Articles by Rufiya Ospanova

EXPO 2017 Prepares Regional Travel Offers for Visitors

ASTANA – Travel itineraries for the guests of EXPO 2017 will be ready by the end of this year, announced Deputy Chairman of the Astana EXPO 2017 National Company Vera Kobalia at the recent opening of the Kazakh pavilion for EXPO 2015 in Milano, Italy.  “We believe that it is necessary to offer specific tours…

Unique Exhibition Showcases Works of Central Asian Artists

SINGAPORE – “New Silk Roads: Painting Beyond Borders,” the first exhibition of Central Asian artists, was showcased April 21 in Icon Gallery here. The event was organised by ENE Central Asian Arts with the support of the Kazakh Embassy in Singapore and Lassale Singapore University of Art. The exhibition showed 37 works, including those of…

Astana Piano Festival Supports Young Musicians

ASTANA – The third international classical music festival and young pianist contest directed by Denis Matsuev, a world-famous musician and People’s Artist of Russia, will take place from April 24 to May 2. The contest will begin with the semi-finalists because the first qualifying round has already taken place via video. Participants will perform a…

Kazakhstan’s Largest Int’l Tourism Fair to Celebrate 15th Year in April

ASTANA – The Kazakhstan International Travel Fair (KITF), the largest tourism forum in Kazakhstan, is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. Celebrations will take place from April 22-24 at the Atakent Kazakhstan Centre of Business Cooperation in Almaty, the organisers announced. Tourism is seen as a priority industry and indicator of sustained economic development everywhere…

Samruk Kazyna’s Campaign to Celebrate 70th Anniversary of World War II Victory

ASTANA – The national Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund has allocated about 600 million tenge (US$3.3 million) to implement an action plan and campaign to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the victory in World War II. The programme includes creation of a unified information online platform containing the history of the war, contribution of the…

New Law Introduces Easing of Controls for Businesses

ASTANA – Deputy chairpersons of the Kazakh National Chamber of Entrepreneurs (NCE) Gulnar Kurbanbayeva and Nurzhan Altayev explained the key novelties of the law, amendments and additions to certain legislative acts to improve the business environment in Kazakhstan during a Jan. 16 media briefing in the Central Communications Services (CCS). The law, as well as…

KazPost Issues New Stamps Designed by Orphans

ASTANA – A new series of postage stamps designed by orphans to be used by Kazakhstan’s postal service were unveiled on Jan. 14 during a ceremony at the Children’s House orphanage. The four stamps titled “Paintings of Children,” which were produced under the subject heading “Heroes of Kazakh Fairy Tales,” were unveiled by the Committee…

Kazakh Volleyball Paralympians Win Bronze in Germany

The Atyrau Paralympic wheelchair volleyball team won bronze at a Dec. 1 international tournament in Germany and player-coach Bauyrzhan Takhauov was voted captain of the team. The Atyrau Paralympians, a wheelchair volleyball team, took part in the traditional tournament, the Cup of Leipzig. Teams including winners of the Paralympic Games, World and Asian Championships, Egypt’s…

Housing Programme Construction to Start in 2015

ASTANA – Construction for Affordable Housing 2020, the national housing programme, will begin Jan. 1, First Deputy Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev announced at a Nov. 20 meeting of the National Coalition of Democratic Forces “Kazakhstan 2050.” “We are now working on a new mechanism for the sale of houses and the corresponding changes to the…

Kazakhstan, China to Jointly Operate Dostyk Hydraulic Power System

ASTANA – At a Nov. 6 meeting of the Senate (the upper chamber of parliament) chaired by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the chamber ratified an agreement between Kazakhstan and China on the management and operation of the joint combined Dostyk Water Systems on the Khorgos River. Kazakhstan and China will create a joint service responsible for operating…

Shabyt International Festival Awards Creative Youth

ASTANA – At a Nov. 8 press conference and Shabyt gala concert for the 17th International Festival of Creative Youth held in the Palace of Peace and Accord, the names of the winners of the international festival were announced. During the competition’s five days, 495 participants showed their skills and competed for the title of…

Kazakhstan, UNDP & Coca-Cola to Increase Rural Access to Safe Drinking Water

ASTANA – Earth is our Home, the programme for Kazakh water resources management, was launched on Oct. 8. As part of this project, international organisations represented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kazakhstan and the Coca-Cola Company, with the support of the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture, made a commitment to assist in addressing…

Mereili Otbasy Competition Names Winners

ASTANA – President Nursultan Nazarbayev congratulated the winners and finalists of the Mereilі Otbasy (Happy Family) national contest on Sept 19. The Bimakhambetovs from South Kazakhstan were named best family. The Bimakhambetovs are a large family of eight children, 33 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. The President presented the winners the keys to a domestically produced…

