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 […]
