It’s a Sunday at the end of one of the many busy weeks working on the new BBC Uzbek TV programme for Afghanistan’s Uzbek-speakers. I am on a shopping trip to the bustling East Street market in South London, where fresh fruit and vegetables are in abundance and sold for almost nothing. Known as a […]
‘Everyone has a book in them’, someone once said – I hope I have two or three! But ‘in them’ is not ‘out of them’,in public and it is the publication that gives birth to your ideas and exposes your soul. This may be why many people do not let the book loose or release […]
Azeris have a wide range of musical forms and styles to satisfy their needs. They also enjoy international as well as their national music. However, to love and enjoy music is quite different from feeling oneself in it, i.e. as an Azeri, to identify oneself with a specific type of music. National music has specific […]
Today, expensive accessories made of precious metals and stones are replaced by accessories made from natural materials in ethnic style. The new trend opened new names for the world – young and talented masters. Handicraftsman from Central Asia, whose culture and history serve them as an inexhaustible source of inspiration, have succeeded in creating unusual […]
2017 is a very important year for Belarus and Great Britain, as this year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Great Britain became the first European country to have diplomatic relations with Belarus. This is certainly an important part of the history of friendship between the two states. In an interview […]
It has become somewhat of a tradition to celebrate Belarusian Written Language Day. This is an annual holiday that is held every year in different cities and is marked on the first Sunday of September. The holiday is intended to demonstrate the unity of Belarusian written word, the history and culture of the Belarusian people and show the development of […]
The 3rd Annual Russian Energy forum took place in London (UK) on 22nd and 23rd June, 2016. The Forum is a major industry event in Europe and a unique platform for dialogue between energy companies from Russia and around the world. The forum was put on by Eurasian Dynamics Ltd with support from the Russo-British […]
More than one article can be written about the dire plight of stray dogs and cats that remain in Kazakh cities. It is one of the most underrated and under assessed issues current Kazakh society is facing. One can still find a few worthy reports, however rare and scattered they can be. Most of the […]
For a very long time theatre played a major role in entertaining people. Theatre would be a clear indicator of the cultural tendencies of the society. Uzbek theatre played an important role in the cultural development of the Uzbek socialist society, and Abrar Khidoyatov was one of the main figures of the development of Uzbek […]
In the orange early morning light, women holding parasols walked their children to school down gravel alleyways filled with the ever present hum of air-con units. Broom-wielding figures in high-viz orange jackets cast bulbous shadows as they swept the dust from side to side. As the sun arced towards its zenith a haze developed, the […]
One family’s return to Kazakhstan to visit the birthplace of their ancestor Alatau Tamchiboulac Atkinson, the son of British explorers Thomas and Lucy Atkinson, was born on 4th November 1848 in the tiny settlement of Kapal in the Zhetysu region of what is now Eastern Kazakhstan. 168 years later ten of his British, American and […]
The North Caucasus is characterised by quite some religious diversity, since the region is ethnically diverse and has many cultural and political ties with the peoples of the East and the West, and is situated at the crossroads of European and Asian civilisations. Currently, the North Caucasus is dominated by Islam, but since old times […]
The writer of a new book, entitled, “Abai and the Future of Kazakhstan” is no stranger to local audiences. Orazaly Sabden is best known, perhaps, as a scientist and public figure: an academician, as well as a winner of the State Prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan as best new author. Looking back, of course, […]
This year, it is a quarter century ago that the former Soviet republics along the ancient Silk Route got their independence – unasked for by most, following the implosion of the USSR. It has degraded them to post-colonial economies, in sharp contrast to what western propagandists “promised” populations after their “liberation”. A book, written in […]
Nowadays the Belt and Road Initiative (B&R Initiative) is a large-scale initiative which forms a new paradigm of economic and geostrategic development. More than 60 countries with a general population of 4.4 billion intend to participate in the implementation of this strategy. It constantly attracts new followers. Over $ 1 billion US dollars has been […]
When I first met Andrew Wachtel during an unseasonably warm April day in 2015, what struck me most about him – that is, besides the flash of chrome gray hair, pearly white short sleeves and electric blue plants – was his combination of ambition and realism with a sense of self and mission. Now, sitting […]
Born in 1941 in the Kyrgyz Republic under the Soviet Union, Akmatov has first-hand experience of extreme political reactions to his work which deemed anti-Russian and anti-communist, resulted in censorship. Determined to fight for basic human rights in oppressed countries, he was active in the establishment of the Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan and through his […]
WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM #23 AUTUMN 2016 Imagine an opportunity to turn the clock back and invest in the developing tourism sector in Switzerland 60 years ago. A time when investments were reasonable, and investors were afforded significant returns on investment. Now fast forward to the Kyrgyz Republic. Kyrgyzstan has on numerous occasions been referred to as the […]
WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM #23 AUTUMN 2016 Shamsh Kassim-Lakha is the Executive Chairman of the Board Executive Committee of the University of Central Asia (UCA), leading the planning and building of UCA’s three campuses in Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan. He has a long association with UCA and developed the concept document for the University with His […]
WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM #23 AUTUMN 2016 From 29th to 31st August, in Astana (Kazakhstan), the international conference “Building a Nuclear Weapon Free World” was held and dedicated to the closing of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. In one place parliamentarians, representatives of international organizations, civil activists, scholars as well as mayors and media from more than 50 […]
to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, H.E. Mr. Erzhan Kazykhanov WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM #23 AUTUMN 2016 Formerly Assistant to the President of the Republic of Khazakstan in 2008 and 2012-2014, His Excellency Mr Erzhan Kazykhanov has been privy to many of the recent developments in Kazakhstan’s political and economic arenas. Amongst a number […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Maide Akan is a young writer, illustrator and eco-designer of Astana, Kazakhstan. She is just 11 years old and composes, writes and illustrates stories about Aysu who is a brave Kazakh girl who not only loves nature and animals, but also leads a bitter struggle with the environmental problems of […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Despite being far from their motherland, Kazakh students in the UK are among the first to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Thus, the alliance of Kazakhs abroad “KazAlliance” organised an annual spring ball at Warwick University, one of the top universities in the UK. […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Text by Eugenette Morin It is calm, silent at the end of the Tian Shan mountain range in the Sayram-Ugum State National Park of South Kazakhstan. That won’t last as the sun rises early, snowy peaks glisten and birds break out into song. The view is breathtaking, bathed in the […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Story by Stephen M.Bland Unable to make our desired destination understood, my brother and I disembarked beneath a boundless sky on the outskirts of the ghost town of Moynaq, a place described by painter, archaeologist and art collector, Igor Savitsky – founder of the State Art Museum of the Republic […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM The launching ceremony of the Central Asia-South Asia transmission line CASA-1000 project was held on May 12th in the city of Tursunzoda in the Republic of Tajikistan with the participation of the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the Chief […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM First ever Kazakh-British feature film has officially been hatched this spring with a working title ‘Flags over Berlin’. It’s a Second World War spy-flick with loads of action scenes, espionage, suspense, and … Love! We had a sneak preview of the first paragraphs of the film’s extended synopses courtesy of […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Having Welsh descendants the glorious sport of Rugby is in my blood. My playing days are long gone but the enthusiasm and excitement of supporting a team and watching a live match still gets the adrenalin flowing. To my dismay when I arrived in Astana five years ago it was […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Over the past few years, the government of Uzbekistan has undertaken comprehensive measures to reduce state presence in the economy in order to attract foreign investors and create favourable conditions for their active participation in corporate governance. The Republic of Uzbekistan is currently of great interest to foreign investors. The […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM OCA: Kamal, please briefly tell us about yourself and your film making. Kamal Hasanov: I was born and raised in Azerbaijan, in Baku but I received my higher education in America. After returning, I began to work at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan and after four years working as a […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM It was a strangely cool July night just beneath the mountains around Karakol, and my insides were grinding with food poisoning. My skin seeped with hot sweat while my arms and legs shivered as though I had been bathed in freezing snow, and my skull thundered. My Kyrgyz compatriots first […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM OCA: Tell us about your background and biography? Cyrus Yanveh: My father Zalmon was born in a small Jewish hamlet in Belarus. He was conscripted into the Russian army at the age of 14. My mother Anna was born in Palestine, a Sabra one of the first girls born in […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM DRAWING PARALLELS