In yet another move that seems to demonstrate the control the Nur Otan Party is gaining over Kazakhstan’s politics and society, Inter-fax reports that Nur Otan is considering creating a media holding company [subscribers only]. The party currently publishes two newspapers, the Russian-language Strana i Mir (The Country and the Word), and the Kazakh-language Ken Dala. However owning a media company would be quite a leap forward as it would seem to indicate that Nur Otan wants to control a much larger range of media outlets and because it would appear to mean that the party will own a commercial business, presumably making profits. Certainly in the US, political parties cannot be profit-oriented organizations, or own any kinds of business to avoid conflicts of interest. Nor do they have large media outlets.

From the article on Inter-fax:

[Nur Otan deputy chair Darkhan]Kaletaev did not say what mass media would be included in the future holding. “I can’t name them now. We are still working on the issue,” he said.

Earlier some mass media said that the Nur Otan Party would take control of Kazakhstan published versions of Russian newspapers Komsomolskaya Pravda and Izvestia as well as Kazakh newspapers, Liter and Aikyn, Astana TV company and NS radio company. The Nur Otan Party has not commented on the information so far.

If these rumors are true, it would appear that either Nur Otan has quite a bit of money in its coffers to buy all these outlets or the government is giving them quite a bit of control over the media market. Each of these publications and stations is well-known in Kazakhstan and reaches a broad base of the population. In either case, the role of Nur Otan appears to be moving beyond the boundaries of what is usual for parties toward becoming a part of the government itself or a commercial entity.

Viewed in light of the fact that the government earlier this year created Arna, a media-holding company that comprises TV station Kazakhstan, Khabar News Agency, as well as Kazkhstanskaya Pravda, KazTeleRadio, Kazakh News Agency, and a number of newspapers, it does appear that independent media is being slowly squeezed out of the market. While recently the President announced that many restrictions on news and media agencies will be lifted, the “reform” looks suspicious when news and media agencies are all under the control of the government.

Furthermore, the new law that calls for multiple parties in Parliament no longer seems like such a beacon of democracy if the government is actively giving assets to one party over the others. The law requires that at least two seats in Parliament be filled by a minority party. As usual in politics (in the US as much as in Kazakhstan), it seems that concessions to the people come only after the government has ensured it holds the upper hand.

Got notified of this by a commenter on my post Borat is Good for Kazakhstan. A film maker, kzscreenwriter in Kazakhstan has made a film called Borat’s Repentance that traces what happens when the President of the Borat fan club comes to Kazakhstan to apologize and discovers that Kazakhstan is a civilized and developed country. It’s up on You Tube in 3 parts. I can only post the links because for some reason when I embedded the films from YouTube, my formatting got pretty ugly:

Borat’s Repentance Part I
Borat’s Repentance Part II
Borat’s Repentance Part III

The film is pretty well made even though the quality on You Tube is a bit low. The two main actors are great (Where did they find Americans?). Parts of the film feel a bit like a propaganda piece, showing off that Kazakhstan is very developed and featuring a stupid naive American. It is also pretty clearly an advertisement for Kuralai, a Kazakh designer, c.f. this event. But it does a pretty good job of mixing the jokes and the pro-Kazakhstan propaganda. And there are a few shots at Kazakhstan’s lack of development too. And it does hit on some of the rudeness one encounters here with our poor heroes being kicked out of stores, attacked by rabid children and ripped off by taxi drivers!

That being said, I think it’s good for Kazakhstan that filmmakers have the resources to make products and get them seen without having to go through official channels because frankly there aren’t a lot of movie production companies here or financial resources. So low-budget, self-produced is definitely the way to go and hopefully kzscreenwriter and others can find a way to make money at this. It just might bring about a renaissance of Kazakh films.

By the way, if kzscreenwriter is reading this, or any other film makers in Kazakhstan are interested, email me or leave a comment. I’d love to do interviews with you and/or publish something about film making in Kazakhstan.

Yet again Mr. Sagdiyev has made the news. The Deputy Minister of Tourism and Sport, Kenzhebay Satzhanov, said recently that Borat boosted tourism by 13%. Speaking at tourism industry fair in London, Vice Minister Satzhanov said, “It was free of charge advertising and lots of people want to come and see our country…”The rise (in tourists was) maybe not so huge like we expected but in any case we saw interest.”

Most interestingly perhaps is that the Vice Minister also revealed an interesting part of Kazakhstan’s attempt to raise its ‘brand image’: “Every year they organise a familiarisation trip for international journalists and they had around 15 trips and they could see by their eyes how the country is, is it like Borat told.”

Recently Kazakhstan also made the news when it was revealed that the government paid for three academic studies from Johns Hopkins’ Central Asia-Caucasus Institute. Fredrick Starr, the director of the Institute, has long been in the group of academics that praise Kazakhstan and advocate a soft approach to issues of human rights violations. However three academic studies entitled: “Kazakhstan’s New Middle Class”, “Parliament and Political Parties in Kazakhstan” and “Kazakhstan in its Neighborhood”

While the reputation of Johns Hopkins, SAIS and the CACI have not been called into question before, and while Starr claims that the Kazakh government did not censor or try to pressure researchers, one does wonder how objective these reports could have been. The subjects of each report are also sensitive political topics. Kazakhstan wants to link itself to having a strong middle class as a sign that its economy is booming and benefiting a majority of people, rather than just oligarchs. After the controversial law to make parliamentary elections by party, not individual, and the 2005 election which made Nurotan the only party in Parliament, a report on “Parliament and Political Parties in Kazakhstan” could potentially be an attempt to dismiss allegations of tyranny. And Kazakhstan often promotes its own freedom, economic development and stability by comparing itself to other nations in the region.

