Forgotten world (43): Kazakhstan
Sacha Baron Cohen’s new film “Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan” may not give a totally accurate representation of the country, so what is the situation in Kazakhstan?
Kazakhstan’s president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is not a totalitarian dictator; he is only moderately repressive: banning and intimidating opposition parties and jailing the odd journalist. He has been in power since the country gained its independence in 1991 with the break-up of the Soviet Union and won elections in 1999 and 2005 which fell short of international standards according to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
The country’s national drink is not horse urine; it is fermented horse milk that merely tastes like urine. And Jew-baiting is not, actually, a national sport. It’s more of a hobby, as in the phrase ‘You’re as tight as a Jew’ or the practice of making ‘a Jewish phone call’ (when you get the other party to call you back on your landline).
Kazakstan covers an expanse of Central Asia which is the same size as Western Europe making it the ninth largest country in the world. However, it only has a population of 15.3 million, 60% of whom are actually Kazak, with 20% Russian, and smaller proportions of other ethnic minorities. It has huge reserves of crude oill and gas which is enabling it to achieve substantial economic growth.
November 8th, 2006 at 9:57 am
I have direct experience of Kazakstan’s recent economic growth. This summer we supplied some equipment for the 34 newly erected public health laboratories in Kazakstan. Public health laboratories are one of the “luxury extras” that only prosperous countries can afford.