KZBlog

An American expat living in Astana, Kazakhstan

Tag archive for ‘Russia’

  • Is A School Competition About “Russian Aggression” Itself Agression ?

    How to Paint the Enemy is a fascinating article and video report from TOL.org about a competition in Georgia sponsored by the Ministry of Education entitled “Russian Aggression Through My Eyes”. Students were asked to paint pictures or write essays about the August 2008 war with Russia. The video is very interesting as it highlights […]

    3/17/10 • (Comments Off on Is A School Competition About “Russian Aggression” Itself Agression ?)

  • Clean Up Your Act

    I only post this Reuters story from Russia because it’s so funny and because it gives you an insight into the post-Soviet mentality. When a big man is coming, see how painstakingly people go over their city or school or home. Theater posters proclaiming “We await you, merry gnome” were taken down from a Russian […]

    2/24/10 • (Comments Off on Clean Up Your Act)

  • Yes Virginia, Prices are Going Up Again

    Yes Virginia, Prices are Going Up Again

    Rosbalt, a Russian business news site, is reporting that due to the customs union which will be adapted on 1 Jan 2010, Kazakhstan will correct 50% of customs tariffs [RU]. The article is short so I’ll reproduce it here, in my translation. In preparation for the work of the Customs Union (Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan), […]

    12/20/09 • (2)

  • Customs Union Means Higher Prices?

    Customs Union Means Higher Prices?

    The Customs Union which is likely to come into force in January of 2010 between Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia has not been getting a lot of press in Kazakhstan. Lukashenko, President of Belarus recently made some interesting comments on the Union, criticizing the fact that there has been no good analysis on whether or not […]

    11/19/09 • (2)

  • In Soviet Russia Philosophy Hurts You

    According to The Moscow Times: A debate between philosophers at an international forum ended in a fistfight Monday that left two people slightly injured, Interfax reported. A woman and man were injured in the fight at the International Philosophical Forum, held in the House of Scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Ulitsa Prechistenka. […]

    11/17/09 • (2)

  • Manas Airbase

    The world news has covered this story pretty well. The President of Kyrgyzstan announced on a trip to Russia a few weeks ago that he would revoke the rights for the NATO airbase in Manas which has been serving coalition troops in Afghanistan. The US government responded with surprise as they had heard nothing before […]

    2/18/09 • (Comments Off on Manas Airbase)

  • Kazakhstan Buys Controlling Shares in Banks; Seeks to Sell Them

    As part of its bailout project, the Kazakhstan government had planned to buy assets in commercial banks. After negotiations with Halyk Bank and Kazkommerstbank to take government money, attention has turned to BTA and Alliance Bank. Samruk-Kazyna, the newly formed holding that combines development holding Kazyna and Samruk holding, which owned the largest and most […]

    2/03/09 • (Comments Off on Kazakhstan Buys Controlling Shares in Banks; Seeks to Sell Them)

  • The CIA and Dr. Zhivago

    OK, this post has nothing to do with Kazakhstan per se and the story is already 2 years old. But 2008 marked the 50th anniversary of Boris Pasternak winning the Nobel Prize in Literature for Dr. Zhivago. Because the Nobel Prize committee seals its records for 50 years, we look forward to the records being […]

    1/22/09 • (Comments Off on The CIA and Dr. Zhivago)

  • Kazakhstan Imports Hottie

    Kazakhstan Imports Hottie

    Kazakhstan has made a deal with 19-year old Sesil Karatantcheva, the once up and coming tennis star who was ranked 35th in the world, and mentioned in the same breath as Ivanovic and Sharapova, before being banned for 2 years for doping. She was 16 at the time and became the first woman to be […]

    1/12/09 • (5)

  • Russians Love Obama?

    In Digging the awesome post at Chris Merriman.com on a Russian solider who covered Eminem’s Stan in a video showing the squalor of the Russian army and got exiled for dishonoring the image of the Army, I found a YouTube video of a Russian guy praising Barak Obama and disparaging John McCain. At first I […]

    10/01/08 • (Comments Off on Russians Love Obama?)