“We are not forced, we are ‘asked politely,’ explains Vladimir, a young teacher of English in a local gymnasium, “but I told them I am not going to play this game anymore.” The “game” Vladimir is referring to is the Kazakhstani and Oblast governments’ policy of requiring […]
Editor’s Note: What follows is part of a cross-blog survey that explores what Central Eurasia might look like fifteen years from now.
Aida Mansurova, 44, Almaty, December 2021
For neweurasia Kazakhstan
I was asked to write about myself for neweurasia Kazakhstan blog. It made me smile: blogs used to me very popular when I was young; now […]
Editor’s Note: This guest post is cross-posted at KZ Blog. What follows is part of a cross-blog survey that explores what Central Eurasia might look like fifteen years from now.
The akim of Semey woke up on Independence Day in 2021 in his newly finished residence. The bedroom was gilt in gold, with rich wallpaper […]
Editor’s Note: What follows is part of a cross-blog survey that explores what Central Eurasia might look like fifteen years from now.
May I please go back in time?
I don’t want this industrial world anymore.
Where
Everything
Is measured
In minutes
And Dollars.
Please let me go back in time
Where my ancestors were warriors;
Bareback on wild horses.
Where horses were spirits;
Spirits of […]
Elite Kazakhstanis celebrating on this Independence Day weekend may soon have more in common with their rich brethren in the United States. According to a Kazakhstani Embassy dispatch Snow Queen Vodka, the “best non-flavored vodka in the world” and product of Kazakhstan, is being rapidly introduced to the US market.
“Based on international demand, […]
Chilly Vegetarians by tienshan
Michael Steen of Reuters reported an odd happening on Almaty Square: two British animal rights campaigners wearing bikinis made of lettuce leaves urged people of Kazakhstan to stop eating horses and go vegetarian in a freezing -8 °C in Almaty.
Whereas Borat is ridiculing the country, we’re trying to come […]
Following up on the post about a new architectural landmark to be built in Astana, I stumbled across a website about city planning in the Kazakh capital - Kasachstan Projekt (GER). Taking into account that the relocation of the capital was probably one of the most ambitious city planning tasks in Asia, it’s an […]
Update 2: At The Registan, Joshua discusses the story as well and some readers reply.
Update: Check out the official development website, it has some flashy 3D-models and lists the exclusive pastimes that will be available in Astana from next year onwards.
neweurasia reported more than a year ago about Sir Norman Foster’s gig in […]
On December 5, the Novy Sin Gallery in Prague hosted a concert by Ridina Ahmedova, a 32-year-old Prague-born singer whose roots lie in Kazakhstan, far away from the Prague City Lights. Her website features downloadable tracks of her music, which I very much recommend listening to.
The candle-lit performance, Ahmedova’s magical voice and an […]
Sir Richard (”Dick”) Evans is to become the chairman of Samruk, Kazakhstan’s state holding company, reports The Guardian. Dick Evans is of somewhat dubious fame in the UK. He is the former chairman of British defence giant BAE Systems and is frequently being brought into connection with a running scandal involving an alleged £60m […]
