Articles by Lyubov Dobrota

ASTANA – The animated film “Otyrardy Korgau” (“Defence of Otrar”) was presented in the South Kazakhstan region in early March under the Ruhani Janghyru (Modernisation of Kazakhstan’s Identity) programme. “The film is aimed not only at small viewers. The presentation of the cartoon, held in the South Kazakhstan regional Opera and Ballet Theatre, showed that…

KENTAU – The government is going to finance Kentau from the national and regional budgets to the amount of 9 billion tenge (US$27.1 million) this year. The funds will help solve several social and economic problems, create new jobs and improve standards of living and well-being of its habitants. Akim (Governor) of the South Kazakhstan…

SHYMKENT – An exhibition centre housing artefacts from archaeological sites in the region, including important early written texts, has been opened at the South Kazakhstan State Pedagogical Institute. The new permanent exhibition aims to promote the history and cultural heritage of the Kazakhs among the public and visitors to the city as well as students.…

Students from Shymkent Aliya Tugelbai and Bakbergen Saparov were recognised among participants from 35 countries during the recent 18th To Save and To Reserve International Ecological Festival in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia for animated cartoons they created to help save the endangered saiga antelope. Tugelbai’s 3.5-minute “A White Saiga”and Saparov’s 2.5-minute “A Lame Saiga” animations both took…

SHYMKENT – The ancient city of Turkestan has great potential for the development of tourism which is not currently being used to the fullest. Akim (mayor) Bakhytzhan Ashirbekov told about measures taken by local authorities for the development of the tourist cluster. According to Ashirbekov, the infrastructure and standards form the base to develop tourism,…

SHYMKENT – The expedition of the Kazakhstan Central State Museum, led for two months on the Kultobe site by Professor Alexander Podushkin, Doctor of Historical Sciences, collected rich material about the ancient state of Kangyui (Kantszyuy) recently. The archaeologists worked on the scientific programme “Archaeological and written records of the Kangyui state” that existed from…

SOUTH-KAZAKHSTAN REGION – Nurlan Kuralov, director of Amankeldi LLP, plans to grow one million trees on his 420 hectares of gardens and vineyards with the use of intensive technology. The South Kazakhstan region is betting on the development of intensive gardening, combining the efforts of farmers, local authorities and the state – which has the…

SOUTH KAZAKHSTAN REGION – Agriculture is one of Kazakhstan’s priority economic sectors for the coming decades. General Director of the Kazakh Scientific Research Institute of Cotton Growing Ibadullah Umbetayev discussed the industry’s problems and prospects. The head of state has put special emphasis on the development of drought-tolerant, genetically modified crops. What is your vision…

SOUTH KAZAKHSTAN REGION – Lovers of guitar poetry from Kazakhstan, Russia and Uzbekistan gathered recently in the south of Kazakhstan for the South Wind 2014 festival. The event was organised by the regional Department of Tourism Association Centre for Tourism Industry of the South Kazakhstan Region, the regional Slavic ethno-cultural centre, with the support of…

SOUTH KAZAKHSTAN REGION – Gazprom Neft and the Committee of Roads of the Kazakhstan Ministry of Transport and Communications recently signed a memorandum of cooperation to facilitate the production of quality bituminous materials using advanced technologies. The new production will meet modern Kazakh, Russian and international industry, industrial safety and environmental standards. The memorandum opened…

SHYMKENT – Young Kazakh singer Margarita Kin has won the Bach’s Spring International Festival Contest held in Magnitogorsk, Russia. In two rounds of competition, Kin performed the aria from Bach’s oratorio “St. Matthew Passion” and Adele’s couplets from the operetta “Die Fledermaus,” by Johann Strauss, winning over the jury headed by Luz Leskovitz, artistic director…

SHYMKENT – “Everything is possible” is the motto of design engineer Alexander Kushner of the Kazmedpribor company, which produces medical devices. In his seven years at the company, Kushner has been involved in the development of 300 kinds of medical products. Lately, he has been working on equipment that solves problems for doctors and patients.…

