Kazakhstan Life & Culture - The Times Of Central Asia

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TCA Interviews

Kazakhstani Filmmaker Zhanana Kurmasheva on Her Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site Documentary

Zhanana Kurmasheva is a Kazakhstani documentary filmmaker and graduate of the T. K. Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts, where she studied film directing. Her debut feature documentary, We Live Here, turns to the human legacy of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site through the lives of people still living with its consequences. The film became the first documentary from Kazakhstan selected for competition at CPH:DOX, one of the world’s leading documentary film festivals. Over the past year and a half, We Live Here has screened at international festivals and was nominated for Best Documentary Film at the 2025 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. In an interview with The Times of Central Asia, Kurmasheva discusses why the story of the Semipalatinsk test site resonates with audiences around the world, what it was like filming on contaminated land, the growing interest in tours to the area, and why her next film will focus on consumerism. TCA: Zhanana, We Live Here premiered at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen, one of the world’s leading documentary film festivals. What did that moment mean for you? Zhanana: In the world of documentary cinema, CPH:DOX is one of the most prestigious festivals. Every filmmaker wants to be there because it showcases more than 200 of the strongest documentaries from around the world each year. Our film also became the first Kazakh project ever invited to compete in the festival. There were only 12 films in our section, and getting in was extremely difficult because the competition was intense. Being included in a program of that caliber came as a huge surprise to us. TCA: Why was it such a surprise? Zhanana: Honestly, when we were making this film, we never expected this level of success or invitations to so many festivals. By documentary standards, our project was produced on a very modest budget provided by Kazakhstan’s national film fund. The film was made largely through enthusiasm and dedication, without major international resources or influential foreign co-producers. We did everything ourselves. That is why I’m grateful for the opportunity CPH:DOX gave us. Participation there immediately brought international visibility to the film. TCA: What role did producer Banu Ramazanova play in bringing the film to international audiences? Zhanana: The fact that this film happened at all is largely thanks to our producer, Banu Ramazanova. She single-handedly promoted the film using her own resources. She believed in the project so strongly that she proved documentary cinema is worth investing in and that it can achieve a very high level. It’s wonderful that we have producers like her in Kazakhstan who genuinely care about the future of our documentary industry. TCA: Why do you think the selection committees responded to the film? Zhanana: It’s difficult for me to judge because we weren’t the ones making the selections. But if I had to guess, several factors played a role. First, Central Asia is still largely absent from the global documentary landscape. People know very little about our region, so any appearance of material from here naturally...

Gastronomy

Almaty Turns to Gault&Millau to Boost Food Tourism

Almaty is trying to turn its restaurant scene into part of its international tourism brand. The city administration has announced cooperation with Gault&Millau, the French restaurant guide that evaluates restaurants, chefs, hotels, and hospitality culture in multiple countries. The partnership gives the city a new external platform, while also raising a public-spending question. The Almaty authorities described the cooperation as the first time a guide of this level had entered the Central Asian market. The tourism department said the partnership would open Almaty to a global audience of gastronomic tourists and strengthen the city's position on the international tourism map. “For Almaty, this is a landmark event of international scale,” the department said. The public-spending side emerged in the contract details cited by local media. The project was identified as a 234 million tenge (about $478,000) contract between the city's tourism department and SA GAULTMILLAU for services to promote Almaty's tourism and gastronomic potential on the Gault&Millau platform. The terms cited by local media said the guide would inspect 150 restaurants and 25 hotels in Almaty. At least 100 restaurants are to receive ratings, while hotels would be published or recommended on Gault&Millau platforms and in printed materials. The agreement also provides for an English-language guide and a gala event for the restaurant industry. Gault&Millau's arrival gives Almaty a recognized international format for measuring restaurants and hotels. The value of the project will depend less on the gala and more on whether the ratings are seen as credible, whether restaurants use the process to improve service and consistency, and whether tourists respond. Gault&Millau describes itself as an international gastronomy guide and media brand covering restaurants, chefs, hotels, and culinary culture across multiple countries. In fine dining, it is often mentioned alongside the Michelin Guide and The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, though each system works differently and carries different weight in different markets. For Almaty, the appeal is clear. The city already sells itself through mountains, parks, Soviet-era modernist landmarks, coffee shops, nightlife, and food. Its official tourism website says Almaty has more than 3,810 restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, snack bars, and street-food outlets. It also highlights national cuisine, fine dining, bars, wine venues, street food, restaurants with a view, and vegetarian options. The city has been building this pitch for more than a year. In 2025, the Almaty Tourism Bureau presented an official gastronomic guide with more than 140 venues and themed routes, including traditional Kazakh cuisine, multicultural dining, street food, bars, Art&Eat, and a “Mountains and Gastronomy” route. The idea was to show food as part of a wider Almaty experience, rather than as a narrow list of premium restaurants. The international audience was already starting to notice. In 2024, The Times of Central Asia reported that The New York Times had placed Almaty 25th on its list of 52 places to visit, citing its nature, urban life, coffee culture, markets, and growing interest in gastro-tourism. The Gault&Millau project also places Almaty in competition with Astana. The capital signed...

Football

Central Asian Football Stays Active as Uzbekistan Prepares for World Cup

Uzbekistan’s football team takes to the global stage on June 17 in Mexico City, when it faces Colombia in its first round-robin match of the World Cup. Other countries in Central Asia that didn’t qualify for the event aren’t just cheering from afar; they’re training and competing in hopes of one day achieving the same goal. On Tuesday, Tajikistan held India to a 1-1 draw after a late penalty score by Sheriddin Boboev in a friendly match at the Hisor Central Stadium in Tajikistan. The draw followed a 3-1 win for Tajikistan over India in Tursunzoda four days earlier. “While India bravely defended wave after wave of Tajik attacks, they conceded the equalizer in a rather unwanted manner — via a penalty resulting from a handball,” the All India Football Federation said. The stadium filled up with more than 9,000 spectators, some waving Tajikistan’s national flag. The Football Federation of Tajikistan thanked fans for their support and congratulated team captain Akhtam Nazarov on his 100th match for the national team. Tajikistan’s coach, Igor Angelovski of Macedonia, said the two games against India showed “there were many positive aspects to these matches, but they also revealed certain weaknesses that we need to work on.” The team aims to be “fully prepared” for the Asian Cup finals in Saudi Arabia in early 2027, said Angelovski, who recently replaced Serbian coach Goran Stevanovic. Also on Tuesday, Kazakhstan’s national team lost 1-3 to Hungary after taking the early lead when Sergey Malyy scored off Maksim Samorodov's corner kick. Hungary equalized and then surged ahead in the second half, benefiting from a red card for Samorodov. The Kazakhstan forward was sent off, leaving his team a player down in the friendly, which was held in the Hungarian city of Debrecen. In an alarming episode, play was briefly delayed during the match when a television camera suspended on wires crashed onto the field and workers cleared away the debris. The equipment fell close to a cameraman on the ground, but there were no injuries. Uzbekistan’s performance in the World Cup will be cheered on by many people in Central Asia. They feel a sense of solidarity with the White Wolves, who also face Portugal and the Democratic Republic of Congo in group K. Those regional fans include Ruslan Mingazov, a midfielder for the Turkmenistan national team. “Uzbekistan are our brothers, neighbors, and we are happy for them,” Mingazov said in an interview with the Turkmenportal outlet. He said he also hopes Czechia does well because he played there for a long time and knows many of the players on the national team. Brazil, Portugal, and France are the favorites, while Morocco, Egypt, Norway, and Japan are among teams that could deliver surprises at the tournament, according to Mingazov. The World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with an expanded 48-team roster. It opens on Thursday when host Mexico takes on South Africa in Mexico City.

