Tag Archives: Gulnara Karimova

Here Comes Central Asia’s Supergroup?

19 Oct

This clip of Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov revealing his talent on the guitar, spotted by EurasiaNet, got Kazaxia thinking about other musical  members of Central Asia’s ruling families and the supergroup they could create if they were to get together.

Uzbekistan’s royal family has its very own pop star in residence, Gulnara Karimova, or to use her stage name GooGoosha, eldest daughter of President Islam Karimov. She could duet with part-time opera diva, Dariga Nazarbayeva, daughter of Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, while Berdy strums away in the background.

It’s not clear what Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan’s ruling families could bring to the mix. Perhaps the Kyrgyz could supply the security, with their extensive recent experience of upheaval.  Maybe Tajikistan could carry the hat around the audience with all proceeds going to the Rogun dam project.

 

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GooGoosha’s Uzbek Pussy Riot Moment?

9 Aug

While western rock stars have been queueing up to come out in support of Russian punk collective Pussy Riot, Uzbekistan’s diva supreme, Gulnara Karimova, or GooGoosha to her fans, has allegedly come out in support of a cause close to her heart  – money laundering.

Sketchy reports are coming in from Uzbekistan – the land of smoke and mirrors,  that GooGoosha, the eldest daughter of Uzbek president Islam Karimov, was behind a recent protest in Tashkent that targetted the Swiss consulate after two Coca-Cola Uzbekistan executives were arrested in Switzerland for alleged money laundering.

Madonna comes out in support of Pussy Riot

It’s possible that GooGoosha was motivated by musicians such as Sting and Madonna coming out in support of Pussy Riot, currently on trial for insulting Orthodox Christians and getting up Putin’s nose. But it seems she didn’t follow in Madonna’s steps as there were no reports of GooGoosha donning a balaclava.

It was just as well that GooGoosha’s protest was held on a Saturday, when the consulate was closed, as the Tashkent rumour mill hinted that there were plans to invade the building and smother the consulate’s cuckoo clocks in a mixture of fondue and melted chocolate, which would have caused havoc for the time-conscious Swiss.

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Sting Proves Astana Party Pooper

4 Jul

It looks like  Sting has taken Kazaxia’s advice, as the veteran British rocker pulled out of his planned concert in Astana, Kazakhstan amid concerns over human rights abuses in the country. He came under pressure from Amnesty International to cancel his show scheduled for 4 July because of the

repression and crackdown against oil workers, their union leaders, their legal representatives and of the human rights NGOs working with them

Sting got into trouble for playing a concert in Uzbekistan for Gulnara Karimova in 2009. Now he seems to have rediscovered his conscience and is once again positioning himself as the great human rights defender.

Earlier in the tour a date in Minsk, Belarus was cancelled, allegedly because of concerns over the economic situation in the country. Surely Lukashenko’s regime is much worse that the relatively benign one in Kazakhstan so it’s strange that Astana is taking the flak over its human rights’ record, whereas Belarus escaped criticism from Amnesty International.

The gig was to have been a central plank of the celebrations for the anniversary of the day Astana became Kazakhstan’s capital, 6 July, which also happens to be the birthday of Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The Leader of the Nation is likely to be not very amused at this latest turn of events and heads could well roll in Astana. His birthday treats have a tendency to fall flat – in 2008 the birthday boy looked on stony-faced as a somewhat tired and emotional looking  Whitney Houston stumbled around the stage.

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Sting hits Kazakhstan

2 Jul

Sting will be returning to Central Asia for a concert on 4July in Astana for the first time since he was stung by a fierce UK press reaction following his concert for Gulnara Karimova in Uzbekistan in 2009.

The concert is part of the ageing rocker’s world tour, called Symphonicity and is timed to coincide with the ongoing celebrations for President Nazarbayev’s birhtday, sorry I meant the anniversary of Astana becoming the capital of Kazakhstan on 6 July.

In honour of the occasion, Kazaxia has penned a little ditty to be sung to the tune of that old Police standard, Roxanne.

‘Oh Sting, you don’t have to play for dictators,
your money’s made now, you’re a billionaire,

Oh Sting, why you wanna sing for dictators,
those days are over, why should you care?’

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Kazakhstan: Almaty Jewellery Wars Hot Up

15 Jun

Chopard face off with Alsara in central Almaty

The battle of high-end jewellery designers – Aliya Nazarbayeva and Gulnara Karimova – is hotting up as Chopard, the Swiss company working with Gulnara, placed a billboard directly opposite one advertising Aliya’s Alsara brand on the junction of Abylay Khan and Kurmangazy streets in the centre of Almaty.

As reported on Kazaxia in April, the youngest daughter of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev launched her exclusive jewellery collection through the auspices of Italian company Damiani. This made her the second Central Asian president’s daughter to enter the world of jewellery design, following in the footsteps of Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov’s eldest daughter, who launched her Guli collection in collaboration with Chopard in 2009.

Aliya’s posters feature her glamorous visage beaming down from the billboard at the teeming masses of motorists sitting in Almaty’s notorious traffic jams. One could not accuse Ms Nazarbayeva of modesty, as another billboard stands at the entrance to the Luxor fitness centre. She is rumoured to own the luxurious facility which is said to have been inspired by a visit to the fabled city in Egypt.

Still no word on Aliya shadowing Gulnara – also known by her stage name of Googoosha – into the world of music. Maybe she’s leaving that to her opera-singing elder sister Dariga, who has often performed on Kazakhstan’s stages and further afield, including Moscow.

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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?

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