evidence: Following the Soviet collapse, local disputes over previously shared water resources and pasture lands, now separated by boundaries which were never designed to become sovereign borders, are common in the Ferghana valley, where the territories of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan meet in an odd chessboard pattern of exclaves, enclaves and jagged lines.[7] The particularly violent April escalation took place amid changing regime dynamics. While Japarov, the new Kyrgyz President, seemed to be consolidating his authority with risky populist moves, President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan felt emboldened by political turbulence in Kyrgyzstan and increased military support from the Kremlin.[8] [...] Ayzirek Imanaliyeva and Kamila Ibragimova, "Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan: Communities Take Stock of Destruction Wrought by Border Unrest," Eurasianet, 3 May 2021, https://eurasianet.org/kyrgyzstan-tajikistan-communities-take-stock-of-destruction-wrought-by-border-unrest; Shairbek Juraev, Eric McClinchey, Lawrence P. Markowitz, and Edward Schatz, "The Current Hostilities between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan: Commentary by Dzhuraev, McGlinchey, Markowitz, and Schatz," PONARS Eurasia, 6 May 2021, https://www.ponarseurasia.org/the-current-hostilities-between-kyrgyzstan-and-tajikistan-commentary-by-dzhuraev-mcglinchey-markowitz-and-schatz/; Beate Eschment, "Spiralling Violence on the Borders in the Fergana Valley?," ZOiS Spotlight 26/2021, 7 July 2021, https://en.zois-berlin.de/publications/spiralling-violence-on-the-borders-in-the-fergana-valley. ↩︎ "Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Agree Ceasefire after Border Clashes," Reuters, 1 May 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/kyrgyzstan-accuses-tajikistan-amassing-troops-near-border-2021-05-01/; "Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Completed Troops Withdrawal from Border - Border Service," TASS Russian News Agency, 3 May 2021, https://tass.com/world/1286025. ↩︎