KZBlog

An American expat living in Astana, Kazakhstan

Tag archive for ‘Назарбаев’

  • Police Crackdown on Protests; Court Shows Restraint

    Housing problems in Almaty are nothing new. Real estate prices are incredibly high and cheaper housing is destroyed to make room for new and inevitably high-priced development complexes. A number of regions on the outskirts are home to squatters who are forcibly ejected and denied compensation, or given inadequate compensation, when the land is marked […]

  • The President is Now a Water

    The President is Now a Water

    First it was vodka. Then it was the political party Nurotan. Then it was half the buildings and complexes in Astana, adding a Nur to their name. Now it’s table water. I was surprised to see Nureke water in my local store the other day. Nureke is a diminutive form of names that begin with […]

  • Astana to be Renamed Nursultan?

    Among the amendments and laws discussed in Parliament this week [RU], the most interesting and entertaining was a proposal by member of Parliament Sat Tokpakbayev to rename the capital city to Nursultan in honor of the President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and his role in not only running the nation but also building the city of Astana […]

  • Dariga Nazarbayeva Monitored Kazakhgate Trial

    According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, Dariga Nazarbayeva hired private consultants to collect information about the Kazakhgate trial. One of the companies she controls, World Media Corporation, hired private consultants to investigate the case, in which the Justice Department alleges that businessman James Giffen bribed President Nazarbayev with a total of $84 million […]

  • Maybe It Wasn’t Eni’s Fault

    After the recent scandal over the Kashgan oilfields, it is a bit surprising to hear that estimates of when the field will start producing have been pushed back again, to 2012-2013. Eni, the Italian oil company which held the controlling share in the consortium that is developing the Kashgan field, was criticized and threatened with […]

  • Olympic Torch Redux

    This just in: Nazarbayev will run the first leg of the torch relay. Hopefully that won’t mean that they shut down the route to people who want to watch, which they sometimes do when cool people are involved in things. EDIT: The official route and who is carrying the torch is up. The President doesn’t […]

  • Nazarbaev Speaks to Reuters

    Thanks to the for posting this news. President Nazarbayev gave an interview to Reuters last Friday. In it, he touched upon the crisis in the banking sector, NATO, foreign relations, and the energy sector. He also discussed the issue of succession, saying: I would like to clarify this nonsense that the first president, that is […]

  • Bloomberg Inaccurate about UraniumGate

    Frank Giustra, the businessman who is making headlines for his alleged deal with Kazakhstan government officials in order to get uranium rights, has put out a press release listing the inaccuracies that the Bloomberg Press Service has made in covering the story. Among the errors Giustra cites: Bloomberg: Giustra was negotiating with the Kazakhstan government […]

  • Frank Giustra Responds Unapologetically

    Frank Giustra, the businessman who came to the public light as allegedly getting a boost from President Clinton in order to enter the Kazakhstan uranium market, is defending himself. From The Globe and Mail article: Mr. Giustra denied the suggestion that Mr. Clinton had in any way paved the way for the successful deals. Both […]

  • More State Control

    One week after the Address to the People of Kazakhstan, the Prime Minister announced that this year Kazakhstan will investigate all existing contracts with foreigners in the area of resource-exploitation i.e. mining and oil and gas. The government will void all contracts with companies that have violated the terms and the resources or rights to […]