Identity - The Times Of Central Asia

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Adoption

A Social Media Like Helps Reunite Kazakh Adoptee with His Birth Family

When Rustam Masimov joined a video call with his uncle in Almaty, he was reconnecting with a family he had left behind as a young child. Adopted in 2010 and raised in Europe, the 21-year-old had been searching for his relatives in Kazakhstan. “Hello, my dear nephew!” were Alimzhan’s first words. The reunion followed a search that gained momentum through a single social media like. It helped confirm the identity of Rustam’s uncle, whose old online profile eventually led to a working phone number. [caption id="attachment_60353" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Screenshot of the video call between Rustam and Alimzhan[/caption] The Search Begins Rustam’s adoptive mother, Hildie, had been trying to help him learn more about his origins. She and her husband also adopted a daughter from China, and supported Rustam’s efforts to find his birth family. I took up the case after finding it on Facebook, working independently and pro bono. The search drew on family background material, information from official records, and relatives’ recollections. According to background material supplied for the search, Rustam was born on January 23, 2005, at Hospital No. 4 in Almaty. On April 4, 2008, the police took him from an apartment on Chernyshevsky Street after he was left without parental care. He was subsequently placed in Children’s Home No. 2 and later the Zhanuya center. His mother, Zarina Masimova, had also spent part of her childhood in an orphanage. The material describes her struggles with addiction and the termination of her parental rights. Rustam was adopted in 2010. Zarina died in Karaganda in January 2011. The information also named his father, Eskeldy, and several maternal relatives, including an aunt named Natasha and an uncle, Alimzhan. These names provided starting points. [caption id="attachment_60355" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Zarina Masimova with her young son, Rustam.[/caption] A Digital Clue One obstacle was the surname. Searches for Masimov repeatedly brought up news stories about Kazakhstan’s former prime minister, making it harder to find the family among the results. After reviewing numerous profiles on social networks, I found a long-inactive Odnoklassniki account in Alimzhan’s name. A like left by a woman named Natasha helped confirm that it belonged to Rustam’s uncle. Alimzhan had not logged into the account for more than five years, but cross-referencing the profile with regional databases eventually revealed his current phone number. The first call brought an unexpected discovery. Alimzhan said the family had believed Rustam was adopted by U.S. citizens in 2010. He had not known that his nephew was growing up in Europe. When he learned that Rustam was looking for his relatives, he welcomed the chance to reconnect. Meeting by Video I helped facilitate a video call and translated the conversation, with Rustam and Hildie joining from Europe, while Alimzhan spoke from Almaty. Alimzhan described his childhood with Zarina and their time in the orphanage. He recalled receiving a call in January 2011 informing him that his sister had died from tuberculosis. He said he never learned where she was buried. The conversation also brought a...

