Kazakh Viners Gain Popularity, 15 Seconds at a Time
ASTANA – During the last year or a so new social media trend has caught on among Kazakh users – viners. Viners are people who make funny short videos about everyday life and their creations called vines. They have managed not only become really popular, they monetised their interest. Nobody expected Instagram to become so…
All You Have to Do Is Love the Game, Say Kazakh Live Commentators
ASTANA – The voice of the commentator is an inseparable part of watching sport today. Be it football, hockey or the Olympics, the commentator guides millions of people through the whole event, giving statistics and facts and explaining what is happening on their screens. Sports commentator Diyas Omarov, often called a commentating legend in Kazakhstan,…
Astana Food and Fashion Festival to Welcome Visitors Aug. 27-28
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s capital will host the Astana Food and Fashion Festival noon-8 p.m. Aug. 27-28, in Arai Park, according to the city akimat (administration). The event is dedicated to the upcoming Constitution Day. “This year two big projects, Astana Food Festival and Pop Up Shop Astana, are collaborating and the theme is Food meets…
New Public Display Being Prepared at East Kazakhstan’s Valley of Kings
ASTANA – Archaeologists have been working on excavations of the so-called Valley of the Kings in Katonkaragai district of East Kazakhstan region for many years. Yet only this year is mound number two of the Berel mounds being prepared for museum display, according to YK-news.kz. “We have been conducting excavations in the Valley of the…
Kazakhstan Takes Steps Toward Paper Production Using Hemp
ASTANA – Hemp can be used in paper production, which will lead to a significant decline in its price, said Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Dariga Nazarbayeva at an Aug. 8 meeting, according to pm.kz. The event was dedicated to the scientific research of chemically cleaning hemp from narcotic substances for its use in industrial and…
ATOM Project Calls for Moment of Silence on August 29, 25th Anniversary of Closure of Nuclear Test Site
ASTANA – The ATOM Project (Abolish Testing: Our Mission) is calling for a moment of silence on August 29, the UN International Day against Nuclear Tests, to honour all victims of nuclear weapons testing. On this day Kazakhstan and the international community will mark the 25th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test…
Homemade Preserves Keep Their Place on Pantry Shelves
ASTANA – As the winter gets closer, many housewives in Kazakhstan start making preserves with vegetables and berries. Pickled vegetables and homemade jams became part of traditional cuisine many years ago. “It is a great pleasure to open a jar of pickled vegetables, which has vitamins and the smell of fresh vegetables, during a cold…
Capital’s Hotel Scene Develops, Awaits for EXPO Tourists
ASTANA – EXPO 2017 organisers announced recently that 24 hotels and four hostels will be constructed to accommodate visitors for next year’s three months long event. “We have worked hard to ensure that they will have places to stay. Now, there are about 30,000 hotel rooms; in addition 5,000 more rooms will be introduced by…
Kazakhstan Temir Zholy Starts Final Stage of Transformation Programme
ASTANA – Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the national railway company, announced the start of projects within the business transformation programme for 2016-2019 and its plans to finish establishing a national infrastructure operator by the end of 2017 during special July 29 information day, according to company’s press release. The transformation is divided into several stages.…
Shymkent Couple Wins 2016 Super Sprint Triathlon Astana
ASTANA – Around 200 people took part in the Super Sprint Triathlon Astana 2016 in the capital’s Central Park on July 31, according to the akimat’s (city administration) press service. Married couple from Shymkent Aleksander and Anastasiya Avtushko won both in men and women categories. The tournament included three parts – 350 metres swimming in…
H&M to Enter Kazakh Market in 2017
ASTANA – H&M, or Hennes&Mauritz AB, Swedish retail clothing company, plans to open its first store in Kazakhstan, along with Iceland, in 2017, according to Reuters. Presumably the new stores will open in autumn of next year. The cities, locations and their number are yet to be announced. Earlier in the beginning of the year,…
Canoeing and Kayaking Attract Astana’s Children
ASTANA – Less than a month remains until the Summer Olympics in Rio. While not many know that rowing sports are developing in the Kazakh capital, the nation’s canoeing and kayaking athletes Zoya Ananchenko, Inna Klinova and Sergey Tokarnitsky will participate in the Games. The athletes are currently in Belarus, where they are training jointly…
Dutch Ambassador Sees Long Term Cooperation in Energy, Agriculture, Space Observation
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s real natural resource to depend on in the future is its atmosphere of tolerance, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Kazakhstan Hans Driesser told The Astana Times in a July 7 interview. His country shares some experiences with Kazakhstan, and has achieved the same atmosphere, he said. “For centuries, our two countries have…
