Kazakhstan
Translation of Meirjan’s post (KAZ, RUS)
I have already written in my personal blog about how the situation with oralmans (Kazakh returnees) is affecting Kazakhs living abroad. Now I want to share with you the thoughts of Zhanarbek Akybiuly on this subject. Zhanarbek lives in Mongolia.
It is very difficult for Kazakhs living beyond the borders of Kazakhstan to preserve their language, customs, traditions and views, but nonetheless, they make an effort. This is why it makes us so upset to hear that Kazakhs who return to their historical homeland encounter all sorts of problems. Read the full story »
Translation of Askhat’s post (KAZ, RUS)
Editor’s note: Like many countries in the region, Kazakhstan has experienced a number of issues in transitioning from Russian to its native, historical language. One of the spheres in which this conflict plays out is technology, where something as basic as the alphabet can be the difference between receiving a bank transfer and not. [See Annasoltan’s post on Turkmens in Iran for another example of a people divided by their alphabet].
The same thing happened last year. No money was transferred into my pension fund. Computers in our banks refuse to accept the letter “i”. We even recorded a podcast for neweurasia on this subject, but the problem remains unresolved. Read the full story »
CENTRAL EURASIA LEADERSHIP ACADEMY (CELA) SUMMER WORKSHOP, ISTANBUL, 13-22 JULY 2011
CELA was launched in 2002 as a major initiative to bring together the region’s most dynamic mid-career leaders in the fields of government, business, civil society and media; to offer them the best leadership education available; and to create a regional cooperation network organization second to none in this part of the world. Now in its tenth year, CELA has grown into the region’s premier network organization linking some 300 next-generation leaders and change agents across nine countries. Read the full story »
Translation of Tynyk’s post (KAZ, RUS)
On 13 December 2009, a woman from Taraz called in during a live question and answer session with the president. She said the following:
My son is 15. Until he returns home from school, I can’t stop worrying. Everyone in Taraz is frightened by the criminal situation with our youth. Many high school students are forming criminal groups. They organize street fights “district vs. district” or “school vs. school.” I don’t want to tell you my name because I’m afraid that my son could have problems as a result. When you hear “Taraz,” what instantly comes to mind is a picture filled with thugs, racketeering and other things of this nature. This city has been known since the 90s as the most criminal in the country.
Translation of sadenova’s post (RUS)
Editor’s note: Like most of my friends, I finished school in a small town. Afterwards, we all left for big cities and entered university. This was our parents’ dream and since we were little, we all imagined our future to look this way. Staying in your hometown was considered a sign of failure, and our elders wished us success, which we could only find in the capital. Three years into my university studies, I returned to my hometown for the holidays and barely recognized the place. None of my acquaintances or schoolmates could be seen in the streets. The town suddenly became foreign. Many Kazakhs from my generation will be able to identify with the story in this post. Thank you sadenova for describing what is inside each one of us. Read the full story »
Translation of Tynyk’s post (KAZ, RUS)
Our nation has come to believe that its bright future is entirely and directly dependent on the head of state. All of the country’s accomplishments are, in one way or another, tied to his name. This became clear to me after I visited Zhambyl province. Of course, not everyone shares this view, but the majority certainly does.
A group of activists from Eastern Kazakhstan have proposed to extend the president’s mandate until 6 December 2020: Read the full story »
Translation of Askhat’s post (KAZ, RUS)
Because Kazakhstan does not have a clear religious policy, it has become the norm that everyone is entitled to his or her own perspective on faith. As it was twenty years ago, no one is really bothered by this multitude of views, which is evidenced by the debate on religion and traditions, which recently spilled over into the blogosphere.
The discussion was sparked by the Kara Zhorga dance, which has become popular in the country in the last few years. Read the full story »
Translation of thousand-pa’s post (RUS)
Almaty’s budget for 2011: The city is set to earn 178.1 billion tenge, while budgetary spending is projected to be 130.5 billion.
Astana’s budget for 2011: Of the budget for 2011 (218.591 billion tenge), 76.697 billion comes from the city’s earnings, 123.8 from transfers and 18.043 from subventions. Read the full story »
Translation of sadenova’s post (RUS)
It all started last Friday, when Mr. Lawrence Sherwin from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development came into our office. He was a charismatic, soft-spoken gentleman with phenomenally good Russian. It turned out he studied what used to be called “Sovietology” (or Soviet Studies) and was an exchange student in Leningrad.
It was all very funny until he pulled out a set of incredible photographs. My jaw dropped, for I was holding the history of our city in my hands.
Apparently, after finishing his studies in 1979, Mr. Sherwin was offered an interesting job – organizing the first American agricultural exposition in the Soviet Union. Three cities were chosen, Dushanbe, Kiev and Tselinograd (modern-day Astana) – as I understand, the agricultural centers of the country.
So here are some pictures taken by that group of Americans 30 years ago. Read the full story »
Today I’m thinking about plagiarism and the whole attitude to cheating in Kazakhstan. Of course, this is hard to define. In the West, the system expects that only one person can be considered the Columbus of an idea, bravely finding new things. What if several people at once came up with a brilliant idea?
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