Collective Security Treaty Organization

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is a collective defence organization amongst former Soviet republics following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.  The CTSO was spawned from the Commonwealth of Independent States.  It's basically the new Warsaw Pact except made up of former Soviet republics.  The CSTO is Russia's largest military alliance.

Current members include Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.  Even though not a former Soviet republic, Serbia became an observer member in 2013.  

Former members include Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Uzbekistan.  

Here's a short video I found out on YouTube about the CSTO.

©Test Tube News

Commonwealth of Independent States

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was formed in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.  It's not the successor to the Soviet Union but it kind of is even though it's not. 

Today the CIS consists of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.  In 2005, Turkmenistan became an observer member.  In 2008, Afghanistan and Mongolia became observer members.

Georgia withdrew its membership in 2008 following the five-day war when Russia invaded and took control of South Ossetia.

Ukraine withdrew in 2018 following the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and Russian support of two separatist regions in Eastern Ukraine.

The three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, chose not to participate because they viewed their being in the Soviet Union was an illegal occupation.

Headquarters for the CIS are in Minsk, Belarus.

The goal of the CIS is to coordinate policies regarding its members' economies, foreign relations, defence, immigration policies, environmental protection, and law enforcement.

The CIS spawned three organisations.  

The Collective Security Treaty Organization is a military alliance.  Kind of like the new Warsaw Pact but made up of former Soviet republics.  

The Eurasian Economic Union is basically the Eurasian version of the EU but only consisting of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.

The Union State is the union of Belarus and Russia with the goal of common government, flag, currency, etc.

Following the breakup of the USSR, athletes competed at the 1992 Winter and Summer Olympics in team events as part of the CIS "Unified Team".  Athletes competed under the Olympic flag.  Since 1992, athletes no longer compete as a unified team and compete for their home countries. 

The Stans

Central Asia stretches from the Caspian Sea to China and from Russia to Afghanistan.  This area has been a crossroads for many, mostly nomadic, civilizations.  It is most noted for the Silk Route which connected the Middle East with Europe, India and China.

It is also home of "the Stans".  -Stan means "land of".  When most people speak of the Stans, they refer to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.  All five countries are former Soviet republics that gained independence when the USSR broke up.  Sometimes people try to include Afghanistan and Pakistan in the club but they are South Asian countries; not Central Asian.

Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country.  It was the last Soviet republic to declare independence.  Kazakhstan is home to 17 million people (not including the fictional character Borat).  A little over 70% of the population is Muslim.  The country is rich in fossil fuel reserves, uranium, copper, and zinc.

Kyrgyzstan is home to 5.7 million people and 75% are Muslim.  It is a poor, mountainous country that relies mostly on agriculture.  Until a few years ago, it was the only country in the world to host both American and Russian military bases at the same time. 

Tajikistan is the smallest of the stans but is home to 8 million people.  Over 90% are Muslim.  It was the poorest Soviet republic and today it is the poorest country in Central Asia.  Over 1 million Tajiks work abroad, 90% in Russia, and send money back home.  This makes up almost half of the country's GDP.

Turkmenistan is mostly desert.  It has a population of 5.2 million people of which 89% are Muslim.  Turkmenistan is sitting on the world's 4th largest natural gas reserves.  It isn't exactly an open society.  It is considered to be one of the 10 most censored countries in the world and its freedom of the press ranks just above North Korea and Eritrea.

Uzbekistan has 30 million people and roughly 88% are Muslim.  Nearly half of the entire population of Central Asia lives in Uzbekistan.  There is lots of history here as it is home to many cities that were main stops on the Silk Road.  Even though about 10% of the labor force works abroad, mainly in Russia and Kazakhstan, the country is considered one of the world's fastest growing economies.

Aside from Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, and Uzbek, the most commonly spoken language is Russian.  It is a co-official language in a few of the countries.

During communism, atheism was encouraged.  Since independence there has been a huge increase in the practice of Islam.  Several countries are working to balance secular societies with an increase of religion while preventing radical Islam from taking root. 

Visiting the Stans isn't exactly easy because all of them, except for Kyrgyzstan, require most people to obtain tourist visas.  Some are expensive, some are less so, but they all require a hell of a lot of paperwork.  For Americans, a Kazakh or Uzbek visa costs $160.  A Tajik visa is only $25 but you need an invitation letter before you can even apply.  The only way to get a tourist visa for Turkmenistan is to purchase an entire tour in advance.  Again, for the most part, Kyrgyzstan doesn't even require a visa so it's the easiest of the Stans to visit.

However, Kazakhstan is currently running a one-year test until 15 July 2015.  During this pilot program, citizens of the United States, the Netherlands, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Japan, and the UAE are allowed to visit without a visa for up to 15 days.

I've been wanting to visit Uzbekistan since I was a teenager.  Ever since I read a magazine article about the Soviet Union and it talked about how the capital city Tashkent was home to camels and pineapples.  However, thanks to "no visas required", my first trip to the Stans will be to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan this June. 

Update: Here's a video I found out on YouTube about how powerful the Stans are.

