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History

Sexual beliefs of the ancient Roman Empire

Roman civilization is known for its particular approach to sexuality. However, there is evidence that sexual attitudes and behaviors in ancient Rome were extraordinarily diverse and flexible. While there were undoubtedly strict social norms regarding sexuality, there was also a great deal of fluidity and variation in how people expressed their sexuality.

Sexual attitudes and behaviors are indicated in art, literature, inscriptions, archaeology, and architecture.

One of the most striking aspects of Roman sexuality is the relative absence of strict gender roles. Both men and women were expected to be sexually active, and there was no real stigma for either sex to engage in any sexual activity. This meant that both men and women could enjoy a wide range of sexual activities inside and outside of marriage.

Ancient Rome was when sexuality played an essential role in everyday life. People could have different types of relationships, and sex was seen as a natural part of life. This is reflected in the art and literature of the time, which often depict sexual scenes. Quite different from the norms of behavior that the Christian tradition has established over the centuries in society.

Here is a compilation of sexual beliefs of the ancient Roman Empire.

The disease of virgins by Hippocrates

Hippocrates’ disease of virgins is a rare and incurable condition that only affects young women who have never been married or sexually active. The disease is named after the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, who first described it in his medical treatise On the Sacred Disease.

The disease is characterized by sudden symptoms such as fever, headache, and convulsions, followed by paralysis and death. There is no known cure for Hippocrates’ virgins’ disease, and the only treatment is to prevent young girls from becoming infected in the first place. The best way to do this is to ensure they are married or sexually active before they turn 16.

Female sexuality

In ancient Rome, female sexuality was often considered a threat to the stability of the state. Women were expected to be chaste and faithful to their husbands, and any sexual activity outside of marriage was frowned upon. Many laws and social norms sought to control women’s sexuality, and the penalties for breaking these norms could be severe. In some cases, women who engaged in sexual relations outside of marriage were publicly humiliated or even sentenced to death.

Female nudity

The view of female nudity in ancient Rome has been debated and controversial for many years. There are various arguments and interpretations regarding how Roman society viewed the naked female form, and there is no clear consensus. Some scholars believe Roman culture was very tolerant of nudity and that women were free to bear their breasts and bodies in public without being stigmatized or judged. Others believe that, although Roman culture was more tolerant of nudity than other cultures of the time, there was still a strong sense of modesty and decorum regarding the naked female form. Furthermore, others believe that, although some women could bare their breasts and body in public, it was generally considered taboo and inappropriate for most women to do so.

Male sexuality

The Romans believed that men should actively participate in all sexual activity. Male passivity symbolized the loss of control, and Roman men were permitted and legally accepted to have sex with men or women as long as the Roman man was active. If a man enjoyed being penetrated, he was called pathic, which can be translated as passive and was considered weak and feminine.

Nowadays Italian people like to spend times looking at porn sites, being porno italiano their best choise when consuming xxx, at least that’s what research shows.

Lex Scantinia

The Lex Scantinia law in ancient Rome prohibited a freeborn man from having sexual relations with the wife, daughter, or mother of another freeborn man. The law was first enacted in the 3rd century BC and was later expanded to include any form of a same-sex relationship. Violation of the law was punishable by death, exile, or confiscation of property.

 

This law regulated sexual behavior, including pederasty, adultery, and the passive practice of homosexuality, going so far as to stipulate the death penalty for free males who assumed this role in homosexual practices.

 Lex Iulia

The Lex Iulia de adulteriis coerced was a law instituted by Augustus Caesar in 18 BC. The purpose of this law was to punish adultery and fornication to preserve the sanctity of marriage and for avoiding any dishonor that would befall the woman’s husband and his family. This law was also intended to dissuade men from committing adultery, as it could lead to imprisonment and even death. It was not the first attempt by the Roman state to legislate against adultery, but it was by far the most successful.

