Page 23 – The Times Of Central Asia

17 Mar 2026

Central Asia, Home, International Affairs, Features

Threats to Regional Security: Why Escalation Around Iran Matters for Central Asia

March 23, 2026
By Times of Central Asia

For Central Asia, the central question is not simply whether a wider conflict involving Iran would destabilize the Middle East, but how that instability could spill north into a region that has repeatedly absorbed the consequences of crises to its south. Central Asian states have seen before how militant infiltration, narcotics trafficking, and extremist mobilization can intensify when neighboring wars weaken state control and create more permissive transit corridors.

History gives Central Asia specific reasons to take that risk seriously. During the Tajik civil war and its aftermath, the Tajik-Afghan border became a frontline against crossings by Afghan militants and narcotics traffickers. In 1999 and 2000, fighters from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, or IMU, carried out the Batken incursions into southern Kyrgyzstan, took hostages, and demonstrated how quickly insecurity from the Afghan theater could penetrate Central Asia. At the same time, Afghan opiates moved north through the Northern Route, tying militancy, organized crime, and border insecurity into a single regional problem.

Afghanistan remains the most important precedent, but the comparison with Iran must be made carefully. After the fall of Najibullah in 1992, Afghanistan fragmented into competing militias and warlord zones. The Taliban later emerged from that disorder, and the Afghan state collapsed again when the Taliban captured Kabul and returned to power in 2021. Iran is structurally different. It has a centralized state, a denser security apparatus, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, which is deeply embedded in regime security and domestic politics. For that reason, the most plausible risk is not an immediate Afghanistan-style collapse, but a slower weakening of control in peripheral regions that could open space for armed groups, trafficking networks, and extremist recruiters.

Those peripheral regions matter because Iran’s borderlands already contain armed actors with their own agendas. In the northwest, PJAK remains part of the Kurdish militant landscape. In the southeast, Jaysh al-Adl operates in Sistan-Baluchistan and adjoining border areas. Their capabilities should not be exaggerated, and they do not represent entire Kurdish or Baloch populations. But in a period of prolonged instability, such groups could exploit weaker local control, greater arms circulation, and more permissive smuggling corridors.

For Central Asia, however, the greatest concern is the interaction between any Iranian crisis and the threat environment centered on Afghanistan. United Nations reporting in 2025 assessed ISIL-K as the predominant extra-regional terrorist threat, and the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center says ISIS-K has carried out attacks in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Russia while using media to recruit new members and advance a vision of “Khorasan” that explicitly includes parts of Central Asia and Iran. In other words, Central Asia already faces a live extremist ecosystem to its south; wider instability involving Iran could amplify that pressure rather than replace it.

This is why Central Asia should not be seen as a passive observer. The region sits at the junction of security corridors linking Afghanistan, Iran, the Caspian basin, and Russia. A wider conflict involving Iran could intensify trafficking through existing routes, strain border services, and create new openings for covert movement and extremist recruitment. The lesson from the Tajik-Afghan frontier, the Batken incursions, and the Northern Route is that spillover usually reaches Central Asia not through conventional invasion, but through networks, logistics, and cumulative pressure on weak points along the regional periphery. Regional governments therefore need tighter intelligence coordination, stronger border monitoring, and more realistic contingency planning for how instability around Iran could interact with the enduring threat landscape south of Central Asia.

16 Mar 2026

Cultural Heritage, Uzbekistan, Life & Culture, Uzbekistan Features, Features, Uzbekistan Life & Culture

Opening the Islamic Civilization Center in Tashkent: A New Landmark of Memory, Scholarship, and National Identity

March 25, 2026
By Times of Central Asia

With its public opening scheduled for March 17, 2026, the Islamic Civilization Center in Tashkent is emerging as one of the most consequential cultural projects in contemporary Uzbekistan. Conceived under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s initiative first announced in 2017, the Center presents itself not simply as a museum but as a national statement about memory, scholarship, and identity. The Center’s own mission describes it as a bridge between the Golden Age and New Uzbekistan, linking a rich spiritual and scientific inheritance with the country’s modern aspirations. In that sense, the opening is not only an institutional debut; it is a carefully staged declaration of civilizational confidence.

