Articles by Julia Rutz

Officials Support Breeding of Tazy Hunting Dogs

More than 150 dogs from eight regions were inspected for their hunting merits on Sept. 22 in the Malaya Timofeevka village near Astana. The inspection was  organised by the Kansonar National Association of Hunters together with the Association of National Kazakh Sports. According to the organisers, Tazy breed standards were approved by the Kazakhstan Ministry…

Condition of Kazakhstan Dams to be Monitored in 2015

A screening process to monitor the condition of Kazakh dams will start in 2015 after the Ministry of Agriculture receives applicable declarations from the owners. The decision was made after dams in Kyzylagash and Kokpekti were washed out this year. According to Vice Chairman of the Committee for Water Recourses of the Ministry of Agriculture…

Cambridge Professor Suggests Cooperation on Seismology Programme

Almaty Akim (Mayor) Akhmetzhan Yessimov met with renowned scientist, professor of the Department of Earth Science and head of Bullard laboratories at the University of Cambridge James Jackson on Sept. 3 to discuss cooperation between Kazakhstan and British scientists on seismology. “We would like to work with local scientists on analysing earthquakes. Apart from traditional…

Open Air Classical Music Festival Marks Almaty City Day

ALMATY –  Almaty residents and visitors will be able to enjoy live classical music from Sept. 9 to Sept. 11 during the fifth Open Air Music Festival. The festival’s Orchestra Parade will be held on the stage of the Shabyt Central Park Amphitheatre as part of the Almaty City Day celebrations. The Orchestra Parade has…

Kazakhstan Participates in First World Nomad Games

The First World Nomad Games will kick off Sept. 9 at the Cholpon-Ata hippodrome on the Issyk Kul lake shorein Kyrgyzstan. Teams from 12 countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), as well as  Lithuania, Turkey and Brazil are expected to compete in various nomadic types of sport, such as kok bory, kyresh, alysh,…

Progress Continues on Plans to Build Kenderli Resort in Mangystau

A cooperation agreement on the construction of Kenderli in the Mangystau region was signed between the Samruk Kazyna National Welfare Fund and the Rixos Group on Aug. 20 during negotiations organised by the Kazakhstan Ministry for Investment and Development.  Plans and financing to build two hotels (four and five stars), an aquapark and several cottages…

Bicycle Race Commemorates Constitution Day, 100th Anniversary of Local Cycling

ASTANA – Local cyclists participated in a bicycle race organised Aug. 24 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Kazakh cycling and celebrate the Aug. 30 Constitution Day. The starting point of the race was the Saltanat Saray Wedding Palace. More than 2,000 cyclists joined the Sunday race, among them Mayor Imangali Tasmaganbetov, Olympic champion Alexandr…

Street Workout Site Opens in Almaty Central Park

ALMATY – A new street workout site sponsored by the World Class Fitness Clubs chain opened Aug. 22 in Central Parkhere. The first visitors have already tried the exercise and workout equipment. According to Max Team captain Valentin Labezki, the rubber coating is one of the main advantages of the new street workout complex. “Because…

National Geographic Silk Road Exhibition Returns to Kazakhstan

Along Shokan Ualikhanov’s Caravan Track, an educational expedition organised by the National Geographic Society and dedicated to the 180th anniversary of the scholar’s birth,  came back to Kazakhstan on Aug. 6. National Geographic Society representatives, as well as Ordenbek Mazbayev, a professor at Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Smailzhan Iminov, a researcher of Ualikhanov’s expeditions, a…

Almaty Prepares to Celebrate City Day

Almaty City Day is a day in name only. Though it is technically celebrated on the third Sunday of September, city residents and visitors will be celebrating their city throughout the month of September. This year, the holiday programme will be opened by the Fifth Arbat Fest International Festival of Contemporary Art. The festival will…

Kostanai Designer Gains Attention during Paris Fashion Week

Designer Svetlana Kushnerova presented her new collection during the recent Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week 2014.  “I still cannot believe I was invited by the Federation Francaise de la Couture to become a part of Paris Fashion Week. It is complicated to gain acceptance from French designers, as they used to think only they could…

After 13 Years, New Wedding Palace to be Built in Astana

ASTANA – A new wedding palace will emerge in Astana soon as part of the Zhastar  Palace, said the administrator of the Zhastar reconstruction programme and director of the Nurli Astana Corporate Fund, Sharmerden Zhanbosinov. “Zhastar Palace is going to be reconstructed. The name of the complex will remain the same, but it will become…

Turkish Tourism Industry Representatives Provide Training in Astana

ASTANA – Representatives of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism came to Astana to train 86 local hotel industry workers, who earned international certificates by the end of the programme.  The training was organised as part of the city’s preparation for international exposition EXPO 2017. According to Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Industry…