Kazakh Diaspora

NoMad Nights: Celebrating Kazakh Identity at New Year in New York

There’s no party like a New Year NoMad Kazakh Party. Staged slightly ahead of New Year’s Eve to align with the weekend, the glamorous event marked a welcome to the incoming 2026 as well as a celebration of Kazakh culture in New York City. The Sky Wise Lounge, a fashionable Asian fusion venue with regular live entertainment, is located in Brooklyn’s Sheepshead Bay. The neighborhood has a sizable Central Asian population rooted in the former Soviet diaspora and sustained by post-Soviet migration. Events like this one are part of an expanding series of multi-city gatherings across the United States hosted by ATB Promotions, led by Kazakhstani entrepreneur, Talgat Abdrakhmanov. A rotating group of about half a dozen DJs brings high-energy sets that fuse their own mixes with crowd-favorite Kazakhstani hits. [caption id="attachment_41575" align="aligncenter" width="455"] Talgat Abdrakhmanov (right) at NoMad Nights[/caption] Abdrakhmanov, originally from Karaganda, has achieved the American dream. Like other successful immigrants, he has built a business by adopting, adapting, and commercializing the enterprising customs of the U.S. After arriving in New York City in 2012, Abdrakhmanov worked his way up from a dishwasher and a waiter to a customer service representative. He later worked as an IT quality assurance analyst and in the competitive worlds of Wall Street and Silicon Valley. But it was not all work. While navigating employment and IT studies, Abdrakhmanov also embraced the play element of his American life, particularly nightlife and dance music, where he began to notice an unmet demand within his community. During this time, he developed an idea rooted in his own downtime preferences and a desire to cater to fellow immigrants from Kazakhstan. Initially, he organized small meetups with friends at restaurants and sports bars, as well as group outings to soccer games and boxing matches, including bouts featuring former Kazakhstani middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin, widely known as GGG. “That was the initial spark that gave me an idea to make parties and events in the future,” Abdrakhmanov told The Times of Central Asia. “That’s how ATB Promotions came up.” The Kazakhstani community in the U.S. was receptive to Abdrakhmanov’s first networking foray, KazCommunity USA. “I started KazCommunity USA back in 2016, because I had held many jobs and gained a lot of experience, and people were often asking me for advice, where to find a job, where to find a place to live, how to do this, how to do that. Based on those questions, I decided to create chats and groups on Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp, so they exist across different social media platforms. “KazCommunity USA is really about the community. I never charged any money for it. It’s more like a nonprofit initiative that helps people find work, find a place to live, and connect with each other. That includes organizing meetups and events, some of which I later did through ATB Promotions. But KazCommunity itself is free and focused on helping people and building connections within the community.” Abdrakhmanov’s efforts to connect U.S.-based Kazakhstani...

Identity

Petropavl – A City of Two Tales

No one seems to like the name Petropavl. The city, situated in northern Kazakhstan in a peninsula of territory that juts into Russian Siberia, has long lived between two worlds. From monuments to manhole covers, there have long been conflicting stories about who belongs here. In the Russian telling, the city was founded as a fortress on “empty steppe” in 1752 by Tsarist troops, named for Saints Peter and Paul – in Russian, Petropavlovsk. For over a century, it remained a frontier post that guarded the empire’s edge before the push into Central Asia in the mid-nineteenth century. Yet for Kazakhs, this place was never empty: long before the Cossacks came, nomadic Kazakhs from the Middle Zhuz grazed their herds here along the Ishim River, calling the place Qyzyljar – “the red ridge”. [caption id="attachment_38326" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Manhole covers imprinted with Qyzyljar; image: TCA, Joe Luc Barnes[/caption] Since independence, Kazakhstan has restored the names of thousands of cities, towns, and villages across the country in order to give the land a more Kazakh stamp. But Qyzyljar has not returned. Instead, the authorities’ immediate solution has been to Kazakh-ify the Russian name, leaving us with Petropavl. It’s a fudge that satisfies no one, and the official name is rarely heard on the city streets. In this overwhelmingly Russian-speaking city, most continue to call it “Petropavlovsk,” or even “Piter,” echoing Saint Petersburg’s nickname. Ethnic Russians Ethnic Russians now make up just under half the population of the North Kazakhstan region. In individual cities such as Petropavl, the proportion is far higher, although official information is hard to come by. The boundaries of Kazakhstan’s provinces, or oblasts, were gerrymandered in 1997 to soften perceptions of Russian dominance, but a mere walk around the city makes it clear that about two-thirds of the population is not Kazakh. These numbers and the region’s proximity to Russia have long made it a focus of uneasy attention. When Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014, President Vladimir Putin remarked that Kazakhstan had “never had statehood” before Nursultan Nazarbayev, and Dmitri Medvedev called it an “artificial state” in 2022 (although he subsequently claimed to have been hacked). Other Russian lawmakers have called northern Kazakhstan “a gift from Russia,” while nationalist commentators as far back as Solzhenitsyn have called for Northern Kazakhstan to be “reunited” with Russia. Dr. Petr Oskolkov, affiliated researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, was part of a team that undertook research on the ethnic Russian population in Kazakhstan in 2020-21, and believes that these fears are overblown. “Initially, there was a lack of public trust in the prospects of Kazakhstani statehood, especially among Russian-speakers. Nowadays, these doubts are absent,” he told The Times of Central Asia. “Moreover, the overall level of the identification with Kazakhstan, and the quality of life, have both grown significantly since the 1990s, so the idea [of separatism] has lost its main appeal.” [caption id="attachment_38320" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Soviet mosaic; image: TCA, Joe Luc Barnes[/caption] Nevertheless, doom-mongers in Astana worry that Petropavlovsk...