The Lex Iulia de Adulteriis Coërcendis consisted of two parts: the first dealt with the punishment of the adulterer. In contrast, the second dealt with punishing the woman who had committed adultery. The punishment for the adulterer was exile, while that of the woman was dead. The law also stipulated that if the husband forgave his wife’s adultery, she would still be condemned to death. This law was very harsh, and it is not surprising that it was widely ignored. The fact that Caesar Augustus himself had several children out of wedlock probably contributed to the lack of success of the law.

The second attempt to legislate against adultery, the Lex Iulia de Adulteriis Coërcendis of 18 BC, was much more successful. The main difference between this law and the previous one was that it made no distinction between the punishment of adulterers and the punishment of adulteresses. Both were to be banished. This law was much more lenient with husbands who forgave their wives’ adultery. Therefore, this law was much more effective in deterring adultery, as it made the punishment the same for both sexes. The fact that the law was more lenient to husbands who forgave their wives’ adultery probably contributed to its success.

Lex Iulia de vi publica

 

The Lex Iulia de vi publica was a law of ancient Rome that prohibited violence against citizens. The penalty for violating the law was an exile from Rome. The law was passed in an attempt to prevent violence and civil unrest. The law succeeded in its goal and helped maintain peace in Rome for centuries.

Adultery

Adultery in ancient Rome was considered a severe crime. If a married woman was caught having an affair, she could be punished by her husband, including divorce or even death. A man who committed adultery could also be punished, but not as harshly as the woman. Sometimes, a man could be forced to divorce his wife or pay a fine. Adultery was considered a threat to the stability of marriage and family life. It was also believed that adultery could lead to other serious crimes, such as murder.

 

The fact that the father or the older man would manage the family was important. The implementation of the punishment would be the responsibility of such a man. In many cases, the convicted woman was forbidden to remarry if death was not the penalty.

Concubinage

In ancient Rome, concubinage was the practice of having sexual relations with women who were not one’s wives. These relationships were usually entered for convenience or financial gain, and the women involved were usually of a lower social status than men. Although concubinage was technically illegal, it was widely practiced and tolerated.

 

The children of concubines were considered illegitimate and had few rights, but they were often well cared for by their parents and received a good education. In some cases, they even went on to successful careers in politics or the military.

 

Concubinage was less common among the upper classes, who tended to marry for political reasons or to cement alliances. However, it was not unknown for wealthy and powerful men to have concubines. Julius Caesar, for example, had a long relationship with the queen of Egypt, Cleopatra.

 

Despite legal and social restrictions, concubines in ancient Rome often enjoyed greater freedom and autonomy than their counterparts in other cultures. They were generally free to come and go as they pleased and were not obliged to perform household chores or bear children.

The master and the enslaved person

From religion, sexuality was promoted as an aspect of the sexuality of the state. Prostitution was legal, public, and widespread; pornographic paintings appeared among the art collections of the most prominent families, and oral sex was controversial or not much more so than anal sex or sex between two men. Restrictions on sexuality, specifically female sexuality, varied among social classes, with lower-class women and enslaved people having more sexual freedom. It is also suggested that sex during pregnancy is socially acceptable.

In Rome, rape occupied an essential place in sexual life, as the forced individual was considered to derive pleasure from it. The model of sexuality was the relationship of the master with his subordinates, i.e., submission. There was no conception of female pleasure, which was ignored or presupposed, even in the battles in conquest for Gaul.

Literature and erotic art

Erotic literature and art were prevalent in ancient Rome. They often depicted sexual scenes and were intended to titillate and entertain the viewer. Some of the most famous examples of Roman erotic literature and art are the poems of Ovid, the paintings of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the sculptures of the Capitoline Venus. Roman erotic literature and art offer a rare glimpse into the sexual culture of ancient Rome and give us insight into the Roman view of sex and sexuality.

