Translation of Adam’s post (RUS)

Today, I went to the library and the mosque.

The library showed evidence of great progress. I thought I’d be reminiscing about my student years, but no, I was immediately disoriented by the bar-code reader for member cards. Next, I was awed by the ability to order a book through the internet using a public computer. On top of that, you can now bring your laptop along, because they have outlets next to all the tables. And, behold, in the professors’ hall, where I was allowed to work (my first academic privilege, five years after defending my dissertation), you feel like you’re in Lenin’s office, down to the green lampshades.

My trip to the mosque Read the full story »

Translation of publicist’s post (RUS)

The attitude towards women as mothers is an important measure of development in any modern society. The Save the Children organization has published the results of a study done on the status of women and children in 173 countries around the world. Kazakhstan ranked an unenviable 51st among all countries and 8th among “less developed countries.”

Ranking Our Neighbors

Researchers from Save the Children compiled a Mothers’ Index. In the process of working on it, they developed two other indices, the Women’s Index and the Children’s Index.

The countries where it’s best to be a mom are Read the full story »

Translation of mursya’s post (RUS)

We offer our readers a sample of graffiti from good old Karaganda. For more pictures, go to pycm. What can you say about the personalities of the artists based on their pictures? Read the full story »

Editor’s note: In the  second part of a series, neweurasia’s Nuraika shares some incredible photographs of Astana, this time of the many bizarre and eye-catching views possible just by walking around on the streets. “Astana reminded me of Astana, only on land,” writes Nuraika. [Translation of Nuraika’s post (RUS). Read the first part here. Photos from an assortment of photographers: Sabit Naukenov, Freeman, and Nuraiym.]

We were only able to find one place where we could exchange soms for tenge (on Prospekt Respubliki). They gave us a terrible rate, but at least something.

Astana reminded me of Atlantis, only on land. The water theme is present everywhere: in the bridges, the river, the fountains, the oceanarium and the azure-colored buildings. It is hard to tell where the sky ends and water begins.

Astana is located in the Arctic Basin (the Ishim River), even though it is 2000 km away from the ocean.

- Wikipedia.

The “Northern Lights” housing development. Photo by Nuraiym

Read the full story »

Editor’s note: In the first part of a series, neweurasia’s Nuraika shares some incredible photographs of Astana, including a peak inside the Khan-Shatyr complex, the ambitious architectural project of British architect Norman Foster. “Astana strikes the imagination with its combination of impressive buildings and, at the same time, emptiness,” writes Nuraika. [Translation of Nuraika’s post (RUS).]

Kazakhstan’s northern capital is clean, beautiful and somewhat ornate. Recently, for the first time, I visited this city of winds and romantic moods. The first thing that struck me was the clear, open sky, which gives the impression that one is closer to it here.

As a foreigner (from Kyrgyzstan), I found Astana closer to my heart and more familiar than my beloved southern capital (Almaty). The clean air and the wind that prowls the streets really reminded me of the Issyk-Kul region, where breathing feels just as easy. The Ishim River makes Astana all the more familiar for Kyrgyzstanis.

Photos by Nuraiym Read the full story »

Translation of megakhuimyak’s post (RUS)

Let’s look at the commodity turnover.

Kazakhstan remains one of Kyrgyzstan’s leading trade partners. The volume of bilateral trade for 2009 was $507.0 million (Export: 390.5, Import: 116.5), which, due to the financial crisis, is 16.7% lower than it was in 2008.

The volume of Kazakhstan’s bilateral trade with Tajikistan is second only to Russia’s in the CIS. For 2009, the commodity turnover between the two countries was $255.1 million (Export: 240.3, Import: 14.8), 8% lower than in 2008 (277.2).

The volume of Kazakhstan’s trade with Turkmenistan for 2009 was $170.3 million (Export: 108.9, Import: 61.4), 2.5 times lower than in 2008. Read the full story »

Translation of publicist’s post (RUS)

With the coming of independence, the term “middle class” has become the norm for some Kazakhs and the goal for others. Mojazarplata.kz has determined who in Kazakhstan considers themselves to be middle class and how much they earn.

The Middle Class as a Primary Indicator of Development

In countries that are considered developed, the middle class is the largest section of the population. Its primary functions include innovation, qualified cadres and maintaining social stability.

In the most general sense, the middle class can be defined by the following criteria:

• education level
• wage level
• consumption standards
• possession of material or intellectual property
• capacity for skilled labor

The market dictates Read the full story »

Translation of publicist’s post (RUS)

According to UN forecasts, the flow of migrant workers into Kazakhstan will grow steadily until 2050. But even today, migrant workers form a relatively large niche among Kazakhstan’s working population.

Migrant worker. The term is not clean-shaven. It doesn’t gleam with the whiteness of a starched collar. It doesn’t smell of expensive perfume. A migrant worker is a shabbily dressed individual with frightened eyes. He fears the cold, the police and dark streets patrolled by thugs with brass knuckles. He fears aggressive women at the bazaar, who suspect anyone of different ethnicity to be a thief or a terrorist. He is vulnerable from all sides because he has no rights; he is away form his native land; and he doesn’t know the laws of his new country. Read the full story »

Translation of publicist’s post (RUS)

Women have always sought, and continue to seek, equality with men. This applies to the job market as well. Statistics show that there are very few professions without at least a minimal female presence, whereas there are certain professions where it is practically impossible to find men. Of course, Kazakh laws prevent women from working certain jobs involving heavy manual labor or personal risk.

A Bit of History

Only recently has female labor been treated with such care. It used to be that the fair sex was employed in any capacity, regardless of physical intensity. For example, in the 1930s, when the country was industrializing, women worked as cement mixers, masons, diggers, peat cutters, unskilled laborers and metalworkers.

In fact, according to the Soviet magazine “Rabotnitsa” Read the full story »

Kazakhstan became familiar to the world in 2006 as a result of the scandalous fictional character “Borat.” The government of Kazakhstan has tried hard to discredit him but, in fact, it’s just promoting him. (Literally, in some cases! Check out neweurasia’s coverage of this ridiculous story.)

Kazakhstani movie director Erkin Rakishev will produce “a worthy response” to Borat, Lenta.ru reports. The story is about “John,” an American who watched the “Borat” film and decided to check out Kazakhstan himself. While in Kazakhstan he realizes that “everything is not as [bad] as described in the movie.”

“We want to use Borat’s success. By using its popularity in the West, we want to show westerners a real Kazakhstan and not the one created by Sasha Cohen,” Rakishev explained.

According to him a Hollywood company is already interested in it. Work on the movie will start this autumn and it’s slated for screening in Spring 2011.

The show must go on!