The Ballad of Elyor Askarov

[grey asian]

“A combination of qualities, such as competitiveness and team spirit, physical aptitude

and willpower, readiness to use force and to sustain injury, leadership and discipline,

make [an athlete] particularly fit for violent entrepreneurship,”

 

Edited August 19, 2020 by grey asian

[grey asian]

With brute strength and a blase attitude toward life and death,

 these jocks served as foot soldiers in the protection rackets

that helped define the era of gangster capitalism in Uzbekistan.

 

 

Edited August 9, 2020 by grey asian

[grey asian]

Edited August 10, 2020 by grey asian

[grey asian]

[grey asian]

[grey asian]

 

[grey asian]

 

[grey asian]

[grey asian]

[grey asian]

“Athletes, in turn, may join gangs to continue living the ‘good life’ they lose when their government stipends end. Organized crime allows some athletes to translate their physical strength and prowess into quick money,”

 

Edited August 14, 2020 by grey asian