Post-colonial republics of Central Asia have been pretty slow to adopt cyber-rituals of social networking platforms. But when people finally got a taste of new forms of communications online, they were unstoppable. The leading social network in the former Soviet Union Vkontakte.ru (In Contact) has 10 million members and no competitors. Looking awfully like Facebook.com, Vkontakte.ru quickly became a platform where different generations of Russians, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, etc. in different countries of the world meet to share their life stories, family photos and... art.

A new phenomenon in the virtual space of the former Soviet Union is a cyber-graffiti. Users of Vkontakte.ru consider it a sign of a great respect to leave a virtual painting on the "wall" of another user. As you can see from this video (other impressive videos are here and here), the users have only basic tools of drawing but it doesn't stop them from creating different forms of art. People conduct virtual exhibits and competitions with graffiti created on Vkontakte.ru. Numerous forums are dedicated to discussions of different virtual paintings and techniques allowing to create a new form of self-expression. As they always say, an art will always find a form. It is certainly true even in a virtual space.

Blog post written by Vadim Isakov

It is fascinating to think about how my hometown, the ancient city of Bukhara, blossomed with wealth and culture eleven centuries ago challenging Cairo and Baghdad, the largest and wealthiest cities of the ancient world, in its glory. It is thrilling to realize that formerly one of the biggest cultural and economic centers of the ancient powerful civilization currently known to just a handful of people outside of Uzbekistan, Bukhara was as compelling and glorious as modern New York, London, Berlin, and Hong Kong.

The Old City district of Bukhara used to be a home to thousands of Bukharian Jews who, after suffering the Babylonian exile 25 centuries ago, never returned to the Promised Land until the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Nobody in the booming city of ancient Bukhara could probably imagine that it would become a place of misery and stagnation a thousand years later. Modern Bukhara suffers from high unemployment and widespread corruption. Crime and suicide rates are through the roof and the usage of drugs and alcohol became a part of life of an average Bukharian.

Bukhara is just one among many cities of modern Uzbekistan, the country where I was born and raised, combining fascinating heritage and rich history with economic stagnation and the lack of any social reforms. It is a part of the country that is full of ancient dualism and modern complexity, the country that still remains closed to the rest of the world.

I was thinking about a single image that would convey the intricacy, history and dualism of Uzbekistan. A picture of an old lock came to mind. The picture combines everything I love and despise about this distant place. It is filled with ever-present sadness and remote optimism. It tells stories about glorious past and dark present. The stories that not many people in the West have heard…