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Almaty Wheels out Big Guns for Winter Olympics Bid

29 Jul

In the final push for the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, Almaty has unveiled its secret weapons to wow the International Olympic Committee – figure skater Denis Ten and …. volleyball player Sabina Altynbekova.

As the delegates gather in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the vote on 31 July, Almaty is pulling out all the stops in its fight to the death with Beijing to host the games. Denis Ten won bronze at Sochi in 2014 in the figure skating and has been a fixture of the city’s bid.

Volleyball starlet Sabina Altynbekova.is not such an obvious choice to promote the bid to host the world’s premier winter sports spectacle. However, she is famous in Kazakhstan and beyond for her looks as well as her abilities on the volleyball court.

She rose to prominence last year at the Asian Under-19 Championships in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei. Her looks prompted hysteria with a Taiwan newspaper giving over 10 pages to photos of the 18-year-old and depictions of her as an anime character.

Some observers have suggested that a new event –  ice volley – could be included on the list if Almaty’s bid is successful. Apparently,this ancient sport can be traced back to the times when the Scythians roamed the Eurasian steppe.

 

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Kazakhstan: Almaty Sundowner Hotspots

26 Jun

Lord Venal has finally come round from the deep slumber he fell into after observing the elections in Kalachi, Kazakhstan. He was extremely thirsty when he awoke and immediately found some great new bars in Almaty for a sundowner or two that he wants to share with kazaxia’s readers.

Negroni bar Almaty

After my long slumber following my visit to monitor voting in Kalachi on April 26, caused by the soporiphic nature of the poll, I was overcome with an incredible thirst. I awoke in Almaty and headed out in search of refreshment.

My travels took me first to Negroni Bar on Kurmangazy, just down from Cafeteria. This new bar has hit on a novel idea for Almaty –  you design your own cocktail. From a list one can choose the cocktail base, strength, and taste with options such as bitter, sour, sweet and spicy. Additional ingredients to add flavour to your tipple include apple, strawberry, celery, cucumber and basil.

After a couple of glasses I headed down Abai Street where I chanced upon Cafe Nedelka, which serves refreshing jugs of sangria, a light pick-me-up on a summer’s eve. The terrace is set back from the traffic-choked main thoroughfare and is a pleasant spot to while away a few hours.

Now feeling peckish, I took a taxi down Dostyk and found myself in Vino da Puri, a new venture from the Dedas Puri crew. Serving the same classy Georgian fare as in Dedas, this place is an oenophile’s delight with hundreds of bottles of wine to choose from. It also has a great terrace to make the most of the long summer evenings.

 

 

 

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Kazakhstan: Kairat Face Troublesome Trip to Scotland in Europa League Draw

24 Jun

Almaty’s FC Kairat could face a gruelling 11,000 km roundtrip to Scotland after the draw was made for the Europa League qualifiers on 22 June.

If Kairat can overcome Serbia’s Red Star Belgrade over two legs, then a trip to the land of whisky and deep-fried Mars bars might be on the cards if St Johnstone can beat Armenia’s Aleshkert FC.

Kairat will be following in the footsteps of Shakhter Karagandy who made the trip to Scotland in 2013 to play Glasgow’s Celtic, only to lose 3-0. The result meant the miners lost 3-2 on aggregate. The defeat was blamed on UEFA’s ban on pre-match sheep sacrificing. Shakhter had slaughtered a shaggy black ram ahead of the first leg in Astana.

Almaty taxi driver and Kairat supporter, Samat, was confused when asked by kazaxia about the potential trip to Scotland. “Where’s that then?” he asked. “I’ve heard of England and Holland but what’s this Scotland?”

Many in Kazakhstan confuse what they refer to as the ‘lands’ – England, Holland, Scotland, Ireland, Finland, Poland, Iceland, Switzerland, Swaziland, Thailand and Greenland.

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Kazakhstan Decides

24 Apr

The presidential re-election reaches its climax on Sunday as Kazakhstan goes to the polls to elect its president for another five-year term. Kazaxia is pleased to present a who’s who for the upcoming vote.

In this election the voters have a choice between three candidates: The Leader, who is the incumbent, Sovieticus Redux, the communist and the Invisible Man, who is possibly standing on an environmental ticket.

An election information board in downtown Almaty, Kazakhstan with a poster for the Leader and the communist candidate

An election information board in downtown Almaty, Kazakhstan with a poster for the Leader and the communist candidate

1. The Leader, having led the country since 1989, is the red-hot favourite to romp home to victory in this three-horse race. This time round he is promising enduring stability as the only alternative to the chaos change would bring.