The setting reinforces that message. The complex rises in Tashkent’s historic Hast-Imam area, at Karasaray 47 in the Almazar district, where architecture itself is part of the narrative. The official site says the building’s 65-meter dome and four portals symbolize the unity of Uzbekistan’s regions, turning the Center into a monument as much as a museum. From the outside, the structure is meant to signal national scale; from the inside, it is designed to draw visitors into a journey through faith, science, and statehood. The opening therefore introduces not just a new institution, but a new symbolic landmark for the capital.

What makes the Center distinctive is the scope of its ambition. Official descriptions emphasize that it is more than an exhibition venue: alongside museum halls, it includes a library, restoration and digitization laboratories, research departments, and archival storage. That institutional mix matters. Rather than treating Islamic civilization as a fixed inheritance locked behind glass, the Center is built to keep knowledge active through conservation, scholarship, and public interpretation. It is a museum-research hybrid with an international educational focus, drawing inspiration from historical centers of learning such as Baghdad’s House of Wisdom, the Khorezm Ma’mun Academy, and Ulugh Beg’s madrasah in Samarkand.

At the spiritual and architectural core of the complex is the Qur’an Hall. The official website describes it as the largest and most majestic section of the building, as well as the conceptual heart of the entire project. At its center stands the 7th-century Mushaf of Uthman, preserved beneath the great dome and recognized by UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. The hall also features a gallery of 114 Qur’ans tracing the evolution of Islamic calligraphy, and the Center says the space is designed not only for display but also for contemplation, with continuous Qur’an recitation planned inside. The result is an opening centered on reverence as much as spectacle.

Beyond the Qur’an Hall, the Center organizes Uzbekistan’s civilizational story along a long historical arc. Its exhibition program moves from pre-Islamic heritage through the First and Second Renaissances and into New Uzbekistan, combining rare objects with replicas, models, 3D technologies, audiovisual tools, and other modern display formats. The Hall of Honor, one of the site’s highlighted spaces, contains 14 arches depicting key events in Central Asian history and interactive panels linked to a digital platform with avatars of more than one hundred thinkers and scholars. In this way, the opening signals a curatorial philosophy that prefers immersion and dialogue over static display.

The Center’s collections are meant to match that ambition. According to official materials, nearly two thousand rare manuscripts and artifacts have been repatriated through international cooperation, while more than 1,500 specialists—including architects, historians, artisans, conservators, and technologists from Uzbekistan and abroad—have contributed to the project. The preparation of the exhibitions has also been unusually systematic: the website reports that roughly 100 contracts were signed with scholars to enrich the content of the megaproject. These details matter because they show that the opening is not the product of a single ceremony or construction deadline. It is the culmination of years of research, acquisition, design, and scholarly collaboration.

That long preparation has also been visibly international. The Center’s site documents roundtables and design meetings involving Uzbek scholars and foreign partners such as Italy’s Magister Art and the French firm Wilmotte & Associés, all aimed at organizing the exhibitions to international standards. Another official report says the working groups combined scientific-methodological requirements with contemporary museum tools such as replicas, models, 3D technologies, and audiovisual equipment. Plans for an international forum linked to the official opening were discussed as part of the same process, underscoring that the event is intended not only for domestic audiences but for the wider academic and cultural world as well.

In that broader context, the opening of the Islamic Civilization Center in Tashkent carries meaning well beyond Uzbekistan. The Center’s public narrative repeatedly frames the project as a way to present the humanistic essence of Islam and the intellectual contributions of the region to world civilization. Official materials describe it as an internationally oriented platform for research, education, and intercultural dialogue, and note that in December 2025 the Center signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations. That combination of national memory and global outreach may prove to be the Center’s most important achievement. As its doors open, Tashkent is not simply unveiling a new museum; it is asserting its place, once again, as a crossroads of knowledge.

