Kyrgyzstan: Diary of an Election Observer

31 Oct

Kazaxia is honoured once again to link up with Lord Venal as he returned to the region to observe Kyrgyzstan’s presidential election on 30 October.

Greetings from Bishkek, a pleasant little city with a smattering of good bars and restaurants. I’m staying in the centrally-located Hyatt hotel which gives me a chance to explore the city and meet some of the electorate in person.

I had been warned in advance about rising anti-foreigner sentiment in the country, but I am pleased to report that my experiences with the Kyrgyz were all positive. I found the hotel staff to be most helpful and friendly. In Metro bar I saw that the locals, especially young women, were going out of their way to interact with foreigners of all ages in a most friendly manner.

On election day itself I unfortunately missed the early start as I was feeling a bit under the weather after the Halloween shindig in Metro. However, I made up for it later in the day and visited a few voting locations in Bishkek. The polling stations were doing a brisk trade by late afternoon.

The election was quite an open affair with 16 candidates vying for the top job – this was the first election in Central Asia where the result was not a foregone conclusion. The voters I spoke to had either voted for Almazbek Atambayev, the frontrunner, or an unfancied candidate called Protiv Vsekh.

The presents on offer in the polling stations were not as good as those in Kazakhstan, but still I came away with a very fetching Kyrgyz hat and some bottles of vintage Kyrgyz congac. Fortunately, I had brought my rose-tinted specs with me from my visit to Kazakhstan in April.

I spent the evening with my new buddy, Boris, a first-time observer from Washington DC. Boris is finishing up his doctoral thesis ‘Incipient Manasism in the post-Soviet Kyrgyz Space’, a most interesting topic which he described to me at length over a few bottles of the local blackcurrant wine he’d brought back from his visit to Osh.

The result when it came took us both a little by surprise as the victor, Almazbek Atambayev had only managed to amass a paltry 63% of the vote. In my previous experiences of observing elections in this part of the world, this was quite a poor result as 80% + is the norm for wannabe presidents.

This result means that there will be no run-off, which is a shame as there are a few more restaurants I would have liked to have checked out with Boris this time round, such as Smokie’s Bar B-Q and the Obama Bar and Grill, as the next election is not until 2017, but such is the life of an election observer.

Editor’s note: Lord Venal’s observation mission was funded by the Centre for Reporting and Analysing Politics

Tags: , , , ,

Kazakhstan: A short walk in the Ile-Alatau National Park

30 Oct

Kazaxia took advantage of some fine autumn weather last week to visit the Ile-Alatau National Nature Park to see how the people of Almaty like to commune with nature. The park is a short drive from the centre of the city and is popular with day-trippers.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The foothills of the Tien Shan mountain range are still showing the ravages of a devastating storm in May which trashed loads of trees, providing rich pickings forKazakhstan’s lumberjacks, who are currently engaged in clearing the damage up.

The park is ostensibly a protected zone where building is not allowed, but this hasn’t stopped some bigwigs from commandeering a prime slice of the park for their own compound of four sizeable wooden mansions. The walled compound stands opposite the dilapidated housing of the Park Rangers making for a stark contrast of how the two halves live in Kazakhstan.

Sometimes, guards man the barriers at the park entrance to extort an ‘entrance fee’ to the park. Seeing the rubbish strewn all around the park, you can’t help but wonder what happens to all the park fees the guards collect.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Kazakhstan: WordPress still blocked

29 Oct

Kazaxia has been experiencing some problems posting in recent weeks because the WordPress platform continues to be sporadically blocked in Kazakhstan.

WordPress was blocked by ISPs in Kazakhstan earlier this year following a court ruling targeting two websites.  Access can be gained sometimes via Megaline, but WordPress remains blocked to AlmaTV subscribers.

Now here’s the good news – WordPress is not blocked in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan. Kazaxia is in Bishkek for the presidential elections so normal service can – temporarily – be resumed.

Look out for Lord Venal’s take on the elections in Kyrgyzstan later this week when he has had some time to collect his thoughts after a busy observation schedule.

Tags: , , ,

Kazakhstan: Building boom on Astana’s right bank

13 Oct

Kazakhstan’s snazzy new capital Astana is starting to spread its tentacles into the decaying  Soviet-era heartland on the right bank of the River Ishim as the building boom, which stalled a few years ago, seems to be taking off once again.

A last remnant of Astana's rapidly disappearing old town

While intense  efforts were focused on President Nazarbayev’s dream city on the left bank of the River Ishim, the old Tsarist buildings and Soviet blocks of Tselinograd, as was, were mostly left untouched after a rash of government buildings were put up in the late 90s in the old town.

Now all that is changing rapidly.  With land prices picking up once again, the developers have started clearing away swathes of one-storey houses which were once formed the outskirts of Tselinograd.

The tumbledown low-rise houses with their blue shutters and leafy gardens are rapidly being replaced by hulking skyscrapers that dwarf even the Soviet blocks.

The emerging face of Astana's right bank

It was only a matter of time before the village-like district, complete with stand pipes for water,  was consigned to history. In the brave new world of Astana  there’s no room for sentiment when there’s pots of money to be made.

Tags: , , , , ,

Kazakhstan holds Austria

12 Oct

Kazakhstan pressure Austria with a rare corner at the Astana Arena

Kazakhstan ended its Euro 2012 qualification campaign on a relative high-note as it held Austria to a 0-0 draw in Astana on 11 October. Coming on the back of a 4-1 thrashing in Belgium, Kazakhstan did well to keep a clean sheet against the Austrians who were fresh from beating Azerbaijan 4-1 in Baku.

