#kazakhstan politics

[random-kazakh-stuff]

Okay so one of the symbols of modern Kazakhstan's independence is Altyn Adam - Golden Man*(as in person).

Altyn adam refers to an artefact that was found 1970 in Issyk kurgan(burial)*.

It looks like this(id in the end of the post and in alt):

It is actually quite interesting how the artefact was found.

In 1968 the town Issyk became a town and wanted to develop. However, they needed experts to first check that there are no historical sites, which is what they did. For all of 1969 they were carefully uncovering he kurgan, and in 1970 they finally opened it.

It was empty. The place had signs that it has been robbed several times before.

One archeologist, Bekmuhanbet Nurmuhanbetov*, decided to check some 30-40 meters away, and found a side-burial which was left untouched since 6-5th century BC.

They found so many artefacts that listing them all here would be quite difficult.

What I would like to mention though is who was buried here:

Gender is unknown*, but the age is around late teens(16-18)

The person that was buried here was most likely to be a child of some kind of tribe leader, because their burial is smaller than the main one.

About the tribe! The burial probably belonged to Saka tribes. Saka people might relate to Scythians(they are probably part of the same cultural group?)* *. Anyways this particular kurgan was made by Tigraxauda people. Their name derives from persian and means. Pointy hats........

The golden armor is probably more ritualistic(haven't seen it in direct text sorry) than anything because the golden pieces of armor are wood covered in golden leaf. The helmet is made from golden plates though.

There are actually some interesting thing that are present on the helmet. By that I mean the arrows, which are said to symbolise 4 parts of the world. There are also multiple animals* on it. As a whole the costume consists of 4000 golden pieces.

And finally, Why is it so important?

Well to answer this question, you should know USSR's relationship with history and how is was teached in Kazakhstan specifically: mainly, world history through the lense of revolution and how Kazakhstan just sorta became part of USSR after it was Russian Empire's colony*. Nothing before that as people that lived on this land.

Which led to a very hard situation after the independency was gained because well. The majority of people were Kazakhs, but a lot of culture and identity was lost. And part of it was history.

So an artefact this old brings a sense of legitimacy. It also doesn't hurt that it's pretty.

ID and notes under cut

[ID: Armor on a mannequin in a museum setting standing above camera. The mannequin is wearing long-sleeved jacket which is a mix of red fabric and triangular golden pieces. The same pattern is on its boots. The pants are made from a red fabric. It is wearing a very large conical headpiece almost as tall as its chest(40cm). It is very pointy. The headpiece has 4 golden arrows and some animal ornaments on it. The figure has a bow and and an arrow in its hands, and a sheath for sword and another weapon on its belt. It is also wearing a red cape just reaching its thighs. ]

* Actually there are several artefacts like this! Around 6 or so which were found in different regions at different time. All of them are called golden men, just the place that varies. This one is Issyk's Golden Man. Some of them are actually made from solid gold and not gold leaf which I find fascinating.

* Ok so kurgan is used interchangeably here with burial. And in a way kurgan is a burial. It is also in a way like a pyramid? There are things left for the dead so they can carry them to the afterlife, but the kurgan itself is built a bit in and above ground. The rooms are made from logs, and then covered with dirt to create mounds. I also heard that a herd of horses would run it over a bunch of times to set the earth.

*Full name Bekmuhanbet Nurmuhanbetov Nurmuhanbetovich. He eventually organized a museum for the kurgans he found. He died in 2016, at the age of 81, and for some reason he has "Bekem-aĝa"(aĝa means older brother, uncle just an older friendly male figure) as his pseudonym on his Wiki.

*Actually Saka seem to had been pretty great about equality. There is also a very cool story about their female chief Tomiris.

*Historical records about nomadic people come exclusively from settled ones. Because a lot of stuff they would probably write on(despite the claims about lack of writing system) would't have survived because you know. Nomads.

*Haven't mentioned it in the post but sometimes Saka people are called ancestors of Kazakh people and uhhhh. They are probably more related to modern Europeans than to us. They still had similar lifestyle and lived on this land though. And they were more mixed than anything because you know, race is bullshit.

* Oh also fun fact one of the animals is a tulpar which is a horse with wings. The same mythical animal is present on Kazakhstan's official coat of arms.

*should I keep making these notes? because I feel they might take away from the flow of the text, and some details are simply not that important or I cannot convey them properly. so. what do you think?

