OCA MAGAZINE #30

BUILDING THE LANDBRIDGE

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ORIGINAL FAMILY OWNERS TO FINALLY SELL UNIQUE 17-19TH CENTURY TURKIC COLLECTION

WELCOME TO THE EURASIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY! ON THE RARITY OF NUCLEAR STATES BUKVAR SLAVIC PRIMER CELEBRATES 400 YEARS SINCE FIRST EDITION VII OPEN EURASIAN LITERATURE FESTIVAL & BOOK FORUM - 2018

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF NICK ROWAN PUBLISHER MARAT AKHMEDJANOV

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DEPUTY EDITOR ALEKSANDRA VLASOVA, DESIGN ALEXANDRA REY, ALISHER BERDIKUL EDITORIAL TEAM OLGA MITAKOVICH, MARIA INDINA, ANGELINA KRASNOGIR, AINURA BERDIKUL, ZAYNAB M DOST, GARETH STAMP, RAZA SYED, SYMON LORD, CONTRIBUTORS BELARUS EMBASSY, LAURA HAMILTON, MATHEW TRAVER, DANIELE HADI IRANDOOST, AINURA BERDIKUL, RAFIS ABAZOV, SARMED HYDER, MARKETA JERABEK, LUKE OADES, JOHANN POWER, SHKOR LYDIA, EAST OF EDEN, LENAR SHAEKH, PAUL SAWYER, SARAH BERGER,

ECG BOARD LAURA HAMILTON - CHAIRMAN MARAT AKHMEDJANOV - VICE CHAIRMAN ANNA LARI - OEBF DIRECTOR ADVISORY BOARD DAVID PARRY OKSANA JUKOVA DAVID PEARCE YELENA BEZRUKOVA YELENA ASLANYAN ALEXANDRA REY AZIM AKMATOV JOHN FARNDON GULSIFAT SHAKHIDI ISAJON SULTON ANASTASIYA KUZMICHEVA LEV ALTMARK LARISSA PRODAN VICTOR RAILEAN

Disclaimer : The information contained in this publication is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by OCA Magazine and while we endeavour to ensure the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability or suitability of the information, products, services, or related graphics represented for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

All authors provide their own material and any opinions contained within are solely those of the authors and do not neccessarily represent the views or opinions of OCA Magazine.We publish these views as part of our provision of a forum for discussion and readers should be aware that the views may contrast each other in the pursuit of this aim. In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of material contained within this publication.

Special gratitude for cooperation and support to Embassy of Azerbaijan to the UK. Embassy of Kazakhstan to the UK. Embassy of Tajikistan to the UK. Embassy of Kyrgyzstan to the UK.

FROM THE EDITOR tral Asian nations that has not yet shown any interest in this, is now showing signs of a thaw toward its neighbours. Its president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, visited Tashkent in April, signalling an improvement in previously tense relations.

Of course such moves are only a small beginning and with no guarantee of long-term resilience.

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Armenia are already in a Customs Union with Russia called the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), but it has failed to grow to other countries and may conflict with any Central Asian plans, in turn causing alarm in Moscow.

Rarely a day goes by now in the UK press where we do not hear about Brexit.The good, the bad and the ugly. A government deemed by many to have incompetently missed the point about Brexit, while others dream of a second referendum such that the nightmare they perceive will come, will cease and the population be returned to their senses.

Of course, those who have travelled in the past to Central Asia will reminisce about the typical hours spent waiting in queues at border posts. These tortuous, although adventurous, experiences epitomised the tense relationship that the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have had with one another since they became independent. Those who have travelled recently may have found an easier process as visas and permits have been largely done away in some countries, and others are trying to implement a better immigration process for temporary visitors.

For more than a quarter of a century, water, land and ethnic conflicts have strained ties between the five “stans”. Now, even as the U.K. seeks to withdraw from the European Union, and other countries in the bloc mull their future in it, Central Asian nations are opening up to one another, taking the first steps to establish what might just become their own area of free movement and a genuine step forwards for integrating and establishing the region’s newfound power.

In March, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan abolished a strict visa regime that was a relic of their differences since the Tajik Civil War and people can now travel between the two countries without visas. Then in September, the first deputy prime ministers of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan signed an agreement on the mutual recognition of visas that will effectively allow future tourists the possibility of visiting both countries if they have a visa to either country. And even Turkmenistan, the most closed of the Cen-

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan still have to formally sign on to the Uzbek-Kazakh plan for a “Silk Road” visa. And Azerbaijan and Turkey, invited by Kazakhstan to join the project, are yet to formally respond.

