KZBlog » Resources

ALZHIR, the Soviets and Democracy

KZBlog — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:52:16 +0000

I put up a post on ALZHIR, a museum at the site of a labor camp for women near Astana. I definitely would put it on my list of things for people to do around Astana. I did notice two posts about ALZHIR from Kazakh Nomad after her trip on the 4th of July: Why We Love the US Part II and
Why We Love the US Part III. Both are great reads not only to get an idea of what is in the ALZHIR museum, but also as meditation on democracy and the suffering that Stalin inflicted on the Soviet people. Overall, Kazakh Nomad is an interesting read and I recommend adding it to any list of Kazakhstan blogs, particularly as there are a number of thoughtful essays about what it means to be an expat here.

What to Expect

KZBlog — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:03:49 +0000

One Peace Corps Volunteer put up a series of posts on what to bring to Kazakhstan, what you need to know, and other advice. Now these are targeted for PC volunteers so they may not apply to tourists or diplomats planning to come live in Kazakhstan, but they are an interesting point of view so I thought I’d link to them here.

Eyewitness Accounts from Americans

KZBlog — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 05:38:22 +0000

A couple of eyewitness accounts of the events in Kyrgyzstan from an American expat living there. If you want a narrative of one person’s day and what they saw on 7 April, check out Part I and Part II. Note that the author of the blog, Kazakh Nomad, is not the author of the narrative, in case that is confusing.

Really I haven’t seen a long in-depth post like this anywhere, without analysis. Simply stating what they saw and heard and what is was like to be in Bishek.

I Am Not a Number!

KZBlog — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 05:18:37 +0000

It has been noted here and elsewhere that there is a lot of bureaucracy in Kazakhstan. One of the most frustrating aspects of this is the number of ID documents and ID numbers one must carry around with one to do anything. Whereas in the US my Social Security card is sitting safely in a bank vault with my birth certificate, here to deposit money in the bank I have to show my original Pension Fund Registration (SIK) and to do most anything else I have to produce my Social Security Card (RNN) and national ID. It’s extremely worrying because I am always afraid to lose them, not to mention the fact that if you forget one, you have to go home, get it, return to whatever office you were at, and get back in line again.

The government is trying to make it easy by introducing the new Individual Identification Number which will be used as a universal identifier. I’m sure we’ll still have to carry a million documents around with us, but at least we’ll only have to remember one number. However as usual, there’s been a lot of confusion and unclear information and gossip and suspicion. How do I get one? What happens if I don’t have one?

So here’s a nice article that appears to clarify what an INN is, who needs an IIN and how to get one [RUS], in an interview with the Chairman of the Committee of Registration Services of the Ministry of Justice, Amirkhan Amanbayev.

The short of it is:

If you got an ID card in August 1997 or later, you already have an IIN. It’s the other number, the one you never used before with 12 digits printed under your birthdate. You don’t have to do anything.
If you don’t have one, you have to go to your local TsON (Citizen Service Center), or local office of the Ministry of Justice and bring your national ID, your registration book, and two photographs (3.5 cm x 4 , 5 cm) to apply for one.
You should apply one before 13 August 2010 because it will be free. After 13 August, you will have to pay to get an IIN.
On 13 August 2010 the law will go into effect and everyone will be using the IIN instead of the RNN.
This law affects both citizens and residents of Kazakhstan, so even if you’re a foreigner you might still need to get an IIN.

Some More Voyeurism

KZBlog — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 03:28:07 +0000

Some resources for seeing what has been going on in Kyrgyzstan.

On Twitter #newkg and #freekg are the main trending topics for people in Bishkek (as well as experts, analysts and voyeurs). The opposition PM is tweeting at @otunbayeva though her tweets are intermittent.

The BBC has an article up with some eyewitness accounts from people in Bishkek

This is what Bishkek looks like the morning after.

Abstract2001 on Live Journal posted a number of pictures last night ofthe Kyrgyz revolution. In case you don’t have access to LJ, the sources according to abstract are listed here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/worldnews/7563698/Kyrgyzstan-unrest-in-pictures-state-of-emergency-declared-in-Bishkek-after-revolt.html
http://www.internews.kg/internewsnetwork/615-kyrgyzstan-mitings-oppozitsii-foto.html
http://novosti.kg/news/721.html
http://www.azattyk.org/photogallery/3824.html
http://novosti.kg/news/719.html
http://fotoden.info/gallery/1159/p/9
morrire.livejournal.com
AP [sic]
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-04/07/c_13241157.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/photo/2010-04/07/c_13241278_3.htm
http://www.reuters.com/article/slideshow?articleId=USTRE6351SF20100407#a=1

New Media in Kazakhstan

KZBlog — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 09:05:04 +0000

KplusTVeng is a news show broadcast on Youtube. It isn’t clear who is behind it, but it’s very professional and the first time I’ve heard of locals using new media in such a high quality format.

