Book about Chokan Valikhanov Presented in Moscow
ASTANA – “ChokanValikhanov,” a book by ZharylkapBeysenbaiuly about the Kazakh scholar, ethnographer and historian, was presented Dec. 14 at the Russian Geographical Society (RGS) headquarters in Moscow, reported FK News. The volume, supplemented by new historical and archival documents, contains important findings concerning unknown facts from Valikhanov’s life and era, according to the agency. Society…
Turkic-Style City to be Constructed in Kazakhstan
ASTANA – Plans are underway to construct “New Kyzylorda,” a Turkic-style city on the left bank of the SyrDarya River, reported Tengrinews with reference to the Kyzylorda Akimat (regional administration) press service. The design was presented to local and foreign investors attending the Baikonur Invest Forum held Dec. 14-15 in Kyzylorda. The author of the…
Kazakhstan Temir Zholy Touts Achievements in Effort to Make Country Regional Transportation Hub
ASTANA – Kazakhstan Temir Zholy National Company (KTZ) President Askar Mamin said the company will create about 16,000 new jobs within the Nurly Zhol programme, that it will launch the production of Tulpar-Talgo wagons in 2016 and that it plans to export 200 Talgo passenger railcars to Iran. “The head of state set the task…
Kazakh Woman Ranks Second at World Bodybuilding Championship
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Ulpan Nurbekova won silver at the World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Federation (WBPF) World Championship, Vesti.kz reported Dec. 10. Competitions were held in Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok. It was just the fourth appearance onstage for Nurbekova. There were 16 participants in her category. Nurbekova beat a Hungarian athlete but fell to a…
Baigazin’s “Over the City” Film Project Receives Hubert Bals Fund Grant
ASTANA – The “Over the City” film project directed by Emir Baigazin received a prestigious grant amounting to 10,000 euros from the Hubert Bals Dutch fund. The grant is allocated for the support of promising film projects at the initial stage of production, the Kazinform information agency reported Dec. 4. “Over the City” became one…
Samruk Kazyna Top Management to Be Reduced by Nearly Half as Fund Undergoes Transformation
ASTANA – The top management of the Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund will shrink from 16 to 9 managing directors as part of its transformation process, Chair of the Samruk Kazyna Board Umirzak Shukeyev announced Dec. 8 at the congress dedicated to transformation of the state-owned fund, its website reported. While presenting the new functional…
Airport for Tourists Flying to Alakol Lake to Be Built in Usharal, Says Official
ASTANA – The Kazakh government plans to build an airport in the town of Usharal in the Alakol District of the Almaty Region in south-eastern Kazakhstan to accommodate tourists flying to the shores of Alakol Lake, Akim (Governor) of the Almaty region Amandyk Batalov said recently. “According to instructions from the head of state, we…
Astana Architecture and City Building Management Chief Highlights Capital’s Plan for ‘Harmonious’ Architectural Development
ASTANA – Head of the city’s Architecture and City Building Management Vitaliy Siletskiy recently discussed the capital’s development plans and new projects. Among those under consideration are public, residential, social and cultural objects on the west side of Khan Shatyr Mall and east of Millennium Alley, public purpose mini-areas facing Orynbor Avenue and the new…
Style, Fabrics and Client Approach Winning Kazakh Fashion Brand Loyalty
ASTANA – The unique style and convenience of Kazakh fashion brands, particularly Salta, may be the reason local women make up the list of their loyal clients, some as fans and others as friends. An individual and friendly approach, sizes adapted for Kazakh figures and fabrics for the country’s weather, simple yet distinguished looks and…
President Takes Relaxed Tone in Annual State of Nation Address
ASTANA – During the annual State of the Nation address held Nov. 30 at the capital’s Palace of Independence, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev spoke and acted as an encouraging father figure, explaining complex notions in plain language and referring to life experiences. According to the head of state, for the past few years the nation…
EBRD Launches Women in Business Programme in Kazakhstan at Eurasian Women’s Summit in Astana
ASTANA – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) officially launched its Women in Business programme in Kazakhstan at the Eurasian Women’s Summit (EWS) held Nov. 25 in the capital’s Palace of Independence. Co-funded by the EBRD and the government of Kazakhstan, the programme is the first of its kind in Central Asia, a…
Volunteering Culture Develops in Kazakhstan, Regulations under Consideration to Help Efforts
ASTANA – Although volunteering was not a concept familiar to Kazakh people in the past, the majority of individuals interviewed for this story agree the idea of donating one’s time is growing and spreading. However, regulations in terms of ensuring the safety of volunteers in dangerous working conditions and providing motivational support in the form…
Petrol Prices to Remain Steady Despite Rising Excise Taxes, Minister Says