New boss Miroslav Beranek can take heart from the team’s performance as it nearly snatched victory over a lacklustre Austria. The Kazakhs came closest to scoring with a header from Sergei Ostapenko that hit the crossbar in the 74th minute.

Kazakhstan still finished 3 points adrift of Azerbaijan at the bottom of group A. Attention now turns to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, although Kazakhstan face an uphill task as it is paired once again with Germany and Austria. With Sweden and Ireland also in the group, Kazakhstan’s best hope may be to overhaul the Faroe Islands and avoid the wooden spoon.

Tags: , , , ,

Kazakhstan: The vexed question of language

8 Oct

There’s not too many issues that can get the people of Kazakhstan hot under the collar – the threat of Chinese expansion is one that springs to mind, another is the use of right-hand drive cars – but one sure-fire issue that can guarantee a good turnout at a rally is the vexed question of language.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Kazakh, the state and official language, still struggles to claim a dominant role in the country, with Russian still in widespread use in many spheres.

Last Sunday, October 2, around 1500 people turned up in warm, sunny conditions to protest in favour of the Kazakh language, with some calling for a clause in the constitution that gives Russian equal status for use in state bodies to be dropped.

The usual suspects were out in force from the world of nationalist politics and literature. Two hours of speeches ensued broken up by some poetry and performance by a boy-band. The age profile of the demo was predominantly the over 50s with a few families hanging around. Slavic features were conspicuous by their absence in the crowd.

Maybe if the organisers want to get their message to a wider audience, instead of speechifying from the stage they should try some new approaches. How about a rap competition in Kazkah or a poetry slam to appeal to young people? Piles of Kazakh language newspapers were scattered about for people to take home but what about some DVDs or books for kids – the next generation which can ensure the survival of Kazakh.

Refreshments were also absent from the proceedings – another missed opportunity – the crowd could have been fed with baursaki – fried dough balls – swilled down with kymys – fermented mares’ milk – provided it was ordered in Kazakh!

Tags: , , , , , ,

Thunderbird flying in to Kazakhstan?

30 Sep

When Kazaxia spotted this intriguing headline ‘Thunderbird expands to Kazakhstan‘, it immediately invoked distant memories of teenage parties and getting hammered on the notorious American drink Thunderbird. Described politely as ‘a low-end fortified wine’ this noxious mix of chemicals was well-known as a quick fire route to oblivion.

A bottle of Thunderbird in its natural setting (image taken from bumwine.com)

It was with interest that Kazaxia clicked on to the link to the headline – was this really an attempt by E&J Gallo Winery, the makers of this interesting drinking experience, to break the stranglehold of vodka and cheap port wine as the drink of choice for Kazakhstan’s down and outs?

Alas for Central Asia’s winos, it was not to be as this Thunderbird turned out to be merely a management training company. Or maybe not …

The bumwine website describes Thunderbird wine as

If your taste buds are shot, and you need to get trashed with a quickness, then “T-bird” is the drink for you.  Or, if you like to smell your hand after pumping gas, look no further than Thunderbird.  As you drink on, the bird soars higher while you sink lower.  

Kazaxia contacted Lord Venal on the subject of Thunderbird and he waxed lyrical about his misspent youth spent on park benches drinking the wino’s favourite tipple.

I vaguely remember climbing out of the window of my boarding school and making for the village shop where I’d buy a bottle of Thunderbird and proceed to get well and truly ratarsed.

recalled the sometime election observer.

When my eye started twitching, I decided it was time to call it a day and moved on to more respectable tipples.

The good lord expressed surprise that it was actually a training organisation and wondered whether it would be interested in funding a trip to monitor the upcoming elections in Kyrgyzstan, maybe in a tie-up with the E&J Gallo Winery?


Tags: , , , ,

Kazakhstan’s rock-aid for Afghanistan

29 Sep

Almaty-based rockers Eklektika are to fly the flag for Kazakhstan in Kabul at Sound Central, the first international rock festival to be held in Afghanistan, a country that does not normally spring to mind as a hotbed of rock music.

The festival brings together bands from Afghanistan and Central Asia, including District Unknown and Kabul Dreams from Afghanistan and Uzbekistan’s Tears of the Sun, for what is being described by the organisers as the world’s first ‘stealth concert’.

The highlight of the festival, a gala concert, is planned for early October but the location is being kept under wraps because of security concerns. Ticket-holders will be informed of the venue a few hours beforehand by text message or email according to festival organiser Travis Beard of Kabul-based group White City.

Eklektika represented its home country in London in 2010 at the Global Battle of the Bands. Click here to hear a sample of this band’s music, described on its website as ’emotional guitar music’.

Tags: , , , ,

Kazakhstan: Zharkent’s wooden mosque

26 Sep

The main entrance to the mosque

The town of Zharkent is the last outpost of any size on the road from Almaty to the Chinese border crossing, Khorgos.  A sleepy backwater in the heart of farming country, Zharkent has one remarkable building – a wooden mosque built in the nineteenth century by a Chinese architect.

The elaborate, Chinese-style decoration of the mosque

The mosque was constructed without the use of nails and has withstood earthquakes and the attentions of the Soviets. The mosque has a gateway reminiscent of the deliacte structures that adorn religious buildings in Kashgar and other parts of Central Asia.

The mosque's central tower with Russian-influenced windows

Inside the courtyard, the mosque itself is a riot of colour with the Chinese influence of architect Hon Pik allowed to run wild. The windows add a Russian-feel. All-in-all it’s a stunning fusion of Central Asian, Chinese and Russian influences.

Night falls on the mosque

Tags: , , ,

Kazakhstan: On the road to China

22 Sep

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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.

Tags: , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →