Kazakhstan - The Times Of Central Asia

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Firefighters Evacuate People from Burning High-Rise in Astana

A large fire broke out at a 26-storey building in Kazakhstan’s capital on Saturday, sending dense clouds of smoke billowing across the city. Firefighters evacuated people, including a three-month-old baby, from the Rixos Khan Shatyr Residences in Astana, the Ministry of Emergency Situations said. It posted photographs and video of firefighters escorting people into the street and using a crane and hose to extinguish the flames. Much of the blaze appeared to be on part of the building’s outer covering material. Built by Turkish company Sembol Construction, the building is on Turan Avenue and near the Khan Shatyr shopping and entertainment center, which has a distinctive cone-like structure. “Fully equipped apartments and high-level finishes, full range of services and infrastructure, as well as comfortable and spacious offices will be a hallmark of the project,” Sembol Construction said when the building project was underway. Eight people, including one child, were evacuated from the building. According to the official representative of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan Dinara Nurgalieva, there was no information about the severely injured. A firefighting headquarters has been set up at the scene, with firefighters continuing to extinguish not only the cladding of the building, but also working inside the complex. The causes of the fire have not yet been reported, and specialists continue to work at the scene.

Aidos Sadykov Shooting: First Suspect Detained by Kazakhstan Authorities

Yesterday, TCA reported that two suspects had been identified by the Ukrainian authorities just three days after after the shooting of Aidos Sadykov, a Kyiv based political blogger. Both are Kazakhstan citizens, 33-year-old Meiram Karataev and 36-year-old Altay Zhakanbaev, whose names have been corroborated by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine’s website. Immediately following the attack, President Tokayev of Kazakhstan said that “the official bodies of the Republic of Kazakhstan are ready to join the investigation.” According to the Kazakhstan Office of the General Prosecutor, on June 21, Zhakanbaev independently turned himself in to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where he was questioned on the circumstances of the case. On the same day, he was detained on suspicion of involvement in the crime against Aidos Sadykov. Sadykov and his wife, Natalya Sadykova left Kazakhstan in 2014 following allegations of slander by a Kazakh MP, a charge no longer considered a criminal offense as of 2020. Since 2014, they have resided in Kyiv, where they have received refugee status. From Kyiv, the couple host the YouTube channel @base-kazakh, which, according to their description, “covers events in Kazakhstan and the world and does not depend on the authorities, oligarchs and grants”. Sadykov has criticized the Kazakh authorities in the regional press since 2000 and the YouTube channel has been consistently critical of Kazakhstan’s government, starting with President Nazarbayev’s term and continuing under the new President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Since the war broke out in Ukraine, Sadykov and his wife have claimed that Kazakhstan’s leadership is colluding with the Kremlin. The apparent assassination attempt of Sadykov has raised questions about the motive. Kazakhstan parliamentary deputy, Ermurat Bapi has suggested that the assassination attempt was due to “third forces” that want to create a “quarrel between Kazakhstan and some countries”. Sadykova has accused President Tokayev of ordering the assassination. The detainment of the first suspect by Kazakhstan authorities is a positive development in determining the actual motive behind the attack.

“Photography in Kazakhstan is Characterized by Local Flavor”: Interview with Photographer Veronika Lerner

