Nikolai Anastasiev, a Literary Figure that Brought Together Kazakhstan, Russia and the United States, Dies in Moscow
Nikolai Anastasiev, a well-known Russian philologist whose scientific interests included Kazakh, American and Russian literature, died in Moscow at the age of 81 years. This news filled with sorrow the hearts of many literature lovers in three countries: Kazakhstan, Russia and the United States. Anastasiev was both a longtime professor of the most famous Russian…
The Year of Abai – Just One Big “Who Could Have Thought?” With a Happy End
The life of Abai Kunanbayev, the greatest poet of Kazakhstan, has never been easy. But only very few could have predicted what the coronavirus pandemic would do in the year 2020, which had been declared the year of Abai Kunanbayev in Kazakhstan. Some of the 500 cultural events scheduled for this year had to be…
Kazakhstan’s Independence Day: 29 Years Ago the World’s Countries Have Got a New Big Friend
Kazakhstan’s Independence Day, celebrated on December 16 to commemorate the fulfillment of the Kazakh people’s long-cherished dream of having an independent state, which happened on December 16, 1991, fills every heart in Kazakhstan with pride and joy now. Kazakhstan is the most economically successful country in Central Asia on the right track towards becoming one…
The Secret of Nazarbayev
How can Kazakhstan’s leader gain respect on both sides of this world’s many barricades? A good question to answer on the Day of the First President. On the Day of Kazakhstan’s First President political analysts, historians and just people with long memories, who remember what Kazakhstan has been through in the last 50 years –…
President Tokayev Addresses the SCO Summit: Emphasizes Collective Responses to Common Threats
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev chose the venue of the recent online summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) for making several important statements. This authoritative international body, which includes Kazakhstan, China, Russia, India, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, was created in 2001 and will soon celebrate its 20th birthday. The organization, which includes some of…
The Power of Context: Abai Kunanbayev’s Translations Made European Literature Accessible to the Kazakh People
This year is marked by the celebration of the 175th anniversary of Kazakh poet and writer Abai Kunanbayev. Kunanbayev went on to become the first Kazakh classic writer famous not only for his works, philosophical treatises and music, but also as a translator, who popularized the masterpieces of world literature for a general audience. He…
Why Biodiversity Became the Centrepiece of Kazakhstan’s Agenda at the UN: the Tragic and Hopeful Story of the Aral Sea
When Kazakhstan’s Head of State, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev addressed online the United Nations’ General Assembly from the city of Nur-Sultan deep in the Eurasian steppes, his choice of subject might have appeared Quixotic to his listeners in the world’s most futuristic city on the other side of the Atlantic. The President did not speak about…
Kazakh Foreign Minister Tileuberdi Receives Warm Welcome From Russian Counterpart in Moscow
MOSCOW – In the framework of the foreign ministers’ meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Kazakhstan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tileuberdi met the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov. In Moscow, Tileuberdi was met with a speech from his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, who stressed the significance of Kazakhstan as an…
Jari Kaukua: “Al-Farabi Was a Representative Of an Enlightened Islamic Thought, Which Played a Great Role in “Naturalization” of Ancient Greek Heritage In Eurasian World”
As Kazakhstan celebrates the Anniversary Year of its medieval philosopher Abu Nasr al-Farabi (870-950), born on the territory of modern Kazakhstan 1150 years ago, The Astana Times is publishes a series of articles and interviews with world-renowned scholars, which specialize on al-Farabi’s legacy. Our correspondent Dmitry Babich interviews Jari Kaukua, professor and post-doctoral fellow at…
The International Day Against Nuclear Tests – a Big Event for Kazakhstan, a Pioneer in Their Abolition
August 29 is the internationally celebrated International Day Against Nuclear Tests. It is highly symbolic that the establishment of this important annual event was initiated by Kazakhstan and the date of August 29 was chosen because it was on this day in 1991 Kazakhstan terminated nuclear tests on its soil and shut down the Soviet…
Respects for the Poet: Abai Kunanbayev is Lauded and Remembered in Moscow on his 175th Birthday
MOSCOW – Kazakstan’s Ambassador to Russia Yermek Kosherbayev paid his respect to the greatest Kazakh poet Abai Kunanbayev on the 175th anniversary of the Poet’s birth in the Semei region. His Excellency the Ambassador, diplomats of the mission and representatives of the Kazakh Cultural Autonomy in Moscow laid flowers to the monument of the Poet.…
Abai in Moscow – Open Air, Recitals and Songs
MOSCOW – Like many great writers, Abai Kunanbayev was remarkably modest about his literary works and their usefulness for mankind. Here is what he wrote in his “Words of Wisdom” – a collection of moralistic essays on life, wisdom and Kazakh nation: “Finally, I took that decision: I will be entertaining myself with paper and…
Nursultan Nazarbayev: a Look Back at the Life of Achievement from the World’s Top Leaders
The 80th birthday of the first President of Kazakhstan, the leader of the Kazakh nation (Elbasy) Nursultan Nazarbayev – this is a great opportunity to celebrate his achievement. An opportunity not just for the citizens of Kazakhstan, but also for leaders and citizens of foreign nations. The reasons are simple and obvious. During the last…
Abai – the Kazakh Variant of the Perfect Man
“It is hard to explain what the very name of Abai means to Kazakhs. His cultural significance can remotely be compared to the role which Leo Tolstoy’s work and personality played in Russia’s culture, especially since the two great men lived in the same historical epoch. But even that would not be enough. Because Abai…
Al-Farabi Unites East and West
How the life story of a philosopher born 1150 years ago on Kazakh soil became an inspiration for Kazakh patriots in the twentieth century. When Kazakhstan became independent in 1991, its leading university (Kazakh National University) was renamed in honour of the great medieval thinker with Kazakh roots – Abu Nasr Al-Farabi. This fact alone…
First President Nazarbayev Urges Nation and Global Community to Join Forces in Time of Trouble
May 1 is celebrated every year as the Day of National Unity in Kazakhstan. This time, as usual, the First President of independent Kazakhstan, the Leader of the Kazakh nation Nursultan Nazarbayev came out with a traditional congratulation message. But it was a special address, one tinged with concern over the Covid-19 pandemic and how…