BETWEEN JIHAD AND TERRORISM The role of a human’s life is central in the purest religion of Islam. God created male and female in the finest manner whether to their physical, moral or spiritual qualities (At-Tin 95 / 4-5). Human as the most wonderful creation of the Almighty […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM In the modern world one of largest scale initiatives is abruptly changing the face of the world, forming a new paradigm of economic and geo-strategic development and is revitalizing a zone of the Silk Road by land and sea. The project has been named “One Belt One Way.” The intention […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the proclaimed independence from it by the republics of Central Asia, the region has had a hard time intergrating its past into its future. A region that was once on the crossroads of great empires, from Alexander the Great’s invasion of Bactria […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE RUSSIAN EMBASSY IN LONDON As Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his interview to the Italian newspaper, “Il Corriere della Sera”, in June 2015, “we have always proposed a serious relationship to Europe. For a long time we have been talking about the need to […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM INTERVIEW: ROBIN ORD-SMITH From the age of just 14, Robin Ord-Smith has known that he wanted to be a diplomat, representing British interests abroad. His love of languages, culture, history and politics combined to serve him well in his ambitions and he joined the Foreign Office in 1989 after studying […]
OCA #22 SUMMER 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Born in 1937, Mintimer Shaymiev was the first person to hold the title of President of Tatarstan, an autonomous republic within Russia, when he was elected in 1991. An ethnic Tatar, he was relected three times serving until 2010. His background is nothing extraordinary, hailing from the village of Anyakovo, […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM A special event with a truly Central Asian flavour of music and dance was held in London in December. The event was aimed at providing an informal and enjoyable occasion for students and researchers following Central Asian Studies at London Universities as well as for anyone else with a love […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM INTERVIEW WITH ACTOR RASHID SHADAT Uzbek actor, Rashid Shadat talks to OCA’s Aleksandra Vlsasova about his life as an international actor. 2015 saw him involved in many well known films and television programs, including 24 (TV series), Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Now You See […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM The beauty of Caucasus is charming. Many historical, cultural and natural attractions there attract people from all over the world. For me the Caucasus has always been associated with towers. They are an integral part of the highland scenery. This is the world of towers. Their simplicity of form, rigorous […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM The Silk Road was a “highway”, which ancient China used to reach other realms in order to trade. Nomad and Mongol hordes rode and reached Europe. Central Asian Emperors developed a military and intellectual nest from where science, mathematics, philosophy and medicine “travelled” and enlightened the medieval world. Tribal warlords […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM For the fourth year running, the international literary festival and forum “Open Eurasia and Central Asia Book Forum & Literature Festival – 2015”, organised by the publishing house “Hertfordshire Press” together with the Yunus Emre Institute London Turkish Cultural Centre and “ORZU Arts” theatre was held from 6th to 9th […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM WINNER OF THE OPEN EURASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA BOOK FORUM CONTEST IN THE CATEGORY OF ‘ILLUSTRATION’ No book is ever finished without at least some illustration or artwork. Even the most simple books will have a hint of creative design and that is why the OECABF contest also includes a […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Journalist, Author and Narrator, Gulsifat Shahidi, shares an insight into the life behind her words and what she sees for the future. She is the author of recently published, The City Where Dreams Come True, by Hertfordshire Press and took part in the OECABF-2015. OCA sent our reporter to meet […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM A personal reflection by David Parry Words are not as they seem. They neither yield to linguistic analysis, nor allow an uninitiated mind to unravel their secrets. A staggering fact haunting Tamburlaine the Great (died 1405), ultimately frustrating Abai (1845-1904), although stimulating my colleague Sultan Raev (born 1958) in his […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Text by Dario Colón What has estranged the Armenian nation from virtually all other nations in the world when it comes to the build-up and maintenance of a national identity? The answer could be: a profound collective conviction of “It’s them or us”. Armenians tend to believe that in the […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM He who drives along the motorway from Russia into Belarus or vice versa will see no control posts either for cargo, vehicles or persons at the border. Further southeast, control posts between Russia and Kazakhstan are at an advanced stage of being