Articles by Dilshat Zhussupova

ASTANA – Astana’s new monument, the Peace Wall, was presented by President Nursultan Nazarbayev on the International Day against Nuclear Tests at the Aug. 29 opening ceremony. Situated between Independence Palace and the Kazakh National University of Arts and dedicated to the President’s anti-nuclear manifesto “The World. The 21st Century,” the monument is a gift…

ASTANA – Astana Garden School, a private non-profit high school and the first of its kind in Kazakhstan, prepares students as competitive candidates to top-ranking universities. In an interview with The Astana Times, chief executive officer of Central Asian Garden Schools management company and Astana Garden School founder Nurmukhammed Dossybayev shares his vision for education…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s 2019 population census will be conducted in electronic format rather than the usual paper-based method, reported Forbes.kz. Since its independence, Kazakhstan has conducted national censuses in 1999 and 2009. As the counts are completed at least once every ten years, the next tally is scheduled for November 2019. The online survey will…

ASTANA – Astana’s first knitting festival Brain Yoga of the 21st Century gathered professional and amateur knitters in the nation’s capital Aug. 16. Astana residents weathered rainy conditions to attend the event dedicated to their favourite pastime, reports Inform.kz. “With the support of the Astana Akimat (city administration), we had an opportunity to hold a…

ASTANA – In paying closer attention to technology trends and, perhaps, the sky, capital and Almaty residents may have noticed air services operating at an increasing pace. Aue Taxi, Kazakhstan’s first and only air taxi service, allows passengers to travel on demand in the comfort of a helicopter. Launched by Astana Business Aviation in 2014,…

ASTANA – Visitors young and old may now enjoy the comfortable and quirky surroundings of the newly-opened Park Chemodanov (Park of Suitcases) and Skver Ilyuzii (Square of Illusions) in the Saryarka district, reported Inform.kz. Construction began in May and the recreation zones opened in time for the capital’s 20th anniversary celebrations. “Given the way in…

ASTANA – Astana Opera’s fifth season coincided this summer with the capital’s 20th anniversary, and world opera and ballet masterpieces filled the halls of Kazakhstan’s largest opera house. The theatrical season saw 126,217 visitors. Grand premieres included operas (Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” Giacomo Puccini’s “Turandot” and Mukan Tulebayev’s “Birzhan – Sara”), Adolphe Adam’s ballet “Le Corsaire,”…

ASTANA – Vatra, the capital-based Ukrainian cultural centre founded in 1993, has contributed toward the educational and cultural development of Kazakhstan’s ethnic Ukrainian community. It is among 26 such Ukrainian centres in the country. According to Kazakhstan’s 2009 population census, approximately 333,000 Ukrainians resided in the country, composing 2 percent of the total population. The…

ASTANA – Diana Kudaibergenova, a Cambridge University PhD graduate and Lund University postdoctoral fellow, is a political and cultural sociologist studying the ways in which contemporary art serves as an alternative platform for discussion in Central Asia, reports voicesoncentralasia.org. She authored “Rewriting the Nation in Modern Kazakh literature” and her upcoming book centres on the…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s second privatisation wave is 77.4 percent complete. As of July 1, results show 502 of 887 state-owned enterprises were put up for sale and 421 sold for 216 billion tenge (US$620.24 million). Fifteen of 63 top-ranking resources of the 2016-2020 Comprehensive Privatisation Plan were sold for 110.5 billion tenge (US$317.3 million), including…

ASTANA – Arman Suleimenov, one of Kazakhstan’s 100 New Faces, is a leading information technology (IT) specialist. He is the founder and CEO of mobile app studio Zero To One Labs and educational programme nFactorial Incubator, where numerous products have been launched and mobile app developers trained. Suleimenov’s background reflects his commitment to theory and…

ASTANA – Capital bus passengers are now wielding transport cards. Differentiated fares and new enter-and-exit rules began operating July 21. For urban routes, the non-cash fare is 90 tenge (US$0.26); cash fare, 180 tenge (US$0.52). The non-cash fare for express routes is 180 tenge (US$0.52); the cash fare, 250 tenge (US$0.72). For suburban routes, the…

ASTANA – A ski jumping complex recently opened at Burabai Ski Resort in Shchuchinsk, the country’s traditional location for ski training. The 125-hectare facility, at an altitude of 400 metres above sea level, is one of the few of its kind in the world. It features biathlon tracks, a stadium, shooting range and indoor sports…

ASTANA – Kazakh comic books will be produced and published to introduce school students to the basics of physics as part of a collaboration between Shakhmardan Yessenov Scientific and Educational Foundation and Khan Comics. Until recently, Kazakh comics were predominantly produced and consumed for entertainment purposes. Yessenov Foundation, established in 2013, seeks to change that.…

ASTANA — Digitisation is occurring at an increasing pace across the world to improve labour productivity. These gains may result not only from rendering old processes more efficient, but also from inventing new business processes and even entirely new businesses. Digital transformation allows creating new ways of working and reimagining our established business models, a…

ASTANA – Kazakh headwear company Elegant creates tailor-made hats from velvet, felt, leather, furs and straw, employing high-quality raw materials and innovative technology. In addition to producing uniforms for the military, industrial enterprises, medical institutions and commercial firms, their unique and fashion-forward designs satisfy the most demanding customers. Director and founder Bakyt Alimbekova is seeking…

ASTANA – Thousands of people attended the July 21 funeral services in Almaty of late Kazakh figure skating medallist Denis Ten. The services were held two days after he was fatally stabbed in Almaty at age 25. Ten’s 2013 World Championships silver medal and 2014 Sochi Olympics bronze medal were the first for Kazakhstan in…

ASTANA – Kazakh figure skating medallist Denis Ten died at age 25 after being stabbed in Almaty July 19. Ten died at the hospital following an attack by two unknown men attempting to steal his car mirrors at the intersection of the Kurmangazy and Baiseitova streets. At the emergency room, he endured significant blood loss…

ASTANA – The number of children in Kazakh orphanages has decreased 40 percent in the last five years, as 4,445 children have been returned to their biological families. Approximately 6,000 remain in orphanages, leading to the reorganisation and closure of 50 facilities. Of Kazakhstan’s five million children, approximately 26,000 are orphans and without parental care.…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s second privatisation wave is more than 75 percent complete. Results from the first half of 2018 show that 502 out of 887 state-owned enterprises were put up for sale and 421 of them were sold for a total of 216 billion tenge (US$630.25 million). Another 266 facilities are at the reorganisation and…