I’m sure the rumors will start about who is funding it and in what way it is biased. But as the government Kazakhstan is accused of restricting local press freedom more and more, these alternative news sources should be flourishing.

The latest episode, which I’ve embedded below, covers a few subjects I haven’t really discussed: Mukhtar Ablyazov’s accusations of corruption on the part of Timur Kuliabayev and the strike in Zhanausien.

Sports.kz

KZBlog — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:10:23 +0000

Just discovered Sports.kz, a website that covers Kazakh sport, both national and international. Unfortunately it’s in Russian. Some other useful links on that page:
RSS feed
Asian Games category
Newsreader a downloadable desktop app

And thanks to this site, I just found the national football team site: Sbornaya.kz Sbornaya is the Russian word for team, not the name of the team.

PSA for Website Owners

KZBlog — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:47:35 +0000

If you have no idea what Google page rank is and don’t care, read no further.

For the rest of you, just a quick note that I had been using a page rank checker from Pagerankbar.com and it has been showing a rank of 0 for this page. Haven’t questioned that up until today when I thought I would check out the Google toolbar. Turns out I have a rank of 3. No idea whether the problem is with pagerankbar.com or my domain or WordPress coding or what. Anyway, just wanted to share that the widget here is not working in case you have similar problems.

And yes, I am really proud that my page rank is so high, not that I pay too much attention to such things, but it can’t hurt.

Urgent Help Wanted

KZBlog — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:58:14 +0000

Came across the site Mojazarplata.kz [MySalary][RU]. The site is only in Russian so it’s not much use to expats but it seems like an interesting resource for tracking salaries, jobs in demand and other work trends. There’s a few surveys you can fill out, including one on whether or not your work is violating labor or safety laws.

For the general public, the list of jobs in demand [RUS] in Kazakhstan is very useful (Neweurasia.net has published the article translated into English here apparently). Not sure where the site got its research; I wish they were citing their sources–is it official information or is it the results of their surveys?

Anyway, I think we can see why the jobs that are in demand are not being filled by the younger generation. The highest paying jobs on the list are electricians with an average salary of 80,000 tenge ($533) a month and metal workers at 65,000 tenge ($433) a month. Both jobs require technical education which is a time and money cost and both jobs are potentially dangerous. “Experienced specialists in energy” can make up to 80,000 tenge. Don’t be fooled by the abstraction of the formal Russian; they mean people working in the oil fields or power plants–as the chief engineer of Almaty Airport says in a quote on the site: “This sphere lacks enthusiasts ready for intense mental and physical labor, as well as tremendous responsibility” Hard and stressful work and a lot of responsibility and if you live to be very experienced you might make over the national average salary! Can’t think why people don’t want that job! Food process engineers apparently also have a higher than average monthly salary (70,000 tenge) but again it would be tedious work in a factory. Who needs it?

Add to this the fact that in Kazakhstan workers don’t usually receive annual adjustments for inflation or job benefits like healthcare, and that employers frequently pay late or violate safety conditions and it’s understandable why most Kazakhstani dream to work in some office job–where it’s safe and they can make a lot more money. Let’s also note that in Astana, at any rate, you can pay 75,000 tenge just in rent. If you want to eat meat for lunch and dinner every day of the month (as many Kazakhs do), that’s half a kilogram a person a day or 15kg a month–around 10,000 tenge a monthy per person in your house. In other words, these salaries are not only small in comparison to Western countries, they are small in purchasing power. Honestly, I am a pretty frugal shopper and we own our own apartment and I still blow about $1000 a month on food, household goods and the occasional dinner at a restaurant.

What do you think? Are wages just too low in Kazakhstan? Are prices too high? Is there some other way to attract people, especially young people, to the jobs that are in demand?

Peace Corps in Kazakhstan Over the Holidays

KZBlog — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:34:20 +0000

Found a bunch of great posts by Peace Corps volunteers all over Kazakhstan about their preparations for Christmas, their frustrations and hopes. Thought it made for interesting reading. How do expats deal with living in a country where one of their culture’s major holidays is not celebrated? And how do the holidays get Kazakhified?

So here’s just a list of some links: