A Momentary Relapse of Reason is a brand new blog by an American who’s been living in Almaty for the past year. It looks like it will be a good place to get foreign reactions to life in Kazakhstan. Check out the post on Astana where the author makes a key point that the Left Bank, while lovely, is devoid of people, making it feel like a movie set rather than a city.

Haven’t posted in a while because I took a trip to Mongolia last week. Of course nothing casts a pall on travel plans like political protest that ends with the burning of the leading political party’s building and sacking of the nearby Culture Palace. Assured by my friend in Ulaan Baatar and by various Mongolian blogs that the protests were a one-time deal and that the streets were safe I went ahead and got on the plane anyway.
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Go see Wanted [Особо Опасен in Russian] which opened on June 27th in the US and on June 26th in Kazakhstan. Why am I talking about this film and why did it open in Kazakhstan before it opened in the US? Because the director, Timur Bekmambetov is a native son of Kazakhstan, born in Atyrau. He moved to Moscow presumably because of the better developed film industry there and is most famous for making Night Watch and Day Watch which came out in the US as well as Russia. How did Bekmambetov get to make his first Hollywood movie with stars like Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman? His own genius. Universal Pictures was looking for a fresh look for the movie adaptation of Wanted, originally a graphic novel, it picked Bekmambetov.

Producer Mark Platt comments: The cinematic experience of Timur’s work and the visual language employed by him are so unique, eye-popping and extraordinary, I knew his was a voice that had to be heard. I had never experienced visual images in that way.”

From the Official site of the film

I don’t want to spoil the film by reviewing it in too much detail but it’s a fun action movie with awesome special effects and a great plot. It is very bloody and graphic in showing violence, but there’s also a lot of humor and character depth. As for Bekmambetov’s work, the movie has a unique and beautiful visual style. He has a great sense of tempo–one long action sequence is filmed as a single moving shot, but the pace speeds up and slows down elegantly to show every movement at its best. He definitely has a unique voice as an action director.

So hopefully the next ad we see on CNN promoting Kazakhstan will feature Bekmambetov and his films instead of the same old shot of Bayterek! Maybe they’ll invite Angelina Jolie to come to Kazakhstan. I’m happy to show her around if she does come!

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Association of Kazakhstan announced Friday that it will hold the first gay pride parade in Kazakhstan on 21 June. 21 June is also the date of the Graduation Ball for students who have graduated from secondary school–akin to prom in America. The LGBTA apparently plan a public outdoor concert and will distribute information as well as condoms. The statement from the group also said visitors from Turkey, Moldovia and Ukraine will be involved.

However Interfax was told by the akim that the akimat

have received no request for official permission for a gay parade in Almaty from any sexual minority [and that] in view of the fact that there will be school leaving celebrations in Almaty on June 21, this information is either a provocative scheme or an information hoax.

The reference to the school leaving dance is unclear. Does he mean that the city will be too busy to deal with two large-scale events? Or does he mean that it would be inappropriate to mix an event celebrating gay rights and one celebrating youth and education?

It is possible that the whole thing is a provocation in a country that is not usually tolerant regarding gay rights. While a few gay nightclubs do exist in Almaty, none can be found in Astana or (as far as I know) other cities in the country. One common derogatory word for “homosexuals” in Russian literally means “pederast”. And the word for straight is “normal.” The homosexual scenes in the film Alexander provoked laughter in an Astana movie theater, though the intent was to show the internal dilemmas of Alexander’s loves. While there is no overt history of violence against homosexuals, it is not a developed or welcome subculture in Kazakhstan, and a Kazakh friend of mine commented about the potential parade: “I hope the police will protect them because people will want to hurt them. and the police may not intervene.”

So the LGBTA may be hoping for its license for a parade to be denied by the akim. That would give them a chance to bring intolerance of homosexuals to the world press and push for attention from organizations like the UN or the OSCE. On the other hand, they may not have handed a permit in yet because, typical for Kazakhstan, they are waiting until the last minute! In any case, it will be an interesting event.

UPDATE: I’ve heard from reliable sources that the head of the LGBTA has publicly stated that n0 such press statement was released by their organization. If there is such a press release, it is a fake.

Whether the fake release was a hoax, a mistake or an attempt to bring homosexual issues to the forefront in Kazakhstan is anyone’s guess.

Among the amendments and laws discussed in Parliament this week, the most interesting and entertaining was a proposal by member of Parliament Sat Tokpakbayev to rename the capital city to Nursultan in honor of the President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and his role in not only running the nation but also building the city of Astana and promoting it to the world. 70% of members of Parliament apparently supported the idea.

