Translation of Tynyk’s post (KAZ, RUS)

Experts see the Chinese economy as a danger to Kazakhstan. We are currently working with the West to build a new railroad; however, a Chinese railroad already passes through Kazakhstan, which could have an adverse impact on the plans.

Today, China is Kazakhstan’s number one strategic partner. In the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the World Trade Organization it is our strongest ally.

China’s economy focuses on quantity over quality as it mass-stamps millions upon millions of products every year. Read the full story »

Translation of Avicenna’s post (RUS)

With less than a month left until Kazakhstan’s snap presidential elections, speculation is rife, but it is also time to consider the technical side of the matter: what the law says about media coverage.

MediaLawCA.org, a website that specializes in Central Asian media law, has published a handbook for journalists titled “Elections and the Media,” which addresses such questions as: how to run an election campaign? What steps should media management take to prevent the violation of election laws? What happens when a media outlet is accused of violating election laws and threatened with legal action? Read the full story »

Under a strong people’s pressure Ben Ali of Tunisia and Mobarak of Egypt had to leave their beloved palaces and run away from those who just wanted to tear them up to small pieces.

Unfortunately, new authorities will not be able to get all their money back they stored in advance outside of the countries. Kyrgyzstan still tries to find the Bakievs’ treasures.

Another unfortunate is that we still have this kind of rulers in many countries around the globe. They keep enriching day after day and enjoying the power. Handelsblatt, leading German language business newspaper, has counted former and current leaders’ wealth and rated them according to how big is their wallet. (Note: One of the Central Asian leaders is closing the rating. Guess who and find the answer by reading this piece to an end).

So the Top 3 is as following:

1. King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia with more than $40 billion. Oil rich country can afford monarchy’s whims. Forbes reports approximately $1 billion a day from oil exports (as of 2008) which automatically brings the King to the magazine’s The World’s Richest Royals list.

2. Hosni Mubarak, ex-President of Egypt, with around $40 billion. ABC News indicated that experts believed the personal wealth of Mubarak and his family to be between US$40 billion and $70 billion founded on military contracts made during his time as an air force officer. Britain’s Guardian newspaper also reported that Mubarak and his family might be worth up to $70 billion due to corruption, kickbacks and legitimate business activities.

3. Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, with $20 billion and whose famous for his vast automobile collection of 3,667 cars, which included unique modifications of Ferraris and Bentleys, worthy over U.S.$789 million. Read the full story »

Translation of Askhat’s post (KAZ, RUS)

The “Mutiny at the School of Journalism,” staged by Almaty students last Friday, has come to an end. Ten days after students from the School of Journalism at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University complained that their dean, Galia Zhuniskyzy, did not know the state language, the administration appointed a new dean, lawyer and academic Esbergen Alaukhanov. The incident demonstrated how serious the consequences of dividing the country along linguistic lines can be. Read the full story »

Translation of mursya’s post (RUS)

On 11 February, Kazakhstan Today news agency reported: “Deputies from the lower chamber of parliament want to take control of the Internet, citing fears over the manipulation of social consciousness.”

Majilis deputy Bakhyt Syzdykova believes the Ministry of Information needs to urgently form an expert committee, composed of officials, NGO representatives, public figures and individuals who are respected in the country.

“According to some members of the Majilis, this time the threat comes from so-called social networks. Deputies have asked the appropriate authorities to pay special attention to popular websites,” KTK television channel reports.

Read the full story »

“Yet without organised change from above, there is a growing risk of chaotic change from below.”

International Crisis Group published a special report on Central Asia on February 4th.  The grim title speaks for itself: “Central Asia: Decay and Decline”.

It is one of the few reports, which you read with great interest and upon finishing it think: “I don’t need a 42 page report to know this!”.  And that’s one of the critical indicators of a good work for me personally.  Indeed, the report is very comprehensive and gives very straight to the point evaluation of current situation in four sectors of all of Central Asian countries: education, healthcare, transportation and energy. Read the full story »

Translation of arsik’s post (RUS)

“[The law] is like a single-bed blanket on a double bed with three folks in the bed and a cold night. There ain’t ever enough blanket to cover the case, no matter how much pulling and hauling, and somebody is always going to nigh catch pneumonia.”

Robert Penn Warren, “All the King’s Men”

On 31 January the Kaznet was eagerly awaiting Nazarbaev’s live broadcast on the television channel Khabar. It was not the president’s annual address – that happened earlier.

On the last day of January, Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Council overturned the law “On Amendments and Additions to the Constitution.” The bill included a referendum to extend the current head of state’s mandate until 2020 instead of holding elections in 2010, and was passed by the parliament on 14 January 2011.

The president supported the Council’s decision and immediately announced early elections. It came as a huge surprise for the nation, and only the lazy passed up the chance to react on Twitter, Facebook and other social media.

Read the full story »

We recently ran an interview with a very promising young Kazakh film-maker, Daulet Tukaev. His film “Скажи” has been turning heads in Kazakhstan, and for good reason. There’s some lovely cinematography. Watch it!

Translation of arsik’s post (RUS)

Daulet Tukaev is a first-year student at the Cinema and Television department at Kazakh National University of the Arts in Astana. The future director recently published his first homework assignment on social networks and received high marks not only from his professor, but also from numerous internet users.

Neweurasia’s arsik decided to find out more about this potential rising star of Kazakh cinema. Read the full story »

Translation of Meirjan’s post (KAZ, RUS)

“Do you believe you’ll become rich?” was the title of survey I posted on the social network Senkazak. Over the course of five days, 137 people took part, answering 11 questions, two of which required them to elaborate on their responses.

I wanted to find out how frequently the Kazakh diaspora in China used the Internet, and whether the local intelligentsia (or people close to them) believed that in the near future they would have the opportunity to earn a significant amount of money. Read the full story »