Ninety One revolutionized Kazakhstani pop music by pioneering the Q-pop genre. With their vivid images, deep lyrics and courage in expressing themselves openly. They broke gender stereotypes and inspired a new generation of artists.

How it started

Ninety One were founded in 2014, based on the “K-Top Idols” project, which sought to create Kazakhstan’s first idol group. Initially, the jury selected two participants: A.Z. (Azamat Zenkaev) and Zaq (Dulat Mukhamedkaliev). Later, after additional auditions, they were joined by Bala (Daniyar Kulumshin) and Alem (Batyrkhan Malikov). The fifth member was Ace (Azamat Ashmakyn). The producer of the group, Yerbolat Bedelkhan, sought not only to create a new musical team, but to lay the foundation for the development of a new genre – Q-pop (Qazaq pop) – to unite Kazakh culture with modern pop music and bring it to an international audience.

A challenge to society and initial successes

Released in 2015, Ninety One’s debut music video for the song “Ayyptama” (Don’t blame me), was a breakthrough. The daring style of the members – bright clothes, makeup and skirts – caused heated debates in still conservative Kazakhstani society. Many criticized the group for being “unconventional,” but young people quickly accepted the new format, seeing in it the freedom of self-expression.

Despite pressure, canceled concerts and criticism, Ninety One continued to make steady progress. Their work has been recognized both at home and abroad. The hits “Qalay Qaraisyn” (How do you look at it?), “Su Asty” (Underwater) and “Taboo” (with Irina Kairatovna) gained popularity, and the group’s albums became a cultural phenomenon.

In addition to music, the band found time to test themselves on the silver screen. On August 24, 2017, the film, Ninety One, dedicated to the history of the group and their path to success, was released. The film was directed by Askar Uzabaev, and the producers were Asel Sadvakasova and Erbolat Bedelhan. The picture entered the top three leaders at the Kazakhstan box office, reaping 32,672,000 tenge on the first weekend of its release alone.

Contributing to the fight against gender stereotypes

Ninety One broke stereotypes about how men should look and behave in Kazakhstani society. They showed that a colorful apparel, experimentation with fashion and openness to new ideas are not a weakness, but a strength.

The group inspired young people to boldly express themselves, overcome the fear of judgment, and break with outdated stereotypes. They became an inspiration for new artists, playing a key role in the development of the Q-pop industry.

Ninety One’s fan base grew so large that they gave themselves the nickname “eagles” after the symbol which was the band’s signature gesture: crossed palms representing a bird, the symbol of the national flag of Kazakhstan.

Today, Ninety One remain one of the most successful musical groups in Kazakhstan, actively touring, releasing new albums and continuing to attract the attention of international audiences. In 2023, the group released the album GAP, which became a huge hit. Among the most popular tracks is “АPEREM AI” (I’ll get the moon), which has garnered almost a million listens on Spotify. Another song on the album, “Ottegi” (Oxygen), also gained an impressive 515,000 listens.

Ninety One’s work reached beyond music to symbolize a movement for freedom of expression and cultural diversity. Ninety One remain a symbol of transformation, proving that art can change the world.

Kadyr Yusupov, a former Uzbek diplomat with a distinguished career who was convicted of treason and jailed in a case that the United Nations said had violated his rights, has died at the age of 73, an international human rights group said on Thursday.

Yusupov, who died on Nov. 14, was released from jail on June 10 after being imprisoned for five and a half years and suffering alleged torture and “deplorable” conditions during some of that time, according to the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.

While Uzbek officials denied the torture allegations, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded in a 2021 report that Yusupov had been arbitrarily detained, he should be released immediately and that the government should take action against those responsible for violating his rights. The group said that the violations included the denial of “medication and treatment for the very serious health conditions from which he suffers.”

Rights groups have said that Yusupov was suffering from a mental illness.

“In December 2018 he was arrested on charges of treason which appear to have been based on a statement he made during a psychotic episode, when he was undergoing medical treatment,” the Norwegian Helsinki Committee said. “Whilst in hospital, suffering from brain trauma and clearly confused, Yusupov reportedly said that he had been a spy for the West.”

It said there were “credible allegations” that state security officers coerced Yusupov into a confession. The former diplomat said he was treated better after being transferred from a prison in the city of Navoi to a jail in the Tashkent region.

Yusupov had worked in a series of high-profile jobs for Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The posts included head of the ministry’s Asia and Africa department, head of the European department and, from 2006 to 2009, chargé d’affaires in Austria and permanent representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and United Nations organizations in Vienna.

Kyrgyzstan’s State National Security Committee (GKNB) says it has prevented two assassination attempts on President Sadyr Japarov. This was reported by Kamchybek Tashiyev, Chairman of the GKNB, when speaking to journalists. Tashiyev also claimed that since taking up his post, five or six attempts on his life have been made. Tashiyev stressed that such attempts are regularly thwarted, and significant financial resources are allocated to this end.

According to Tashiyev, one of the attempts involved the planned bombing of a road he was supposed to travel on. In addition, Tashiyev described repeated threats against him and his family, in particular a threatening letter he received, which, in his opinion, bore the hallmark of foreign special services and certain oligarchs.

“The millions you offered, I did not take. You were angry that you would not be [able to operate] in our country, neither criminals nor oligarchs,” Tashiyev stated. “Maybe you’ll hurt me, but as long as I’m alive, I will not turn from the path I started.”

Born on September 27, 1968, in Barpy, a village in Jalal-Abad Oblast, Kamchybek Tashiyev is a Kyrgyz was appointed as chairman of the  GKNB in October 2020, having previously served as Minister of Emergency Situations (2007–2009) and as a deputy of the Jogorku Kenesh. In 2022, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic, and in 2024, he was elected President of the Kyrgyz Football Federation. Tashiyev is also the vice-president of the National Boxing Federation of Kyrgyzstan.

