Archive | Kazakhstan RSS feed for this section

Rip-Off Kazakhstan

11 May

This is the first in an occasional series of Rip-Off Kazakhstan (ROK) awards made by Kazaxia to businesses in the country offering poor value-for-money.

Congratulations to Rakhat Fitness in Almaty – the first business in Kazakhstan to receive a ROK award.

With summer just around the corner, this fitness centre has decided to introduce a 50% price hike – previously a monthly 12-visit pass cost 17,000 tenge ($117), now it’s 25,000 tenge ($172) or around $15 per swim.

That might not seem too bad, but for that you are allowed 75 minutes a session to change, shower and swim, and that’s if you’re lucky and there’s room in the pool.

The 50-metre pool is currently under repair and is closed until 22 May so wannabe swimmers will have to fight it out with the water polo teams for a small slice of the 25-metre pool.

The owners can’t be short of a bob or two – the fitness complex was formerly owned by Rakhat Aliyev,  the former husband of Dariga Nazarbayeva, eldest daughter of  President Nursultan  Nazarbayev.  It is rumoured that many of his assets were transferred to his ex-wife, although who  owns the fitness centre is unclear.

Aliyev, who is now living in exile in in Vienna, Austria, was sentenced in absentia  to a 20-year prison term after being found guilty of running a crime ring, abduction, theft and extortion in 2008. In the same year he was sentenced to another 2o years by a  secret military court for

attempting to forcibly seize power, illegally receiving and divulging state secrets, running an organized crime group, theft and illegal possession of firearms, theft of state property and abuse of power

Aliyev was famed in Kazakhstan as a ruthless money-grabber and is seems his legacy lives on with the current owners of Rakhat Fitness continuing to coin it in.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Kazakhstan: Going for BROKE?

5 May

With Kazakhstan being touted as a future member of GoGUN, as revealed exclusively on Kazaxia by Lord Venal last week, rumours are rife as to which other international groupings the country could be aspiring to.

It has been quite a ride to go from the Group of Babyish States (GoBS) to GoGUN in just 20 years. Admittedly, there were some tough times as the country languished in the limbo of the Group of States Transitioning Internationally (GoSTI), but fortunately those days are now receding rapidly into the dim and distant past.

A few years ago analysts were speculating that Kazakhstan would provide the ‘K’ to turn BRIC (the informal grouping of Brazil, Russia, India and China) into a real word. This never materialised, but now an exciting new bloc is on the agenda – BROKE – which could see Kazakhstan joining forces with the emerging economies of Belarus, Rwanda, Oman and Egypt.

On a similar note, Lord Venal reports overhearing interested parties at a recent diplomatic shindig denying plans for Kazakhstan to join up with Cambodia, Oman and Chad. They also denied that links were being forged with Djibouti, Iran and Columbia. It was suggested by diplomatic insiders that these groupings were more up Kyrgyzstan’s street.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Kazakhstan: A Young Country on the Threshold of Maturity

29 Apr

Thanks are due once again to Lord Venal who has contributed this opinionated piece to Kazaxia.

This December will see the twentieth anniversary of the epic struggle of Kazakhstan to gain its independence from the Soviet Union. In just 20 short years the country has managed a truly amazing turnaround to become the economic powerhouse of Central Asia and the undisputed champion of democracy in the region.

I feel that it is high time that the world stood up and took notice of these achievements. Kazakhstan, which likes to describe itself as a ‘young country’, should be recognised as the mature country it has bloomed into and inducted into the ranks of GoGUN (The Group of Grown-Up Nations) without any further ado. Then Kazakhstan’s politicians can stop banging on about it being a ‘young country’ and start taking some responsibility for their own actions.

Like any adolescent, Kazakhstan has spent hours in front of the mirror agonising over its image. It has lavished considerable sums on brushing up this image with glossy spreads appearing in international media outlets and is now seen around the world as a maturing, go-ahead nation with a very bright future.

Kazakhstan’s politicians often talk about it being a ‘young country’ but this should not mask the remarkable steps that have taken place in its short lifetime. From inauspicious beginnings, the economic miracle led by President Nursultan Nazarbayev has helped ensure the country’s smooth transition to a market economy.

On the political front there has been unprecedented stability with one leader occupying the highest office in the land for all those 20 years and as the recent elections showed his popularity is in no way diminished after he received an amazing 95.55% of the popular vote in April 2011.

Let’s compare this with other ‘young countries’ that emerged from the ashes of the Soviet Union. If we look at Lithuania we will see it has had a chaotic transition with no less than seven presidents since 1990. One of those, Rolandas Paksas, was impeached and removed from office in 2004. Estonia has fared little better with three presidents thus far.