2. Sovieticus Redux is the Communist National Party of the People of Kazakhstan candidate. He has campaigned on an anti-Western materialism ticket. No doubt he drives a battered old Moskvitch rather than a Range Rover or Porsche, uses a Soviet-era telephone in place of an iPhone and wears a suit he bought in Moscow in 1974 – no Armani for him.

3. The Invisible Man has led a low-key campaign to the point of invisibility. It is believed that he has some concerns about the environment.

Here is Psychic Saiga’s prediction for the result:

1. The Leader +/- 97%

2. Sovieticus Redux +/- 2.5%

3. The Invisible Man +/- 0.5%

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Kazakhstan: Lear or Joffrey?

27 Feb

A major obstacle to presidential succession plans in Kazakhstan was removed this week with the suicide of Rakhat Aliyev.

With Aliyev, Kazakhstan’s Public Enemy Number One, found dead in his prison cell earlier this week in Austria, the way could now be clear for the president’s eldest daughter, Dariga Nazarbayeva, to ascend to the throne.

While Aliyev was still on the scene there were fears that Dariga’s psycho ex-husband, convicted in Kazakhstan of plotting to overthrow the government and organising a criminal group that abducted people, could somehow sneak into power on the back of his ex-wife.

A snap presidential poll has been called for April 26 in Kazakhstan, a vote which should see incumbent Nursultan Nazarbayev sweep back into power on a tide of mass popular support, but there’s one snag – the septuagenarian president, who was been running the show since 1989 in Kazakhstan, has not yet said whether he will be running.

kazaxia’s chief political commentator Gary Kafali has identified two possible scenarios should Nazarbayev decide to call it a day.

With Aliyev out of the way,  the president can hand over the reins to his daughter to safeguard the widespread interests of the Nazarbayev clan in Kazakhstan with no fears of his nemesis making an unwelcome appearance.

Kafali imagines a King Lear scenario where the leader of the nation divides his time between his three daughters with Dariga taking over the running of the country. However, Shakespeare fans will know that didn’t end well so it may not be the best for Kazakhstan.

The Joffrey scenario will see Nazarbayev by-pass his daughter and anoint his eldest grandson instead. Nurali Aliyev, son of Rakhat and Dariga, would be a guarantor of the clan’s interests, although there are fears that he may have inherited some of his father’s less pleasant genes. Game of Thrones fans will be wary of the young leader turning into a leader in the sadistic mould of Joffrey Baratheon.

When pressed, Kafali said that the most likely scenario is that president Nazarbayev will be unable to give up power and we should expect to see him back in charge come April 27.

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Zh Suis Gulzhan

23 Jan

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Kazaxia would like to express its support for freedom of expression in Kazakhstan in the spirit of Je suis Charlie .

Gulzhan Yergaliyeva, editor-in chief of the embattled ADAM bol magazine,was detained in Almaty this morning as she attempted to go to a public meeting with some of the magazine’s readers in Republic Square.

Yergaliyeva has been on hunger strike since 19 January in protest at a November court ruling ordering the closure of ADAM bol for engaging in alleged “extremist war propaganda“.

Other journalists from the magazine were also arrested en-route to the gathering, which attracted a handful of activists. The magazine is one of the last examples of that endangered species – the independent, opposition press, in Kazakhstan.

 

 

 

 

 

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Kazakhstan: On Your Bike

14 Nov

Almaty’s first bike share scheme has just got off the ground, but with winter just around the corner will Almaty’s answer to London’s Boris Bikes be a hit with commuters?

Almaty Bike Share Paul Bartlett

Almaty’s answer to London’s Boris Bikes – Akhmetzhan Bikes – by the city’s only cycle path

Almaty’s mayor, Akhmetzhan Yesimov, is keen to get his fellow citizens onto two wheels. The latest move in the uphill struggle to break the dependence on the jeep sees two bike stations opening in Almaty where bikes can be rented for short trips across town.

At the moment there are 30 bikes available under the scheme but the city mayor’s office hopes to eventually open up to 200 bike stations across the city. Rentals are 150 tenge ($0.85) a day (for trips up to 30 minutes at a time) or 600 tenge ($3.35) for the week.

A cycle lane opened in the city in 2010, but since then little has been done to make cycling more attractive to the masses. Almaty’s traffic-clogged streets see few cyclists braving the perilous conditions.

With fuel shortages gripping the country this year, bikes could be a way to ease the pressure on oil-rich Kazakhstan’s scarce petrol resources.

With more junk food set to arrive in the guise of McDonalds, set to open in Kazakhstan in 2015, a more determined push on getting people onto bikes may be needed to combat the looming obesity crisis when the burger joint opens its doors.