Architecture

Opinion: Beyond Ornaments – Rethinking Kazakhstan’s Architectural Identity

Walking into the Flower of God Mosque in Astana, I was struck not by its grand domes or elaborate decoration, but by the experience of the space itself. Light filtered through the structure in unexpected ways, the interior unfolded gradually, and the building created a sense of calm. It made me wonder: can architecture express cultural meaning without directly reproducing traditional architectural symbols? This question is becoming increasingly important for Kazakhstan. Over the past two decades, the country has transformed its urban landscape through ambitious construction projects. New airports, museums, universities, financial centers, and religious buildings have reshaped cities, particularly Astana. As Kazakhstan seeks to position itself as a modern state connecting Europe and Asia, architecture has become one of the most visible expressions of national identity. Yet a fundamental challenge remains unresolved: how can architecture be modern while also expressing what it means to be Kazakh? National ornaments appear on glass facades and stylized references to the yurt shape public buildings. While these references are familiar and visually recognizable, they do not necessarily create meaningful architecture. Cultural identity cannot simply be attached to a building like decoration. This approach reflects what architects often describe as direct design: the use of recognizable forms and symbols to communicate meaning. Domes, arches, ornaments, and historical references immediately signal cultural identity because they are easy to recognize. Such architecture can create a strong visual connection to heritage, but relying solely on symbolism risks becoming superficial. An alternative approach focuses not on reproducing historical forms but on interpreting the values behind them. Instead of asking how a building should look, architects ask how it should feel. Meaning emerges through light, space, movement, and human experience. Astana's architectural landscape offers several examples of how national identity has been translated into built form. The Baiterek Monument offers perhaps the clearest example of symbolic architecture in Kazakhstan. Drawing on the legend of the Tree of Life and the Samruk bird, it transforms a national myth into a physical structure that is immediately recognizable. Its meaning is communicated directly through form and narrative, making it one of the country's most powerful architectural symbols. [caption id="attachment_50124" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Baiterek, Astana; image: TCA[/caption] Yet the monument also raises an important question. While visitors can easily recognize the symbolism, do they experience the myth itself? Does the ascent through the tower evoke the journey up the Tree of Life, or does the golden sphere create the sensation of entering the sacred egg of the Samruk bird? The symbolism is clearly represented, but the extent to which it is translated into a spatial experience remains open to interpretation. Khan Shatyr occupies a unique place in Kazakhstan's architectural landscape. Its tent-like form directly references the nomadic heritage of the steppe, making it one of the country's most recognizable cultural symbols. Yet the project also raises an important question: is reproducing a familiar image enough to convey a cultural experience? [caption id="attachment_50122" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Khan Shatyr, Astana; image: Bgag[/caption] Despite its obvious reference to...

Health

Alcohol and Male Mortality in Kazakhstan: A Problem People Do Not Usually Talk About

The figures are alarming when examined closely, although Kazakhstan seems to have grown used to them. Women in the country still live noticeably longer than men. According to the Bureau of National Statistics, women’s life expectancy has reached 79.8 years, while men’s is 72.19 years. A gap of almost eight years has persisted for several years. In 2024, women lived on average to 79.42 years, while men lived to 71.33 years. In 2023, the figures were 79.06 and 70.99 years, respectively. The statistics are changing gradually, but the main conclusion remains the same: male mortality in Kazakhstan remains one of the country’s most visible demographic problems. A gender gap in life expectancy is not unique to Kazakhstan – according to estimates by Our World in Data, men live shorter lives than women in every country in the world. The problem in Kazakhstan is the size of the gap. In prosperous countries, it is often three to four years. In Kazakhstan, it is about eight. Biology explains only part of this difference. The rest comes down to behavior, environment, and habits. What the Statistics Show At first glance, the level of alcohol consumption in Kazakhstan does not look extreme. According to WHO data, in 2022, alcohol consumption in Kazakhstan stood at 5.4 liters of pure ethanol per person over the age of 15. For comparison, the figure in Germany is about 13 liters, while in Russia it is more than 11 liters. However, the average figure is not the only thing that matters. The statistics do not show exactly who drinks, how often, or in what circumstances. That is why alcohol rarely appears in official statistics as a direct cause of death, but it often remains an invisible background to tragedy. Documents may list a heart attack, an injury, liver disease, or complications after poisoning, yet alcohol abuse may be a contributing factor behind many of these diagnoses. According to the WHO, more than 3 million people worldwide die every year from diseases and consequences related to alcohol, and a significant share of these deaths are among men. Kazakhstan has also appeared in international rankings of countries with high alcohol-related mortality. The example of Almaty is also revealing: over the course of a year, more than 6,000 cases of poisoning from alcoholic products were recorded there, around 2,000 people were hospitalized, and 23 cases ended in death. But even these data reflect only part of the problem. Alcohol may not be named as the main culprit, although it can trigger or intensify a chain of consequences, including heart disease, injuries, gastrointestinal diseases, infections, cancer, and mental disorders. Why Men in Particular According to the Bureau of National Statistics collection Men and Women of Kazakhstan, in 2023 there were 95 cases of alcohol-related disorders per 100,000 men, compared with 18 among women. Men suffer from these problems 5.3 times more often. The portrait of the typical consumer is also recognizable. Most often, this is a man aged 30 to 44, with secondary...