[odinsblog]

Since 2014, millions of Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other minorities have been locked up in China and subjected to torture and forced labour. Some of those freed talk about trying to rebuild their lives in neighbouring Kazakhstan.

Photography by Robin Tutenges

A Chinese course book

Saliman Yesbolat used to live in Ghulja county, Xinjiang. After she refused to denounce her Uyghur neighbours to the police, she was forced to perform the raising of the Chinese flag every Monday at dawn, and to attend Chinese lessons twice a week in the basement of her building, where she would learn the Chinese language, patriotic songs and Xi Jinping's discourses by heart. This is her exercise book.

Forced to leave China

At 65, Imam Madi Toleukhan is one of the oldest refugees in Bekbolat, Kazakhstan, where more than 100 families took shelter after fleeing the Chinese regime. 'We were richer back there. I owned a herd, but I was too afraid for my sons, my grandchildren and their future: I came to Kazakhstan to save them. I didn't want them to be the fourth generation to suffer at the hands of the Chinese government, he says.

Remembering Uyghur culture in exile

Two members of the Dolan Ensemble, a Uyghur dance troupe based in Kazakhstan, get ready before performing a traditional dance to mark 40 days since the birth of a baby. Founded in 2016, the troupe performs at festivals or private events that bring together members of the Uyghur community, some of whom have had to leave Xinjiang.

Torture, infertility and damaged genitalia

In Kazakhstan, medical care for camp survivors is poor. Most victims can barely afford to see a family doctor. Anara*, an endocrinologist in a Kazakh hospital who has examined about 50 camp survivors since 2020, noticed recurrent infertility problems among her patients. 'Men or women, many have damaged genitalia. Some told me they'd been given drugs, others said they'd been raped. As they didn't come to us right after being released from the camps, it's impossible to know what kind of drugs they were administered in Xinjiang, she says. *Not her real name

The tiger chair

Ospan* spent a year in a re-education camp. He says his mind and body were crushed by the tortures he experienced in a tiger chair - a steel apparatus with handcuffs that restrains the body in painful positions. Aged about 50, this former shepherd, who took refuge with his family in eastern Kazakhstan, is no longer fit for work. Physically wrecked and prone to headaches, he mourns the loss of his memory above all. 'I used to know a lot of songs and I loved to sing; I also knew poems by heart ... Now, I can't sing any more, I can't remember the words,' he says. *Not his real name

Broken families and imprisonment

Aikamal Rashibek saw the dreadful efficiency of the CCP's brainwashing on her husband, Kerimbek Bakytali, after he was released from a Chinese psychiatric hospital. 'He disappeared for a year. When he came back, he didn't tell me anything about what happened to him. He was highly unhinged, always nervous, and got angry whenever I asked questions. He couldn't stop repeating that he hated Kazakhstan now, and that he wanted to go back to China with the kids to give them a Chinese education, says Aikamal. They are now separated.

Missing loved ones in China’s camps

In March 2017, Miyessar Muhedamu, left, a Uyghur woman, was arrested in Xinjiang under the pretext that she had studied Arabic in Egypt when she was young. Her husband, Sadirzhan Ayupov, right, and her three children have not seen her since. Now that Miyessar has left the camp, Sadirzhan receives a short call every few months. He suspects she might have suffered abuse, yet Miyessar can’t speak freely. ‘She told me she’d been in a re-education camp, and that she’d been released. When I ask her what she went through there, she doesn’t answer,’ says Sadirzhan.

Life after fleeing China

Sent to a re-education camp in 2018 at the age of 64, Yerke* saw her health quickly deteriorate. Locked a tiny cell with dozens of other women, she almost lost the use of her legs due to the cold floor she had to lie on. She was in the camp when she learned of her son’s death: pressured by the Chinese authorities, he took his own life. After her release, Yerke fled to Kazakhstan with some family members, but two of her children remain in China. *Not her real name

Forced labour and confessions

Dina Nurdybay, 32, was arrested in Nilka county, Xinjiang, because her traditional Kazakh clothing business made her a separatist, according to the Chinese authorities. She spent 11 months between two re-education camps, a CCP school and a forced-labour sewing factory. After proving she was capable of being ‘well behaved’ and having performed a self-criticism in front of the whole village, Dina was released and managed to escape when she obtained a week’s leave to visit her ailing father in Kazakhstan.

Cultural genocide

China’s repression of ethnic minorities also involves cultural genocide. As Muslim rituals are forbidden in Xinjiang, people are trying to keep their traditions alive across borders. Here, a family is praying together in Kazakhstan after the death of one of their relatives in Xinjiang. They could not repatriate the body because the border between the two countries was closed at the time.

(continue reading)

[zoe-a-scott]

America is the problem. America, historically, has been the root of supporting or committing:

worldwide debt, genocide, economic collapse, continued unresolved conflict, war, ethnic and cultural cleansing and appropriation, political coercion and corruption, dictatorships and exploitation.

America has so well put up the front of “heroism”, by relieving countries IT FIRST PUT INTO COLONIALISM, IMPERIALISM OR DEBT. The “Great America” that ended WWII and the holocaust, is now supporting the holocaust of the Palestinian people, and the UN isn’t resisting and being proactive about it- WHY??? Because it exists on AMERICAN SOIL and is subject to WESTERN INFLUENCE AND IDEOLOGY. Western influence and ideology of ‘independence’ and ‘democracy’ has been mobilized to be a weapon of international domination, and an ironic powerhouse of human violations. Western power is freedom, built on the despotism of others. Western power is democracy, handled by white Constitutional control. Western power is safety, wielded through the hands of abusers. Western power is distributed unequally because in what world is it fair if America never landed on top.

[ohsalome]

Western sanctions are meant to prevent Russia from supplying its military from abroad, but sensitive electronics are still getting through. Reporters traced several of these supply chains through Kazakhstan — and found that they run through companies newly established by Russians.

Key Findings

Trade statistics show large increases of drone and microelectronics imports to Kazakhstan since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Kazakhstan’s exports of drones and microelectronics to Russia have also grown enormously.

Kazakh companies registered by Russians after the war are being used as intermediaries for these imports.

One company called Aspan Arba, meaning “Sky Chariot,” imported drones and sent them to a Russian company called “Sky Mechanics,” which sold them to pro-war organizations. The two companies have the same owner.

A German company owned by a Russian couple sent microchips to a Kazakh company, established shortly after the invasion, owned by their son. It then sent the chips to Russia.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Biden is meeting with leaders from Israel, Brazil, Ukraine and the "Stans" this week

President Biden will be the first U.S. president to meet together with leaders from five Central Asian nations sometimes called the "Stans" – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan — when he gathers with them next week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

The meeting with the former Soviet states on Tuesday is likely to be closely watched by Russia and China. Biden plans to discuss regional security issues with the leaders, as well as trade, climate and governance issues, said Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security adviser.

It's part of a busy agenda at the UN, where Biden will emphasize U.S. leadership around the world in his annual address. "We've put a lot of points on the board," Sullivan said.

On Wednesday, Biden plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York. While the two leaders have met many times during the course of their long political careers, this is the first time they will have met since Netanyahu won his election last fall.

Continue reading.

[workersolidarity]

🏭 OPEC ANNOUNCES FURTHER OIL PRODUCTION CUTS OF 2.2 MILLION BARRELS PER DAY

The OPEC Secretariat, on Thursday November 30th, noted the announcement of several OPEC countries of additional voluntary cuts amounting to a total of 2.2 million barrels a day, aimed at "supporting the stability and balance of oil markets."

Production cuts were calculated from the 2024 required production level as set on June 4th, 2023, and are in addition to the voluntary cuts announced in April and extended through the end of 2024.

Production cuts are being announced by the following countries:

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia: 1'000 thousand barrels per day

🇮🇶 Iraq: 223 thousand barrels per day

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates: 163 thousand barrels per day

🇰🇼 Kuwait: 135 thousand barrels per day

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan: 82 thousand barrels per day

🇩🇿 Algeria: 51 thousand barrels per day

🇴🇲 Oman: 42 thousand barrels per day

Starting January 1st until the end of March 2024. Afterwards, these voluntary cuts will be returned gradually, subject to market conditions.

The above amounts will be in addition to those announced by the Russian Federation of 500 thousand barrels per day for the same period, which will be made from the average export levels of the months May and June of 2023, and will consist of 300 thousand barrels per day of crude oil and 200 thousand barrels per day of refined products.

#source

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[head-post]

What benefits for Europe from France’s increased engagement with Central Asia

France has a range of potential benefits from increased co-operation with Central Asia in terms of economic growth, geopolitical stability and energy security.

It is hard to overstate the growing importance of France’s ties with Central Asia as French President Emmanuel Macron prepares for an official visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on 1 and 2 November.

