly defined goals and a modern ideological platform of leftist views in contemporary post-Soviet societies? These and other questions were examined on the examples of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Germany.
The online session was attended by experts and civil activists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Keynote speakers: Marlies Linke (Berlin, Germany), Bulat Sultanov (Almaty, Kazakhstan), Oleg Yurov (Uralsk, Kazakhstan), Azamat Temirkulov (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan), Vladislav Podofedov (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan), Natalia Yakovleva (Moscow, Russia).
Discussion Club "RLS Central Asia" was established by the Representative Office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Central Asia in 2020 with the aim of promoting the values of a just and solidarity society based on respect for human rights through public dialog and critical analysis of current issues of development of Central Asian countries.
The video of the discussion can be viewed in Russian on the RLS Facebook page (link below).
More information about the event, including thesis of the discussion, is available on the Russian-language page of the website.