The head of the Presidium of the National Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan (ASMAR), Lazzat Ramazanova, who currently chairs the Council of Women Entrepreneurs of Turkic States, has reported on the development of a single digital ecosystem for business in the five countries which form the Organization of Turkic States (OTS). This platform is expected to expand international trade with countries outside of the Organization.

This year, Kazakhstan chairs the Council of Women Entrepreneurs of Turkic States, which operates under the OTS and includes five member countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. Three more countries – Hungary, Northern Cyprus, and Turkmenistan – are represented in the Organization with the status of observer states. One of the goals of Kazakhstan’s chairing of the OTS was to strengthen business ties between Turkic states. To this end, the Turkic Business Hub initiative was implemented, an online platform that will become an important element of integration and cooperation in the region.

Speaking at the close of the meeting in Astana, Lazzat Ramazanova told those in attendance: “Today, within the framework of the General Assembly of Women Entrepreneurs of the Turkic World, an ambitious initiative was put forward to create a unified digital platform for business. Kazakhstan was the initiator and implementer of this idea, as our country is now among the top 25 most digitized countries. The platform has already been developed, and in Kazakhstan, we are already working with our ministries on the integration of info-systems. Now, we will work with the governments of Turkic states so that the same integration takes place with their info-systems. In other words, the software has been created, and we are working to bring other countries into it.”

The main advantage of a Turkic Business Hub is it ensures business security when choosing a partner in a given country. This is because when a user of the platform registers as a potential participant in trade relations, all information about them as a business entity is collected. Artificial intelligence automatically scans the fiscal (tax and customs) authorities and runs the business’ credit history through the hub’s integration with the databases of banks. The banks have their own interest in this system, since using it they can find clients and borrowers who have passed strict compliance checks. AI can also monitor the presence or absence of lawsuits from former partners of the entity that is attempting to register.

“In the case of detection of negative information, the entity is denied registration, i.e., from there start, there will be no ‘scam’ companies or unscrupulous counter-parties on the platform,” Ramazanova explained. “They will immediately be ‘canceled’ by the artificial intelligence based on the data from tax, customs, and other state services. But the most important thing is that in case of rejection, AI will send such the rejectee a complete summary of the reasons why they were denied registration, so the business will know what they need to correct to join the system. Once business entities that have no problems with the tax authorities, a clean credit history, and no debts and lawsuits from partners, have successfully registered, they will be able to sign contracts with foreign partners on the platform with the help of an electronic digital signature”.

Security of transactions is not the only advantage of the Turkic Business Hub. The Kazakh IT companies that participated in the creation of this platform ensured it was also convenient for users. All marketplaces operating in the country are represented on the platform, and it has a dedicated payment system. The Hub allows businesses to conclude turnkey transactions, meaning there is no need to open additional windows when concluding transactions. Now, logistics companies are becoming involved in the platform, with the developers planning to introduce a ready-made transportation scheme for supplying goods between countries.

“We plan to bring in large logistics companies to the platform in order to organize transportation for our entrepreneurs, because logistics is a very serious challenge for the countries of Central Asia,” Ramazanova stated. “We have not ruled out working with the governments of the region’s countries to subsidize the transportation costs of certain sectors represented on the platform when they enter other markets. This product is created under the direction of women’s entrepreneurs because it is primarily designed for micro and small businesses, and in our countries, women’s entrepreneurship is concentrated in these areas. However, we offer this product not only to women – it is available to male entrepreneurs as well because business has no gender restrictions.”

The developers of the Turkic Business Hub are currently preparing to present a demonstration model to OTS member countries. Additionally, there are plans to create a “room” on the platform for online negotiations between businesses from different countries. It is planned for the platform to eventually include non-OTS members. Kazakhstan sees this platform as a basis for organizing global trade, but the first step is to unite Turkic businesses. According to the Organization of Turkic States, total trade turnover between countries in the Turkic world was approximately $42 billion by the end of 2023.

Kazakhstan’s initiative has already received support from entrepreneurs from other OTS countries.

“We need to have a platform that would unite the Turkic world in the age of digital technology,” said Aizhan Chynybaeva, a member of the Council of Women Entrepreneurs from Kyrgyzstan. ”I am inspired by the pace at which the platform was created – in just one year – and if we implement it in our countries at the same pace, we will see great economic growth and the development of women’s entrepreneurship. As a representative of the hotel and tourism sector, I believe it would be good to organize separate focused meetings of different business sectors in our countries on this platform.”

Secretary General of the Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Adem Kula stated that this year a forum of financial organizations of the Turkic world will be held. It will advocate for the allocation of 20% of all funds of the Turkic Investment Fund, which started its activity in May of this year, for the development of women’s entrepreneurship. The initial capital will amount to $500 million, and the main purpose of the fund is to develop economic and commercial relations between Turkic countries. Kula believes that the Turkic Business Hub project proposed by Kazakhstan can become the core of these initiatives and a platform for the formation of joint business projects from several countries which could be financed by the Investment Fund.

In March of this year, the Ministers of Agriculture of the Turkic Five agreed to create a similar information system between OTS states. Following the meeting in Taraz, a communique was signed which highlighted the need to create a common platform for real-time data transfers, the exchange of market information and data analysis, and reports on value chains in agriculture in the region of the Organization. It is feasible that given the emergence of the Turkic Business Hub for small and medium-sized businesses, work on creating a digital counterpart for counterparts in agriculture will be accelerated.