Erotic literature and art in ancient Rome often took the form of poetry and statues. Roman erotic literature usually focused on love, sex, and relationships. Much of the poetry written at this time was intended to be enjoyed by both men and women.

Statues depicting erotic scenes were also famous at this time. Many of these statues can still be seen in museums. They offer a glimpse into the sexual culture of ancient Rome.

Sources:

moglie.xxx

thoughtco.com/homosexuality-in-ancient-rome-4585065#:~:text=sexuality%20can%20be%20dichotomized%20as,the%20dominant%2C%20or%20penetrative%20role.

vita-romae.com/ancient-roman-sexuality.html

historyhit.com/the-oldest-obsession-sex-lives-in-ancient-rome/

History

The battles that led to the Roman conquest of Gaul

Who were the Gauls and where did they come from?

The Gauls were a Celtic people who lived in Gaul, a region of west-central Europe. They are believed to have come from the Danubian region of Austria and Hungary. The Gauls were divided into three main tribes: the Belgae, the Aquitans and the Celts. The Celts were the largest and most numerous tribe. The Gauls were known for their prowess in war and their love of fighting. They were also known for their skill in arts and crafts, as well as their love of music and dance. The Gauls were considered a barbaric people by the Romans, who conquered them in 51 BC. However, the Gauls continued to resist Roman rule and often rebelled against the empire. In 476 AD, the last Roman emperor was overthrown by a Germanic invader, and the Gauls regained their independence. However, they were soon conquered by the Franks, a Germanic people, and became part of the Frankish kingdom. The Gauls retained their own language and culture, but were gradually assimilated into the Frankish kingdom. Eventually, the Gauls became known as the French. Today, the French people are descended from the Gauls.

Roman conquest of Britain

The Roman conquest of Britain was a gradual and complex process spanning more than a century. The first Roman troops arrived in Britain in 55 BC under Julius Caesar, but it was not until the invasion of AD 43 led by Emperor Claudius that the Romans began their occupation in earnest. This was followed by almost four centuries of Roman rule during which time Britain was transformed. The Roman era saw the building of roads and cities, the growth of trade and industry, and the spread of Christianity.

The Romans finally withdrew from Britain in 410 AD, leaving a rich legacy. The Roman conquest of Britain was one of the most significant events in British history, shaping the country we know today.

Roman conquest of france

France was conquered by Rome in a series of campaigns between 121 BC and 12 BC. The Roman conquest of France was not only a military achievement, but also a political one. The Roman Senate established a province in Gaul, which included most of present-day France, in 58 BC. This event marked the beginning of Roman rule in France.

The campaigns leading to the conquest of France were led by some of Rome’s most famous generals, including Julius Caesar and Pompey. The Roman army managed to defeat the armies of the Gallic tribes, which were united under the leadership of Vercingetorix. In 52 BC, Vercingetorix was defeated at the Battle of Alesia, and the Roman conquest of Gaul was complete.

At the end of the 1st century AD, the Roman province of Gaul was divided into several smaller provinces. This helped to better administer the vast territory and its different peoples. The provinces were eventually merged into one, known as Gallia Lugdunensis, in the 4th century AD.

The Roman conquest of Gaul was an important event in the history of the Roman Empire. It not only expanded the territory of the empire, but also helped to consolidate Rome’s position as a major power in the Mediterranean region.

Here’s a youtube video that explains this proccess further more.

News

¿How the Romans conquered Britain?

Great Britain, also known as just Britain, was not always what it is today. Like many other countries and territories, Britain had to fight over wars for its independence.

What is the difference between Britain and The United Kingdom?

First it is important that we clarify the difference between two terms that are commonly used interchangeably; The United Kingdom and Great Britain.

Britain, today, is the island conformed by three countries; England, Scotland and Wales. On the other hand, when we refer to the United Kingdom, we are expressing the short term for The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island, which along with the three mentioned countries, a fourth one is added; Ireland.  Again, this is the correct terminology that is applied in the present.

