KZBlog is going down (2)
After some thought, I have decided not to renew KZBLog’s lease. As you may have noticed, I don’t do a lot of posting here anymore. I don’t have time to blog regularly. Thus I am taking the site down–it does generate some ad revenue but not as much as it costs to keep it up. […]
Culture
- Yurts Are High Fashion and Slum Fashion Too
2011-12-05 - Apples, Sure. But THC is from Kazakhstan too?
2011-10-05 - Naked Man Pot
2011-09-23
- Yurts Are High Fashion and Slum Fashion Too
Resources
- Oh, CNN
2012-07-21 - What Do You Know About Kazakhstan?
2012-07-19 - Books for Kazakh Students
2011-11-06
- Oh, CNN
Politics
- Image
2011-07-28 - Sub Rosa Endorsement
2011-07-26 - The Naked Truth
2011-06-12
- Image
News
- KZBlog is going down
2013-09-10 - Oh, CNN
2012-07-21 - Repentence
2012-07-15
- KZBlog is going down
Fun
- What Do You Know About Kazakhstan?
2012-07-19 - Yurts Are High Fashion and Slum Fashion Too
2011-12-05 - House Hunters Bishkek
2011-12-02
- What Do You Know About Kazakhstan?
Tourism
- Asian Games Torch
2011-01-12 - Wikitravel
2010-08-07 - ALZHIR, the Soviets and Democracy
2010-07-30
- Asian Games Torch
Life in KZ
- Photo Gallery: Almaty Subway
2011-12-07 - Healthcare and the Private Sector
2011-11-30 - Naked Man Pot
2011-09-23
- Photo Gallery: Almaty Subway
Redbubble
Old Team (Comments Off on Old Team)
The reshuffle appears to be over. Most Ministers and Akims were reappointed.
Kazahstan Today lists the ministers who kept their jobs:
Adilbek Dzhaksybekov – Minister of Defence
Askar Zhumagaliyev – Minister of Communications and Information
Bakhytzhan Zhumagulov – Minister of Education and Science
Salidat Kairbekova – Minister of Health
Gulshara Abdykalikova – Minister of Labour and Social Welfare
Bolat Zhamishev – Minister of Finance
Nurgali Ashimov – Minister of Environment
Mukhtar Kul-Muhammed – Minister of Culture
Sauat Mynbayev – Minister of Oil and Gas
Vladimir Bojko – Minister of Emergency Situations
Asset Issekeshev – Minister of Industry and Trade and Vice-Prime Minister
As I already wrote, new cabinet members include:
Kairat Kelimbetov – Minister of the Economy
Yerzhan Kazykhanov – Minister of Foreign Affairs
Asylzhan Mamytbekov – Minister of Agriculture
Newer appointees include:
Talgat Ermegiyaev – Minister of Tourism and Sports (formerly Vice-Minister)
Kasymov Kalmuhanbeta – Minister of Internal Affairs (former head of Department of Internal Affairs in East Kazakhstan oblast)
Berwick Kamal – Minister of Transport and Communications (former Vice-Minister of Industry and Trade)
Only the question of the Minister of Justice remains unresolved.
It looks like the akims will all stay in place. Deputy Prime Ministers and Vice Prime Ministers didn’t change either. Shukayev and Umarov will keep their jobs. And Saudebayev was in fact re-appointed to the post of State Secretary.
Any other new or rumours out there?
The Sky of My Childhood (4)
A new film about the childhood of the president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, premiered in Astana recently. The Sky of My Childhood.
According to a review by Eurasianet, the film does portray little Sultan (as Nazarbayev is called by friends and families) as a happy child with a strong and caring family, doing genuine Kazkh things like hunting with falcons, riding horses, and playing the dombro. It also includes a scene where Sultan builds a city out of stones, foreshadowing the construction of Astana.
However it also does look at some of the more serious historical events that shaped the Kazakh SSR at the time, such as the Great Patriotic War, the forced deportation of Chechnyans and other Caucus peoples to Kazakhstan, and forced collectivization of the Kazakh nomads.
I’ll probably wait for it to come out on DVD on the off-chance it has English subtitles, or at least so I can replay bits I don’t get the first time, but it is playing in theaters in Kazakhstan now.
RT @EurasiaNet: Will Kyrgyzsta… (Comments Off on RT @EurasiaNet: Will Kyrgyzsta…)
RT @EurasiaNet: Will Kyrgyzstan’s next president be bare-knuckled? Using fists to conduct official business… http://bit.ly/heqmoM>or not
RT @RFE_RLNEWS: Kyrgyz Deputy … (Comments Off on RT @RFE_RLNEWS: Kyrgyz Deputy …)
RT @RFE_RLNEWS: Kyrgyz Deputy Premier ‘Temporarily’ Steps Down Amid Graft Allegations http://bit.ly/hY7oz4>proof of democracy in KG?
