KZBlog

Tag archive for ‘Russia’

• In Every Joke There’s a Bit of Truth

  Someone in the Kazakhstan government just got fired and blacklisted. Last week, the Parliament of Kazakhstan was to ratify the Customs Union between Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Russia which was agreed upon last year and will go into full effect this July. However the signing was delayed when it was discovered that someone mixed up Vladimir […]

  6/21/11 • (Comments Off on In Every Joke There’s a Bit of Truth)

• More Western Interference in Central Asia

  Ferghana news reports that the Duma discussed preventing revolutions in Central Asia. In a closed session, members of the Russian parliament identified the possibility of popular uprisings or “North African syndrome” as a potential security threat to Russia. According to the report, Nadezhda Gerasimova, deputy chairperson of the Duma, believes that the best way to […]

  4/16/11 • (Comments Off on More Western Interference in Central Asia)

• Baikonur at Risk?

  Russia has announced that it is building a new spaceport in the Far East of Russia near the border with China. With the Plesetsk Cosmodrome located in the far north on the Arctic Sea, there might not be much demand for Baikanur in Kazakhstan, which has been the Russian (and Soviet) main spaceport since the […]

  4/02/11 • (5)

• Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

  According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, smoke from the fires in Russia has reached Kazakhstan. I suspect that’s why it’s been so humid and the air has been so smoggy here in Astana. Yesterday I was driving around 8pm. Normally the sun is in my eyes and I need to use the sun visor, […]

  8/14/10 • (Comments Off on Smoke Gets in Your Eyes)

• 

  Medvedev Twitter Makes Some Noise

  Some of you may have heard this by now, but President Medvedev of Russia wrote a Happy Birthday congratulations to Nazarbayev on his Twitter feed: Interesting that they provide an English-language translation of his feed, suggesting that either the feed is more for foreigners or that he wishes to appear hip and cool by speaking […]

  7/08/10 • (Comments Off on Medvedev Twitter Makes Some Noise)

• Maybe Kalmykia Will Build the Next Alien Embassy

  Apparently the President of Kalmykia, an autonomous republic in Russia, has made contact with aliens. And a member of Duma is asking 1) for his mental health to be investigated, because he must be crazy to think he met with aliens; but also 2) for a new policy on sharing classified information with aliens in […]

  5/08/10 • (Comments Off on Maybe Kalmykia Will Build the Next Alien Embassy)

• Unofficial

  This is just a heads-up because of all the noise regarding Americans adopting Russians. As you must surely have heard, an American woman adopted a 7-year old Russian boy and then after the boy allegedly revealed himself to be a danger to himself and others, she returned him by sitting him on a plane alone […]

  5/06/10 • (Comments Off on Unofficial)

• How to Write About Kazakhstan

  I am taking up a gauntlet here in response to a great post on Registan.net about How to Write About Afghanistan. First, mention Borat. If the article is about some problem or something that seems funny then refer to Kazakhstan as “Boratland”, “the home of Borat”, or “Boratistan”. Otherwise, if the article is about say […]

  5/02/10 • (2)

• All Your Oil Are Belong to China

  There’s been a lot in the news about allegations of corruption against Timur Kulibayev, the son-in-law of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. These allegations were brought by Mukhtar Ablyazov, opposition leader and former head of BTA Bank currently in exile after being charged himself with financial crimes. The police have dismissed the accusations as without evidence (and […]

  4/02/10 • (2)

• The Politics of Mathematics

  I love this story making headlines now about the genius Russian mathematician, Grigori Perelman who solved a legendary problem, proving Poincare’s proof. But he has refused to accept the $1 million prize that would be his. He is also the only man who has ever turned down a Field’s Medal. He lives with his Mom […]

  3/30/10 • (2)

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