In this article we will be focusing on the past. We will analyze the events that occurred all the way back to 55 B.C.

The Roman invasion in Britain.

Before Romans even thought of making an attempt to invade and conquer Britain, the island was lead by Celtic kings and chiefs. The Celts, or Britons, were people gathered in many different tribe groups. At that time, Britain was a territory of villages and farmers. No roads existed, and the common way of transportation would be by horse on land, or by sailing small boats in rivers.

Just across the sea, Britain was relatively close to the Roman Empire, which was quite strong already and just getting stronger and stronger with time.

The Roman Empire had been forming and extending since around a century by the time it was ruling Gaul in 55 B.C., which is what we know today as Rome. This magnificent Empire was being lead by the Roman General Julius Caesar at that time.

Julius Caesar is today very well known for the history of his conquests and military leadership. Britain was in Julius Caesar’s plans. He had the desire to fight and make Britain part of his Empire. This is when in 55 B.C. he decided to lead his army to fight for Britain against the Celts.

What he did not expect was that the Celts fought back with such bravery, that they made him go back with his troops empty-handed. But, Julius Caesar was not an opponent that gave up with one try.

During the next year, in 54 B.C. he decided to go back with many more soldiers than the last time. Although, once again he did not obtain the Briton’s territory and he no longer wanted to lose time and troops with an island that he thought wasn’t worth that much after all.

The Celts lived peacefully with their own; pacifically taking care and managing their culture and land. And that went on for approximately 100 more years. Until in A.D. 43, the Romans returned to Britain.

Stronger than ever and without the leadership of Julius Caesar; the Roman Empire battled fiercely with four legions against the Celts. This was when the Romans, leaded now by Emperor Claudius, finally conquered the Southern half of Britain and turned into part of the Roman Empire. The Empire showed up at Britain with newer weapons, and it is said that even Emperor Claudius joined his own army with a troop of elephants prepared for war.

Claudius gave the British Celts the opportunity to decide if they would fight against them or not. Those who decided to make peace had to agree to obey their laws and pay Roman taxes. Many Celts did agree to join the Empire, but many others were convinced to fight for the island.

The conquest was not done overnight, though. The Celts made it pretty difficult for the Romans to take over their territory. It took the Romans about 30 years of intense fighting until they were actually in control of most of the Southern area of Britain.

It took a total of three attempts from the Romans to finally succeed. Two failed attempts from Julius Caesar and the successful one from Claudius. The main reason why the Romans desired to win over Britain that much was due to Britain’s natural resources.

In one of Julius Caesar’s books that were found by archaeologists, it is possible to read the following statement, written by his very own hand, all those years ago:

“The Britons have a huge number of cattle, they use gold coins or iron bars as their money, and produce tin and iron.”

The Romans wanted to take over Britain in order to become richer and more powerful.

News

The Coligny Calendar

A calendar is a system that we use to count, define and keep track of time. We calculate days, months and years with the use of a calendar.

Was the Coligny calendar solar or lunar?

The calendar that we use in modern days, and that is used in most parts of the world, is the Gregorian calendar. It is a solar calendar; this means that it is fundamentally guided and based on the Earth’s movement around the Sun.

But, in addition to solar calendars, we also have the existence of lunar calendars. This type of calendar follows the amount of time that it takes for the Moon to complete its four orbiting phases around the Earth, and the result of that is called a lunar month.

Even a combination of both types of calculation exists as well in some kinds of calendars.

So, essentially, a calendar helps us coordinate time. Our use of the Gregorian calendar tells us that it takes the Earth 365 days to make a whole circle around the Sun.

There are twelve “lunar months” in one solar year, and this is called a lunar year. This means that in the essence of quantity; both years share 12 months. But, Lunar years do not coincide with solar years. A lunar year has a total of 354 days; this is the reason why every certain time there are thirteen lunar months in one year.

