KZBlog

An American expat living in Astana, Kazakhstan

Tag archive for ‘Астана’

  • Constitutional Amendments Proposed

    Today, a joint-session of Kazakhstan’s Parliament is meeting to discuss and possibly approve Constitutional Amendments. The President will be present along with the Prime Minister, the akims of the oblasts and major cities, and representatives of the President’s Administration. According to the head of the Constitutional Commission, the proposed amendments will: increase the role of […]

    5/16/07 • (Comments Off on Constitutional Amendments Proposed)

  • The New Great Game Take infinity

    President Vladimir Putin was in Kazakhstan yesterday and he and President Nazarbayev will be traveling to Turkmenistan this week together. Two issues are on the agenda. First, Russia will be assisting Kazakhstan in enriching uranium for its nuclear energy power center. The two countries will be setting up a joint-uranium enrichment center. It looks like […]

    5/11/07 • (Comments Off on The New Great Game Take infinity)

  • A new Holding Company will Soar!

    From the Kazakhstan Embassy in the US comes the announcement that a new holding company will be established. Samgao (which means ‘to soar’, I think!) National Science and Technology Holding is charged with improving management in these areas. This follows from comments made by the President and more recently, his Address to the People, in […]

    4/15/07 • (Comments Off on A new Holding Company will Soar!)

  • 2007 Address to the People of Kazakhstan

    On the 28th of February, the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev, gave his annual Address to the People of Kazakhstan, the speech where he gives the government its tasks and strategies for the year. You can go to Akorda.kz for the full text of the speech. Overall the speech focused on improving social protection […]

    3/01/07 • (3)

  • Po Kazakhskii

    Today as I walked through the old square of Astana, I saw something going on at the Ministry of Education. Cars and trucks parked everywhere, hundreds of kids running around carrying boxes and Chinese bags, men and women standing over them barking orders. I asked one of the kids what was going on. “The Ministry […]

    2/15/07 • (Comments Off on Po Kazakhskii)

  • Kazakhstan 2021

    I was asked to participate in a cross-blog survey with New Eurasia to predict what Central Asia will look like in 15 years. You can check out the other posts here. And my little dichotomious view is below. I couldn’t come to any solid and concrete conclusions so I ended up with perhaps more of […]

    12/21/06 • (1)

  • Religious and Ethnic Tolerance

    On the 22nd of November, outside Almaty, local authorities destroyed the only Hare Krishna commune in the CIS, a total of eleven houses on 48 acres. The group apparently was not prepared because: The group apparently was not prepared because there is currently a state special commission – appointed to investigate allegations of religious harassment […]

    11/23/06 • (3)

  • Of Salons and Socialism

    I went to get my haircut this weekend at, I might note, a fairly expensive (but conveniently located) salon. There was a sign on the door that said “Veterans of the Great Patriotic War will get free haircuts, and pensioners get discounted haircuts on Tuesday and Thursday from 10am – 2pm” We asked about this […]

    11/06/06 • (Comments Off on Of Salons and Socialism)

  • SBCs

    Two weeks ago, there was a government assembly and the Prime Minister presented new projects for the government. As Kazakhstan Today reports, Social Business Coportations were on the list. “Sara Arka” will be the first, to be established in Karaganda (because the akim there was on the ball, they say). By the end of the […]

    10/30/06 • (Comments Off on SBCs)

  • Astana, two sides

    Two articles came out last week about Astana. Both focus on the Palace of World Peace and Unity—the new pyramid designed by Lord Foster, a well-known British architect. The pyramid was designed to host the second World Congress for Religious Tolerance, a conference of religious figures and political leaders which attempts to bring together religious […]

    10/26/06 • (Comments Off on Astana, two sides)