Category archive for ‘Culture’ 
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Who Needs Kazakh?
The Internet news site Oasis has an interesting opinion piece up called
Linguistic Illusion. The author, who would appear not to be Kazakh, claims that 1) she speaks Kazakh well and 2) she has never had any need for the language at all. So why is the government pushing people so hard to learn the official language of Kazakhstan? -
Movie Review: Tulpan
A review of Tulpan, a great look at life on the steppes of Kazakhstan and a light-hearted drama with bits of comedy mixed in. Incidentally, also the film from Kazakhstan that has won the most international awards!
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Cvet, Kamera, Motor!
Or Lights, Camera, Action! Is this what they say in Russian when they film a movie?
Just an interesting article I came across the other day, Nazarbayev tries to set an example by personally taking an interest in Kazakhstani films [RU]. The President plans to visit movie theaters and watch Kazakh movies in order to encourage [...] -
Jumyr Kylysh or Two Warriors
Chris Merriman was kind enough to lend me Ulytau’s most recent album, Jumyr Kylysh which is being released in English as Two Warriors. I suppose the name change is because Jumyr Kylysh seems to mean “round ball” in Kazakh. Non-Kazakhs, who have never heard of Ulytau, would not expect an album called Round Ball to [...]
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What Exactly is Banned?
According to an article by Interfax, wearing the hijab in Kazakhstan schools is forbidden. Apparently a student in Taraz wanted to wear one and the school administration did not allow her to, citing rules regarding the school uniform and the Taraz city education department supported this decision. Interestingly, apparently the Minster of Justice wrote on [...]
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Proof that Apples Do Come from Kazakhstan
Oxford University has just published research demonstrating that apples really did originate in Kazakhstan, by tracing genes in apples. The Story of the Apple, by Dr Barrie Juniper describes his research. He also notes that sadly due to Soviet policies and a focus on the oil economy, the apple forests of Kazakhstan are all but [...]
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Astana says, “Stay” and Contador says, “Go, go, go.”
With talk everywhere that Alberto Contador is thinking of leaving Team Astana (See my post, The Dream Team is Over), the Astana Cycling Team Management released a statement this weekend that the two-time Tour de France winner from Spain has one more year left in his contract:
In order to clarify some [...] -
Supersitions in Kazakhstan
Lucky21842, an American living in Kazakhstan runs a video blog which I’ve mentioned before in these pages. His newest entry is called “Kazakh Rules!” It very cleverly and amusingly outlines some common superstitions in Kazakhstan. It’s really funny and, in my experience, accurate. However, I would point out that rarely will a crazy Kazakh grandma [...]
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Tulpan Out on DVD
Tulpan, the film by Sergey Dvortsevoy, about a young Kazakh man who returns to his village to find that it isn’t as easy as it looks to become a shepherd, is out on DVD. The film has been critically acclaimed and is supposed to be very funny and clever. Order DVDs here. No idea if [...]
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Astana Day
Haven’t been posting lately as I have been on summer break. Look forward to a lot of travelogue posts about my adventures in Big Almaty Lake, Korgalzhino, Burabay, and Aktau. However my vacation began with horses and dzhigits. A few of my favorite shots of the Astana Day celebrations, one of my favorite holidays [...]