I can’t find these reports online. Perhaps an intrepid reader can and then I can comment on them in more detail. But it is certainly indisputable that Kazakhstan is using every tool at its disposal to generate interest in itself as a tourist destination, an investment opportunity and a hope for democracy and stability in the former Soviet world.

I have to admit that one of my complaints about Kazakhstan has been the lack of live music. There are plenty of concerts of classical and folk music concerts but when you go to cafes, bars or restaurants, almost all of the music is a karaoke-style singer with pre-recorded, over synthesized music. And frankly the majority of it, while technically quite good, is cloying pop. And frankly most of it is Russian or Kazakh pop which does little for the uninformed ex-pat.

Fortunately a couple of expat-friendly, talented, live music bands have appeared in Astana.

First of all, if you’re into the blues, jazz, classic rock and rhythm and blues (old school–not R&B), check out pianist/vocalist Miss Lily at the Northwind Pub near Ramstor on Respublika Avenue. She plays everyday but Sunday from 9pm to 1am. Miss Lily did everything from Duke Ellington to Mustang Sally to Celine Deon’s “You Save the Best for Last” when we saw her. And she did a lot of trying to get the audience to dance and mugging to the crowd. You can see some pics of Miss Lily here.

The Sligo Pub, which just opened on Abay next to the Intercontinental Hotel, also has a live band (two guitars and a drummer) that mixes classic rock, grunge, Russian rock and folk rock. They apparently don’t play regularly but they are extremely talented with great guitar chops. Sorry, I don’t know the name of the group, but for more on the pub, including more pics check out Chris’ post on Sligo.

Finally another band whose name I don’t know plays at Tre Kronor on Saturday nights (and maybe at other times as well). They’re a full band and they seem to be into reggae and light rock. They also play a lot of British and American bands that are more popular in the former USSR than in their home countries like Smokie and Chris de Burgh. So it’s actually a fun education. Tre Kronor is on Sara-Arkai Avenue down from the new sauna.

Thanks to Chris Merriman for the photos. Anyone else have any tips on good entertainment in Astana?

I have written a bit about this earlier. In a post from February, Which Candidate is Good for Central Asia?, I noted that Obama is widely viewed as having a more international outlook and being more willing to negotiate with foreign countries, even those that may have questionable human rights policies. However commentors agreed that policy toward Central Asia would not be particularly different under Obama or McCain, nor would it change much from previous policy. US Ambassador Richard Hoagland yesterday also affirmed that relations between the US and Kazakhstan would not change drastically.

However Obama was by far the favorite choice of Kazakhstan. (more…)

Barack Obama won a clear victory over John McCain, taking several key states that were under contention–Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida. That combined with the traditionally Democratic states in New England, the Great Lakes region and California, Washington and Oregon put him over 270 electoral votes at around 10am this morning, Astana time. John McCain gave his concession speech shortly thereafter.

Kazakhstan sent a delegation from the Central Election Committee to the US to observe the polling. They can hopefully take a few things away from this election:

1) Barack Obama is a representative of a demographic minority. African Americans comprise around 12% of the population and Obama is the first black (or even non-European) president. It’s important to note that race, many believe, played a far smaller role in this election than pundits thought. Obama was simply viewed as better qualified to be president.

2) McCain conceded quickly. There was a peaceful concession and the opposition chose not to prolong elections and damage America’s reputation by challenging votes or bringing up lawsuits. In the end, it doesn’t matter which party wins as long as State is preserved.

3) People waited uncomplainingly in 3-4 hour long lines. People were proud to vote, to feel they made a difference. And there were few complaints about problems with machines or corruption or other issues. Not to mention complaints about sore feet, cold weather or wind!

I do have to add that in Kazakhstan Election Day is a holiday and a day off from work. I think that’s something the US could take from Kazakhstan because it would make it easier for people to vote!

As always I welcome comments, disagreements, questions. I also have one question for those who voted in the US. Did you get your free Starbucks coffee for voting? Or did that get shot down as a form of bribery?

Kazakhstan’s government and banks have been trying hard to show that the financial crisis is not affecting this country. Government bailouts to banks and articles about the safety of the market aside, this week the banks sent a strong signal that at least the super-rich are not in any trouble. Kazkommertsbank is issuing a credit card with a diamond inlay.

The card, issued in partnership with Mastercard, has a 0.02-carat diamond embedded in the center. Men can order one with a winged horse and women can get a peacock illustration. The cards will also be laced with gold. Only 1000 card will be issued at a rate of 30 a month.

Alla Voyakina, Kazkommertsbank’s head of international payments systems, says rather boldly, “The crisis is also affecting us but we are talking about rich people, they can afford to have such cards. It’s a question of prestige to have such cards in your wallet.” (from the Financial Times). To ensure that only those who can afford the prestige of conspicuous consumption will get this card, it comes with a US $1 000 annual fee. The credit limit of $50 000 is about $20 000 more than the Mastercard platinum card offers. And card holders will have 24-hour access to a personal bank manager. In a country where high-rolling customers have access to special VIP rooms at banks, including comfy chairs and tea service, this is perhaps not as strange as it sounds to a Westerner. And it should come as no surprise that the other place to have such a card is Dubai, the world capital of wasteful consumerism.

So I guess we know what the hot New Year’s present will be this year in Kazakhstan.