KZBlog

I wrote a bit earlier about prices of meat and food products in Kazakhstan. However, a lot of less necessary products are already more expensive in Kazakhstan than in the US, and getting more expensive.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that although things have improved slightly, there are still two classes of goods in Kazakhstan, quality but expensive or cheap but low quality. Things like furniture, cars, TVs, even bath vanities and other hardware are either ridiculously overpriced or badly made. The development of a middle-class consumer market, where things are reasonably priced but reasonably good quality, has a long way to go.

I was particularly struck by this when helping a friend who is moving back to the US do some shopping online. Decent flat screen TVs in the US cost under $1000, whereas in Kazakhstan they start at $1000. You can find nice new cars in the US for $15-20000, whereas anything in Kazakhstan under $20000 is going to have some kind of flaws. This even extends to entertainment: you can eat out at a canteen or cafe for a 1000 tenge or go to an elite restaurant and drop $100 without effort.

And while I don’t know which is cause and which is effect, the division between classes is very visible in Astana. While many of my well-paid friends dine out regularly, a dear friend of mine who has lived in Tselingrad all his life didn’t even know there was a row of restaurants on Turan Street. More troubling, the lower class feels that not only are the simple pleasures of life not for them, but also a good education and a decent job are out of their reach. I doubt we will see a revolution any time soon, but disturbing markers like a high rate of teen suicide and criminality are doubtless outcomes of the hopelessness of a large sector of the population.

I don’t know what steps need to be taken or what role the Customs Union might play in making Russian and Ukrainian goods cheaper (not to mention foreign goods made in those countries), but it will be interesting to see how the middle class develops.