Part of an ongoing series I’m working on. Ethnicity is a very sensitive and often taboo topic in many of the Post Soviet Central Asian states—where state names emphasize ethnic ownership and state boundaries were drawn with little regard to local histories. Particularly in Kyrgyzstan, ethnicity has proven a determining factor in many local conflicts. Here, Timur and his wife Umida sit with their newborn Bubusara, who was aptly named after a story by poet Chinghiz Aitmatov. They married in January and I was told their daughter was only 25 days old. Timur’s parents are ethnic Tajik and ethnic Kyrgyz, while Umida’s are ethnic Uzbek. I won’t be able to develop these rolls until I’m home, sadly. (at Ала Бука, Кыргызстан)