16 Mar 2026

Business & Economy, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Kazakhstan Maintains Meat Exports to the UAE and Plans to Increase Shipments

March 16, 2026
By Dmitry Pokidaev

Kazakhstani producers continue to export meat products to the United Arab Emirates despite logistical complications caused by the conflict in the Middle East. Shipments are also expected to increase, according to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade and Integration.

Military developments in the region, including hostilities affecting Iranian territory since February 28, have disrupted logistics for several Central Asian countries. Nevertheless, Kazakhstani exporters have managed to maintain their presence in Middle Eastern markets.

According to the ministry, seven tons of chilled lamb were exported to the UAE over the past week. Deliveries are being carried out with the support of the ministry and the national export development operator QazTrade.

Authorities aim to raise lamb exports to a regular level of ten tons per week.

Shipments are taking place amid ongoing challenges in international logistics in the Persian Gulf region. International carriers report that restrictions on air traffic and disruptions to certain transport routes continue to affect cargo transport, particularly for perishable goods.

To ensure stable exports, government agencies have strengthened cooperation with industry associations, including the Union of Livestock Breeders of Kazakhstan, the Union of Poultry Breeders of Kazakhstan, and the National Association of Meat Processors.

The ministry states that Kazakhstan fully meets domestic demand for meat products. Export deliveries are carried out using surplus production volumes, enabling farmers to expand their access to foreign markets.

A significant share of the food market in Gulf countries relies on imports. According to estimates by international organizations, up to 85-90% of food products in the UAE are imported.

By the end of 2025, Kazakhstan’s total exports to the UAE amounted to $132.9 million. Mutton accounted for about 55% of food exports.

Kazakhstan has been supplying mutton to the UAE market since 2021.

In recent years, the country has actively expanded food exports to Middle Eastern markets, including shipments of grain, flour, vegetable oils, and meat products.

According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture, by the end of the 2024/2025 marketing year (September-August), exports of grain and flour in grain equivalent reached 15.3 million tons, 60% higher than the previous year.

In the current marketing year, shipments of grain and flour from the new harvest have already reached 8.5 million tons, representing a 14% increase compared with the same period in 2025.

16 Mar 2026

Central Asia, Home, Kazakhstan Local Politics, Local Politics, Kazakhstan, Features, Kazakhstan Home

New Constitution Backed by Majority as Kazakhstan Reports Record Referendum Turnout

March 17, 2026
By Andrei Matveev

Kazakhstan’s Central Referendum Commission has announced the official results of the nationwide vote on the draft of a new constitution. According to the commission, voter turnout reached 73.12%, with a total of 9,127,192 citizens participating. Preliminary results show that 7,954,667 voters or 87.15%, supported the proposed amendments. A further 898,099 citizens voted against, while 146,558 ballots were declared invalid.

On 15 March Kazakhstan held a national referendum, proposed by President Kassym‑Jomart Tokayev, on whether to adopt a new constitution. The draft constitution introduces major institutional reforms, including replacing the country’s bicameral parliament with a single chamber, restoring the post of vice-president (abolished in 1996), and creating a new People’s Council (Kurultai) with powers to initiate legislation and referendums.

The reforms also allow the president to appoint key officials, and redefine some constitutional provisions, including the definition of marriage. Critics say the changes could strengthen presidential authority and potentially affect future term limits.

Regional voting patterns reveal several notable trends.

First, Pavlodar region recorded the highest level of support, with 94.14% of voters backing the amendments. Traditionally, Kazakhstan’s northern regions have demonstrated more moderate support for decisions initiated by the central authorities. This tendency was reflected in the Karaganda and North Kazakhstan regions, where support stood at around 83%.

Second, two western regions, Aktobe (93.96%) and Mangistau (93.40%), also showed some of the strongest support for constitutional reform. Mangistau was widely regarded during the era of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev as one of the country’s most protest-prone areas. The unrest in January 2022 began with a strike by oil workers in the city of Zhanaozen.

Third, residents of Almaty demonstrated a higher share of protest voting than those in the country’s other major cities, Astana and Shymkent, with nearly 30% voting against the amendments. Voter turnout in Almaty reached 33.43%, significantly higher than the slightly more than 25% recorded during the 2024 referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant. Among those who cast ballots in Almaty, 71.36% supported the 2026 constitution. In Astana and Shymkent, just over 86% voted in favor.

