Kazakhstan Life & Culture - The Times Of Central Asia

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World Nomad Games

World Nomad Games Return Home as Kyrgyzstan Welcomes World Leaders

Few periods since independence have put Kyrgyzstan so squarely in the international spotlight. On August 31, the country marked 35 years of independence, opened the sixth World Nomad Games, and prepared to host a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit that has brought more than a dozen foreign leaders to Bishkek. The Games themselves were back where they began. Kyrgyzstan launched the World Nomad Games in 2014 and staged the first three editions at Cholpon Ata before the event moved to Turkey in 2022 and Kazakhstan in 2024. This year's Games run through September 6, with The Times of Central Asia reporting from Bishkek and Issyk-Kul throughout the week in our special coverage. The opening took place at the new Bishkek Arena, rising out of the dust on the southwestern edge of the capital near the foothills of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range. Around 30,000 spectators attended the ceremony. The stadium will eventually hold more than 51,000, but it is not formally due to open until October 5. The Games opened while work on the arena was still underway, with parts of the building still looking unfinished. In the weeks before the ceremony, horses had circled the arena floor during rehearsals while drilling continued around them. By the time the spectators arrived, the construction site had become the biggest show in town. Before the politics and pageantry, there was pop. Kyrgyzstan put many of its best-known performers on stage in a concert that at times had a distinctly Eurovision feel. Energetic hosts introduced a succession of singers and rappers while tightly choreographed dancers moved between traditional dress and contemporary styling. The lineup included Bayastan, Malika Dina, Erlan Andashev, Begish, and others, but veteran singer Baktiyar Toktorov received the loudest reaction. When he launched into "Yza," known almost universally by its "Bui-Bui" refrain, spectators rose from their seats and sang with him. Even some of the security guards joined in. The refrain does not demand many words, but almost everybody in the arena seemed to know them. The new stadium also showed some early teething problems, with concession stands running out of bottled water and food as crowds built. After the concert, the momentum disappeared. The audience waited for around 90 minutes while footage of arriving dignitaries played on the giant screens. The reason for the pause soon became clear, as one motorcade after another delivered guests for the formal ceremony. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko were among those in the stands. The presidents of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan also attended, along with leaders and senior officials from elsewhere in Asia, the Caucasus, and Africa. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was among the international guests. One expected heavyweight was missing. Chinese President Xi Jinping, in Bishkek for a state visit and the SCO summit, had been due to attend the opening. Presidential spokesman Askat Alagozov said Xi had stayed away because of the deadly flooding and landslides in...

Archaeology

Archaeologist Steven Gilbert on Medieval Christianity in Kazakhstan

For almost a decade, archaeologists excavating a medieval Silk Road city in southeastern Kazakhstan have been uncovering evidence of a little-known Christian community that lived there centuries before the Russian conquest. At Ilibalyk, in the Zhetysu region near Kazakhstan’s border with China, they have found a Christian cemetery, dozens of gravestones bearing crosses and epitaphs, a funerary chapel, and burials of women of high social status. In an interview with The Times of Central Asia, American archaeologist Steven Gilbert discusses the discoveries at Ilibalyk, what they reveal about Christianity in medieval Central Asia, and what archaeology can add to Kazakhstanis’ understanding of the region’s past. TCA: What inspired you to pursue archaeology, and how did your research journey bring you to Kazakhstan? Gilbert: I lived in Kazakhstan before I became an archaeologist. I moved to Kazakhstan in 1993, shortly after independence. My wife and I originally came as part of a humanitarian organization because Kazakhstan was facing many difficulties at the time. Our organization was involved in food aid projects in the Aral Sea region and various exchange programs. My interest in archaeology began after a schoolteacher discovered a very large Christian gravestone, one meter long, in Usharal, in the Panfilov district of the Zhetysu region, in 2014. I had previously conducted historical research into Christianity in Central Asia and knew that Christians had been present in the region since the fifth century, and possibly as early as the second century. The discovery of this remarkable artifact, now housed at the Center for the Rapprochement of Cultures in Almaty, allowed me to establish connections with archaeologists from Kazakhstan and the United States. Through them, I returned to the U.S. to study archaeology specifically so that I could work at this and other sites. TCA: What makes the ancient city of Ilibalyk historically unique within the Silk Road network? Gilbert: Ilibalyk was located on an ancient trade route just beyond the Dzungarian Gate in this region. It was a stop before Almaliq, the capital of the Chagataids in the late medieval period. This oasis on the edge of the desert was an important place for travelers both before and after the Mongol conquest. For our research, its uniqueness lies primarily in the fact that we now know that a large community of Turkic-speaking Christians lived here for almost two centuries, from the 12th to the 14th century.They lived in the city alongside followers of several religions: Muslims, Buddhists, Manichaeans, and those who followed traditional religious beliefs that today we call Tengrism. This is the first clearly Christian cemetery discovered in Kazakhstan dating from before the arrival of the Russian Empire. Christian communities and cemeteries had previously been found in Kyrgyzstan, but this is the first reliable evidence of such a community on the territory of modern-day Kazakhstan. TCA: Which of the artifacts and discoveries made by your team at Ilibalyk do you consider the most significant? Gilbert: We have discovered more than 50 gravestones, known as kairaks, bearing images of crosses. Six of...