Enhancing cooperation in this region is crucial for France and for Europe as a whole. Strengthening ties with Central Asia can ensure Europe’s energy security, supply rare earth elements and restore the geopolitical balance in the Central Asian region.

Kazakhstan has significant uranium reserves and is the world’s largest uranium producer. Given that France generates about 70 per cent of its electricity from nuclear power, a deeper partnership could ensure a stable supply of uranium for French reactors.

Recent turmoil in global energy markets, combined with political tensions, has emphasised the need to diversify Europe’s energy sources. Central Asia, with its untapped hydrocarbon resources and renewable energy potential, represents a viable solution.

Read more HERE

[the-restisconfetti]

we'll rave on gorbachov's grave

[i-merani]

Original:

His account could have been hacked but we all know that all the high officials think this, they just don't declare it on the internet

[afranse]

Спасибо большое Токаеву -

Он слушал словесный понос.

Потом намекнул комфортабельно,

Что сдохнет имперский Барбос.

Пусть как Соловьёвa в безумном вранье,

Ведут Симонян на удой,

Но не по дороге Казахской стране

С путлеровской ордой.

##################

Thank you so much Tokaev -

He listened to the fables of ghoul.

Then he made clear entirely

That he hates imperial bull.

Like Solovyov in his endless lies,

Simonyan increases rave milk yield.

But Kazakhstan have a great time

Despising Kremlin’s horde appeal.

[random-kazakh-stuff]

The current capital city of Kazakhstan, Astana is located just north of the center of the country and is subjected to the same climate as most of it - sharply continental climate, meaning there is no softening of weather from the oceans, so it is very cold in the winter and hot in the summer.

This is all to say that in 2012 one architect proposed the idea of creating a glass dome above Astana. The capital city. In the middle of a steppe. Under a glass dome.

The reason for this frankly terrible idea even being discussed publicly is that at that point the government had a lot of money from oil.

sources:

(while in the source it says that the government was not responding on whether it is thinking about it, we can be somewhat sure of it cause the government is very closed pof from the public)

[kirstythejetblackgoldfish]

[winer777press]

Младшая дочь Назарбаева вывела из Казахстана $300 млн

Офшорный кэш Алии Назарбаевой на $312 млн. Младшая дочь Назарбаева вывела из Казахстана больше $300 млн и потратила их на покупку роскошной недвижимости, частного самолета и другого имущества, сообщила The Telegraph. О покупках стало известно из иска, который Назарбаева подала к своим финансовым консультантам Алия Назарбаева, младшая дочь бывшего президента Казахстана Нурсултана Назарбаева, по совету финансовых консультантов вывела из Казахстана более $300 млн личного состояния и потратила их на покупку роскошной недвижимости, частного самолета и другого имущества.

Деньги, как пишет The Telegraph, Назарбаева использовала для покупок дорогостоящего имущества, среди которого — частный самолет Challenger Bombardier стоимостью $25 млн, дом стоимостью £8,75 млн ($11,6 млн по нынешнему курсу) в Лондоне, предназначенный для получения вида на жительство в Великобритании, а также 51% акций швейцарского банка.

Алия Назарбаева училась в Лондоне, факультете международных отношений в Ричмондском университете. Она работала в Администрации президента Казахстана, а также занималась продюсированием документальных и художественных фильмов. Отец Алии, Нурсултана Назарбаев, после ухода с должности президента Казахстана возглавил Совет безопасности страны; он обладал серьезными полномочиями. На фоне массовых протестов, которые начались в стране 2 января, нынешний президент Казахстана Касым-Жомарт Токаев снял политика с должности и сам занял его пост. Назарбаева утверждала, что Ишмуратов сказал ей, что как политически значимый человек она не сможет просто открыть банковский счет, поэтому ей нужно купить банк, чтобы решить эту проблему. Из документов следует, что Назарбаева по рекомендации Ишмуратова инвестировала $108 млн в частный швейцарский банк CBH Bank в обмен на 51% акций.

Иск Назарбаевой был подан еще в 2016 году, но подробности дела стали известны только сейчас, отмечает газета. Представители Ишмуратова и Короткова-Когановича сообщили на запрос, что необоснованные обвинения в их адрес были отклонены судом, а после было достигнуто мировое соглашение. Сама Назарбаева не ответила на запрос о комментариях.