Veronika Lerner is a successful, self-taught Fine Art photographer from Kazakhstan whose work has received international recognition. Early in her career, an image of her grandmother sitting near-naked in her kitchen, was selected for inclusion in the portrait collection of the prestigious 5th Exposure Award exhibition at the Louvre, Paris. Deemed controversial when it appeared online, it embodied Lerner’s interest and talent in conceptual photography. Her portraits have been placed in the international ‘Shoot The Face’ competition as well as ‘My Amazing Kazakhstan’, and in 2016 and 2022, her series "Strangers" was featured in exhibitions in St. Petersburg. One of Kazakhstan’s finest contemporary photographers, Veronika continues to make a significant contribution to the development of Kazakh photography. TCA: What inspired you to take up photography? I turned to photography in 2007, when studying to be an artist-designer at college. I had no formal art school training and though keen to develop my own style in drawing, was disillusioned when criticized for my use of shading. Photography allowed me more freedom and with no one editing what I was doing, I was able to express myself fully. TCA: How has your career evolved and what changes have you noticed in the field along the way? After college, I continued taking photos and a post with a print publication led to a second job in which I was required to photograph just about everything. Parallel to my job, I worked independently on creative shoots and by developing my practice, my career in photography was soon in full swing. During that period, my style became much lighter and more cheerful. I moved away from black and white contrast shots towards color and my images became airier and more dynamic. TCA: Where do you find inspiration for your work? Are there any photographers in particular whose work you admire? I find inspiration in everyday life, new experiences, and the beauty of the world around me. Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004), is a brilliant photographer. Working as a photo-journalist for Magnum, he pioneered street photography and was the first Western photographer to work ‘freely’ in the former Soviet Union. Capturing seemingly unimportant moments of ordinary life, there is something elusive and eternal about his work. I greatly admire photographers whose work resonates with the contemporary culture. Irina Dmitrovskaya was a journalist prior to attaining a degree from Docdocdoc, St Petersburg School of Modern Photography. Focusing on identity and societal constructs, and issues concerning the LGBT+ community, her work raises questions about the Kazakh perception of beauty and femininity and last year, was lauded in the exhibition ‘Bodily Autonomies’ at the Queer Festival, Heidelberg. https://queer-festival.de/bodily-autonomies/ I am also inspired by black and white images in which by Moscow-based Anisiya Kuznina, https://anisiakuzmina.com explores the concept of individuality; by Evgeny Mokhorev https://heyboymag.com/evgeny-mokhorev-life-through-the-lens-of-emotion-controversy/ for his raw, black and white evocative studies of St Petersburg’s marginalized youth, and by Didar Kushamanov https://t.me/s/kushamanov for his use of camera obscura. In addition to work by other photographers, my approach to subject matter...

Kazakhstan: Preconceived Notions and Changed Minds

When I received the email stating that I had received a fellowship to move to Almaty, Kazakhstan, to teach English for a year, I nearly fell out of my office chair in Midtown Manhattan. I worked in a market research company fresh out of college but knew I needed to do something more exciting in my early 20s. I began studying Russian when I was 13 years old. I’m unsure what the exact catalyst for my language endeavor was. Still, coupled with my Ukrainian ancestry, Putin’s annexation of Crimea, and the Sochi Olympics, it seemed like a no-brainer to me. At this point in my life, I lived outside of Boston, Massachusetts, and began taking Russian classes on Saturdays in Brookline to satiate my desire to learn. After a year of classes, I enrolled in a Russian language immersion camp in Bemidji, Minnesota, for three summers. Following that, I received a grant from the US State Department to immerse myself in the culture for a summer in Narva, Estonia. I knew where and what I wanted to study after graduating high school. I started my studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University in Washington, DC, declared a major in international affairs with a minor in Russian language and literature, and never looked back. After graduation, my plans were in the air. I had been looking into opportunities to move to Russia or Ukraine, but this was now off the table due to the war. I worked in New York to get sorted, earn money, and start a new chapter of my life. At some point in April 2023, I received an email from a fellowship I had applied for in October 2022. I was initially placed on the waitlist, but I was notified that I had been accepted for the 2023-2024 cohort to relocate to Almaty, Kazakhstan. “Oh my god,” I said at my desk. My coworker asked me what had happened. I said, “I’m moving to Kazakhstan. “Kazakhstan, like Borat’s Kazakhstan?” she asked. [caption id="attachment_19278" align="aligncenter" width="370"] Horses graze along the way to Furmanov Peak – Almaty, KZ[/caption] Preconceived notions After the excitement had settled and my family and friends were informed of my plans, questions began to arise. “Why Kazakhstan?” “Is it safe there?” “Is that next to Serbia?” “Does the Taliban rule Kazakhstan?” It is shocking how little most Americans know about the 9th largest country on the planet. Spanning two continents with nearly 20 million people, most Americans only know Kazakhstan from Sasha Baron Cohen’s 2006 film, Borat, and nothing more. When they hear the word “Kazakhstan,” they picture a backward and socially undeveloped post-communist country in which people commute by donkey carts, are misogynistic, and are openly antisemitic. While the depiction of Kazakh culture is inherently incorrect, the message is stuck, and the film has become synonymous with Kazakhstan in the American mind. However, most Americans probably can’t find it on the map. I explained, “Kazakhstan is in Central Asia,...

Who is Aidos Sadykov?

The tragic shooting of Kazakh journalist, Aidos Sadykov is suspected to be collateral damage in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the ensuing geopolitical subversions. Aidos Sadykov and his wife Natalya Sadykova host the YouTube channel @base-kazakh, which, according to their description, “covers events in Kazakhstan and the world and does not depend on the authorities, oligarchs and grants”. The couple left Kazakhstan in 2014 following allegations of slander against Sadykova by Kazakh MP Maral Sergazievich Itegulov, a charge no longer considered a criminal offense as of 2020. Since 2014, they have resided in Kyiv, where they have received refugee status. Sadykov has criticized the Kazakh authorities in the regional press since 2000. Also a former chair of the Aktobe NSDP Party Azat branch, Aidos Sadykov was imprisoned for hooliganism in 2010, but was released early under amnesty. He later founded the "Gastat" opposition movement after leaving the NSDP and establishing an independent trade union at CNPS-Aktobemunaigas, a local oil and gas enterprise. He is associated with another outspoken controversial figure, Mukhtar Ablyazov, who has sought political asylum in France. Ablyazov faced murder charges in Kazakhstan following the death of a bank CEO – the same bank that Ablyazov later took over and reportedly defrauded. He now faces judgements against him exceeding $5 billion in UK and U.S. courts related to laundering stolen funds. Sadykova worked for the newspaper Respublika, which was allegedly funded by Ablyazov. The apparent assassination attempt of Sadykov has raised questions about motive. Kazakhstan parliamentary deputy, Ermurat Bapi has suggested that the assassination attempt was due to “third forces” that want to create a “quarrel between Kazakhstan and some countries”. Sadykova has accused President Tokayev of ordering the assassination. The couple’s YouTube channel has been consistently critical of Kazakhstan’s government, starting with President Nazarbayev’s term and continuing under new President Tokayev. Since the war broke out in Ukraine, Sadykov and his wife have claimed that Kazakhstan’s leadership is colluding with the Kremlin. According to The Guardian, Sadykov is a “prominent blogger with more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube.” While the YouTube channel does in fact show 1.01 million followers, Washington University’s public tool demonstrates that at least 88% of these are dead accounts (meaning they show no activity), according to an analysis conducted three days after the attack on Sadykov. On June 20, the Prosecutor General of Kazakhstan announced that they had reached out to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and offered their full assistance in solving the crime by involving highly-skilled investigators from Kazakhstan.

Alternative Transport Routes in Kazakhstan: Potential and Current Opportunities

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has ordered alternative transportation and shipping routes to be drawn up and supply routes to be diversified. Amid ongoing geopolitical shifts, routes passing through Kazakhstan's territory are already seeing relatively high freight flows. Still, to develop them, further measures are needed to enhance international logistics cooperation and increase efficiency along the entire length of the transport corridors. The country's deputy minister for transport Maksat Kaliakparov kindly agreed to answer some questions from The Times of Central Asia. TCA: Not so long ago, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) announced the launch of a project to create a digital corridor as part of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) with the company Global DTC Pte Ltd. What countries are to be integrated into this project? Can a similar digital trade corridor be considered for the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)? MK: As you know, on August 16, 2022, KZT and the Singaporean company PSA concluded a memorandum according to which one of the identified areas for cooperation is developing a digital trading corridor (DTC). Towards this, a multimodal DTC has been developed. Using this platform, three container trains were sent on the route from Xi'an (China) to Absheron (Azerbaijan) as a test run. Integration with the railway systems of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan has been carried out. Currently, the process of integration with Georgian systems is underway. Overall, the DTC platform allows for: entering into online contracts with freight forwarding companies; seeing and receiving transportation tariffs from logistics companies; tracking the location of containers along all routes; getting customs status based on transit declarations when crossing borders along the route, etc. This year, it is also planning to launch the commercial operation of a container tracking service in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, and it is also planning to be integrated with a Chinese logistics operator. In addition, the Tez Customs platform has been developed. It is part of DTC, created to automate the customs clearance process of railway transit freight on the route China-Kazakhstan-Central Asia/Europe. Tez Customs allows for: automating the process of customs transit clearance at the Kazakhstan-China border; reducing the time of customs procedures (from 4-8 hours to 30 minutes); tracking the status of transit declarations and freight until final departure from the territory of Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, a similar DTC for the INSTC is being considered within the cooperation framework with the UAE company Abu Dhabi Ports. TCA: As part of the development of the INSTC, the railway administrations of Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan are planning to create a joint venture (JV). Tell us about the plans for how it is to be formed. How will shares in the JV be allocated between the countries? MK: Yes, indeed, for the further development of the eastern branch of the INSTC, the participating countries are working to create an equal-term JV between KTZ Express, Russian Railways Logistics, and the Transport and Logistics Center of Turkmenistan. Today, the railway administrations of Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran are creating a favorable tariff...