Dastan Satpayev

Dastan Satpayev Burnley Debut Marks First Step in English Football

One of Central Asia’s most promising young footballers, Dastan Satpayev, made his competitive debut in English football on August 23. The 18-year-old Kazakhstan international came off the bench for Burnley in an away match against West Bromwich Albion in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Satpayev came on in the 58th minute with Burnley trailing 2-1, but was unable to prevent his side falling to a 3-1 defeat. Why Satpayev Ended Up in the Championship For a region whose footballers have rarely moved directly into leading Western European leagues, Satpayev’s career is being closely watched. In July, the forward joined Chelsea for preseason and scored in one of the club’s friendly matches. Chelsea formally completed his transfer on August 14, signing him to a contract running until 2033. He then joined Burnley on loan for the 2026/27 season. Loans are routinely used by major English clubs to give young players first-team experience elsewhere while they remain under contract with their parent club. Satpayev has said the move will give him a chance to adapt to English football. The Championship is far from a youth or reserve league. Sometimes dubbed "the toughest league in Europe", its marathon 46-game season features 24 clubs, many of whom, including Burnley, have appeared in the Premier League. “I Just Need to Keep Working Hard” Ahead of his debut, Burnley’s official website published Satpayev’s first interview since joining the Lancashire club. “I think this loan is a good step for me. I can adapt here and see what it is like to play in England. Playing in the Championship will help me get used to English football,” the forward said. Satpayev also noted that the intensity of the English schedule, with its 46 league games, plus domestic cup fixtures, will help his development. “I just need to keep working hard, keep moving forward and keep working. It’s also good that there are so many games in the Championship and Premier League: for a footballer, it’s great when you have a match every three or four days. It helps you stay sharp all the time,” he said. His First Half-Hour On August 23, head coach Nicky Hayen selected him for the away match against West Bromwich Albion. The Kazakh forward came on with Burnley trailing 2-1, replacing Armando Broja in the 58th minute. The visitors were unable to turn the game around. West Brom scored a third goal from the penalty spot and won 3-1. After the match, Hayen did not single out the Kazakh player’s debut for assessment. Instead, the head coach expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the team as a whole, particularly after halftime. “The defeat was fully deserved. They had much more energy, and you could see that in the duels and the second balls. We played too slowly and were a long way from the level of last week,” Hayen said. Early reactions to Satpayev were broadly positive. British football blogger Josh Pearson, who regularly covers the Championship, suggested after...

Gulzira Zhantemir

How a Ballerina from Kazakhstan Built a Career in German Ballet

When Gulzira Zhantemir arrived in Kiel, Germany, in 2017, she spoke virtually no German or English. Behind her were eight years at a ballet school in Almaty and three seasons at Astana Opera; ahead lay an unfamiliar country and theater system in which she would have to prove herself all over again. Nine years later, Zhantemir is completing this chapter as an established member of Ballett Kiel, with a repertoire encompassing classical and contemporary work. In 2023, the Gesellschaft der Freunde des Theaters in Kiel awarded her its Förderpreis in recognition of her work with the company. For Zhantemir, the path to this European career began much earlier, in Kazakhstan, and almost by chance. At the age of four, her mother enrolled her in a dance group at the local Palace of Schoolchildren, a type of extracurricular education center common across the former Soviet Union. Her first classes were not in ballet. Everything changed in the fourth grade, when teachers from the Alexander Seleznev Almaty Choreographic School came to her school looking for children suited to professional training. Her mother enjoyed watching ballet on television and encouraged her to try. At 10, Zhantemir entered the school and began eight years of professional ballet training, with daily classes and rehearsals alongside rigorous academic preparation. She graduated with honors in 2014 and won a gold medal at the Orleu International Ballet Competition that same year. After graduating, Zhantemir joined Astana Opera, the State Opera and Ballet Theatre in Kazakhstan’s capital. She had long wanted to move to Europe. Doing so meant leaving behind an established professional life and starting again with an audition. In 2017, Zhantemir successfully auditioned for Ballett Kiel, part of Theater Kiel, the municipal theater in this northern German city. The move also required her to adapt to a different way of working. “At Astana Opera, there was more time for rehearsals for each production and more space. Theater Kiel is much more compact, and we have one main stage, so we have to plan our time very precisely,” Zhantemir said. Even with those constraints, Kiel offered the professional variety Zhantemir had sought in Europe. “Working abroad gives you an incredible opportunity to train with guest choreographers and teachers from around the world and learn different contemporary and classical techniques,” she said. Outside the theater, other dancers from Kazakhstan and Ukrainian choreographer Yaroslav Ivanenko, who led Ballett Kiel for many years, helped her settle in while she learned German. Gradually, her list of roles grew beyond the classical repertoire. Zhantemir danced both central female roles in Giselle, Giselle herself and Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis. Her repertoire came to include Odette in Swan Lake and Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She also appeared in West Side Story and contemporary productions. Her Kiel roles included Swanilda in Coppélia and Cinderella. With another company, she performed Kitri in Don Quixote. For a ballet dancer, the differences between these roles are significant. Kitri requires virtuosity and temperament, while Giselle calls for...