The Coligny calendar, is a lunisolar calendar, this means it combines Moon phases and the time of a solar year as well.

This calendar was found in Coligny, Ain, France in 1897. It is a big bronze tablet that was originally found broken into 73 pieces. It is believed to have been prohibited by the Romans during the Roman Empire, because at the time, Julius Caesar was making imperative the use of his calendar; the Julian calendar.

The Coligny calendar was part of the beliefs, culture and traditions of the Gaulic groups. These groups were integrated by Celtic people of an educated and professional class of Gaul, Britain and Ireland.

Now, let’s compare the Gregorian calendar to this ancient Coligny calendar.

The calendar that we use today (Gregorian) is summed up by 12 months, starting with January and ending with December. Each month has either 30 or 31 days, except for February, which has 28 days and only every 4 years contains 29 days.

Again, this calculation of time is based on the Earth’s movement around the Sun.

What makes the Gregorian different from the Coligny calendar?

Now, the Coligny calendar has a total of 12 months as well, beginning with Samonios and ending with Cantios, and each month had 29 or 30 days. And every 2.5 years, there was an extra month that was added; Sonnocingos, which was the intercalary month. This means it could be inserted before Samonios or between Cutios and Giamonios.

The Coligny calendar was a system of 30 years, divided into 12 months and the extra month number 13 every 2.5 years. Then each month was divided into halves. The first half would be made out of 15 days, and the second half would contain 14 or 15 days. At this point it was following the phases of the moon, which means that every center of the month we would have a full moon during that night.

Month

Time Period

Meaning

Days

Samonios

October – November

Seed-fall

30

Dumannios

November – December

The Darkest Depths

29

Riuros

December – January

Cold-time

30

Anagantios

January – February

Stay-home-time

29

Ogronios

February – March

Time of Ice

30

Cutios

March – April

Time of Winds

30

Giamonios

April – May

Shoots-show

29

Simivisionios

May – June

Time of Brightness

30

Equos

June – July

Horse-time

29/30

Elembiuos

July – August

Claim-time

29

Edrinios

August – September

Arbitration-time

30

Cantios

September – October

Song-time

20

Sonnocingos 

Intercalary

“Sun’s march”

30

The Coligny calendar is believed to be no longer used in the present, but there are still cultures and religions that base their calculation of time on a lunar or a lunisolar calendar.

Even though the use of the Coligny calendar was forbidden during Julius Caesar’s Roman Empire, the discovery of this ancient tablet suggests that Celtic tribes were trying to preserve their ideologies over the ones of Julius, even in the middle of difficult times of invasion and conquest.

News

Save British Science will today (9 September) call for freedom and individuality to be allowed to flourish in the system of research funding.

In a talk to the Festival of Science in Salford, Dr Cotgreave, Director of SBS, will argue that Newton, Darwin, Einstein and Mendel would probably all fail to get research funding if they worked in the UK today.

“Newton took 15 years to write his first major book; Darwin spent ages doing tedious descriptive work on barnacles; Einstein’s work was so whacky that a committee would have foreseen little probability of it turning out to be right; and, as a monk, Mendel was hardly part of a group with a “relevant track record.

“I’m quite certain that all of these things would have caused the grant-giving bodies to turn down their applications if these great scientists applied for funding today,” said Peter Cotgreave. “How could Mendel have a relevant track record in genetics when the subject didn’t even exist until he virtually invented it.

“In the past the ‘dual support’ system of research funding meant the universities got some unencumbered money to invest in new ideas, on slightly off-beat things that did not fit with the establishment’s view of the world. These are the breakthroughs that really matter, in terms of inventing new products and processes to keep the economy buoyant.

“But funding mechanisms have become so skewed, that this discretionary funding has been almost completely abolished. The results are obvious. The number of scientific Nobel Prizes won by people working in the UK’s universities has been slashed by 90% since the 1950s and 1960s.”

