Kazaxia received these great images from the Kazakhstan-China border post of Khorgos, along with some shots of the pot-holed road to China, which is Kazakhstan’s main gateway to the east.
Kazakhstan and China are developing a free trade zone on their border crossing at Khorgos, although the project appears to have stalled for the time being.
As the pictures of the lorry and cafe show, there’s still a lot of work to be done on upgrading the road and providing modern service stations.
Aliya Nazarbayeva joined forces with Forbes magazine at a lavish bash in downtown Almaty recently to present her top-end jewellery collection on home soil.
Nazarbayeva was presenting her Alsara collection, created in cooperation with Italy’s Damiani, at the launch of Forbes’ Kazakhstan edition on 8 September.
Almaty’s glitterati were out in force, including prominent opposition leader Bulat Abilov. That should go down well with the voters: seeing the wannabe politician hobnobbing with Kazakhstan’s rich and famous.
Kazakhstan’s footballers are in Baku, Azerbaijan for a crunch match that will most likely decide who will take the wooden spoon in qualifying group A for Euro 2012.
After a dire run, Kazakhstan’s footballing fortunes appear to be on the up under new manager Miroslav Beranek. The Czech guided his charges to a 2-1 victory over Azerbaijan in June. Last Friday the Kazakhs were desperately unlucky to lose to Turkey by a goal scored in the sixth minute of injury time.
After the wake-up call in Astana in June, the Azeris scored a creditable draw with Belgium in Baku last Friday. Manager Berti Vogts will be hoping for no repetition of the emotional scenes that greeted him in Baku last June – a journalist threw a toilet roll at him during the post-match press conference amid anger over Kazakhstan’s victory.
Azebaijan are currently on 4 points and Kazakhstan on 3 so it’s all to play for tomorrow night in Baku with the ignominy of the wooden spoon at stake.
Kazaxia is back from its summer break with its first book review.
Andrey Kurkov‘s The Good Angel of Death takes the reader on a surreal romp through the crazy hinterlands of the former Soviet Union in the wild days of the late 1990s. Kolya, the book’s hero, discovers a mysterious manuscript secreted inside a copy of War and Peace and this find sets off a strange chain of events that sees him having to flee Kiev for a journey of discovery in the deserts around Aktau in Kazakhstan.
There he comes across a strange bunch of bedfellows from Kazakh nomads to Ukranian nationalists and operatives from the Ukranian secret services. The story satirises the quest for national identity that many of the states formed from the collapse of the Soviet Union embarked on in the 90s.
At times the novel almost spills over into farce, but Kurkov’s sparse prose style keeps the action moving along, albeit at a somewhat relaxed pace. He has a fine eye for the fine details of everyday life in the former Soviet Union countries in the late 90s with corruption and the Mafia at every turn.
The Good Angel of Death was originally published in Russian in 2000 as Добрый ангел смерти. The English translation first appeared in 2009. Kurkov was born near Leningrad in 1961 and moved to Kiev in the 1980s, where he is still based. Other titles to look out for by Kurkov include Death and the Penguin and its follow-up Penguin Lost.
With rumours whirling around in the last few weeks about the health of Kazakhstan’s long-time president, the focus has once again turned to succession scenarios in Astana.
Kazaxia has decided to gaze into its crystal ball and look at some of the possible frontrunners should the Leader of the Nation decide to call it a day – here’s the fourth and final instalment:
In this part Kazaxia will look at some of the contenders on the fringes of the succession battle.
Dariga Nazarbayeva, the president’s eldest daughter, was at one time considered by many observers to be a shoo-in for the top job. But following the scandal which erupted around her former husband Rakhat Aliyev in 2007, her chances have faded and the president is believed to wonder where her true loyalties lie. It’s unlikely that any sort of door would be left open for Aliyev to return so it looks like she will have to make do with her opera singing.
Karim Masimov, the current Prime Minister, is a capable politician who is well-respected for his role in steering Kazakhstan through the global financial crisis. He’s tech-savvy, as can be seen by his slick website and blog and his presence on twitter. He’s a polyglot – fluent in Kazakh, Mandarin and English.
However, there’s one big question mark over whether he could become president – there’s a widespread, albeit unconfirmed, perception that he is Uyghur, although his father is reported to be Kazakh. Unfortunately, success in politics in Kazakhstan is not always based on merit – ethnic and clan affiliations also play a significant role – and in Kazakhstan only an ethnic Kazakh can realistically hope to become president.
Our last contender for consideration is Kairat Satybaldy, Nazarbayev’s nephew. He was brought up by the president’s family after his father died. Nazarbayev is thought to be close to Satybaldy, who’s in charge of youth policy in Nur Otan, the political party that has all the seats in Kazakhstan’s lower house of parliament. He has also held a top position in the KNB, Kazakhstan’s security service.
He could be the surprise candidate that Nazarbayev has up his sleeve to confound all the Astana watchers. Kazaxia wouldn’t put it past the wily old master politician to pull such a stunt.