However the President is against the change, or any renaming of the capital in his lifetime. He personally chose the name “Astana” as legend has it because it is easy to say in any language. “Astana” means ‘capital’ in Kazakh. According to the AFP, however Nazarbayev was not necessarily against a future name change. “The decision to change the name will be made by another generation,” he said in an interview on Friday.

This is not the first time someone has suggested renaming the capital in honor of the President and one does not an awful lot of buildings and organizations with the prefix “Nur”, which means ’sunbeams’ in Kazakh.

Some of the comments on the proposal from nomad.su are worth noting. One commentator points out that it will be unbelievably expensive to change every document, map and sign that has the word Astana on it. Another woman notes that she is tired of living in a country where names constantly change and is ashamed that her Parliament seems to do nothing but rename things. Finally one commentator proposes renaming a resort on Lake Kapshagai Sat, in honor of the Parliament member who made the proposal.

Astana has a new flag and seal, designed by the President and approved by the Mashlikhat of Astana on the 6th of June. According to nomad.su, the old seal was appropriate for the old city, once the capital of the Virgin Lands agricultural project. The new symbol is more fitting for the capital of a modern nation. The akim of Astana, Tasmagambetov noted that it was logical for the seal to change as the city and country are changing.

The new flag features a shanirak, the roof piece of a yurt, which symbolizes home and hearth and stability and is a widely used symbol in Kazakhstan. A stylized Baiterek is also clearly visible in the center. The Kazakh decorations represent bird’s wings and fire.

The old flag (center element is the seal)



The new flag (center element is the new seal)

I’ve been reading articles about how rising prices are affecting Kazakhstan. A lot of inflation statistics are cited along with comments from government officials. I thought people might be interested in how the financial crisis is affecting real people. Now my salary and my wife’s salary are significantly above the national average. I do know people with salaries of $500 a month who forgo eating dinner a few days a week just to get by. I can’t claim any sob stories like that. Nonetheless, beef at Gros supermarkets here in Astana just hit 1200 tenge a kilogram (about $4.54 a pound). A few weeks ago, it was 1000 tenge. A few months ago, 850 tenge. A year or so ago, it was 600 tenge. Prices visibly go up, especially at the larger chain supermarkets. Even at the bazaars, 400 tenge a kilogram was the market price for ground beef two years ago. Now people ask for 600-700 tenge. It gets to the point where planning a budget is impossible because you never know how much something will cost.

Taxi rides are another area that has seen serious inflation, presumably due to rising oil prices. Until last year, 200-300 tenge was a normal price to pay to move around the center of town. Now taxis don’t move for less than 500 tenge, according to the drivers who wait outside our door. If you want to go two blocks, that’ll be $6.

The spikes that occurred in prices of cooking oil, bread, flour and pasta have not receded at all. Cooking oil prices went up 50% last year and stay at 320-400 tenge per liter. Even Sultan pasta, made here in Kazakhstan and always the cheapest bargain, raised its price from 55 tenge a bag (since I first came here, Sultan has costs 55 tenge a bag) to 65-75 tenge.

How has it affected us? We are eating a lot more chicken and ground beef than we used to. Lamb (at 1600 tenge a kilo) is off the menu pretty much, as is fish that doesn’t come in a can. I’m hauling out to the bazaar once a week or so to buy the giant bags of generic pasta. We have a car so that makes it possible for us. However, hauling back huge bags full of food from the bazaar on a bus is a whole fun experience that many people have to suffer through.

At the same time, Astana has never been a cheap city relative to the average income. Real estate prices are equivalent to big cities in the US (if you don’t believe me, look up what $500 000 will buy you in the US and what it will buy you here). Gas has long been close to the same price as in high income countries as well: 90 tenge a liter is about $2.80 per gallon (which now seems quite reasonable a price, I realize).

In short, the crisis in prices is real, it affects real people, it has been going on for a while and it shows no signs of going away.

As always, I love getting comments, critiques, disagreements, other stories or anecdotes. How are you coping with the pricing crisis?

According to Freedom House’s Freedom of the Press 2008 survey, Kazakhstan’s press in 2007 was only slightly less free than in 2006. Out of a scale of 100, Kazakhstan recieved a 78, where 100 represents total government control over the media and 0 represents total freedom. In 2006, the country scored 76. Overall the report characterized Kazakhstan’s press as Not Free.