Kazakhstan is a founder member of the up-and-coming Customs Union with Russia and Belarus, in stark contrast all that Lithuania and Estonia could come up with is membership of the debt-ridden European Union.

Kazakhstan is increasingly being seen as a leader on the world stage. It is lucky for the Organization of the Islamic Conference that Astana will chair this august body from late June. With the Arab world torn asunder by rebellions, Kazakhstan’s valuable experience as head of the OSCE in 2010 will hold it in fine stead here. After successfully dealing with the crisis on its doorstep in Kyrgyzstan last year, there is no better choice to lead the Islamic world on the path to reconciliation and stability.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Futsal Finals Come to Almaty

26 Apr

Baluan Sholak Sports Palace Almaty - venue for UEFA Futsal Cup finals 2011

Almaty will put itself on the map of international sporting events this weekend as it hosts the  UEFA Futsal Cup finals. It’s the first time ever that Kazakhstan has been chosen to host the finals of a UEFA tournament.

Local favourites Kairat Almaty will face off with Sporting Clube de Portugal on April29. Later that day SL Benfica, also from Portugal, will take on Italy’s  ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5. The winners of these two games will battle it out in the final on May 1.

Futsal is basically five-a-side football played in an indoor arena. The match consists of two halves of 20 minutes and unlimited substitutions are allowed at any time from a pool of 12 players.

Kairat are a force to be reckoned with in Futsal – it has made the semi-finals of this annual  tournament three times since 2006. Kazakh midfielder Dinmukhambet Suleimenov is confident that Kairat, which has eight Brazillians on its books, can use its home advantage and be crowned UEFA Futsal champions for 2011

Tags: , , , , , , ,

The Tulip Trail

21 Apr

It’s quiz time on Kazaxia.

Where did tulips originate?

a) Turkey b) The Netherlands c) Kazakhstan

If you answered a or b then think again as these emblems of spring originated on the hillsides of southern Kazakhstan.

Turkey has adopted the tulip as a national symbol and The Netherlands has cornered the market in cultivated tulips, but to see these flowers in their original habitat you need to head for a small village located between Taraz and Shymkent in the south of Kazakhstan.

Greigs Tulip

For a few weeks at the end of April each year, the hillsides around Zhabagly come alive with a lush coating of bright red Greig’s Tulips (Tulipa greigii), the precursor of the tulips that are grown commercially around the world.

Kaufmanns Tulip

Higher up, the more delicate Kaufmann’s tulip (Tulipa kaufmanniana) blooms until July. This tulip has pink coloured petals with a yellow colouring on the inside. It is often found close to the snowline and favours rocky mountain slopes.

Zhabagly village is the gateway to Aksu-Zhabagly State Nature Reserve, founded in 1926, is Central Asia’s oldest national park. It’s a great place to visit in spring and autumn, but can get very hot in high summer. It has a range of hiking and horse trekking options including excursions to the Aksu Gorge.

One of the best homestays in Zhabagly village is run by www.wild-natures.com. It specialises in tours to see the tulips and other local sights of interest and can arrange birdwatching and horse riding trips.


Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Lord Venal’s Election Day Snaps

20 Apr

Students eager to vote despite bad weather

Babies for Nazarbayev!

Pie seller at polling station ponders how to cast her vote

Lord Venal exhausted after a hard days observing

Tags: , , ,

Aliya Nazarbayeva – The Next GooGoosha?

19 Apr

News reaches Kazaxia that Aliya Nazarbayeva, the youngest daughter of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, has teamed up with Italian jewellers Damiani to produce Alsara, an exclusive collection of 30 diamond-studded pieces.

Billboards have appeared at major junctions around Almaty promoting the Alsara collection with Aliya modelling a pair of very expensive-looking dangle earrings. The brand is a combination of the names of Aliya and her mother Sara and is aimed at Kazakhstan’s high-rollers with prices ranging from 15,000 to 70,000 euros.

The collection has echoes of GULI, the jewellery brand of Gulnara Karimova, a fellow president’s daughter from neighbouring Uzbekistan. Gulnara, or GooGoosha to her adoring public, has also made herself a singing career – can we expect to hear Aliya bursting into song soon?

Tags: , , , , , ,

Kazakhstan’s Ice Queens Mauled in Switzerland

18 Apr

Kazakhstan’s women’s ice hockey team have been taking a mauling at the world championships in Switzerland. Despite being the top team in Asia and ranked 8 in the world, the team has found itself seriously out of its depth in Switzerland.

