Stephen Bland
I Took a Trip Down Tajikistan's 'Heroin Highway'
The proliferation of flashy cars in one of the poorest countries in the world has led to a new local saying: “It is no longer ‘How much did it cost?’ but ‘How many kilos did it cost?’" A study released in 2007 estimated that drug money added up to 3...
The Toxic Uzbek Town and Its Museum of Banned Soviet Art
Once a thriving agricultural center, Karakalpakstan is now one of the sickest places on Earth.
The Toxic Uzbek Town and Its Museum of Banned Soviet Art
Ukrainian-born art collector Igor Savitsky collected thousands of avant-garde artworks banned in the Soviet Union under Stalin and founded the State Art Museum of the Republic of Karakalpakstan in the mid 1960s. Today the museum houses works from a...
Turkmenistan's "Gate to Hell" Is Keeping a Destitute Village Afloat
I Traveled to the Infernal Pit in the Middle of Turkmenistan That's Been Burning for 40 Years