©NowThis World

Eurasian Economic Union

The Eurasian Economic Union is an economic union between Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia.  The EEU; not to be confused with the EU, became effective on 1 January 2015.  Kyrgyzstan officially joins in May 2015. 

In 1994, the Kazakh President made a speech in Moscow suggesting the creation of a regional trading block.  This is basically the Eurasian version of the European Union, just with fewer countries and consumers.  The EEU provides a single market of 176 million people.

Russian President Vladimir Putin would like it expanded to all of the post-Soviet republics, except for the Baltics.  Some people think that this is Putin's way of recreating the Soviet Empire.  However, a country can't be a member of both the EU and the EEU.  The Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are all EU members so they won't join the EEU.

Moldova,  Georgia, and Ukraine were all offered EEU membership but all three countries have signed association agreements with the EU instead.  The EU vs. EEU debate is what helped bring down Viktor Yanukovych's government in Ukraine and led to the current problems in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.

It appears that the only real future candidate who may join will be Tajikistan but who knows when that would happen.

Baku, Azerbaijan

Baki (Baku in English) is the capital of Azerbaijan.  Not only is it the largest city on the Caspian Sea but it is the largest city in the Caucasus. 

Baku's Coat of Arms

At 28 meters (92 feet) below sea level, Baku is the largest city in the world below sea level.  It is home to 2.12 million people and the metro area contains about 25% of the country's population.  

 

İçǝri Şǝhǝr is Baku's old walled city.  The historical city center, along with the Shirvanshah's Palace and the Maiden Tower became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. 





Qiz Qalasi is the Maiden Tower.  It is 29.5 meters (97 feet) tall and it was built in the 12th century.  The legend goes that a king tried to force his daughter to marry a man she didn't love.  The princess agreed to marry the man only if her father first built her a tower.  As soon as the tower was completed she escaped having to marry him by jumping from the top to her death.

The Shirvanshah's Palace is in the center of old town.  Construction on the complex began in 1411 and it contains the main palace, burial vaults and a mosque.  In 1964 the state declared it a museum.

Baku's TV Tower was built in 1996.  It is 310 meters (1,017 feet) tall and is the tallest structure in Azerbaijan.  It is also the tallest reinforced concrete building in the Caucasus.

Fountains Square is still called by its old name, Parapet.  It is a popular gathering place in the city.



The Carpet Museum is in a building which resembles a rolled up carpet.  It is home to the world's largest collection of Azeri carpets.


National Flag Square was home to the world's tallest flagpole (162 meters / 531.5 feet).  It was the tallest until 2011 when the Dushanbe Flagpole in Tajikistan was built.



The Crystal Hall Arena was built in order to host the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012.

Martyrs' Lane used to be known as Kirov Park.  It is a cemetery and memorial to those killed in 1990 when Soviet forces invaded Baku, during Black January, when the Soviet Union was breaking up.  Later on it included soldiers killed in the war for Nagorno-Karabakh from 1988 to 1994.  Approximately 15,000 people are buried here.

There is also a memorial for 1,130 Turkish soldiers who were killed, in 1918, during the Battle of Baku against Bolshevik and Armenian troops.

The Heydǝr Əliyev Center is home to a gallery, a library and a performing arts venue.  Construction began in 2007 and was completed in 2012.  Below is an Extreme Engineering video I found on YouTube that gives more details about it.



The Flame Towers are by far the coolest buildings in Baku.  The three towers were completed in 2012 at a cost of around $350 million.



The facades are covered with LED screens which at night alternate between displaying a waving flag and flames.  Very cool!!

©Eurovision

Visas

Since moving to Euroland in July 2009, I've been to 37 countries.  So far I've been fortunate that I haven't really had to deal with obtaining visas.  A visa is a common requirement, depending on your citizenship, to be able to visit a particular country.  There are tourist visas, transit visas, business visas, student visas, residence visas, etc., and each visa is good only for a specific period of time.  Visas can be for a single entry, double entry or multiple entries.  Visas usually take up one whole passport page which is a downer.  We're talking prime passport real estate.

Visas fees are all over the place.  There's this reciprocity thing where countries tend to charge tit-for-tat.  For example, the USA charges Uzbeks $180 for an American tourist visa so Uzbeks turn right around and require Americans to pay $160 for a visa to Uzbekistan whereas they only charge $60 to someone with a Danish passport and $4 for someone from Tajikistan.

Sometimes the more obscure the country the higher the visa fees.  It seems to me that lower visa fees would encourage more tourists to visit Country X and spend their money there. 

Henley & Partners is a law firm that publishes an annual list ranking the ease of travel by citizenship.  The higher the score then the more countries one can visit without needing a visa.  In 2012, Denmark came in 1st place.  If you hold a Danish passport then you can visit 169 countries without needing a visa.  The USA tied for 4th place with Italy and Luxembourg at 166 countries.  The Czech Republic came in 15th place with 152 countries not requiring visas for Czech citizens.  Afghanistan scored the lowest with only 26 countries not requiring visas.