Q-Pop

Q-Pop Is Back. Is Kazakhstan Ready This Time?

Around 2015, Kazakhstan saw the rise of Q-pop, led by the boy band Ninety One. A decade on, the cultural tension remains: while youth artists enjoy greater visibility, many observers argue that freedom of expression is still shaped by a silent boundary — ‘you can make music, but not stir too much controversy. A little over a decade ago, five young men in earrings and pastel clothes released “Aıyptama!” (“Don’t blame me”) - a slick, catchy track in Kazakh, with a video that looked like it came straight out of Seoul. The group, Ninety One, was born out of a reality TV show modeled on the K-pop system. At the time, Kazakh-language pop had little presence on mainstream radio or TV, where Russian-language and Western hits dominated. Much of the Kazakh-language music most people heard came from weddings and folk performances rather than commercial pop charts. Occidental pop, rock and Russian-language hip hop ruled the charts. So, when Azamat Zenkaev (AZ), Dulat Mukhamedkaliev (Zaq), Daniyar Kulumshin (Bala), Batyrkhan Malikov (Alem), and Azamat Ashmakyn (Ace) debuted as a group, they looked and sounded like nothing the local music scene had ever seen. Their appearance sparked outrage. In Karaganda, a 2016 concert was canceled after protests. “We are against them because they dye their hair and wear earrings!” a demonstrator shouted, captured in the 2021 documentary Men Sen Emes (Sing Your Own Songs) by Katerina Suvorova. “No parent would want their son to look like a woman,” a conservative activist added. Even their producer, Yerbolat Bedelkhan, noted, “They shook up Kazakh show business with their unusual looks.” And yet, their rise was unstoppable. Despite boycotts and online abuse, Ninety One topped national charts. Each video release became an event. Over time, their success helped make gender-fluid aesthetics more visible in Kazakhstan’s pop scene — and made singing in Kazakh fashionable again among young audiences. But their aesthetics stood in sharp contrast to the state-promoted model of Kazakh masculinity. [caption id="attachment_37776" align="aligncenter" width="770"] Ninety One; image: JUZ Entertainment[/caption] Revival and Restriction: The State’s Masculine Ideal In 2017, then-President Nursultan Nazarbayev launched Rukhani Zhangyru – a sweeping state program for “spiritual renewal.” Its goal was to forge a unified Kazakh national identity after decades of Soviet domination, largely by reigniting traditional values. Streets were renamed after historical khans, a National Dombra Day was established, and the country began shifting from Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet. But the cultural revival came with a gender script. School textbooks were rewritten, according to a 2021 Rutgers University study, to cast masculinity as a blend of strength, rationality, and emotional restraint. The ideal Kazakh man - the Batyr - was reimagined as a stoic warrior of the steppes. In this context, Ninety One’s aesthetics didn’t fit in. “Many thought Q-pop artists didn’t act like ‘real Kazakhs’,” Merey Otan, a musician and PhD candidate at Nazarbayev University told The Times of Central Asia. “Wearing makeup, earrings, or bright clothes, expressing emotions or sexuality – these all clashed with a...

