Stories about Kazakhstan from December, 2007
Kazakhstan: Latinization of the Kazakh Language
Arseny reviews the prospects of forthcoming reform of the Kazakh language with its transformation into the Latin script.
Kazakhstan: Oil Field Impact
Ben reads through a report on the detrimental impact of Western Kazakhstan’s extremely big oil bonanza. The report is trying to draw the spotlight on the societal and environmental impacts the development of the huge oil field is going to have.
Kazakhstan: Ex-Premiere's Return to the President's Team
Steve LeVine opines that return of the ex-prime-minister, Nurlan Balgimbayev, as an adviser to President Nazarbayev could be an opening for the return of James Giffen, an American businessman and a former adiser to Kazakhstani leadership, currently under trial in the United States.
Kazakhstan: Almaty, a Dream Destination?
Arseny translates a post reviewing the Wall Street Journal’s supposition that Almaty may become one of the next Mecca for international tourists.
Kazakhstan: Interview with Jantemir Baimukhamedov
Jantemir Baimukhamedov, a.k.a. Jantik, is a popular Kazakhstan's musician, a prankster and an entertainer. He gives live shows with his band (gigs are booked several months ahead), hilariously re-scores blockbuster movies with Kazakh specificity, and even plans to shoot a “revenge” movie called “Borat’s Brother”. MUSIC - Jantemir, you started...
Kazakhstan: Wrangling Kashagan
Joshua Foust reflects on the Kazakh government's new tendency in dealing with foreign oil concessions, saying that “environmental concerns” were not at the heart of dispute over the giant oil deposit Kashagan, but rather about Kazakhstan’s burgeoning oil nationalism.
Kazakhstan: Think About the OSCE
Joshua Foust roundups the reactions on the fact that Kazakhstan will become the OSCE chairman in 2010. “With luck, the OSCE chair will provide some good domestic pressure to make Nazarbayev lossen his grip a bit, and perhaps allow a decent parliamentary election sometime”, he opines.
Kazakhstan: Illicit Gambling Renaissance
Arseny looks at the consequences of ban on casinos in Kazakhstan, saying that an informal gambling is now flourishing in the city cafes.
Kazakhstan: OSCE chair presents opportunities
Bboyd analyzes the Kazakhstan's future chairmanship in the OSCE and the developments surrounding this fact. “The decision is made–but the controversy is not over”, he says.
Kazakhstan: Exxon Plays Its Game in Kashagan Controversy
Steve LeVine says that by being the lone holdout on a settlement in Kazakhstan's Kashagan oilfield, Exxon is continuing its own trend of going against the tide around the world.
Kazakhstan: Reviewing Poverty
Marat posts a brief analytical overview of the level of poverty in the regions of Kazakhstan, and concludes that the worst potential social destabilizing factor is that there are lots of poor people in petro-regions.
Kazakhstan: Do Kazakh Politics Coincide with OSCE Standards?
The main issue on the local blogosphere’s agenda are politics again – Kazakhstan with its controversial, more and more Soviet-alike political system and continuously poor human rights record, has won the top post in the Europe’s leading democracy promoting institution, OSCE. There are many speculations concerning the so-called “autocrats’ club...
Kazakhstan: OSCE Chairmanship Dubious
Steve LeVine opines that the OSCE has jeopardized its reputation as Europe's premier human rights watchdog by naming a country that has never run a free and fair election to chair the organization in 2010. “The organization would have been better advised to name Ukraine or Georgia to that spot”,...
Kazakhstan: Touring Kazakhstan in Search of Blogs
Adam Kesher reports on the tour he has made across Kazakhstan, delivering seminars on blogging for the regional journalists, and shares his views on the prospects of citizen journalism in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan: Shushkevich vs Nazarbayev
Adam Kesher reports about S. Shushkevich's (who used to be the first Belarusian leader) interview to a Kazakh provincial newspaper, where he criticizes both Belarusia's Lukashenka and Kazakhstan's president Nazarbayev.
Kazakhstan: Govt Wants Equal Share in the Project of the Century
Steve LeVine informs the readers that Kazakhstan's government officially stated that it wants an equal share with the top owners of the Kashagan oilfield — Exxon, Shell, Total and Eni. But is it willing to pay? And will Exxon go along?
Kazakhstan: Oil Consortium Still on Talks with the Govt
Steve LeVine informs that the Kashagan consortium says it has reached a framework agreement to settle the dispute with the Kazakh government, but the two sides have a long way to go in the talks.
Kazakhstan: Set to Chair OSCE in 2010
KZBlog is pondering over the Madrid OSCE Ministerial Council's decision to grant Kazakhstan with the right to chair in the Organization in 2010.
Kazakhstan: Improving Customs System
Bboyd reports that the World Bank announced the approval of a new loan to Kazakhstan for developing better customs procedures, which may further develop trade in the Central Asian region.
Kazakhstan: Ugly Trade Over OSCE Bid
Joshua Foust analyzes the controversies and debates over the Kazakhstan's bid to chair the OSCE, despite poor human rights and democracy record in this Central Asian country.
Kazakhstan: IT City Masterplan
Kamneed posts a set of pictures he has taken at the presentation of an architectural master-plan of the “Alatau IT City”, which is meant to become a special economic zone near Almaty, the financial capital of Kazakhstan [ru].