Venice Biennale

A Polyphonic Process: Kazakhstan at the 2026 Venice Biennale

"There is a Kazakh proverb that says: a foolish person arrives with noise, sweeping everything away in their path, while a wise person arrives quietly, carefully observing the world around them." Syrlybek Bekbota, the curator of the Kazakhstan Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale – the most important art event in the world – offers me this thought at the dawn of the exhibition's opening, and it feels like both a manifesto and an omen. The theme of the pavilion is perfectly in line with the overarching curatorial theme, In Minor Keys, conceived by the late Cameroonian-Swiss curator Koyo Kouoh, who tragically passed away before the Biennale opened. And yet the controversies around this edition contradicted this minor key premise, instead turning it into a highly political event: the jury's resignation, widespread protests against the participation of Israel and Russia, rallies against the exploitation of art workers. The Kazakh pavilion was not immune to controversies itself, after artist Äsel Kadyrhanova's installation Machine (2013) – a meditation on Stalin-era repression featuring a vintage typewriter, Soviet-era arrest warrants, and red thread – was dismantled before the exhibition opened. However, on the day of the pavilion inauguration itself, no trace of the controversies was visible inside the high-ceilinged space. Listening to the Quiet Housed within the Museo Storico Navale near the Arsenale entrance, Qoñyr: The Archive of Silence marks Kazakhstan's third participation in the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, and its most ambitious yet. It is also worth noting that it is the first time a Central Asian nation has selected its pavilion curator and artists through an open call – open to citizens of Kazakhstan, with priority given to those currently living and working in the country. It is a deliberate emphasis on rootedness rather than the diaspora-friendly internationalism that, for better or worse, dominates many national pavilions. The exhibition centres around the word qoñyr, a key term in Kazakh cosmology. While its literal meaning refers to the colour brown, qoñyr carries a far richer metaphorical significance: it can describe a sonic register, the scent of earth, or a form of silence with deeply embodied meaning. It is the attentiveness to minor vibrations – the wind, the breath, a footstep – that renders audible what is usually displaced by noise. The pavilion takes its cue from a traditional Kazakh instrumental composition of the same name by the twentieth-century composer Äbiken Khasenov, whose work embodies a broader cultural shift: as cultural theorist Zira Nauryzbay has noted, Kazakh music before the twentieth century was predominantly composed in major keys, while the century's upheavals – Soviet occupation, famine, mass deportations – precipitated a distinctive turn toward minor tonalities. That sonic transformation is the exhibition's guiding metaphor. "In periods of global instability, attention is often drawn to loud events and immediate reactions," the curator Bekbota explains. "Within this atmosphere of noise, personal memory, everyday experience, and quieter forms of knowledge can easily remain unnoticed." His curatorial wager is that restraint, rather than volume, can...