Our People > Andrei Matveev

Journalist

Andrei Matveev is a journalist from Kazakhstan.

Articles

Tokayev president

Kazakhstan: Tokayev Delivers Address to the Nation

A new political season has started in Kazakhstan. Following tradition, it opened with a joint session of the chambers of Kazakhstan's parliament, at which the head of state, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, delivered his regular Address to the Nation, this year entitled: Fair Kazakhstan: Law and Order, Economic Growth, Social Optimism. As predicted by State Counselor, Yerlan Karin, the president's new address contained over a hundred initiatives, instructions, and proposals that “develop the line of reforms laid out in his previous messages and election platform.” Tokayev began his address by mentioning the parliament's adoption of 102 laws in the previous session, including norms on public control, countering human trafficking, science and technology policy, heat and energy, etc. Social issues, especially child protection, remain a top priority and whilst many systematic steps have been taken to improve people's welfare, the president emphasized that much work lay ahead. “The people of Kazakhstan today live in a completely new political reality," he stated. "Over the past five years, large-scale reforms have been implemented; the political system has radically transformed. Fundamental changes are taking place in public consciousness; the level of legal culture of citizens is increasing, and new models of behavior and new values are taking root in society. The renewal of political and public life, as well as the mentality and cultural norms of the nation, has begun. The construction of "Fair Kazakhstan" is underway, and what is especially important is that all this fully corresponds to the people's aspirations. Therefore, we will continue to follow our course steadfastly and not turn off the path." Expanding on how the past five years have changed the country, Tokayev explained, "Since 2021, about 2.5 thousand akims of villages have been elected, which is ninety percent of the total number of heads of rural settlements. In the remaining villages, elections will be held after the expiration of the terms of office of their akims. The average age of newly elected akims is 46 years. Sixty percent will have no previous experience of working in public service, and their number includes entrepreneurs and members of various parties. The corps of akims elected by the people has been largely renewed." The head of state recalled that in the fall of last year, Kazakhstan began to hold elections for the first time for akims of districts and cities of regional significance. Under the new rules, 45 akims were elected in all oblasts. According to the president, the latest election system will go even further. “After a comprehensive study of the election results and analysis of the work of elected akims, it was decided to finally switch to the new system from next year. In the future, akims of districts and regional cities will be elected only through direct elections, which will be held as the powers (i.e., rotation terms) of incumbent akims expire,” Tokayev emphasized, calling it another essential step in the transformation of the political system and stressing that if required for the development of the state, reforms will...

4 months ago

History Referendum Constitution Rule of law Legislation

As Kazakhstan Marks Constitution Day, What Does the Occasion Really Symbolize?

Kazakhstan marks Constitution Day on August 30, an event inaugurated by the country’s second and current president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The day has taken on a new meaning since the events of January 2022, when a violent coup-attempt challenged Tokayev’s authority and caused deadly destruction in the nation. Since then, the country has adopted various democratic and economic reforms. Most significantly, key amendments to the country’s constitution were adopted following a national referendum in 2022. One of the main changes was to limit the president’s time in office to a single seven-year term and banning consecutive terms. In 2022, Tokayev was re-elected under the new rules and his presidential term will now expire in 2029. The first constitution of independent Kazakhstan was adopted in January 1993 and was based on the model of a parliamentary republic. It incorporated laws on sovereignty, the independence of the state, the Kazakh language as the state language, the president as head of state, and identified the country’s judicial bodies as the Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, and Higher Arbitration Court. The current constitution was then adopted on 30 August 1995 through a national referendum. It was amended in 1998, 2007, 2011, 2017, and 2019. The most significant changes, however, took place in the above-mentioned referendum after the mass unrests of January 2022. On May 5, 2022, Tokayev announced a referendum on amendments “to transition to a new state model, a new format of interaction between the state and society … from a super-presidential form of government to a presidential republic with an influential parliament and an accountable government.” The referendum was held on June 5, 2022, and 77% of the people supported the changes. Overall, 33 articles of the current constitution were amended. Today’s celebrations mark this new and improved constitution that represents a significant step in the path forward for Tokayev’s New Kazakhstan

4 months ago

Water Management Access to Clean Water Drinking Water EDB water saving ABD Finance Politics Water Conservation

Ecological Limit: Five Year Countdown to Water Scarcity in Central Asia

Combating climate change requires collective action by all or a sufficient majority of the world's players supporting global initiatives. Otherwise, it may soon be too late to take any action. To address the issue, the Eurasian Development Bank, the CAREC Think Tank, and the Asian Development Bank organized a two-day forum entitled “The Climate Challenge: Thinking Beyond Borders for Collective Action,” in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Focusing on means of achieving genuine regional cooperation on Asian climate action, the eighth CAREC Think Tank Development Forum was attended by policymakers, experts, and opinion leaders from more than 30 countries. The extensive two-day dialog, consisting of eight sessions, opened with a discussion on the effectiveness of current global initiatives related to climate change: the Paris Agreement, the Global Environment Facility, and the Green Climate Fund. Attention then turned to deepening cooperation among as many stakeholders as possible through multilateral platforms such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Asia's role in the global fight against climate change, and the difficult balancing act between economic growth and decarbonization efforts were discussed at length. Simply put, the rapid growth of the Asian economy is inevitably accompanied by an increasing consumption of energy, the generation of which leads to increased emissions and pollution. Climate damage due to human impact can be halted and even reversed. However, because this can only be achieved with technological intervention, it poses problems for developing economies unable to afford advanced technologies. Hence, establishing a framework and mechanisms for global technology transfer were key to discussions. Water and finance were also high on the agenda and the subject of a paper presented by Arman Ahunbaev, Head of the Center for Infrastructure and Industrial Research of the Eurasian Development Bank on “Ways to close the investment gap in the drinking water supply and wastewater sector in Central Asia." Ahunbaev reported that 10 million people, or 14% of the population in Central Asia, do not have access to safe drinking water and warned that without intervention, the situation would reach the point of no return in the coming years. To prevent this from happening, he stressed the urgent need for solutions to four problems. The first problem is a twofold increase in the volume of water intake for municipal and domestic needs, based on past figures which showed a growth from 4.2 cubic kilometers in 1994 to 8.6 cubic kilometers in 2020. The second problem is the severe deterioration of water supply infrastructure and treatment equipment, and the third, technological and commercial water losses in distribution networks. The fourth problem is related to the demographic boom and, consequently, the rapid urbanization of Central Asia's population. Cities are expanding and their infrastructure needs to develop accordingly. According to experts, in 2023, urbanization in Central Asian countries will reach 49%, and by 2050, 61%. By 2030, the urban population will exceed that in rural areas. Ahunbaev noted the need for improvement in financing the water supply and sanitation sector in Central Asia since according to rough...

4 months ago

Myths Tales Kazakh Art Art and Culture life and culture History Cultural Heritage

Gods and Demons of Central Asia

In today's dynamic world, Central Asia is emerging as a trendsetter in fashion, culture, lifestyle, and worldview. The ancient Tengrian faith, deeply rooted in Central Asian mythology and superstitions, may soon resurface creatively among the region's people, though it is unlikely to be reinstated as an official religion. While some in Kazakhstan attempt to distance themselves from Abrahamic religions, Tengrism remains a vital part of the cultural heritage, featuring gods, demigods, and dark entities that shaped the beliefs of our ancestors during the pre-Islamic era. [caption id="attachment_22010" align="aligncenter" width="167"] photo: pininterest: Tengri's domain[/caption] Divine entities According to Tatar scientist and writer Gali Rahim, shamanism attributes significant roles to various spirits and deities. Among the Turkic peoples, the supreme deity is Tengri, the eternal blue sky. Rahim's lectures on “The Folklore of the Kazan Tatars,” presented at the East Pedagogical Institute in the 1920s, describe Tengri as the primary god in Turkic cosmology, with the earth and humanity emerging from the union of the sky and the earth. Umai, the goddess associated with motherhood and children, stands next in importance. Ancient Turkic inscriptions and symbolic artifacts, such as the stone carving discovered in 2012 in the Zhambyl district of Almaty, Kazakhstan, depict her as a protective figure for children. Teleut pagans represented her as a silver-haired, young woman who descended from heaven on a rainbow to guard children with a golden bow, and the Kyrgyz appealed for her help during childbirth and when children fell ill. Motifs dedicated to Umai by Shorian shamans, were positioned around cradles. Boys' cradles were pierced with an arrow, girls' with a spindle, and wooden arrows were placed within the those of both. Another prominent character common to Turkic, Mongolian, and Altaic mythology is Erlik or Yerlik Khan. Ruler of the underworld, the horned deity presides over the realm of the dead from a palace of black mud or blue-black iron on the bank of the Toibodym, a river of human tears. A single horsehair bridge is guarded by monsters known as dyutpa whilst the palace is protected by Erlik’s sentries or elchi, brandishing pike poles known as karmak. His breath, carried by a tan, a light warm breeze, was believed to paralyze anyone who inhaled it, which is why the Khakas term for paralysis, tan sapkhany, literally means “wind blow.” Kudai (Khudai), also known as Ulgen, is another central deity who, alongside his brother Erlik, created the land, its vegetation, mountains, and seas. Kudai created man from clay, and Erlik gave him his soul. Kudai created a dog but it was Erlik who clothed it in hair. Whilst Kudai created the first animals, the horse, the sheep, and the cow, Erlik created the camel, the bear, the badger, and the mole. Kudai brought down lightning from the sky and commanded thunder. In a dispute over who was the mightiest creator, Kudai won. The brothers parted ways, and after producing nine sons, from whom the tribes of Kpchak, Mayman, Todosh, Tonjaan, Komdosh, Tyus, Togus,...

4 months ago