“If this short-sighted approach carries on, the UK economy is going to suffer drastically.”

“It’s a great shame, because there is a lot of new money going into British science, and we want to see it deliver economic, social and environmental benefits. But the scope for such benefits is limited while researchers cannot take the risk of doing something really creative”.

Peter Cotgreave’s talk The Importance of Individuality in Research will be at 15.45 on 9 September in the Clifford Whitworth Building at the University of Salford.

News

Funding proposals will cheat science and engineering of £22 million

Save British Science today berated the Government for its crazy proposals to change the way university teaching is funded next year.

“These proposals will move about £22 million out of university science departments,” said Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of SBS, “and we just can’t understand how a government that talks about the importance of science education in a knowledge economy could come up with such a daft idea.”

Under the proposals, money allocated to the teaching of some subjects, such as chemical engineering and physics will rise slightly, but these rises will be far outweighed by the losses suffered by other science and engineering disciplines, including biology and electronic engineering. The average university will lose hundreds of thousands of pounds from its overall budget for teaching the three core sciences and the various engineering disciplines.

“The real problem is that the Government sets the budget without reference to the demand it makes on the universities,” said Peter Cotgreave. “It insists that universities must take more students, increase access, do more and better research, and so on, but doesn’t actually work out how much this will all cost, and then allocate funding streams accordingly.”

“Making fairly arbitrary changes to the relative funding for different subjects, a year or two before the whole system will have to be re-organised because of top-up fees, isn’t suddenly going to stop the available money having to be spread very thinly”.

“If the budget is insufficient to fund what is expected of it, it is pointless for the Government to persist in an Alice-in-Wonderland denial that somehow by fiddling the sums, the money can magically be spread in different ways that will defy the laws of mathematics”.

ENDS

News

Azerbaijan’s Groundswell of Civil Society Dedicated to the country of Azerbaijan, this issue of Give & Take illustrates the shortcomings of the term “post-Soviet” eleven years after the end of the Cold War.

In a world well into a “post-9/11” multilateral, international realignment, how accurate is the backward-looking post-Soviet label?

True, Azerbaijan continues to be plagued by the polluting industry and severe economic doldrums common to many former Soviet states. Its people still suffer from corrupt bureaucrats, limited opportunities, and in some cases well-learned, wrong-headed ideas that stifle growth, namely that governments, not people, call the shots, that it is government’s job to solve the problems of society and that government has no obligation to respond to citizen demands for equity and justice. Yet to see nothing but such post-Soviet characteristics in Azerbaijan is to miss the very real changes that have taken place in the country since 1991.

The Winter 2003 issue Give & Take highlights just a few of the new citizen groups in Azerbaijan whose actions demonstrate the power of the individual to stand up to government and make a difference. The first section of the journal looks at issues such as how to found and register a nongovernmental organization (NGO) — a difficult, frustrating process, as detailed by ISAR-Azerbaijan director Stephanie Rust. Nevertheless, hundreds of local groups have registered and begun to operate throughout the country despite these challenges.

In the second section of the journal, with the help of ISAR-Azerbaijan staffers Elmira Abdullayeva and Nargiz Kerimova, we spotlight the impressive work of a few of these NGOs. Many are now quite experienced and they tackle an incredible range of issues — from diabetes education to professional development for beekeepers. Some NGOs focus on the children of refugees and internally displaced persons in Azerbaijan’s many refugee camps such as the Galkhan camp in Saatly, Azerbaijan. This story describes innovative approaches to the intractable problem of raising the children of war.

Research for this issue of the journal uncovered an extremely diverse NGO sector. Many local groups — their accomplishments largely unsung in the West — have done tremendous work with tiny sums of money. Those highlighted here represent only the tip of the iceberg: last year ISAR-Azerbaijan’s local NGO directory detailed the work of over 400 grassroots NGOs throughout the country, not just in Baku and other major cities. All of them are operating effectively in a region where international assistance is sparse and local philanthropy largely undeveloped. All have demonstrated creativity in fundraising and enthusiasm in responding to social injustice.