Identity

Only Turkmen Names Allowed

Ethnic minorities in Turkmenistan are reportedly being told they must give their newborn children tradition Turkmen names. The process of “Turkmenization” has been underway in Turkmenistan for many years, but until recently it had not affected the proper names of non-Turkmen citizens. According to a recent report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Turkmen service, known locally as Azatlyk, officials in the eastern Lebap Province were previously urging the Uzbek and Tajik communities in the province to give their newborns Turkmen names. Now this is no longer a suggestion, but a requirement. Lebap borders Uzbekistan. Many Uzbeks and Tajiks lived in this area long before Soviet mapmakers finally drew borders that after the collapse of the USSR in late 1991 became the frontier of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan for Turkmen [caption id="attachment_30930" align="aligncenter" width="1115"] stat.gov.tm[/caption] The credibility of official statistics from the Turkmen government has been called into question many times over the years, and the size and ethnic make-up of the population are no exception. According to the most recent census figures (released in 2023), Turkmenistan’s population is just over seven million people, though the real figure is almost certainly less than that, and could be as low as four or five million. Turkmenistan has been experiencing significant economic problems for some ten years, and many citizens have left the country. For example, as of December 2024, more than 205,000 Turkmen citizens are officially registered as living In Turkey, and that figure could be three times higher or more, including those Turkmen citizens who are illegally residing there. The census released by the Turkmen authorities lists the populations of 14 specific ethnic minority groups. Roughly one million Turkmen citizens are ethnic minorities. The top three are Uzbeks, numbering 642,476, Russians, 114,447, and Baluch, 87,503. These figures might be lower soon, however, at least officially. Authorities in Lebap are also reportedly recommending people from non-Turkmen groups give their nationality as Turkmen in their documents. Being an ethnic Turkmen matters when seeking employment in Turkmenistan, so there is an added incentive for minorities to claim they are Turkmen in official documents. Turkmenistan would not be the first country in Central Asia to have rules on naming newborns. Authorities in Tajikistan banned children from being given foreign names some eight years ago. The Language and Terminology Committee of Tajikistan’s Academy of Science produced a list of more than 3,000 approved Tajik names for children; however, that rule applies only to ethnic Tajiks. Minority groups in Tajikistan are free to name their children as they wish. Azatlyk reports that the authorities are also warning ethnic Turkmen about giving their children non-Turkmen names. Turkish names were becoming popular among Turkmen in Turkmenistan, and some Turkmen families living near Uzbekistan were giving their children Uzbek names. The difficulties in obtaining information from Turkmenistan make it difficult to know if the naming policy being enforced in Lebap exists in other parts of the country. Turkmenistan’s government has, to the greatest extent possible, sealed the country off from...

Identity

New Flag of Kyrgyzstan Raised in Ala-Too Square

On January 1st, 2024, the new flag of Kyrgyzstan was raised in Ala-Too Square. Photos of the updated flag were shared by the AKIpress News Agency. On December 22nd, President Sadyr Japarov signed a law “On State Symbols of the Kyrgyz Republic,” which was adopted to improve the country’s flag. In particular, the adopted law changed the shape of the sun’s rays on the flag of Kyrgyzstan from wavy to straight. Earlier, at the People's Kurultai, Japarov had stated that changing the flag was his personal initiative, and also added that the state would not bear the costs.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image="13481" img_size="full" el_class="scond-image" parallax_scroll="no" woodmart_inline="no"][vc_column_text woodmart_inline="no" text_larger="no"]Several rallies protesting the change have been held since the proposal in October. Also on December 22nd, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the Kyrgyz authorities to drop all charges against activist Aftandil Jorobekov, and to release him after he was arrested for openly protesting changes to Kyrgyzstan’s national flag and charged with calls for mass disorder and civil disobedience. In a statement, HRW said that the charges brought against Jorobekov “violate his freedom of expression and right to peaceful assembly.” The 39-year-old activist was detained on December 7th, a day after he voiced his disapproval of the bill and announced his plan to hold a peaceful protest in Bishkek’s Gorky Park on December 9th. “Criticizing the government and calling for peaceful protest is not the equivalent of stoking mass unrest, and it is certainly not criminal,” Sultanalieva said. “The Kyrgyz authorities should drop this absurd case against Jorobekov, and uphold his right to free speech and peaceful assembly.” Meanwhile, many politicians, activists, and public figures in Kyrgyzstan continue to question the idea to change the national flag. Prominent Kyrgyz athlete and two-time world wrestling champion Jolaman Sharshenbekov wrote on Twitter on December 21st that he will continue raising the country’s old national flag at international tournaments and competitions. The head of the country’s State Committee of National Security, Kamchybek Tashiev, immediately commented on Sharshenbekov’s post, threatening unspecified repercussions for athletes who “even try” to raise anything other than the amended national flag at sports events. “The law is adopted, and we, the citizens, must obey,” Tashiev wrote.