Turnout figures had already been analyzed a day earlier by Almaty-based political analyst Andrei Chebotarev on his Telegram channel. He cited preliminary data from the Central Referendum Commission indicating that 9,126,850 citizens, or 73.24% of the electorate, had participated in the vote.

Chebotarev compared these figures with turnout in previous referendums. He noted that 7,985,769 citizens (68.05%) took part in the referendum on constitutional amendments held on June 5, 2022, while 7,820,204 voters (63.66%) participated in the October 6, 2024 referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant.

“It is evident that the increase in participation was primarily driven by the political significance of the referendum’s subject matter, namely, the draft of a new Constitution. The relatively frequent use of referendums in Kazakhstan over the past four years may also have contributed,” Chebotarev suggested.

Political analyst Daniyar Ashimbayev also highlighted the high turnout, noting that participation exceeded the 70% threshold for the first time.

He argued that the increase compared with previous referendums and elections was influenced by several factors, including the timing of the vote, an extensive information campaign, stricter measures against the spread of disinformation, and the organizational efforts of central and local authorities.

“We should also note the absence of a coordinated opposition campaign against the draft, as well as the fact that the 2026 Constitution was effectively competing with the 1995 Constitution as amended in 2022,” Ashimbayev said.

Political analyst Marat Shibutov likewise pointed to the high turnout.

“Participation is higher because citizens support the head of state’s reforms and are generally willing to engage in decision-making through referendums,” he said.

After polling stations closed across the country, Tokayev met with representatives of youth organizations who had actively participated in the referendum campaign. Tokayev announced that parliamentary elections would be held and that Kazakhstan would introduce a new national holiday, Constitution Day, to be celebrated annually on March 15.

“Today we have witnessed a truly historic event for our country. Citizens took part in the referendum and supported constitutional reform. They voted for the future of our homeland. Exit poll results indicate that Kazakhstan has made a historic choice in favor of the new Constitution. Through this vote, our people have determined the country’s future course. This expression of popular will, will remain in the annals of history as a symbol of patriotism.”

16 Mar 2026

Business & Economy, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Tokayev Criticizes Banks Over Slow Adoption of Kazakhstan’s Digital Financial Infrastructure

March 16, 2026
By Dmitry Pokidaev

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has criticized the country’s banks for their slow adoption of state-developed digital financial infrastructure. He made the remarks during a meeting on the implementation of the Digital Qazaqstan project.

During the meeting, the heads of ministries and government agencies presented reports on the rollout of digital solutions in public administration and the economy. In his comments, the president stressed the need for more active deployment of artificial intelligence in industry, as well as progress in developing digital payment infrastructure.

According to Tokayev, the National Bank has already created a digital financial ecosystem that includes interbank QR payments and transfers, as well as settlements using the digital tenge.

“This significantly reduces costs by shortening the chain of payment intermediaries. The requirement for all banks to connect to this infrastructure is enshrined in law, but the largest banks are delaying compliance,” the president said.

Since September 2025, a unified QR code system for interbank payments has been operating in Kazakhstan. The service allows users to pay for goods and services through mobile banking applications. Customers simply scan a QR code at a merchant’s terminal and confirm the transaction.

Initially, the service was available to clients of three banks. At present, 15 banks have signed participation agreements, although only six have completed technical integration with the system. The remaining institutions are required to connect by July 18, 2026.

Speaking in November 2025, National Bank Chairman Timur Suleimenov said the rollout had been slowed by both technical and market issues, adding that large financial ecosystems were reluctant to share payment traffic. He also described the digital tenge as a tool for transparency and control in public spending rather than a competitor to commercial banks’ own payment products.

Tokayev also emphasized that the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence technologies in the real economy is a strategic priority.

He linked this goal to the country’s technological sovereignty and called for accelerating the digitalization of the state apparatus. According to the president, more than 90% of public services in Kazakhstan have already been moved online, yet many government information systems remain insufficiently integrated.