Kazakh Street Artist Draws Attention to Social and Environmental Issues
ASTANA – Kazakh social networks exploded in June from the reposts, comments and likes for a video posted by Kazakh street artist Pasha Cas. The video presents his new work, “This is Silence,” the young man’s manifesto. “This is Silence” is a giant reproduction of Edvard Munch’s “Scream” series character on one of the objects…
Beibit Ystybayev Wins Kazakhstan Barysy Tournament
ASTANA – Beibit Ystybayev won the National Tournament of the “Kazakh Kures” or Kazakh wrestling called “Kazakhstan Barysy” for the third time on July 3 at the capital’s Saryarka Velodrome. He won not only the Taituyak gold trophy, but also 25 million tenge (US$74,326) and an apartment in Astana. In the final, he defeated Zhumanazar…
Kazakhstan Jumps Seven Positions on Social Progress Index
ASTANA – Kazakhstan placed 76th in the 2016 Social Progress Index, improving its position from last year’s 83rd position. The country remains in the lower middle tier, according to Social Progress Imperative website. The Social Progress Index measures the extent to which countries provide for the social and environmental needs of their population. The index…
Astana Celebrates 18th Birthday with a Week of Arts, Sport, Craft Shows
ASTANA – This year, the capital of Kazakhstan celebrated its 18th birthday. The official holiday is July 6, but the city celebrated for more than a week. Guests and residents could join the party by attending any of the numerous events throughout the city. “A capital reflects the life of a particular state, concentrating everything…
Fitch Ratings Affirms KazMunayGas at ‘BBB’ with Stable Outlook
ASTANA – International rating agency Fitch Ratings has affirmed National Company KazMunayGas’s (NC KMG) Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘BBB’ with a Stable Outlook, according to a June 30 press release. “We rate National Company KazMunayGas on a top-down basis one notch below Kazakhstan (BBB/Stable), reflecting its strong links to the Kazakh state.…
Kazakh Director’s Film to Be Shown at International Film Festival in Peru
ASTANA – “The Plague at the Karatas Village,” a Kazakh film directed by Adilkhan Yerzhanov, will be shown at the Lima Independiente International Film Festival in Peru. The festival will finish on July 9. “It is not surprising that this year they have chosen ‘The Plague at the Karatas Village,’ to participate in the main…
Slovakia and Kazakhstan Defended Own Development Models, Says Ambassador Juza
ASTANA – Divided by almost 4,000 kilometres, Kazakhstan and Slovakia are each located in the heart of their regions. Both young, former members of big unions, the countries keep fighting for their independent names. In an exclusive interview with The Astana Times, Slovak Ambassador Peter Juza highlighted the main aspects of cooperation between the nations…
Kazakhstan’s Judicial Reforms on the Right Track, South Korean Chief Justice Says
ASTANA – Heads of the Supreme Courts of South Korea and Kazakhstan discussed reforms, cooperation and exchanging experience in a meeting June 24 in Astana. Chief Justice of South Korea Yang Sung-tae and Chairman of Kazakhstan’s Supreme Court Kairat Mami presented information on the development of the judicial systems in their countries. Mami talked about…
Zerenda: Place to Enjoy Nature
ASTANA – For city residents who want to escape the urban setting for a weekend or visit a quiet place with picturesque nature, Zerenda can be a great choice. Located only 300 kilometres from the capital, the village is often called “mini-Borovoye” for its scenic views, or as people say, “more calm.” The easiest way…
Astana, Almaty Host International Day of Yoga Celebrations
ASTANA – The Embassy of India in Astana organised special events to celebratethe second International Day of Yoga in Astana and Almaty on June 19. Karaganda is expecting the event on June 26. In the capital the celebration was in front of the Baiterek monument with the participation of 425 people. It started with a…
Reshuffle in Kazakhstan: New Head of Presidential Administration, Mazhilis Speaker, Minister of Investment and Development, and Astana Mayor
ASTANA – The Presidential Administration will have a new chief and Astana a new mayor and following a June 21 presidential decree on these and other personnel changes in the national and local government. Former Akim (mayor) of Astana Adilbek Dzhaksybekov will now head the Presidential Administration;former head of the Presidential Administration Nurlan Nigmatullin is…
Kazakh Foreign Ministry Presents ‘Kazakhstan – Land of the Great Steppe’ App
ASTANA – A new digital application “Kazakhstan – Land of the Great Steppe” was presented June 20 by Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs Erlan Idrissov during his public briefing. The app serves as a digital encyclopaedia of Kazakhstan, covering a wide range of topics, such as the country’s geography, history, society, culture, government, international relations,…
