Help Build the Leading Independent Media Platform for Central Asia
Central Asia is changing fast.
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are becoming increasingly important to global politics, trade, energy, climate debates and culture. Yet the region remains one of the least consistently covered parts of the world.
Novastan is changing that.
For fifteen years, we have built one of Europe’s most extensive independent media platforms dedicated entirely to Central Asia.
15 years
of independent journalism
More than 12,000
articles published
3 languages
English, French and German
Nearly 1 million
visits since 2023
Now we are ready to take Novastan to the next level.
Central Asia deserves serious journalism
Novastan was founded in Bishkek in 2011 with a simple idea: Central Asia deserved more attention, more expertise and better journalism.
Since then, we have grown into a multilingual European media platform covering Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Our journalists and contributors report on politics, society, economics, culture, climate, history, human rights and international affairs.
We publish the stories that rarely make international headlines.
We follow long-term transformations rather than chasing every news cycle.
And we cover Central Asia as a region of complex societies, ideas and cultures - not simply as a space between Russia and China.
Over fifteen years, Novastan has created an editorial archive of more than 12,000 articles. It is one of the largest multilingual collections of independent journalism on Central Asia available anywhere in Europe.
That foundation already exists.
The next step is to build on it.
From an ambitious volunteer project to a professional editorial operation
Novastan has achieved something remarkable.
Nearly 70 volunteers currently contribute to our journalism, translations, editing, communications and organisational work.
Their commitment has allowed Novastan to publish across three languages for fifteen years.
But great journalism cannot rely on volunteer energy alone.
To operate at the standard of leading specialist publications, we need the capacity to commission original reporting, pay writers and photographers, edit articles professionally, translate our strongest work and publish with greater speed and consistency.
We do not want Novastan simply to survive.
We want it to become the essential independent European publication on Central Asia.
What we are building
Our goal is to create a stronger, faster and more ambitious Novastan.
A publication capable of:
commissioning more original reporting and analysis;
paying journalists, photographers and specialist contributors;
publishing more consistently in English, French and German;
translating our strongest articles for international audiences;
producing investigations, interviews and thematic series;
developing newsletters and new editorial formats;
improving the visibility and accessibility of our archives;
responding rapidly to major developments across the region;
connecting Central Asian voices with readers across Europe and beyond.
We also want to broaden our coverage selectively beyond the five Central Asian republics.
As our editorial capacity grows, we also want to explore more coverage of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Mongolia, particularly where developments in these countries intersect directly with Central Asia through trade, migration, climate, security, culture and regional diplomacy.
Yet these connections are often covered in isolation.
A stronger Novastan would be able to report more consistently on these neighbouring countries where developments directly shape Central Asia - while keeping the region firmly at the centre of our editorial identity.
Novastan already has the expertise, the network, the archive and the audience.
Your support will help us build the professional editorial capacity to match them.
Why €15,000 matters
Our €15,000 target is designed to fund the first stage of Novastan’s transformation.
It will allow us to commission more journalism, strengthen editorial coordination and invest in the infrastructure required by a serious multilingual publication.
The funds will support:
freelance journalism and original reporting;
editorial coordination and fact-checking;
translation and multilingual publication;
website security and technical development;
newsletters, audience tools and membership systems;
multimedia formats and thematic editorial projects;
the development of our unique fifteen-year archive.
This campaign will finance the first concrete stage of that transformation.
What your contribution can unlock
A contribution of around €90 can help commission a new original article.
But every published story also requires editing, verification, translation, illustration, digital production and distribution.
Your contribution supports the complete editorial process.
With €5,000, we can secure essential editorial and technical resources.
With €10,000, we can commission more journalism and strengthen our publication schedule.
With €15,000, we can begin establishing the foundations of a dedicated professional team.
Every contribution moves Novastan closer to becoming a publication with the resources, visibility and editorial strength to compete with leading international specialist media.
Independent by design
Novastan’s independence is central to everything we publish.
We are not tied to a government, political movement or corporate interest.
We work with journalists, researchers, artists, photographers and specialists from Central Asia and Europe.
Our model allows us to publish stories that larger outlets often overlook: local debates, cultural movements, social transformations, environmental crises and perspectives from within the region itself.
A stronger Novastan will be able to commission more of this work while remaining editorially independent.
Backing Novastan means backing journalism that is informed, multilingual and rooted in the societies it covers.
Join the next chapter
Novastan has already proved what it can achieve.
Fifteen years of publishing.
More than 12,000 articles.
Three language editions.
A network of contributors across Central Asia and Europe.
Nearly one million visits since 2023.
We have built the foundation.
Now we want to build the editorial operation, the reach and the editorial ambition that Central Asia deserves.
Support Novastan and help create the next great independent media platform for Central Asia.
Donate today and join Novastan’s next chapter.
Thank you for reading, sharing and supporting independent journalism.
The Novastan team