dismantled. Together with Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, they make […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2016 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Text by Rustam Qobil,journalist, BBC Central Asian service It was March, and a whole neighbourhood on the outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan’s biggest city and former capital, was once again preparing for the spring festival of New Year. Men were handling outdoor tasks while women were chopping carrots for pilaf, the […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2015 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Text by Christopher Schwartz Photo: Umida Ahmedova It is no secret that at present there is growing discomfort with Western influence throughout Central Asia. One can encounter it from elite and everyman alike. From a Western perspective, it is easy and tempting to attribute the emerging difficulties to various cynical […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2015 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Text: by Dr Shahid Qureshi For Azerbaijan, after the occupation of its sovereign areas, Armenia has proven to be something of a neighbour from hell, causing harm to the millions of people in the occupied territories and those who are displaced as a result. Armenians are backed by their former […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2015 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Text by Kristina Glazunova Over the last few years attitudes to culture, the understanding of its importance and role in modern society, the recognition of culture as one of the most important resources for social and economic development have radically changed. As a result, the implementation of a program of […]
On 13th September 2015, the British Kazakh Society organised a charity marathon in Astana. The event was held with the support of the Rotary club of Astana. “BKS Air Astana Marathon 2015” was attended by over 500 athletes, more than 100 of which were foreign athletes from 18 countries. Participating in the event were both […]
On 12th September 2015, the “Soyuz TMA-16M” capsule landed back in Kazakhstan. There were 3 astronauts on board: a new space record-holder Gennady Padalka (Roscosmos), the first astronaut of independent Kazakhstan Aydin Aimbetova and the first Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen. The crew of “Soyuz TMA – 16M” were taken to the Astana International Airport by […]
Interview with the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Rapil Zhoshybayev Although for many the thought of the year 2017 is far away in the distance, for Kazakhstan the hosting of Expo 2017 heralds its first major global event that will be held on its territory as a showcase for more than […]
There are the dates in every country, which people love, respect and remember and honour. One such date is the formation of the Kazakh Khanate, which occurred 550 years ago. This event served as a great impetus for the development of Kazakh ethnicity and identity. And, of course, half a century later Kazakhs preserve the […]
Interview with travel writer Paul Wilson Paul Wilson is an acclaimed traveller and travel writer. Hailing from the less well-known town of Macclesfield in the North of England, his background has always been in history, having studied Ancient and Modern History for many years. From a young age he discovered the joys of independent […]
Large, dense forests, called galleries, riparian forests, extend along the banks of the big and small rivers in the Central Asia. These woods provide shelter and food for many animals, the largest among them being the Bukhara deer of Khangul. This Tugai deer is endemic to the region, is a subspecies of the red deer […]
On the 12th of August, on a grey London Wednesday morning we met at King’s Cross station, rushing to get to our seats on time. I was going with a theatre group to film their puppet show from Khorezm at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as part of my documentary about the Central Asian Theatre Group – Orzu Arts. […]
On a crisp, sunny Sunday morning in the middle of a pleasant British summer, Afghan Association Paiwand opened the gates of its first ever independently-run Afghan Cultural Festival to scores of queuing families, anxious to get into Allianz Park before midday to witness the official opening of the Festival. Eight hours of musical performances, family […]
On 11th September 2015 Astana hosted the Fifth Summit of the Turkic Council. This was the second summit held in Kazakhstan and the fifth anniversary of the Summit. The Summit of the Turkic Council is a unique event that brings together countries with a long history, which have common Turkic roots. The main purpose of […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2015 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Text by Andrew Glenister Before visiting Kazakhstan, the country had never really been on my radar. I knew where it was, and a little of its history, but I had never considered it as a holiday destination. I definitely do now. And I would recommend that anyone with an interest […]
OCA #21 SPRING 2015 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM Different people are drawn to Central Asia for different reasons. Indeed many come by accident, knowing little of what awaits them or how life changing it could be. Once such person is Gareth Stamp who came to Kazakhstan five years ago for what he describes as his ‘daily adventure’. ‘I […]