SHYMKENT – The secret to success in business is dedication and optimism, believes Shymkent businesswoman Ardakzhan Zhakenova. Zhakenova was the head of the department of English Philology at Mukhtar Auezov South Kazakhstan State University in the mid-1990s. While trying to establish cooperation with higher institutions and schools, she noticed there were not many English learning…

SHYMKENT – A first-of-its-kind carpet factory recently opened in Shymkent. “I like working here; it feels as if you are in a carpet gallery. At lunchtime, I sometimes walk around…

SOUTH KAZAKHSTAN – A dance theatre, Turkestan Concert Hall and a new drama theatre building will be opened in the South Kazakhstan Oblast this year in response to President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s call to give new impetus to the development of Kazakh culture. Head of the regional department of culture Kuliya Aidarbekova elaborated upon cultural revival…

SHYMKENT – Residents and visitors to southern Kazakhstan now have the opportunity to soar over the region in a hot air balloon. Local businessman Akhmet Daulenbaev is now offering the service for 1,000 tenge (US$6.4) in a balloon he assembled from components ordered from Russia and France. Opening the service is a fulfillment of a…

TURKESTAN – In Turkestan’s new centre of arts and crafts near the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yassawi, visitors can see the process of making traditional handicrafts as well as buy them. The centre consists of three blocks, each with its own purpose. There are workshops, two exhibition halls and classrooms on the first floor, as…

SHYMKENT – A newly completed inventory of reservoirs and canals in southern Kazakhstan is helping authorities recalculate water facilities, assess their status and identify dams that badly need reconstruction and overhauling. It will also give each district an idea of its new potential for irrigated agriculture. Regional authorities are planning to use all their available…

SHYMKENT – Zhupar Beisenova, a teacher at the Kasteyev College of Art in Shymkent, has expanded the possibilities of felt in making souvenirs and functional items that can still make a statement. Necklaces and earrings, bracelets and bags, slippers and umbrellas, scarves and cases for mobile phones, all made from felt, bring the material’s unique…

SHYMKENT – The country’s first polypropylene sheet and plastic product factory has opened in Shymkent. “Our new innovative factory has broad sheet material production capabilities,” director of SouthRegionPlast Mikhail Fedosov said. Modular floating platforms assembled at the plant, which can serve as passages across rivers, leisure floats, piers or jetties are able to withstand water…

SHYMKENT – The sharp drop in water levels at the Shardara Reservoir, about 200 kilometres south-west from Shymkent, has had one benefit: it has led to the discovery of the remnants of an ancient settlement under the dried-up parts of the lake. Local residents and fishermen first spotted the grass-covered hill, which the low water…

SHYMKENT – Two musicians from the Sugir Orchestra of Kazakh Folk Instruments toured the United States recently as part of the Golden Gates programme. Aida Zhurmanova (kobyz) and Nurbol Aliyev (dombra) took part in a 40-day tour across the United States along with musicians from Georgia and Russia. The Golden Gates project was initiated 10…

SHYMKENT – To alleviate overcrowding in South Kazakhstan’s schools, 17.9 billion tenge ($117 million) was allocated for the construction of 88 new educational institutions in the region last year, according to Albina Elshieva, head of the regional department of education. 50 of the new facilities were put into operation in 2012. This year, 19.6 billion…

SHYMKENT – South Kazakhstan businessman Timur Sarsenbayev intends to grow truffles in South Kazakhstan. The precious mushrooms require special conditions, which Sarsenbayev believes exist in the region’s Tulkubas district. According to KazGidroMet meteorological specialists, the climate of Tulkubas district is perfect for the truffle business. Soil pH levels range from 7 to 7.2, optimal for…

SOUTH-KAZAKHSTAN REGION – An archaeological expedition of the Central State Museum has discovered a rare burial site dating back to the second century B.C. on the banks of the Arys River. Excavations along the Arys River, which have been in process for several years, have unearthed artefacts. Scientists now concur that there was a settlement…