 

 

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Kazakhstan: Boozing Pigs Cause a Stir in Almaty

14 Nov

In a new bid to combat rampant alcoholism in Kazakhstan’s commercial capital, Almaty, the authorities have caused pig breeders and medical professionals to react angrily after billboards appeared likening alcohol-imbibers to pigs.

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Almaty authorities launched a public awareness campaign that sees an upright citizen metamorphose into a pig after hitting the bottle. The descent follows four stages with the final stage showing a pig lounging on an empty bottle of strong liquor.

A spokesperson for the Pavlodar International Gourmet Zavod (PIGZ), which was recently set-up to step into the breach left by Russia’s food sanctions on the EU junta, told kazaxia that it was wrong to compare pigs with alcoholism.

“Pigs are very intelligent – unlike humans they do not seek solace at the bottom of a bottle. It is wrong to slur our porcine friends with the curse of dipsomania,” commented the spokesperson.

Kazaxia’s resident medical expert, Dr Gött, also slammed the move to equate pigs and boozing.

“There is a good reason why many people choose to not eat pork – pigs are very clever. We don’t eat dolphins, do we? There is no way a pig would turn to the bottle.”

Dr Gött called for the posters to depict a different animal.

“ I personally think that dogs are a better analogy for what happens to people who drink too much. People who drink too much get over-excited and aggressive and start shouting irrationally; behaviour patterns that are more like dogs than pigs.”

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Kazakhstan: Adventures in Democracy

9 Oct

Lord Venal has been on the observation trail once again – here are his reflections from his recent trip to Kazakhstan to observe the Senate elections [Editor’s note: This was in an unofficial capacity as Lord Venal is barred from observer missions after last year’s vicious smear campaign orchestrated by the Azeri authorities]

Democracy is inching along in Kazakhstan with the free and fair elections to the country’s upper chamber, the Senate, paying testament to this.

“We have been witnesses to an open and democratic electoral process. We congratulate the people of Kazakhstan and the election organizers,” Kazakhstan’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC) told Spain’s EFE news agency, reported Fox News Latino.

The ruling Nur Otan party, loyal to the Leader of the Nation Nursultan Nazarbayev, swept the board gaining every seat in the new-look Senate.

Some 250 observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization were present for the vote on October 1.

Those party-poopers at The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe did not send observers due to the “indirect” nature of the elections, CEC Chairman Kuandyk Turgankolov said.

The Senate consists of 47 members – 15 are appointed by President Nazarbayev and the others are elected by the lower house, the Mazhilis, with 16 places up for grabs every three years. The senators serve a six-year term.

Could not the UK learn a lesson from Kazakhstan in these matters? The House of Lords, where I sit, is an unelected body. Maybe the Queen, as Head of State, could appoint some of its members with the rest selected by a vote in the House of Commons?

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Kokpar Scandal Rocks World Nomad Games

12 Sep

The first edition of the World Nomad Games, currently being held in Kyrgyzstan, have been rocked by scandal as Kazakhstan refused to send a team to compete in kokpar, the fast and furious horseback sport akin to polo but played with a headless goat carcass.

Its absence will be felt at these games as last September Kazakhstan became the first ever Asian champions of the sport when it defeated fierce rivals Kyrgyzstan 4-2 in the final held in Kazakhstan’s snazzy capital Astana.

kazaxia took to twitter to determine why Kazakhstan hadn’t sent a team to the games in Kyrgyzstan. One observer, Edil Baisalov, noted that the Kazakhs “insist on a different set of rules” which they claim were “adopted at the Asian championship in Astana last year”.

The other countries disagreed with this version of events, Baisalov added.

Kokpar,  better known as ‘buzkashi’ in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, is not a sport traditionally hidebound by rules.  In the past kokpar games were a free-for-all that could last for hours.

Now, seeking to appeal to a wider audience and the television market, there have been suggestions that the sport be regulated with two 45-minute halves and restrictions on team sizes.

The version played in Afghanistan has been suggested as an international model with rules developed by the Afghan Olympic Federation. These rules suggest that:

For championship Buzkashi in Kabul, teams are limited to ten riders each. Five players take the field during the first 45 minutes of play; the other five compete during the second period. A field master presides over the match and has the authority to prolong the game and grant permission for a change of riders or horses. The halftime break lasts for 15 minutes.

The World Nomad Games, being held in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, by the shores of Lake Issyk Kul, brings together competitors from countries with a nomadic tradition for a six-day festival of traditional sports. The games culminate on 14 September.

Besides kokpar, the sports include horse races, wrestling on horse back, contact sports based on wrestling, eagle hunting, and the more cerebral ordo, and toguz korgool, a board game related to mankala.  For more information on these sports, check out here.

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