“Speed and quality must be the priority at every stage. It is data that needs to flow, not people,” Tokayev said.

He added that digital transformation is incompatible with outdated bureaucratic practices.

“Digitalization and bureaucracy are as incompatible as ice and fire. We cannot force modern technologies to fit into old administrative models,” the president stated.

Tokayev also expressed concern about the pace of Kazakhstan’s digital transformation.

“I read news about the development of artificial intelligence; it is advancing so rapidly that I am becoming anxious about Kazakhstan’s digital future. It seems to me that the digitalization process is slowing down,” he noted.

The Times of Central Asia previously reported that the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies in the financial sector across Central Asia remains uneven, although Kazakhstan is currently regarded as the regional leader.

16 Mar 2026

Life & Culture, Kazakhstan Life & Culture, Kazakhstan

How a Family-Run Mini-Factory in Almaty Ships Chocolate to Belgium and Switzerland

March 16, 2026
By Times of Central Asia

Nurlan and Zhaniya Orynbayev are Kazakhstani chocolatiers known for creating distinctive desserts inspired by national traditions. Their creations include sweet yurts, chocolate mountain landscapes, a chocolate version of the Kazakhstan Hotel filled with zhent (a traditional dessert made from roasted millet, butter, and honey), chocolate with kurt, and other culinary experiments.

Nurlan is also a musician and a member of the Kazakhstani hip-hop group Dayinball. In an interview with The Times of Central Asia, the couple spoke about how the chocolate version of one of Almaty’s main landmarks was created, what sweets Kazakh consumers prefer, how to choose high-quality kurt, and how the global cocoa bean shortage has affected their business.

TCA: Nurlan, you are sometimes called the “Kazakh Willy Wonka.” It seems you were among the first chocolatiers in Kazakhstan. How do you feel about that?

Nurlan: In fact, my wife Zhaniya was the one who started our chocolate business. She was the first to learn confectionery techniques and how to work with chocolate, and then she taught me. I simply began posting videos of the process on social media, and they became popular.

Now the brand is often associated with me, but the real mastermind behind the project is Zhaniya. She develops all the ideas and recipes. Our coffee shops, our confectionery line, the brand image, and at least 60% of our products are thanks to her.

TCA: So is Zhaniya the driving force behind your chocolate mini-factory?

Nurlan: You could say that. She has a deep understanding not only of confectionery but of gastronomy in general. She can taste a dish and almost break it down into its components, what has been added and which ingredients work well together.

I did not have that kind of intuition. I had never worked with food or desserts before. But gradually I became more involved and began to understand the process better.

TCA: Zhaniya, you are said to have come up with the chocolate shaped like the Kazakhstan Hotel. Tell us about it.

Zhaniya: Yes, that was my idea. It is a chocolate structure weighing about 130 grams, made in the shape of the famous hotel. We produce it in both milk and dark chocolate.

We experimented with fillings for a long time, but eventually settled on zhent, a traditional Kazakh dessert made from roasted and ground millet with butter and sugar. Customers really like it.

TCA: You used to make this dessert only for Nauryz, but now you produce it year-round?

Zhaniya: Yes, and it happened almost by accident. Once, a restaurant critic connected with the World’s Best Restaurants ranking visited us. We treated her to various chocolates, but she liked the chocolate with zhent the most.

She wanted to buy more, but we had run out. We did not want to disappoint her, so we urgently decided to make a new batch and began searching for good talkan, one of the ingredients in zhent. We found it and quickly prepared everything.

The process was quite chaotic. Our daughter was very young at the time, and I was even running errands with a stroller. But it all worked out, our guest was pleased. After that, we decided to produce this chocolate throughout the year, not only for holidays.

TCA: Did you also design the chocolate mold yourselves?

Zhaniya: A friend of mine, my office neighbor, created the mold. At the time, I was working in jewellery, and he was involved in 3D modelling. I suggested trying to make a building-shaped mold, since he was already producing architectural models.