So there you have it, Kazaxia’s lowdown on who might succeed President Nazarbayev. As long as the President remains healthy there’s no reason why he should give up his job, so we may have a long wait to see who will follow him. If you have any suggestions as to who the successor might be, please let us know.
With rumours whirling around in the last few weeks about the health of Kazakhstan’s long-time president, the focus has once again turned to succession scenarios in Astana.
Kazaxia has decided to gaze into its crystal ball and look at some of the possible frontrunners should the Leader of the Nation decide to call it a day – here’s the third instalment:
The Leader may feel its time to make sweeping changes in Kazakhstan with a changing of the guard by handing the reins of power to a younger figure to represent a break with the past. Two candidates spring to mind here – Imangali Tasmagambetov and Kairat Kelimbetov.
Imangali Tasmagambetov (image taken from http://www.astana.kz website)
Imangali Tasmagambetov, the current Mayor of Astana, is a former Prime Minister and Mayor of Almaty. He’s a popular figure, having served both Astana and Almaty well as Mayor. According to some reports, he may even have political principles – he reportedly resigned as PM in 2003 over a rigged vote of confidence in his government.
He cuts a more youthful and urbane figure than many of the grey men of Kazakh politics and has shown a willingness to embrace new technologies by holding Internet conferences and running an interactive page on his mayoral website. Born in 1956, he represents a younger generation in Kazakh politics and has the personality that would be able to push the country forward, if his track record in Almaty and Astnan is anything to go by.
A negative factor could be his perceived aloofness from the electorate. He’s a Kazakh speaker, but comes from a tradition of Kazakh intellectuals and does not come across as a man of the people. He lists as his hobby ‘the problems of history, ethnography and archaeology of Kazakhstan’.
Kazakh nationalists may not forgive him for labelling people protesting the destruction of their homes ‘social outsiders‘ in the 2006 property and land disputes in the Bakay and Shanyrak areas on the outskirts of Almaty. The protestors were in the main Kazakh speakers so were Tasmagambetov to become president, he should not expect as easy a ride as Nazarbayev has had at the hands of the ever more vocal nationalists.
Kairat Kelimbetov (image taken from http://www.weforum.org website)
Kairat Kelimbetov is a dark horse for the top job. Despite being only 42, he has held a number of key positions in Kazakhstan. He is currently the Minster of Economic Development and Trade and prior to that he was head of the state’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kaznya.
Kelimbetov studied at Georgetown University and is often wheeled out to represent Kazakhstan at big economic forums around the world. His strong background in economics and his fluency in English combined with his relative youthfulness makes him an attractive proposition for foreign governments and investors.
He would be the ideal candidate to make a clean break with the past as he is not seen to be too tainted by the Soviet era. However, his not entirely fluent Kazakh language skills may be a disadvantage – but he does have the charisma to appeal to the electorate. Keep him in mind as a dark horse, though, biding his time while the other candidates fall to political in-fighting.
Kazakhstan has long adhered to the principle of ‘one man, one vote’ but what happens if that one man – President Nursultan Nazarbayev – is unable to perform his duties? With rumours whirling around in the last week about the health of Kazakhstan’s long-time president, the focus has once again turned to succession scenarios in Astana.
Having been awarded the title of Leader of the Nation in 2010, the stage has been set for the incumbent to move aside but still control the reins of power. Could we see a situation where he takes everyone by surprise and does a ‘Boris Yeltsin’ and personally anoints his successor? At least he’ll be safe in the knowledge that the new president will not wield any real power while he’s still alive. Whatever he decides, he’s got the job until at least 2016, and with the history of longevity in his family who knows how long he’ll go on.
Kazaxia has decided to gaze into its crystal ball and look at some of the possible frontrunners should the Leader of the Nation decide to call it a day. Kazaxia will be assessing their chances over the next few days – here’s the first instalment:
1. Keep it in the Family
Timur Kulibayev (Image taken from http://www.samruk-kazyna.kz website)
Current hot favourite is Timur Kulibayev – the ‘keep it in the family’ option. Kulibayev has risen high in the business world of Kazakhstan, possibly with the help of his powerful father-in-law – he’s married to Dinara, Nazarbayev’s middle daughter, and has three children with her. He comes across as a clean-cut family guy (see more on this below) who leads a sporty lifestyle with his passion for golf, skiing and football.
Kulibayev has carved a name for himself in Kazakhstan’s oil and gas industry and has held top positions in many of the state’s big players such as KazMunaiGas. He is thought to be worth $1.3 billion on the Forbes rich list.
He is currently Chief Executive Officer of Kazakhstan’s powerful Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna, which controls all state investments and holdings. Click here for a full biography of Kulibayev.
Remarks made recently by presidential advisor Yermukhamet Yertysbayev were interpreted as tipping Kulibayev as a suitable candidate to succeed Nazarbayev to the top job. Both Kulibayev and Yertysbayev were quick to downplay the report, but the fact remains that he would make a good candidate for the ruling family and allow it to keep pulling the strings.