On 17 April Canada downed the Kazakhs 7-0. The scoreline could have been worse but for the valiant efforts of 20-year-old goalie Daria Obydennova who blocked 64 shots on goal. It was an exhausting weekend for Daria – on Saturday she made 52 saves as the Kazakhs lost 5-3 to Finland.

Kazakhstan won gold in the seventh Asian Winter Games, held in Almaty and Astana earlier this year, after beating China 4-1 in the final. The scale of the task facing the Asia’s ice queens is put into perspective, however, with the fact that Canada has some 85,000 registered players whilst Kazakhstan has just 86.

There’s still an outside chance that Kazakhstan could progress to the quarter-finals if it can mange to overcome Switzerland on Tuesday 19 April. There’s hope for the Kazakhs as Canada trounced the hosts 12-0 earlier in the week.

Tags: , , ,

Kazakhstan: Diary of an Election Observer

12 Apr

Kazaxia has received the following contribution from Britain’s Lord Venal, who was recently in Kazakhstan to observe the presidential elections.

I have just returned from observing the elections in Kazakhstan’s marvellous new capital Astana and I feel compelled to put pen to paper to extol the great steps this young nation has taken in building a vibrant democracy in just 20 short years.

On election day I was kindly provided with a car and driver by the authorities so I could visit as many polling stations as possible. From what I observed in these polling stations, there is a great deal that my own country could learn in how to run an election.

At each polling station I was greeted by officials and was allowed to observe close up how free and fair these elections were. There were presents on offer for the first people to arrive – I myself was given a rather fine pair of rose-tinted spectacles. It was truly heartening to see so many bright-eyed and bushy-tailed students queuing up to vote at seven in the morning. Can you imagine our lazy teenagers in Britain getting up so early on election day – and on a Sunday at that?

After watching a few people cast their votes, we were treated to a splendid feast with a table groaning with horsemeat sausage and the national dish besbarmak, a delightful combination of choice cuts of meat and sheets of pasta. This was washed down with some vodka shots that left me quite bleary-headed.

It wasn’t all feasting, though. My government-provided interpreter worked selflessly to give me the views of her fellow citizens, who all told me unanimously how pleased they were with the stability and prosperity their leader had brought to the country. She herself was a volunteer from the Nur Otan party, the only party that is represented in the country’s parliament.

As the polls closed, I was relieved to be driven back to my $500 a night suite at the Rixos Hotel as I was ready to burst and a bit tired and emotional after all that exemplary Kazakh hospitality.

The next day I was taken on a tour of Kazakhstan’s breathtaking new capital and saw a spontaneous display of support for President Nazarbayev in a local sports hall as he celebrated his astounding victory with hundreds of students.

The turnout, at around 90%, was phenomenal, which shows how successful Kazakhstan has been in creating its democracy. The huge majority for the President illustrates how popular Mr Nazarbayev is with the electorate. In Britain we can only dream about such turnout figures and levels of support for our politicians. I heartily endorse my fellow observer Daniel Witt, who put it thus:

Kazakhs turned out in droves on April 3 to re-elect President Nursultan Nazarbayev to another, five-year term. The overwhelming, 95.54 percent vote for him was not only an affirmation of Nazarbayev’s popularity but an indication of the electorate’s satisfaction with the direction of the country. Turnout was extraordinarily high with 89.9 percent of registered voters participating, up from 76.8 percent in the 2005 presidential election.

I would like to point out that, like my colleague Lord Waverley, we were in no way sponsored by the Kazakhstan government during this observation mission. My travel and accommodation were generously paid for by a group based in Northern Cyprus that is bidding for oil concessions in Kazakhstan.

Therefore, in my unbiased view, I can say that Kazakhstan is a true beacon of democracy in this troubled region. The Kazakhs can be proud of both their leader and their democracy.


Tags: , , ,

Five More Years!

8 Apr

Nursultan Nazarbayev was today sworn in for five more years at the helm of Kazakhstan after his crushing victory in last week’s election where he swept up 95.55% of the vote.

A huge crowd had been bussed in to cheer the President as he made his way into an arena filled with the great and good of Kazakh society. Politicians and officials  gazed on solemnly as “The Leader” hailed the stability and progress he has brought to the country in his 22 years in charge.

In the audience were the three stooges who had ostensibly run against the incumbent in the election. After taking the oath of office, Nazarbayev extolled the prosperity that the country had enjoyed in the 20 years since it emerged from the rubble of the Soviet Union.

Now the task for the administration is to work on the 4.45% who didn’t vote for “The Leader” and to get the 10% of voters who stayed away from the polls to see the error of their ways and ensure 100% turnout and support in 2016.

Tags: , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →