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TCA Interviews

Designer Madina Tompiyeva: Kazakhstan’s Fashion Is Becoming a Language of Identity

Kazakhstani fashion is increasingly moving beyond style alone, with designers using clothing to explore heritage and contemporary identity. Anima, an Almaty-based brand, describes itself as an ethno-urban concept made in Kazakhstan. Its collections combine urban fashion with local aesthetics and motifs drawn from nomadic culture. The Times of Central Asia spoke with Anima founder Madina Tompiyeva about clothing as a language for the soul and freedom. She also discussed how Kazakhstani culture appears in contemporary silhouettes and why younger consumers are turning to fashion with stronger local references. TCA: Please tell us a little about yourself. How did you come to create the Anima brand, and what has this project become for you today? Madina: Since childhood, I dreamed of creating clothes and having my own fashion house. But the path to this was not straightforward. I studied economics, lived in different countries, worked in international companies, and spent a long time looking for answers to questions about what truly makes a person happy. At some point, my path led me to yoga, psychology, retreats, and a deeper acquaintance with myself. That is when the idea of Anima appeared. At first, I simply wanted to create clothes for myself comfortable, free, and honest. But very quickly I realized that through clothing, one can convey not only aesthetics, but also a state of being. Today, Anima is much more than a clothing brand for me. It is a way to speak about freedom, identity, beauty, and a person’s connection with their inner nature. TCA: What idea did you want to put into Anima from the very beginning? Madina: The word Anima itself translates as “soul.” From the very beginning, I wanted to create pieces that help a person feel like themselves, rather than play a role or conform to expectations. The foundation of the brand has always been the idea of returning to one’s essence: through comfort, natural fabrics, freedom of movement, and pieces that do not shout about themselves, but allow the person to come through. TCA: How do you define the brand’s visual language? Madina: I would describe it as a combination of cultural codes from around the world, natural forms, and a contemporary urban silhouette. We are inspired by the traditions of different peoples, but we do not reproduce them literally. We are more interested in reinterpreting cultural heritage through a contemporary form. That is why in our collections, you can see minimalism, ethnic motifs, Asian silhouettes, and modern functionality at the same time. TCA: The description of Anima includes the phrase “ethno-urban concept made in Kazakhstan.” What does this mean for you in practice? Madina: For us, it means a dialogue between tradition and modernity. We live in a global world, but at the same time, every nation has its own memory, culture, and meanings. Anima explores how these cultural roots can exist in a contemporary urban environment. Our pieces should look equally organic in Almaty, Berlin, and Tokyo, while still preserving their unique identity. TCA: How important is it...

Figure Skating

Astana to Host Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in 2027

Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, will host the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in 2027, one of figure skating’s major international competitions and the main ISU championship for skaters from Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Oceania. The International Skating Union announced that the event will take place from February 9-14, 2027. It will be the first ISU Figure Skating Championship held in Kazakhstan, and the first Four Continents Championships staged in Central Asia. The competition traditionally includes men’s singles, women’s singles, pairs, and ice dance. The ISU said the event would bring “the world’s best Figure Skaters” from the four regions to the Kazakh capital. The governing body said the decision builds on rising interest in the sport after Mikhail Shaidorov won men’s singles Olympic gold at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. The championship is expected to be the largest figure skating event ever held in Kazakhstan. The country has previously hosted major multisport competitions that included figure skating, including the 2011 Asian Winter Games and the 2017 Winter Universiade. ISU President Jae Youl Kim said the event would give figure skating fans across Central Asia a chance to see “world-class competition firsthand” and their “heroes and role models” on the ice. He said Astana would provide an “outstanding stage” for athletes, fans, and stakeholders. The Kazakhstan Figure Skating Union said it was “very pleased and honored” to host the championship and would work to ensure it was held “at the highest level.” Shaidorov welcomed the decision, saying he had long dreamed of an ISU championship being held in Kazakhstan. “This is a huge victory for me and for all of Kazakhstan,” he said in the ISU announcement. He added that figure skating’s popularity in Kazakhstan had grown since his Olympic victory and said he hoped the Astana championship would give fans “unforgettable moments.” Shaidorov also won the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Seoul in February 2025, becoming the second Kazakh skater to win the men’s singles title at the event. Denis Ten won the same title in Seoul in 2015. Ten later became an important figure in Kazakhstan’s sporting history after winning bronze at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the country’s first Olympic figure skating medal.

FIFA World Cup

Portugal vs Uzbekistan: The White Wolves Face the Ronaldo Circus in Houston

Uzbekistan’s World Cup has moved north, from the thin air of Mexico City to the sealed dome of Houston's NRG Stadium, where Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo and a crowd of number seven shirts await. On paper, the move should help. The roof at Houston’s NRG Stadium will remain closed throughout the tournament, with air conditioning protecting the temporary grass pitch as much as the players. Outside, the Texas midday heat will feel closer to Tashkent, only with the Gulf humidity added in. Uzbekistan have already learned that the World Cup offers little time for romance. Their 3-1 defeat to Colombia was more respectable than the scoreline suggested, but mistakes that might have escaped punishment in qualifying games against North Korea were seized on gleefully by the Colombian forwards. "It was a very good experience for our players," said head coach Fabio Cannavaro afterward. "When you make mistakes and pay like you did today, it’s something they will remember." His team began the game extremely cautiously but improved after the break. There was even the joy of Abbosbek Fayzullaev’s equalizer, a moment that has gone down in history as Uzbekistan’s first World Cup goal. Such joy was brief. Within minutes, Luis Díaz had restored Colombia’s lead, and despite a late surge in Uzbek pressure, Colombia added a third in stoppage time. “When a small team like ours has worked as we worked today, to lose 3-1 is too much,” Cannavaro said. He admitted his players had been nervous, too reluctant to step out of their own half. Against Portugal, he wants more personality and bravery. Uzbekistan cannot spend another 90 minutes waiting for the storm to pass. Portugal arrive with their own problem. They were among the pre-tournament favorites and had the ball almost all night against the Democratic Republic of Congo but did very little with it. According to Opta, Roberto Martinez’s side completed 783 passes, had 75 percent possession, and still drew 1-1. Much of the scrutiny has fallen on 41-year-old Ronaldo. He remains the most famous footballer on earth and perhaps the most famous person alive if Instagram is the measure. More than 666 million people follow him there. Houston had already seen the effect during Portugal’s first game. The stands were filled with Portugal shirts, the number seven emblazoned on the back. FIFA had also cleared the way for him to play. After his red card against Ireland in qualifying, he was given a three-match ban for violent conduct but FIFA suspended two matches of it, leaving him free for the World Cup after he missed Portugal’s final qualifier against Armenia. Those fans saw little of the old Ronaldo, however. The aging legend was conspicuous only by his ineffectiveness and Portugal's attacks lacked a focal point. He even took chances from better positioned teammates. Thierry Henry was blunt after the Congo game, accusing Ronaldo of putting his own desire for glory ahead of that of the team. “The team needs to score. You don’t need to score,” Henry...

Cultural Heritage

Mikhail Borisoglebsky’s Dzhangyr-Bai: Kazakh Steppe Culture and a Society in Transition

Among the overlooked literary works of the early Soviet period, Mikhail Borisoglebsky’s Dzhangyr-Bai stands as a fascinating cultural and historical artifact. Published in Moscow and Leningrad in 1926, the illustrated book follows Dzhangyr-Bai, a Kazakh figure of the old steppe order, as he confronts a changing world. It is also a vivid ethnographic portrait of the Kazakh steppe, with close attention to its music, clothing, traditions, and spiritual atmosphere. The surviving illustrated edition shows how literature once acted as a bridge between cultures, documenting a way of life being rapidly reshaped by modernization and Soviet reform. The opening pages immediately immerse the reader in the vastness of the steppe, described as boundless and almost eternal in its quiet. Borisoglebsky presents the Kazakh landscape poetically, comparing it to a calm sea beneath the sky. The rhythm of the seasons defines life there: harsh winters bury the earth beneath snow, while spring brings birdsong, grasslands, and nomadic movement. This introduction is not decorative. The steppe itself becomes a living presence in the story, shaping the mentality and fate of the people who inhabit it. At the center of the narrative is Dzhangyr-Bai, a representative of the old order. Through his character, Borisoglebsky explores the tension between tradition and the “new time” that emerged after the Russian Revolution. The story reflects a historical moment when nomadic customs and clan authority came under pressure from Soviet visions of modernization and social change. Dzhangyr-Bai symbolizes a generation struggling to understand whether change is a threat or an opportunity. One of the book’s most striking aspects is its ethnographic richness. The illustrations included in the edition are valuable visual records of Kazakh culture in the 1920s. Traditional clothing and wedding attire are carefully depicted, along with ornaments and everyday objects. These images reveal the elegance and practicality of steppe life. Headdresses and layered garments, many of them embroidered, show how identity and status were expressed visually in nomadic society. The illustrations of musical instruments are equally important. The dombra and kobyz shown in the book appear as central elements of cultural memory rather than exotic curiosities. Other traditional instruments also appear as part of the same artistic world. In Kazakh culture, music has long carried history and lineage, giving emotional form to memory. Through songs and oral storytelling, generations preserved their worldview long before widespread literacy. By including these instruments, the publication acknowledges the deep intellectual and artistic traditions of the Kazakh people. Another memorable section depicts children’s toys and household objects. These seemingly simple details offer insight into everyday life in the steppe. They remind modern readers that history is carried by ordinary habits as well as political upheaval. Such details transform the book into a historical archive as much as a literary work. Today, Dzhangyr-Bai has value far beyond its original political context. For contemporary readers in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, the book captures a transitional era when ancient nomadic civilization encountered industrial modernity. It records material life while also showing how people understood...

FIFA World Cup

World Cup: Diaz’s quality shows as Colombia beat Uzbekistan 3-1

In the breathless air of Mexico City, Colombia overcame a spirited Uzbekistan 3-1 in the first-ever FIFA World Cup game involving a Central Asian side. In a match which was otherwise low on quality, the difference-maker was Bayern Munich’s Luis Díaz. He created Colombia’s first goal, scored the second after Uzbekistan had briefly equalized, and gave the favorites a cutting-edge that they had otherwise lacked. For Uzbekistan, the defeat was not a humiliation. Abbosbek Fayzullaev’s second-half equalizer, the first World Cup goal scored by a Central Asian country, will go down in history. There was even a spell late when Colombia were made to sweat, camped in their own half against a side that many saw as easy pickings. In the end, Jaminton Campaz's third in the eighth minute of stoppage time gave the result a gloss that perhaps flattered the South Americans, who were not at their best. Worlds Apart It is hard to think of two more contrasting countries than Uzbekistan and Colombia. One is arid and double-landlocked, the other tropical, with coasts on the Pacific and the Caribbean. One is a staunch tea culture, the other one of the world’s great coffee exporters. Colombia is in the middle of a febrile election campaign, with a runoff vote due on June 21 that pits the far-left and the far-right. Uzbekistan, by contrast, has never had an election where the winner has received less than 80%. Fortunately, they both quickly found common ground on the pitch by playing some insipid, uninspiring football. Uzbeks are rightly famed for their hospitality, and there was no shortage of accommodation for the Colombian forwards as Uzbekistan welcomed the opposition into their half, sacrificing possession to maintain a solid defensive shape. Sitting back and inviting pressure was always a risk. Mexico City's Estadio Azteca, 2,200 meters above sea level and the scene of the World Cup finals of 1970 and 1986, was full of canary yellow Colombia shirts whose raucous cacophony grew as their side dominated possession of the ball. Toward the end of the first half, the spaces began to widen. Diaz hit the post, and soon after he fashioned the breakthrough, floating a delightful ball over the top for the onrushing Daniel Muñoz, the Crystal Palace right back who, until that point, had had little to do. His improvised finish sent the hordes of Colombians into delirium. Uzbekistan did well to keep the game tight until the break, after which they played higher and with more aggression. On the hour mark came the moment that those watching across Uzbekistan will have been dreaming of. Eldor Shomurodov, who had spent much of the game isolated up front, sent a crashing volley that forced the Colombian goalkeeper Camilo Vargas into a hurried save. The ball spilled loose, leaving Fayzullaev with the simplest of tasks to nod home from point-blank range. Uzbekistan had their first World Cup goal. For five glorious minutes, it looked like another vindication for FIFA’s expanded tournament. The 48-team format has...

World Nomad Games

Tea, Tug-of-War, and Team GB at the World Nomad Games

A British tug-of-war athlete preparing for a nomadic sports festival in Kyrgyzstan sounds like the start of a strange travel documentary. It is also part of the appeal of the World Nomad Games, which return to Kyrgyzstan from August 31 to September 6, 2026, with The Times of Central Asia once again reporting from the ground. Since their launch in 2014, the Games have grown far beyond their roots, turning traditional sports into an international meeting point for athletes, spectators, and cultures that rarely share the same arena. What began as a Kyrgyz initiative has become one of the world’s more unusual sporting gatherings, mixing horseback combat, archery, wrestling, eagle hunting, strength contests, board games, food, music, and craft traditions in a format closer to a living festival than a conventional tournament. For visiting teams, the challenge is not only athletic. It is cultural, physical, and occasionally bewildering in the best possible way, as The Times of Central Asia explored in an interview with Sam Pollard from Team Great Britain. TCA: How did you first become involved with the World Nomad Games, and what drew you to competing there? Sam Pollard: I read Sovietistan: A Journey Through Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan by Erika Fatland in my second year at university, in 2023. I already knew I wanted to travel to Central Asia after university because it was completely unknown to me. I like going to places where no one I know has been, and I was excited to experience it for myself and see whether it was a hidden gem. It absolutely turned out to be just that. The book mentioned Kok Boru, or Kokpar, as one of Central Asia’s traditional games. I searched for it on YouTube and found a video of it being played at the World Nomad Games. I thought, what on earth are the World Nomad Games? I did more research, looked at some of the sports, and saw that the Games lined up perfectly with when I was hoping to travel to Central Asia. Initially, we planned to go as spectators, but then I saw that you could apply to participate. Because my friends and I had a tug-of-war background at university, we thought we’d apply, see what happened, and hope for the best. What drew us to competing was the chance to learn about and embrace nomadic culture, which we didn’t really know much about. We are quite open-minded people, so we were excited to learn from different cultures and see what we could take from them. Each “Stan” is completely different, which made the region even more attractive to us. Kyrgyzstan has its beautiful mountains, Uzbekistan has its amazing mosques, Kazakhstan has the great steppes - Mangistau is incredible - and Tajikistan has the Pamir Highway. There was a real draw for us in the unknown. TCA: What was it like being the flagbearer for the UK team at the Kazakhstan Nomad Games in 2024? Sam Pollard: It was undoubtedly the...