KZBlog

Kairat Smagulova, mayor of Priozersk, in Karagranda oblast has been fired for failing to provide heat to the people. On 3 Jan, a hot water heater that serves 67 homes and 34 businesses failed, leading to 11 days without heat.

Meanwhile in Semipalatinsk, where the temperture has fallen to -45 in recent days, one heater (installed in 1934!), failed. Official information from the akimat seems to indicate that only three hot water heaters serve the entire city of Semei. I should explain that most cities in Kazakhstan have centralized heating and hot water, meaning that hot water for radiators is heated centrally and sent out in pipes to homes and offices. It has been a long-acknowledged problem that much of the infrastructure of Kazakhstan was built by the Soviets and never upgraded or replaced. The causes are under investigation and city leadership has promised to build a new heater by the spring!

As of yet, there is no word that the leadership of Semipalatinsk will be punished. However many Kazakhstani are joking about the fact that the initiator of the referendum to extend the President’s term is the head of Semipalatinsk State University. One wonders why he isn’t pushing for a referendum to upgrade the heating infrastructure. The crisis might explain why the announcement of the referendum happened in Uralsk however!