AI Content Creation

Kazakhstani AI Creator Alissa Kamorskaya on the Rise of AI Animation

Kazakhstani model and AI content creator Alissa Kamorskaya runs Chudno, a school and agency specializing in AI-generated content. Kamorskaya began publishing AI cartoons in February 2026, and one of her videos has since received more than 30 million views on Instagram. The Times of Central Asia spoke with her about the rise of AI animation and the role of social media algorithms in driving views. TCA: You began creating AI cartoons before the format became widespread in Kazakhstan. Why do you think your most-viewed video attracted such a large audience? Alissa: I think several factors played a role. One was that when I made my most-viewed cartoons, almost no one in the post-Soviet space was using this format. I posted my first one on February 3 this year. I wanted to tell my followers how I met my husband, but I simply didn’t have any video footage to illustrate it, so I decided to turn it into a cartoon. The views quickly took off, my social media audience started growing, and I realized it was a very promising niche. AI cartoons have now become hugely popular. You can see animated videos recommended on social media getting as many as 100 million views. They have spread across social media so quickly that it feels as though AI cartoons have been around for a long time. In reality, broadly speaking, they have only been this widespread for about six months. TCA: Why does animation work so well with a mass audience? Alissa: I think it’s because animation is almost universal. Very often it doesn’t need words at all. A cartoon can be understood by someone of any age, from any country, speaking any language. Someone could be sitting somewhere in Cambodia, see the video, and still understand what is happening. So the potential audience for this kind of content is enormous. TCA: Do you see that in the geographic breakdown of your audience? Alissa: I analyzed the statistics for several videos and noticed that a lot of viewers come from Turkey and Iran. I think that is partly connected to how my characters look. They have dark hair and darker skin, so viewers in those countries may find them more familiar-looking. I often see comments in Turkish under the videos, and I can tell that people recognize themselves in these characters. Visual identification is very important here. It works much like it does in movies, or when we were children and picked a favorite character and said, “I’ll be this one.” We want to recognize ourselves in characters and identify with them. TCA: Before AI animation, you ran a conventional blog for about five years. Why did cartoons change things so dramatically? Alissa: I had been blogging for about five years, constantly filming myself, and my audience barely grew. For several years, my follower count stayed at around 3,000. Everything changed only when I switched from making what I personally liked to what interested a much wider range of people. I used...

Birth Trends

Births Decline in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as Central Asian Trends Diverge

Central Asia is commonly seen as a region with a young and rapidly growing population. The region’s population is still expanding, but birth trends are beginning to diverge. In the first half of 2026, births fell noticeably in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, while Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan recorded modest increases. Excluding Turkmenistan, about 711,300 children were born in the four other Central Asian countries during the six-month period, 5.5% fewer than a year earlier. Uzbek economist Mirkomil Kholboev highlighted the differences between the countries after comparing national statistics. “Births are declining in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, while they are increasing in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan,” Kholboev noted. Uzbekistan recorded the largest decline, with the number of births falling 7.9% to 373,389. Of those, about 192,900 were boys and 180,500 were girls. The decline is not new. In 2025, about 879,600 children were born in Uzbekistan, 5.1% fewer than a year earlier. That has not prevented the country’s population from continuing to grow rapidly, reaching 38.2 million at the beginning of 2026. The Times of Central Asia previously examined why Uzbekistan’s population continues to expand even as the number of births declines. A similar picture is emerging in Kazakhstan. A total of 149,774 births were registered from January through June, down 7.1% from the same period last year. Kazakhstan’s population nevertheless continues to grow and reached 20.59 million by July 1. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are moving in the opposite direction for now. Kyrgyzstan recorded about 66,300 births in the first half of the year, up 2% from a year earlier. In Tajikistan, 121,810 children were born, an increase of 0.9%. The divergence is also notable in the wider post-Soviet context. Births have declined in Armenia and Azerbaijan as well. In Ukraine, 73,292 children were born in the first half of 2026, 16% fewer than during the same period a year earlier. Russia has sharply restricted the publication of demographic statistics since 2025, making current comparisons more difficult, although the last available figures also showed births continuing to decline. For Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the current figures do not mean their populations are shrinking. Births still substantially outnumber deaths, leaving both countries with strong natural population growth despite the decline in births. If these differences persist, their effects will extend well beyond demographic statistics. For a region with rapidly growing cities and large young populations, they could eventually mean different levels of demand for schools and universities. They could also affect labor markets and the number of new workers entering the economies of the four countries.