MADE IN ASTANA Exhibition Showcased in Kulanshi

ASTANA – Kulanshi, the Centre for Contemporary Art, opened its annual exhibition “MADE IN ASTANA” Sept. 11 with the participation of 28 young artists and the support of the city’s department of culture. The purpose of the project is to popularise the creativity of young Kazakh artists. According to a summer creative competition, the youth…

Bordeaux Star to Play Romeo in Astana Opera Production

ASTANA – Sergey Prokofiev’s ballet, “Romeo and Juliet” will be presented to the metropolitan audience on Sept. 19 with the star of the National Opera of Bordeaux, France, Roman Mikhalev playing Romeo. Kazakh star and leading soloist Madina Basbayeva, who will play the role of Juliet, was choreographed by Charles Jude. The ballet will be…

New Railway Lines Will Connect North-South, East-West

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev launched two new rail lines, Zhezkazgan-Beyneu and Arkalyk-Shubarkol, at an Aug. 22 event held on the central square of Zhezkazgan. A teleconference with the main stations in  the Kostanai, Kyzylorda, Aktobe, Mangistau and Karaganda regions was also held and station management gave readiness reports. Congratulating all people of Kazakhstan, the…

‘Van Gogh Alive’ Showcased in Almaty

ALMATY – The interactive exhibition “Van Gogh Alive” opened in early August in the Dostyk Plaza Shopping and Entertainment Centre in the Grande Exhibitions Hall. Paintings by the famous artist Vincent Van Gogh are represented with the latest technology and the help of the 40-projector system Sensory 4to create a multi-screen show. This exhibition presents…

Astana Exhibition Depicts Horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

ASTANA – The “Memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki” exhibition, which depicts the devastation of those atomic bombings and is dedicated to 23rd anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in eastern Kazakhstan, opened here on Aug. 6. “It is a great honour for us to hold the exhibition in Kazakhstan, because the…

‘Road to School’ Programme Aids Vulnerable Children

The “Road to School” campaign to provide support for schoolchildren from low-income families and orphans in the Pavlodar region began on Aug. 1 and will continue until Sept. 30. This year’s campaign is being conducted under the heading “Give the Good to Children” and is expected to provide a total of 86.6 million tenge (US$475,668)…

Kazakhstan’s ‘Best Family’ to be Announced in September

ASTANA – The “best family of Kazakhstan” within the competition Mereilі Otbasywill be determined Sept. 12, announced Makhabbat Bekbossynova, chairwoman of the National Commission for Women, Family and Demographic Policy under the President, at a recent Central Communications Service (CCS) media briefing. “The regional round of the competition took place May 23. It identified the…

Kazakhstan Improves Position in Global Innovation Index

In comparison to 2013, Kazakhstan improved its position by five points in the Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking, reported the press service of the Economic Research Institute of the Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning. “According to the 2014 survey, Kazakhstan took 79th position, improving its position by five points compared to last year. On…

16th Astana Day Marked with Days of Events, Launch of New Facilities

ASTANA – The nation’s capital celebrated Astana Day on July 6 with several days of festivals and concerts by world renowned and national singers and bands, including Akon, A’STUDIO, Mezzoforte, Level 42 and many others. The event is held annually to celebrate Astana as Kazakhstan’s capital. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev gave a speech during this…

Nazarbayev Briefed on Industrial Innovation Progress, Launches New SPAIID Projects

ASTANA – The government presented its report, “New Industrialisation of Kazakhstan: Results of Half Year of 2014,” to President Nursultan Nazarbayev at a July 2 event. Before the meeting, the head of state visited the exhibition of the same name located in the newly built Norman Foster-designed futuristic Nazarbayev Centre which hosts the Library of…

Football Tournament Helps Orphans Pursue their Dreams

ALMATY – Towards a Dream, the second nationalfootball championship among orphans heldJune 17-20, provided an opportunity foreight teams from all regions of Kazakhstan to fight for the main prize – a trip to Milan. Football teams from Astana, Almaty, Karaganda, Pavlodar, Aktobe, Taraz, Kostanai and Semey met inthe city’scentral stadium. The opening ceremony of the…

Young Graphic Designer Brings Kazakh Culture to England

ALMATY – Almost every fashionista has arenowned Leather Satchelin her closet, as thepopularity of the bags is really high.Stylish and comfortable satchelsare equally chosen by both men and women, because books, documents and even laptopscan easily fit in them, and their appearance allows picking up a variety of looks that are topical now. Leather Satchel…