ASTANA – Kazakh Minister of National Economy Yerbolat Dossayev reassured residents that the increase in excise taxes for petroleum products will not cause a surge in petrol prices. The hike in excise rates will be assumed by wholesalers and the additional profit obtained by rising gasoline prices will be transferred to the country’s budget, reported…
Almaty Tech Garden CEO Shares Prospects for Kazakh Startups at TechConnect Forum
ASTANA – Almaty Tech Garden CEO Sanzhar Kettebekov shared the prospects for developing Kazakh startup projects Nov. 12 during TechConnect Astana, the first major tech forum in Central Asia. The event was held at the capital’s Palace of Independence and President Nursultan Nazarbayev sent an address to the participants. “This forum is a platform to…
Astana’s Citylove Does What It Does Best and Encourages All Do the Same
ASTANA – When The Astana Times covered the city’s live music scene in its previous issue, the band Citylove stood out. Compared to the average Kazakh or Russian pop or other mainstream music that heavily dominates the country’s music industry, it topped the charts for its rock and roll, folk, country and soul music. One…
Expats Say Enjoy Hospitality, Expanding Choices in Kazakhstan, List Language, Prices as Challenges
ASTANA – Kazakhstan was recently ranked 59th out of 64 countries for expat destinations this year, one place ahead of Russia and one behind Italy, according to the Expat Insider 2015 rating on InterNations, an online expat community. Ecuador, Mexico and Malta were the top three countries on the list, while Nigeria, Greece and Kuwait…
Live Music in Astana Finds its Audience
ASTANA – Live music should be “tasty,” says one the city’s most loved, versatile musicians. Numerous creative live bands and solo performers enjoy playing and singing both what they like and what their audiences like at the capital’s most lively venues, such as Line Brew, Gentry Pub, Irish Pub and Corner 57. The Astana-based Rodina…
Domestic Adoption Remains Viable Option in Kazakhstan
ASTANA – Americans adopted more than 6,000 Kazakh orphans from 1999-2011, according to a December 2013 article in Vox Populi. Kazakhstan recently imposed a moratorium on U.S. adoptions, however, after foster parents gave away two of the youngsters to a ranch for kids. Statistics for the period showed the rate of adoption by Kazakh citizens…
French Envoy Calls for Joint Global Effort against Climate Change
ASTANA – French Ambassador Bérengère Quincy spoke extensively about the upcoming 21st United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21) during her Oct. 19-22 visit to Kazakhstan. She had a number of consultations with Kazakh experts about the meeting, to be held Nov. 30-Dec. 11 in Paris, and presented a lecture Oct. 21 at KAZGUU University.…
Kazakh, Foreign Designers Present Spring-Summer Collections at Kazakh Fashion Week
ASTANA – Kazakh, Georgian, Russian, Uzbek, Ukrainian and French designers and brand owners presented their 2016 spring-summer collections to capital residents during Kazakhstan Fashion Week (KFW), held Oct. 19-20 at Rixos President Astana. The week, billed under “Fashion as an Art,” began at the Abilkhan Kasteyev State Museum of Arts in Almaty with the presentation…
Russian Mountaineer from Kazakhstan Portrayed in ‘Everest’ Film
ASTANA – Anatoli Boukreyev, a professional Russian mountaineer from Almaty, Kazakhstan, was the lead climbing guide for the 1996 Mountain Madness expedition to Mount Everest and became widely known for saving climbers during the disaster on the world’s tallest peak. He is portrayed by Icelandic actor Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson in “Everest,” the recently-released film directed…
Kazakh Car Growth Rate Is Ahead of That of Population
ASTANA – Figures show there are 252 cars for every 1,000 people in Kazakhstan. The data was compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers and made public by the company’s Kazakhstan Director of Consultancy Services in automotive and logistic fields Shalkar Nurtleuov during the third Mechanical Engineers of Kazakhstan forum in Astana. “The pool of automobiles in Kazakhstan makes up…
Kazakhstan Becomes Major Supplier of Uranium to U.S., Production Set to Grow Further
ASTANA – Kazakhstan became the leading supplier of uranium last year for the 100 nuclear power reactors operating in the United States, providing 5,443 tonnes (12 million pounds) of the 24,176 tonnes (53.3 million pounds) purchased by reactor owners and operators, according to an Oct. 5 report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The…
Historical Buildings of the New Capital
ASTANA – The history of the capital city of Kazakhstan is revealed through some of the old buildings quietly standing on the busiest streets and avenues of Astana’s old half. The former trading company of Matvey Kubrin, mansions of merchants like Vasiliy Kubrin and Moiseyev, a school for Muslim youth and the Church of Konstantin…
Kazakhstan’s Children’s Philharmonic Opens Season with ‘Kambak Shal’
ASTANA – The first season of Kazakhstan’s Children’s Philharmonic opened with the children’s opera “Kambak Shal” at Astana Congress Hall Oct. 1. Kazakh composer Zholan Dastenov wrote the opera in 1979. His son Aliaskar Dastenov attended the premiere and rehearsals of the opera. The opera was first staged by the Abai Opera and Ballet Theatre…