The main obstacles to Kulibayev becoming president are his lack of political experience, his background is strictly business, and his Kazakh language skills – he rarely, if ever speaks in Kazakh in public so there are doubts about his fluency. It is one thing to pass the language test given to prospective candidates for the presidency, but convincing the electorate is entirely another matter.
A candidate who struggles with the state language would not be popular with the nation’s increasingly influential Kazakh language lobby. This is an issue that is likely to come more to the fore after the current president moves on.
He also has some skeletons in the cupboard that may not play well with the electorate. He had a long-term affair with Goga Ashkenazi and had a son with her, according to international media outlets. This involvement with Ashkenazi, a Kazakh socialite and businesswoman, doesn’t fit too well with the clean-cut family guy image. There have been accusations of money-laundering and corruption, but the Kazakh financial police cleared him of any wrongdoing.
All-in-all, though, Kulibayev still makes a good candidate. He has time to gain the necessary political skills and brush up his Kazakh. The lovechild may not be too much of a hindrance as this is not known about in Kazakskhstan. Kulibayev can still be regarded as the current favourite.
The Tamgaly petroglyphs, located in a gorge some 170km north-west of Almaty, are an amazing testament to the long history of human habitation in this isolated corner of Kazakhstan.
The area has been inhabited for around 5,000 years since the late Bronze Age and the thousands of rock carvings trace human development from hunter-gathers who worshipped the sun, via the domestication of horses and camels and the use of bows and arrows, to later inhabitants who led a more settled, pastoral way of life and up to more recent visitors in the twentieth century.
The site is one of three places in Kazakhstan included on the UNESCO World Heritage List – the others being the Khoja Ahmed Yaswai Mausoleum in Turkestan and the Saryarka – Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan.
To find out more about the history of these fascinating rock carvings click here.
The Samuryk, a phoenix-like bird of Kazakh legend, is taking flight once again – this time in the form of the Samuryk Paragliding club, which meets in the hills above Almaty to evoke the spirit of this mythical bird.
A paraglider takes to the skies at Ush Konyr
Most weekends Almaty’s paragliding fans gather at Ush Konyr, which is located just outside the village of Shamalgan, to soar into the skies off the steep escarpment that towers above the plain that is home to Kazakhstan’s commercial hub. The site is famous across the former Soviet Union with paragliders and is home to many competitions in season.
The Samuryk and its nesting place play a key role in Kazakh mythology. One of the most famous landmarks in Astana is Bayterek, a 97m-tall observation tower built at the centre of its main drag. The glass ball at the top of the structure represents the Samuryk’s egg.
Bayterek, Astsna, Kazakhstan
According to legend, the Samuryk returned every year to lay its egg, representing the sun, in the upper branches of the tree of life known as Bayterek. This egg was then devoured by a dragon, symbolising the eternal rhythm of night replacing day and winter following summer.
Returning to the modern-day Samuryks, this summer will see various competitions taking place at Ush Konyr with it hosting stage 4 of the Russian Open Paragliding Cup 16-21 August, the Open Kazakhstan Championship 22-27 August, and the Open CIS Cup 28 August – 2 September.
With Alexandre Vinokourov sent crashing out of the Tour de France with a fractured femur, Team Astana has been forced to look to the future. The big-spending days of a few years ago when the team attracted the likes of Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong seem to be over and the new approach shifts attention to bringing on Kazkhstan’s homegrown talent.
Vinokourov’s career was brought to a sudden end on 10 July by the horrific accident on Stage 9 of the Tour which saw Astana’s team leader hurtle into a ditch at top speed. This tour was to have been his last, but he would have wanted it to end in a less painful style.
The Astana cycling team was set up around Vinokourov in 2007 and is sponsored by Kazakhstan’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna. The cycling team gives Kazakhstan an opportunity to garner itself positive PR on the world stage with its taking part in big-ticket events such as the Tour de France.
After a scandal-hit Tour in 2007, when Vinokourov was forced out of the race after failing a blood-doping test, the team restructured and bought in Contador and Armstrong along with team manager Johan Bruyneel. This brought success in 2009 with the team winning the Tour de France and Contador winning the individual event.
Financing problems, that emerged in May 2009, led to Bruyneel leaving Astana at the end of the season. He took Armstrong and a host of other top riders with him, but Contador stayed and reteined his title in 2010. Contador then jumped ship himself, leaving Vinokourov as the team’s number one.
Now attention is turning to the future and the search is on for the next Vino. On 4 July Kazakhstan’s Cycling Federation announced the formation of Astana-2 which will serve as a feeder team for the main squad. This team will be made up exclusively of young Kazakh riders.
Only time will tell if this new venture can discover a talent to fill the huge gap in Team Astana caused by Vinokourov’s departure or whether Samruk-Kazyna will have to dig deep once again to buy in the riders needed to keep the team at the top of the game.
Kazaxia 