I asked him to simplify the design as much as possible so that it would be easy to pour chocolate into it. The first two attempts failed, but the third one was perfect.

TCA: Recently in Almaty there was controversy over a dessert inspired by a Jaume Plensa sculpture, which was removed from a menu due to copyright concerns. How is this regulated in the confectionery business?

Nurlan: To be honest, we did not seek any formal approval. It is similar to whether sellers of souvenir magnets would need copyright permission from the creator of the Eiffel Tower or other landmarks.

The Kazakhstan Hotel is a symbol of Almaty. On the contrary, we wanted to support the city’s identity by recreating it in chocolate. The idea came to Zhaniya after she spoke with an architect who makes building models. She proposed creating a series of chocolate versions of Almaty’s architectural landmarks, and we decided to try it immediately.

TCA: What other landmarks have you turned into chocolate?

Nurlan: We made a model of the Koktobe TV Tower. It tasted great, but the spire often broke during transport, so we discontinued that design. We also planned to make the Almaty Circus, but we have not done so yet.

TCA: How long can your chocolate be stored, given that it contains no preservatives?

Nurlan: About two weeks. After that, it begins to crumble because the filling contains butter and moisture gradually evaporates. It is still edible later but best consumed within the first two weeks.

TCA: At one point, the whole world was talking about Dubai chocolate. It seems marketing accounts for about 70% of success in the confectionery business.

Nurlan: I completely agree.

TCA: So why has the whole world not gone crazy for your chocolates yet?

Zhaniya: In fact, they are becoming popular, just not on a massive scale yet. Our chocolates travel the world more often than we do.

They are regularly ordered in Belgium and Switzerland. Sometimes that feels a little awkward, since those countries are considered the birthplace of chocolate and consumers there are very knowledgeable. People also take our chocolates to the U.S., and there have been cases where they were brought to Thailand.

TCA: How many Kazakhstan Hotel chocolates do you produce per year?

Nurlan: Production is still quite spontaneous. We do not yet have precise annual statistics. I have tried to calculate the figures, but we lack comprehensive analytics. We realize this needs attention and are planning to address it soon.

TCA: A foreign baker who worked in Almaty once complained about the quality of butter. Do you face difficulties sourcing ingredients?

Zhaniya: A true professional must be able to work with local ingredients and still create a high-quality product. Any food technologist will confirm this.

In the past, suitable butter for desserts was harder to find, it was either too fatty or had an overly strong flavor. Now the situation has improved significantly.

@gensneg

TCA: There is currently a global cocoa bean shortage due to poor harvests in Côte d’Ivoire. Has this affected your business?

Zhaniya: Yes. Poor harvests have affected both coffee and cocoa, as they grow in similar climate zones.

Production costs have risen by 30-40%. Compared with prices two years ago, the cost of raw materials has nearly tripled. We also had to raise our prices, although we tried to keep them stable for as long as possible.

TCA: Do people in Kazakhstan have a sweet tooth?

Zhaniya: Yes. Tea is central to our culture, and tea is rarely served without dessert. In China and Japan, tea traditions are different, but here it is customary to serve sweets on the dastarkhan.

When Mars entered the Central Asian market, it introduced mini versions of products such as Snickers, Twix, Bounty, and Milka so they could easily be shared at the table. I learned this when I applied for a job there.

Our sales figures also show that people in Kazakhstan love sweets, especially chocolate with zhent and kurt. It seems the taste for these flavors is deeply ingrained.

TCA: You are said to have your own method for testing whether kurt is authentic.

Zhaniya: Yes. I am a big fan of kurt. Sometimes starch or flour is added to it. To check, you can apply iodine. If the color turns purple, it indicates impurities. If the color remains unchanged, the product is natural.

We first made chocolate with kurt on commission for a company. They ordered a small batch but later canceled. We had already produced about 50 pieces, which was a lot for us at the time.

We sold them in our coffee shop. I remember the first customer well, a young man from Russia. He liked the product and took the chocolates back to St. Petersburg. After that, he kept returning for that specific item.

At first, many people in Kazakhstan did not understand the flavor. Now it is very popular.

