ASTANA – More than 400 representatives of government, nongovernmental and youth organisations, the Parliament of Kazakhstan, culture, sports and the Kazakhstan 2050 National Movement attended a recent ceremony to name the country’s Patriots of the Year.
The ceremony honours those who have achieved outstanding success in their profession: athletes, artists, scientists and civil society leaders. This year’s awardees include surgeon Bolatbek Baimakhanov, who introduced a surgical stroke treatment, as well as a treatment therapy for pathologies of cerebral vessels, and Damel Mektepbayeva, who is a winner of international competitions Global Impact Compitit, Startup Chile and Startup Mexico. Her project placed fifth in a recent competition in South Korea..
Police officer Ruslan Nurgozhayev also received the award for saving a man from a pit of hot water along with Ruslan Riskulov, who, while on vacation, helped get people to safety after a 15-metre high dam burst. Timur Zhukabayev, who saved the life of a soldier who accidently dropped a grenade while training in 2009, was also awarded the honour.
Among culture and sports representatives, the award was given to Nurlan Alimzhanov, a famous Kazakh singer and actor, as well as to weightlifter Zhasulan Kydyrbayev, who won a gold medal at the 2014 weightlifting world championships.