Kazakhstan: Kazakh blogs on national issues · Global Voices
Askhat Yerkimbay

Lately I have often seen posts  about national problems in Kazakh language blogs. I am going to review  some of them.
Ainash Esali in a  post titled “The government should have only one flag” [KAZ] says:
“An article with the title “Let’s not call for a bad omen  by multiplying flags” was published in the newspaper Egemen Kazakhstan,  on a special page for Parliament.  But the  problem is presented in fragments and smoothed over. Maybe it is  correct. Maybe this kind of problem should be solved without raising  alarm?!”
The issue concerns citizens who fly flags of other countries, not of  Kazakhstan.
The author of the blog Zhasakaz also pays  attention [KAZ] to this case, saying the following:
“How can one understand that in places such as Kulzhat  and Taskarasu, which are located close to China, our Uygur brothers fly a  flag that has nothing to do with the national symbols of Kazakhstan?  While we were reflecting on how we can preserve national unity and  harmony, and while thinking that there is a law that can stop those who  do such acts, the article “Let’s not call for a bad omen by multiplying  flags” appeared in the newspaper Egemen Kazakhstan on May 29.
The author of the blog Zhasakaz thinks that journalists should speak  up about the problem and refer to the existing law rather than  presenting this kind of problem in bits and fragments.
“Is it because there are not many analytical specialists  in the apparatus of the President or is it because speaking in fragments  has turned into some kind of ‘eastern art’? In my opinion, attention  should be paid to Article 170 of the Kazakh Constitution.”
Zhasakaz identifies the flying of a flag of another nation as a  violation of law and tries to explain that it is preventable.
The topic of national symbols is continued under the title “I will  not let the emblem of my nation be trampled on.” In this post, a story  about an old man who lifted a 1-tenge bill from the ground with care,  saying that “I will not let the emblem of my nation be trampled on.” The  blogger also notes [KAZ] that 1-tenge bills are found around bazaars, on sidewalks and  underground pavements, in buses and on stairs.
And Nurbergen Makym develops [KAZ] his thoughts around the question “Why don’t we live as in America  or Europe?” He comes to the following conclusion:
“Any value in society is formed by the middle class. The  reason that Kazakhstan is not developing is that there is no middle  class. In our society it is like when ‘district 13’ will be established.  Only this time, except for the rich who think they can become God, the  rest will be forced to solve their problems according to the law.”
Orken, who comments on the post, draws  readers’ attention to the preconditions of forming a middle class:  “Shangyrak is neither more nor less than district 13.” In Orken’s  blog [KAZ] there is also a post titled “Is my Gerei twin of Kuzma?”  It is devoted to the monument of Gerei and Zhanibek khans, opened in  Astana. “There are critics among us that compare it to the monument of  Kuzma Minin and Dmitri Pozharski on the Red square in Moscow. Except for  the appearance and the clothes, the general composition is pretty much  the same.”
A reader with the name Elubek, commenting  on the same topic, thinks that “the monument was built so quickly  because the previous monument built for 600 million was useless.”
Burkit also notes [KAZ] in his own blog that the monument to Kulager was opened on the  road between Astana and Kokshetau.
Ashimoskemen notes that recently a  patriots’ forum was conducted in Pavlodar. The blogger who did not  understand why this forum was held, says [KAZ]:
“We made some noise and left. I apologize to organizers,  but I did not quite understand why I went there.”
If in such forums the pictures by Tarazkyzy were discussed [KAZ], maybe respect for the Kazakh language would increase. The  pictures of street writings that carry mistakes against the Kazakh  language in a post titled “Illiterate streets” on Tarazkyzy’s blog have  not left bloggers indifferent. Most of the commentators think that these  kinds of mistakes should be prevented.
Of course, there are plenty of other interesting topics. Inshallah,  we will review them in the future.
The picture is taken from the blog “The dove of my soul” by Tarazkyzy. This bilboard with spelling mistakes is on  the Merki disritct way in Zhambyl oblast.
Originally posted on neweurasia.net.