In terms of the legal environment, Kazakhstan scored 26 (out of 33) and the draft report cited problems with the law on media outlets which make it expensive to register a media outlet and establish a long list of grounds for denying registration. Journalists also continue to be subject to harassment by criminal or civil lawsuits according to the report.

Political influence on the press was rated as 30 out of 33. Freedom House says that a large percentage of the media is owned or controlled by the state and/or members of the President’s family. Newspapers that report on allegations of criminal behavior by government officials are routinely shut down or fined heavily. In 2007, a number of opposition websites were shut down when they played recordings of phone calls that appeared to implicate government officials and businessmen of violations of financial laws.

The extent to which economic pressure is brought to bear on the press was ranked 22 out of 33.

At the same time that this report was released, a 5 week block on RFE/RL’s Kazakh language website was lifted. The reasons for the block were unclear. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a US government funded news service.

The block may have been lifted after Miklos Haraszti, OSCE representative on media freedom, sent a formal letter to the Kazakh government:

I am convinced that the state Internet service providers were informed by your government that interference in providing service would violate Kazakhstan’s press freedom commitments.’ He adds that OSCE’s Permanent Council Decision No. 633, states that participating states must pledge ‘to take action to ensure that the Internet remains an open and public forum for freedom of opinion and expression.

Thanks to Central Asia for bringing all of this to my attention.

Thanks to Tom Toomey for pointing out that recently the New York Post published Cindy Adams’ latest column where she does Kazakhstan. Disclaimer for those who don’t know Cindy Adams: she’s a gossip journalist and scandalizing is her job and her style. Don’t be too offended. She has to say bad things about everything she writes about; that’s why people read her. And incidentally the article has many good things to say about the nation.

The article is funny in bits. I thought she got some things very wrong though, even allowing for her style.
She wrote: “FASHION: For a man, black tie is a T- shirt worn outside the pants. But the local ladies are nifty.”

You do occasionally see business men out on the town in appallingly informal clothes. I recently spotted a big man on the town in an old sports suit and no T-shirt underneath. The zipper was pulled way down so all the chest hair showed. But it is much more common to see dark suits and colorful ties. Kazakhstani dress extremely formally by US standards, even when going out to a cafe. Sunday I see people walking in the park with their kids wearing khakis and an Oxford shirt. Especially in Astana.

She says: “Kazakhstan is the world’s ninth largest country, and the 375th ending in the suffix stan.”
OK, it does get old hearing about -stan. There are plenty of countries that end in -land (Iceland, England, Poland) and a fair number that end in -ia (Albania, Romania, Latvia). Why does -stan bother people?

The highlight of the article, I thought, was this bit on her first taste of beshbarmak. Or her first non-taste.

ANIMALS: This is the beginning of the horse family, 55 million years ago. They began on the archeological site Krasnyi Yar in northern Kazakhstan. I don’t know how to break the news . . . but in the mountain region of Borovoe, they served it to me for lunch. With noodles. I had a salad.

Thanks to Net News Publisher for bringing this to my attention.

However as a resident of Astana it was hard to miss the fact that the newly inaugurated Russian President, Dmitri Medvedev, was recently here. Roads were blocked off, Russian flags were hanging from hotels and planted outside Bayterek. Black Mercedes and Land Cruisers with government plates were to be found everywhere.

It is however significant that not only did the President’s visit inconvenience residents, it also marked the importance of Russia-Kazakhstan relations. The RFE/RL article points out that Putin’s first State visit as President was to Uzbekistan. Now Kazakhstan has become the main regional power with a stable society, a stronger economy, and more international respect and prestige. Kazakhstan also has more economic and political ties with Russia, partially due to geography and partially due to its large Russian population.

It should also be noted that Medvedev’s choice to visit Kazakhstan (and to make a visit so soon after his inauguration) reflects an interest in Central Asia over Europe or the US or other Asian nations. Recently Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in particular, have negotiated quite a bit over oil distribution and pricing. Medvedev clearly is interested in continuing this cooperation and seeing these deals come to fruition. His visit is a signal that Kazakhstan is very much a priority in his foreign policy.

Of course, the President will likely not bother to come to the US until after January 19th, when his new counterpart will be inaugurated–President Bush is a lame duck and there’s not much point in continuing negotiations especially as Bush and Putin recently signed a memorandum of sorts laying out where the US and Russia agree and where they disagree.

So it is notable, but not surprising that Medvedev took a chance to climb Bayterek first.