Translation of mursya‘s post (RUS)

By: yelikbayev

He ordered to cancel all special events dedicated to his seventieth birthday. But there are causes for celebration. For example, last week marked twenty years since Nursultan Nazarbaev became president.

My younger brother Ilyas turned the same age this year. All his life, he has seen his country led by one man. We moved from the village to the city, traded our VAZ-7 for a Toyota Camry, but his presence has been constant.

In France, Mitterrand was succeeded by Chirac, and he by Sarkozy. In the States, Clinton took the place of Bush Sr., after whom came Bush Jr. and Obama. Yeltsin moved over to make room for Putin, who let in Medvedev for a short while. And all these years, we had one man report to us annually on the state of affairs.

They removed homosexuality from the WHO’s list of diseases. They tore down the Berlin Wall and blew up the Twin Towers. They executed Andrei Chikatillo and Saddam Hussein. They invented the iPhone and SARS. But they haven’t managed to change the face that appears every year on television to congratulate the citizens of Kazakhstan.

It is difficult for me to judge whether it is good or bad that we have had the same leader for twenty years. What if the alternative is worse? Or better? What if the republic drowns in blood? Or in opulence? The democrats warn us that our governments should be replaceable, but at the same time conservatives also warn us that new regimes could be more larcenous.

So who is right and where is the truth? How have these twenty years been for you?

dreamkz:

If you drive on Seifullin St. you better be going under the speed limit. Every day there are three or four crashed cars. This is true. Zhakianov – the one who was selling uranium, supposedly secretly from the government, the president and the Defense Committee – is in jail. This is also “true.” No mortal will ever win a tender without a bribe. This is true. Over 70% of Kazakhstan’s population lives under the poverty line. This is true. The Constitution is custom-made for one man. This is true. Khrapunov booked it across the border and took spoils with him. This is true. All the major corporations and natural resource deposits belong to “investors,” and not the people of Kazakhstan. This is true. The people of Kazakhstan actually don’t own anything in Kazakhstan. This is also true. You can continue the list on your own =))))

Natella:

“Over 70% of Kazakhstan’s population lives under the poverty line. This is true.” This is not true. Are you confusing Kazakhstan with Kyrgyzstan? Beyond the poverty line live people who still haven’t learned how to earn money and who constantly make excuses like unemployment, etc. We still suffer from the Soviet complex that the government will educate us and give us a job. It’s going to be ve-e-e-ry interesting to see what NAN’s successor will be like. Whatever you say, NAN is a powerful MANAGER.

akaz:

I’m impressed that this combination of rank and duration of service is legitimate. Are there examples of such presidential longevity anywhere else in the world?

askhats:

dreamkz, you’re basically right, but none of these investors or oligarchs are taking anything but their coffins down to the grave with them. I respect the President very much, and I think he deserves more than what he has right now. It is a pity that he’s the only one. Unfortunately, I don’t see a worthy successor.

Azyl:

38 years – Togo – Gnassingbé Eyadéma,
32 years – Cuba – Fidel Castro,
32 years – Yemen – Ali Abdullah Saleh

heybulldog:

Nice text, Alisher, straight to the presses… =) I don’t even know how to comment – with an ode or with a retort – or whether I should maintain neutrality… “History does not tolerate the subjunctive tense” – banal, “O the mighty and powerful” – let the others say it, “Everything is terrible” – same thing (at least on the Internet)… I’m no Confucius, I have no wisdom. I’m used to seeing everything as a theatre of the absurd. I go to bed laughing, wake up smiling. People around me ask if I’ve gone crazy. I say, “No, it’s just inexplicably funny…” I’m no longer surprised by the news – no more Hummers, take my hand, put an end to corruption, and so on and so forth. It’s no longer a drug for me to find news that deserve a thousand pamphlets and jokes thrown against them… But I’m tired. You need to have the productivity of Stephen King to do something like this… And things seem to gradually settle down… The right people are sitting in jail, the lucky ones are now in favor… No grandiose scandals are expected in the future, our image is solid (the EU and the USA took our bait, the Russians are hooked)… we go on living… just grains of sand in this oscillating universe, so I obey, Oh Great Master, our one support in this oscillating universe (I’m also holding smile and a pair of crossed fingers behind my back =)))…

keyboardcat:

Charles de Gaulle (whom our leader likes to mention) was at the helm for a long time. It was under his administration that France truly gained independence from the bosses in Washington. It would be funny if France today were something like Portugal. If only our Kazakhstan wasn’t like Kyrgyzstan or Nigeria, and foreigners weren’t drilling our oil, but then the oil companies would have quite a different view outside their windows. And history doesn’t tolerate the subjunctive tense or whatever. NAN is a solid guy. I can only imagine all the jackals who are going to pop up after his retirement/death. You can already hear them squealing in anticipation, but they call it the “voice of freedom.”

bazhkenova:

Quote by Azyl:
38 years – Togo – Gnassingbé Eyadéma,
32 years – Cuba – Fidel Castro,
32 years – Yemen – Ali Abdullah Saleh

In this case, we should look at the leaders of Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea (about 40 years each), who are [Nazarbaev’s] political idols.