Michael Coleman, in an article for the Washington Times, presents us with quite a lopsided view of Kazakhstan’s economic boom. Reading his anecdotes from Almaty, I bet this man has not left the centre of town to look at how poor people actually are a couple of stonethrows away.

These days in Almaty there is more than a whiff of optimism in the air. Well-dressed young men driving late-model Audis and Toyota Land Cruisers weave through traffic on their way to business meetings. Trendy coffee shops blast the latest techno music, and storefronts flaunt the latest international fashions.

Certainly true. There is something one could describe as a boom. Nevertheless, people in the suburbs are less enthused about the rapid change, as they simply don’t get any piece of the cake. And never mind the people living outside the more or less vibrant centres Almaty and Astana.

Although poverty levels are decreasing, there could have been much more progress.

Ah, as for the title of this post:

With five weeks remaining until the presidential election, incumbent Nursultan Nazarbayev and his top aides are jittery. They aren’t afraid of losing the Dec. 4 election; rather, they’re afraid of winning too big.

Just about everyone in this young democracy — including many in the opposition parties — predicts the popular president will prevail at the polls. But Mr. Nazarbayev and his advisers are worried about losing credibility on the world stage if the election is marred by fraud or irregularities.

Spot on, so why not rig the elections downwards then?