Organizing for change means forming coalitions. Cooperation to influence legislation — as Margo Squire, Azerbaijan country director for the Eurasia Foundation, notes in her article — is crucial. NGOs are also cooperating to advocate for environmental and social issues. For instance, as explored in the final section of the journal, activists have added their voices to the debate over the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. When completed in 2004, BTC will transport Caspian oil and gas to the Turkish port of Ceyhan in the Mediterranean Sea. Give & Take presents several of the perspectives in this debate, including those of an oil company executive, the government of Azerbaijan, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and multiple NGO viewpoints.

The complexities of globalization force us all to delve deeper: what happens locally when governments, international financial institutions, and transnational corporations get behind giant commercial development projects? Big projects affect small communities, and these communities must be given their say. Give & Take attempts to draw attention to such independent voices and include them in the wider dialogue. The dominance of the oil industry in Azerbaijan’s economy continues to increase. Svetlana Tsalik of the Open Society Institute asserts in her article that some portion of the revenues must be used to improve the conditions of Azerbaijan’s people; her article, which has been abstracted from a forthcoming book, offers concrete recommendations for using oil production profits to achieve social reform.

As such stories show, the “post-Soviet” label becomes daily less successful as a term for describing Azerbaijan. In 2003, Azerbaijan must be examined in the light of a whole range of new dynamics. The oil industry, with its millions of dollars in investments and powerful international partners, is far more visible than those who practice grassroots civil society development, but the efforts of the local NGOs have an endemic strength that is all their own. It is this force that in the end will free this country and its people from the cramped post-Soviet stereotype and offer them a more solid path to the future.

News

Political Activists in Kazakhstan Vulnerable After Nuclear Waste Victory

Kazakhstan’s fledgling grassroots opposition movement, which succeeded earlier this year in blocking a government plan to import nuclear waste into the country, now faces a host of challenges and is calling for continued guidance from the West to help protect civil rights and promote democracy. Activist Kaisha Atakhanova told a recent RFE/RL briefing audience that “we are more aware of what is happening in our country, but have little experience protecting our rights.”

Atakhanova, the founder and director of the Kazakh environmental group EcoCenter, described how an informal coalition of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community groups used public hearings and petitions to pressure the Kazakh government to give up its plans to import and store nuclear waste from countries such as Taiwan and South Korea. The stated goal of the project, rejected by Atakhanova, was to generate the money needed to help Kazakhstan deal with its own nuclear waste problem — 237 million tons of waste, the most dangerous of which was generated at the soon-to-be-closed BN-350 nuclear breeder reactor at Aqtau and the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site.

Atakhanova said that special interest lobbying, media campaigns, and government interference are all being used to try to limit the effectiveness of NGOs. “The main goal of nuclear lobbyists in Kazakhstan is to weaken NGOs and stop citizens from organizing against the government in general,” she said. In addition, the government has proposed new laws that would force foreign NGOs to register locally in order to gain legal status. Atakhanova said that the proposed law lacks a clear definition of what an NGO is and opens the door for organizations to be divided into “convenient and inconvenient” NGOs. She added that some Kazakh officials have tried to discredit NGOs by saying those supported with Western funding are tools of foreign special interests. “We are about to face serious challenges [from the government],” she said. “Those who remain non-political will most likely be allowed to function.”

Despite the recent grassroots success, Atakhanova said that nuclear tensions remain and that the import of nuclear waste into Kazakhstan was likely postponed rather than cancelled. Atakhanova said that monitoring groups do not have the resources to monitor the decommissioning of the Aqtau reactor. “We are not economically, politically or technically prepared for this,” she said.

To hear archived audio for this and other RFE/RL briefings and events, please visit our website at www.regionalanalysis.org.