TCA: Does your chocolate have a particular philosophy?

Zhaniya: We simply love experimenting. For example, we make milk chocolate with salted caramel.

Initially, we worked only with dark chocolate. A classic combination is dark chocolate with Parmesan and salt. One day, however, Nurlan suggested trying milk chocolate and it worked perfectly.

The result is a rich sweet-and-salty combination. I think this reflects something distinctly Kazakhstani, we are a country of contrasts.

TCA: Do you have any classic filling combinations?

Zhaniya: Of course. Pistachio with raspberry is very popular. But we also enjoy experimenting. For example, we created a filling with freeze-dried banana and caramel inspired by the banoffee dessert.

TCA: You do not only make chocolate, you also produce a full range of desserts for coffee shops.

Zhaniya: Yes. We offer many baked goods, including cookies and lemon tart.

We started baking lemon tart when I was pregnant with my first child and constantly craving sour flavors. We looked for it in cafés, but it was usually sold out by evening. So we decided to make it ourselves.

TCA: Many people are now focused on healthy eating. Does this affect the dessert business?

Zhaniya: Not significantly. Our desserts are sweet but made without additives or palm oil.

Nutritionists often say that if you crave something sweet, it is better to eat a small portion of high-quality dessert than to restrict yourself for a long time and then overindulge. That is why many health-conscious customers choose our products.

TCA: Tell us about your production process. Do you make all the chocolate yourselves?

Nurlan: We have assistants, but the workshop is small. At the moment we have one employee. Previously, I handled production on my own, and later we began working together.

After our daughter was born, I focused more on chocolate while Zhaniya concentrated on baking. Over time, I also started developing new recipes. For example, we once adapted a Dubai-style chocolate to suit our customers’ tastes.

TCA: How difficult is it to be a chocolatier in Kazakhstan?

Nurlan: It is not easy. There is no dedicated school for chocolatiers, so we had to learn a great deal on our own.

When we started, this was a completely new field. Now the market has expanded, and many more people are working with chocolate.

Zhaniya: After Nurlan began actively blogging and showing the production process, many people started copying us, especially our chocolate with kurt and zhent.

Some customers would buy our products, study the technique, and try to replicate it. But we are not afraid of competition. We continue to grow and put our hearts into our work.

TCA: I first heard about you not through chocolate, but at the Oyu music festival, where you performed with Dayinball.

Nurlan: Thank you. That was our debut on a large stage.

A year earlier, we had attended the festival as guests. I remember standing in front of the stage and saying, “One day I will perform here.” A year later, it happened.

TCA: The Oyu Festival attracted around 15,000 people singing in Kazakh. Is Kazakh-language music currently on the rise?

Nurlan: I think the peak was slightly earlier, around 2018–2019. At that time, many strong artists and unique songs emerged simultaneously. It felt like a real breakthrough.

Now the industry is more established. There is a lot of content, but it has become harder to surprise audiences.

TCA: But there are new successes too, for example, Yenlik’s performance on the COLORS platform.

Nurlan: That is a major achievement. Kazakh music continues to grow and gain international visibility. It just feels different from within the industry.

TCA: Is your music primarily rap?

Nurlan: Yes, mostly rap and hip-hop. But we do not want to limit ourselves to one genre. We also experiment with pop, rock elements, and even reggae.

The name Dayinball is a play on words meaning “be ready.” We try to live by that principle.

TCA: Is performing on stage frightening?

Nurlan: On the contrary, I love the stage. Much depends on the audience. Sometimes people are simply passing by and do not know your music, which makes it more challenging.

But I try to perform even if there is only one listener.

Zhaniya: Once he even performed just for our daughter.

Nurlan: Yes, she was dancing and having fun. That is great motivation.

TCA: Finally, which is easier: being a chocolatier or a musician?

Nurlan: Sometimes I experience impostor syndrome. I am the face of the band, although perhaps not the most talented member. I am also the public face of our chocolate business, even though the main work, ideas, recipes, strategy, belongs to Zhaniya.

I am simply someone who enjoys doing what he loves: music, family, and everything we have created together.