В этом году имя Алии Назарбаевой попало в заголовки швейцарских СМИ в связи с самоубийством врача, который, как писали в прессе, задолжал крупную сумму компании дочери бывшего президента Казахстана, собиравшейся строить в европейской стране медицинскую клинику для богатых людей. Младшая дочь казахского лидера владеет сетью фитнес-клубов, ювелирной компанией Alsara, руководит строительной компанией "Элитстрой". Также она владеет продакшн-компанией, снимающей документальные фильмы. В прошлом году в качестве продюсера она получила госпремию за фильм "Дорога к матери", причем награду ей вручал отец. Сейчас она работает над исторической картиной "Томирис", выход которой намечен на май 2019 года. В начале 2000-х была замужем за Айдаром Акаевым, старшим сыном Аскара Акаева. Жизнь у молодых не сложилась, и пара вскоре развелась. Потом она вышла замуж за бизнесмена и футболиста Данияра Хасенова, от которого родила двух дочерей. Сейчас она замужем за Димашем Досановым. Он много лет проработал в нефтяном бизнесе и сейчас возглавляет компанию "Казтрансойл", которая является крупнейшим поставщиков нефти в Казахстане.

[burnitbuilditbetter]

"Biden Met With The Stans"

"President Biden will be the first U.S. president to meet together with leaders from five Central Asian nations sometimes called the "Stans" — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — when he gathers with them next week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly."

"The meeting with the former Soviet states on Tuesday is likely to be closely watched by Russia and China. Biden plans to discuss regional security issues with the leaders, as well as trade, climate and governance issues, said Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security adviser."

Franco Ordoñez, Tamara Keith, "Biden is meeting with leaders from Israel, Brazil, Ukraine and the 'Stans' this week", NPR, https://www.npr.org/2023/09/17/1199883514/biden-is-meeting-with-leaders-from-israel-brazil-ukraine-and-the-stans-this-week, September 17th, 2023

[dunilefra]

Facts of Kazakhstan's Constitution

Article 7

1. The state language of the Republic of Kazakhstan shall be the Kazak language.

2. In state institutions and local self-administrative bodies the Russian language shall be officially used on equal grounds along with the Kazak language.

3. The state shall promote conditions for the study and development of the languages of the people of Kazakhstan.

Article 52 (Part of it)

5. The powers of the deputies of Parliament shall be terminated in cases of resignation, his death, being recognized of the deputy on the judgment which has entered validity incapacitated, died or is unknown absent and others provided by the Constitution and the constitutional law cases. A deputy of the Parliament shall be deprived of his mandate in cases of:

A deputy of Majilis of the Parliament shall be deprived of his mandate in cases:

1. exit or an exception of the deputy from the political party from which according to the constitutional law the deputy is selected;

2. termination of activity of political party from which according to the constitutional law the deputy is selected. Powers of the appointed deputies of the Senate of the Parliament shall be ahead of schedule stopped under the decision of the President of the Republic. Powers of deputies of the Parliament and the Majilis of the Parliament stop in dissolution cases accordingly the Parliament and the Majilis of the Parliament.

by Dunilefra, working for Political Analysis

[head-post]

EDB allocated $1 million for Kazakh flood relief

The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) will provide funds to help with the consequences of the Kazakh flood, according to bne IntelliNews.

This year’s flooding in several regions of Kazakhstan was the largest natural disaster in the country over the past 80 years. Nikolai Podguzov, Chairman of the EDB Management Board, stated:

Realising the importance of the situation in Kazakhstan, we have provided financial assistance in the amount of $1 m to support the regions affected by the flooding.

In March, the Kazakh flood destroyed villages and carried away livestock. The country is aware of water runoff when spring arrives. This year, however, was a shock for Kazakhstan. Bridges collapsed, whole sections of highways fell under water, and hundreds of houses became uninhabitable.

Moreover, many were left without running water and household gas. At least three people are believed to have died.

The floods, which began earlier this month, affected at least seven regions, affecting the north the most. The Emergency Situations Ministry stated that rescuers had evacuated more than 111,000 people.

Entire government buildings, schools, and hospitals were submerged in several regions. Additionally, flooding engulfed more than 1,000 houses.

Earlier, a spokesperson in the Kazakh ministry stated they were monitoring the situation in the Russian city of Orsk and water levels in the Ural River, which flowed through Orsk and Kazakhstan, then into the Caspian Sea.

Read more HERE