Arrival visa stamps for UAE & Oman

Now these numbers are for countries that do not require visas.  This does not include the "visa on arrival".  The UAE requires Americans to have a visa but it is given as you pass through immigration.  And it was free so for me I still consider this as a non-issue.

Turkish on arrival visa sticker

Americans need a visa for Turkey, but it too is available on arrival.  It only costs €15 and I didn't have to apply in advance at the nearest embassy.

This is what's so nice about the Schengen area.  Once you're in, you can travel around and not have to deal with visas and passport control as you cross borders.

Full page Czech residency visa

Most times the visa application process can be extremely complicated and time consuming.  I decided against going to Belarus because the application process was more than I was willing to deal with this year.  I've been told by many of my Eurocrew that getting a visa to visit the USA is super difficult and often requires an in-person interview at the embassy.

Traditionally, applying for a Russian tourist visa was a pain in the arse.  A single entry visa is $180.  However, as of last year, Americans can now apply for a 3-year, multiple entry visa, for only $235.  Hmmm...I might need to start planning some trips to Russia.

My Armenian E-Visa

Nest week I'm off to the Caucasus.  I don't need a visa for Georgia.  Americans do need a visa for Armenia but they have this nifty e-visa.  You apply on-line and the visa is e-mailed to you.  I just have to print it out and take it with me.  The e-visa costs $40 but the cool thing is that it won't take up a full page in my passport.  The trick will be getting an Azeri visa.  Apparently, it order to visit Azerbaijan, there's a requirement for foreigners to jump through bureaucratic hoops like trained circus poodles.

Update: In 2019, Uzbekistan implemented an e-visa, and for an American, a single-entry visa for 30 days is only $20.

Where Should I Go in 2013?

So far since moving to Europe in July 2009, I've been to 34 different countries.  Not a bad run if I do say so myself.  Now the question is what new places do I visit in 2013?  There are just so many places that I want to go to...Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Montenegro, Norway, Finland, Ukraine.  Heck, somehow I still haven't even managed to make it to London yet.  Decisions, decisions.  That's where I've decided to let my readers have some input.

Originally, I thought about letting people choose where I would visit.  The only problem with that one is that I would get a whole lot of votes to go back to Atlanta and I was just there.  So instead, I've come up with five different places.  All of these places are ones that I would eventually like to get to.  Some will be easier than others.  I may do more than one of these in 2013.  Who knows?  However, I will for sure go to whichever one receives the most votes.  

Here's a little background on each in order to help you choose where to send me.

Iceland is located in the mid-Atlantic and it is the USA's closest European neighbor.  For someone who isn't the biggest fan of cold weather this one must sound a bit odd.  Glaciers and volcanoes just sound so cool.  While the best weather is in summer time, I would most likely go in March or April so that I can catch the Aurora Borealis.  The biggest drawback to Iceland, aside from the cold, is that it is even for Scandinavia, it is very expensive.

Georgia is a country between Eastern Europe and Western Asia.  Once part of the Soviet Union, it declared independence in 1991.  Georgia is home to the break away republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.  Both of the areas have been occupied by Russian soldiers since the 2008 Russo-Georgian War.  I don't plan on going anywhere near the break away republics but how cool would it be to go from Atlanta, Georgia to Tbilisi, Georgia?  

The United Arab Emirates is on the Persian Gulf between Oman and Saudi Arabia.  It is a federation of seven emirates.  I know many people who have gone there and everyone has enjoyed it.  Dubai is home to the Burj Khalifa which is the world's tallest building.  One of reasons for considering the UAE now is because I would really like to visit Israel.  The problem is that if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport then the UAE, and about 20 other nations, won't let you enter the country.  Therefore I have to visit the UAE first.  On the drawback side, the UAE isn't exactly gay friendly.  Homosexuality is illegal and the punishments range from jail time, fines, deportation and the death penalty.

The Baltics consist of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.  At the start of WWI, all three countries gained independence from the Russian Empire.  However, all three were later annexed by the Soviet Union.  In 1991, they declared independence.  The three countries are now liberal democracies and in 2004 they joined the EU and NATO.  If I go to the Baltics then I may try fit in either Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave between Lithuania and Poland, or Belarus.      

The "Stans" are five countries in Central Asia which all used to be Soviet Republics.  Today, they are the independent republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.  Not quite sure which one (or maybe two) countries I would visit.  Uzbekistan has been on my list of places to visit since I was 16 years old.  I remember reading a magazine article about the Soviet Union and it talked about how Uzbekistan was home to camels and pineapples.  It just sounded like such an exotic part of the U.S.S.R.  Kyrgyzstan doesn't require a tourist visa which is a plus.  The other four all charge between $160 to $180 per visa and each visa will require a trip to the appropriate embassy in Prague or Vienna.

You can only vote once per computer.  I should have only allowed people to make a single choice but I didn't.  Oh well, something to remember for the next time.  So feel free to submit your vote on where I should go visit in 2013. The poll will remain open until New Year's Eve.