Six-Year-Old Almaty Dancer Wins Austrian Contest

S ix-year-old Almaty dancer Sofie Manasyan won two prizes at the Constellation of Vienna: Music, Harmony, Art international festival, a celebration of children’s and youth creativity, which took place in Vienna from June 28 to July 3. The young dancer received an award in the choreography category and was also given a special prize, The Golden…

100 Wind Power Generators to Be Constructed as Part of Expo 2017

One-hundred wind-powered generators are planned to be constructed around Astana in preparation for EXPO 2017, reported Chairman of  the Board of Directors of Central Asian Fuel and Energy Company Alexandr Klebanov in a speech to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on July 3. “We want to erect 100 wind [power] generators with a total power of…

Petroleum Industry Cluster to be Created in Kazakhstan

Petroleum industry development in Kazakhstan was discussed during the July 3 Congress of the National Petroleum Industry in Aktau. Among the items addressed at the congress was expected government supportfor petroleum and gas production and refining, petroleum and gas chemistry, mechanic engineering and branch services in the Atyrau, Mangistau and WestKazakhstan regions. The support is…

Kazakhstan Launches Website in Effort to Host 2022 Winter Olympic Games

National Olympic Committee (NOC) SecretaryGeneral Timur Dosymbetov unveiled on July 3 the official website for Kazakhstan’s effort to win the right to host the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Almaty. The website is meant to make people aware of the Games and its facilities, should Almaty win in its bid. It includes location…

New National Defence University Campus Opens in Astana

ASTANA – The opening ceremony, attended by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, of the new National Defence Universitycampus was held July 3 in Astana. The National Defence University is the only higher education institution in Central Asia that prepares military staff for strategic, operational-strategic and prestrategic tactical control. The university offers master and Ph.D. programmes in…

Kazakh-Turkish Cooperation in Metrology to be Extended this Year

Representatives from the Technical Regulation and Metrology (measurements) Committee of the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of Kazakhstan, the Kazakhstan Metrology Institute (KazInMetr), the Kazakhstan Standardisation and Certification Institute (KazInSt), the Kazatomprom Joint Stock Company and the Ulba Metallurgical Plant visited the Turkish metrology institute, Tübitak Ume, in Gebse, Turkey on June 11 to…

Production of Toyota Off-Road Vehicles to Begin in Kostanai

The first Toyota car factory in Kazakhstan – and the first Toyota assembly platform in Central Asia – will soon begin producing Fortuners, one of Toyota’s off-road vehicles, in a full-cycle assembly plant in Kostanai. The factory was launched with a gala party on June 11 attended by Minister of Regional Development Bolat Zhamishev, Kazakh…

Young Pavlodar Accordionist Astounds Moscow Public With Vivaldi’s Winter

Fourteen-year-old accordionist from Pavlodar Olzhas Nurlanov participated in the 11thMoscow Meets Friends international festival for young musicians in the Russian capital from May 26 to June 5. Nurlanov, a recent graduate of Pavlodar’s music school for talented children, performed Vivaldi’s violin concerto “Winter,” from his “Four Seasons,” for the Moscow audience. Festival organisers say the…

Spartacus Ballet Premieres at Astana Opera

Astana Opera has premiered Aram Hatchaturyan’s Spartacus ballet on June 6, 8 and 10. The audience saw a new version of the ballet by Russian choreographer Juriy Grigorovich and scene designer Simon Virsladze. The ballet’s storyline follows the slave uprising led by Spartacus against the Romans known as the Third Servile War. Among the most…

Blend of Ethnic Musical Traditions Slated for Spirit of Tengri Festival

The Spirit of Tengri modern ethnic music festival will take place June 7 in Almaty,  welcoming music lovers with an impressive programme this year, said project Producer Zhan Kasteyev. The show will begin at 5 pm on the square in front of the Palace of the Republic. This year’s show gathers not only locals like…

French Company To Design New Gondola Lift for Almaty Park

A new gondola lift is to be built in Almaty towards the famous Koktobe park by the French company POMA, with construction beginning this September. Up-to-date cabs for 10 seats will be delivered to Almaty by spring 2015. The memorandum between the French enterprise and Koktobe’s management was signed on May 28. Koktobe’s lift was…

Children across Kazakhstan Celebrate Their Special Day

Children’s Day was celebrated in Kazakhstan on June 1 and around 500 events for more than 3 million children were held around the country over the weekend, reported the press service of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Education and Science. The holiday programme included activities and competitions, concerts and festivals for children and teenagers. School No. 32…