When One Becomes Two (Comments Off on When One Becomes Two)
“Revolution from above” may be the buzzword of the 2012 Parliamentary campaign, unless they are held early. Yermukhamet Yertysbayev has been talking about having a second party in Parliament for bit now. It appears that the plan is to split NurOtan into two parties with one part representing politicians and the government and one part representing businessmen.
The “opposition” party will basically be the Atameken Union, headed by Timur Kulibayev, son-in-law of the President and deputy head of Samruk-Kazyna (unless the new head replaces him), as well as chairman of KazMunaiGas, Kazatomprom and Kazakhstan Temir Zholi. Several government officials sit on its Presidium. Atameken Union is currently a business organization, not a political party. It is also not to be confused with the opposition Atameken Party whose site has apparently been hacked as I just discovered.
In an interview with Megapolis Yertysbayev stated that all is normal in Kazakhstan because the Parliament is loyal to the President, and it could not be any other way.
As for forming a new party, it was an idea that occurred to him spontaneously after the weak showing of the opposition in the recent presidential elections. He states that it will help in the fight against corruption:
…We have a huge problem: power and business in Kazakhstan are closely intertwined, and this is the basis of corruption, and many other negative phenomena. And we could divide power and business. It is very important! As soon as we divide the government and business, everything will fall into place: there will be more order and corruption will be much decreased. That is, everyone will want to follow the rules, follow the laws. It is very important. I would call it a “revolution from above”.
From Kazakhstan Into Space (Comments Off on From Kazakhstan Into Space)
From Kazakhstan into Space 50 Years Ago is a great account of Gagarin’s trip and has links to more great resources. I like the idea of celebrating Yuri’s Night
First Orbit (Comments Off on First Orbit)
First Orbit is a documentary on Yuri Gagarin’s flight by Christopher Riley. I haven’t had a chance to watch the whole thing, but from the first bit it looks really good. It includes family photos of Gagarin and audio of his flight as well as modern space imagery. It is an hour and a half long, just to warn you:
Via Engadget
Industry Analysis: Prostitution in Kazakhstan (1)
No idea who Ilya Blogger is, but he seems to know a lot about the prostitution market in Almaty [RU].
Apparently, the early years of thee recession may have been good for prostitutes because the middle-management office and bank workers, who make up the main market for prostitutes, were working harder and just didn’t have the energy for dating. So prostitution made an easy and less-taxing substitute.
But now that prices are rising, the sex trade is suffering as consumers don’t have excess money for luxury goods. So, “the wife has become more in-demand”. Meaning that the market wasn’t able to sustain price rises in “street trade for bodies” matching inflation in other areas in the “wholesale” trade, although the market for elite customers hasn’t suffered as much. So street walkers are working less as they can’t make a profit.
Or they are expanding into other areas including more exotic services like toys, massage, bondage, striptease or working in pairs. However, “live-in wives” or “maids with benefits” is not a service that is taking off. Customers demand it for no more than one day at a time.
Prostitutes charge around $100 an hour or $300 for a night (in a country where the average income is around $450 a month). However, the author points out, each prostitute sets an individual price based on her desirability.
And while there are known saunas or massage parlors that offer extra services (either running their own brothels or sub-contracting out to freelance workers), street walking and placing thinly disguised classified ads in the papers seems to be the norm.
I’d be curious who Mr. Blogger is and how he knows so much about this sector of the economy. I know that police have gone after sex slaves and pimps who use underage prostitutes, but is prostitution criminalized in Kazakhstan? And who bears the most burden of law enforcement: the client or the worker? One also wonders if there aren’t high class brothels and escort services for the elite that are kept well hidden?
Timur Kulibayev’s Star Rises Even Higher (Comments Off on Timur Kulibayev’s Star Rises Even Higher)
As part of the cabinet reshuffle following the presidential election, Timur Kulibayev has been named head of Samruk-Kazyna, a state holding company that controls almost all national companies including the national airline, the oil companies, KazAtomProm, telecommunications companies and the railroads. The position was opened up after Karim Kelimbetov was named Minister of the Economy.
As noted earlier, Kulibayev, son-in-law to the President and third richest man in Kazakhstan, has also been named as a possible new head of a state-sanctioned opposition party-to-be.
RT @Ericamarat: RT OpenSociet… (Comments Off on RT @Ericamarat: RT OpenSociet…)
RT @Ericamarat: RT
OpenSociety How (Not) to Promote Autocracy in Central Asia http://t.co/3PQXIhU #freekg #Kyrgyzstan
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