For Uzbekistan, being doubly landlocked, the advantages of smoother flow of goods and people is clear. But since the other nations are themselves landlocked it is equally beneficial and something we have argued for before. Tourism is the other big gain for all nations – the visa regimes previously put people off visiting – but this could spark a revolution in the way tours and tourists are organised. Ironically, the future may be reverting back, therefore, to the 70 years of the Soviet Union when there were no border posts between Central Asian republics and people could move “freely” between them. Watch this space.

I thank our contributors, sponsors and volunteers once again and wish you all a safe and happy new year!

Yours, Nick Rowan Editor-in-Chief

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EDUCATION

WELCOME TO THE EURASIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY!

You may not have heard of it, but the L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University has made significant advances for the years of educational activity. This national University of Kazakhstan puts its success down to fundamentally classical principles together with innovative footsteps.

The reason for establishing this national university in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, was borne from the idea of Eurasian Union, and was first raised by President Nursultan Nazarbayev by a decree issued on 23 May 1996. The ENU leapfrogged into the modern era of sovereign Kazakhstan where “the Eurasian heartland became Astana”. And a phase of maturity started with the first step of the university.

At present, more than 20000 students (among them people of more than 35 states) are studying Architecture and Construction, Transport and Energy, Mechanics and Mathematics, Physics and Technical Sciences, Economics, Philology, Law, History, IT, International Relations and Political Science.

There are 1600 teachers, among them and scientists from 72 countries lead the three-cycle system of Bachelor, Master and Doctorate with English as the language of instruction. International cooperation has been implemented with 280 of the world’s higher education institutions. Scientific and technical cooperation regularly occurs with more than 47 countries, including France, USA, Poland, Finland, Russian Federation, Belarus, Turkey, Great Britain, Italy, Korea, China, Japan and Germany.

The ENU is not only the national leader, it is also has international recognition. The ENU is the one Kazakh university among the international ranking QS Top 50 Under 50, including in QS World University Ranking; QS Emerging Europe and Central Asia.

A number of students and teachers share their thoughts on the ENU’s success along its journey here…

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Maelys Van DER CLISSEN, the student of the Faculty of International Relations (France) Before I came to Kazakhstan, there was a lot about this country I did not know. It seemed so far away. However, I wanted to learn foreign languages and to see a new culture in the first instance.

When I was choosing universities, I found that the L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University was the best for my needs. Because it is located in the heart of Eurasia it is one of the best universities of the country. I study Russian and international trade in English. The schedule of courses are flexible and there is plenty of help available for foreign students. Many people gave me their phone numbers, and it was so helpful to know that if I had any problems or questions I could call up and they would help me. The university offered me a place in a hostel, but I preferred to live with a very accommodating family because I had the opportunity to learn about the culture of the Kazakh people. Furthermore, they taught me how to speak in Kazakh.

Punit GAUR, PhD (India), invited scholar, ENU. It is well understood, for any university the science, innovation and research are three main values that must be developed. In this context, the Eurasian National University has provided professional research establishments to all its students and departments. The University supports researchers leading improved research strategies with the emphasis squarely on multidisciplinary approach. With regard to innovation and teaching at the ENU, these processes have integrated instead of assimilated teachers and students. That is what I see as a major reason why the Eurasian National University progresses in the world ratings each year.

I should note that ENU plays a role in the international statehood to a very high level. Kazakhstan was the first among the CIS countries, which accepted EXPO-2017. And the largest number of volunteers, from the ENU, where action is.

Kazakhstan has reached 36th place among 190 countries in the world business-index. These facts reflect the efficiency of execution of scheduled plans.

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EDUCATION

Dana MUKHIYAT (China), the student of the Faculty of International Relations.

I am the first-year student specializing in International Relations at the Eurasian National University. In the future, I dream to become a diplomat who could help states resolve the conflict situations and help them to communicate.

The ENU interested me given the knowledge from strong specialists from different countries. They have a lot of experiences and wide knowledge.

“International Relations” today is a universal modern specialty. I am sure that after completing my education it will open me up to new opportunities. That is why I think that I made the right decision by choosing the ENU.

Shahabuddin SAFARI (Afghanistan), the student of Faculty of the Architecture and Construction.

On admission to the university it was a chance to go to one of the Asian countries: Pakistan, India, Malaysia and Ka-

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zakhstan. I chose Kazakhstan – we have the same culture. In fact I wanted to study an engineering construction specialty at the ENU. Besides students from the whole Kazakhstan, we live in one hostel with the children of other countries and became friends. Here I studied Russian and Kazakh languages. Now I have my own vision on various questions existing in the world. I am sure of the future of friendly Kazakhstan.

Andrey SHENIN, associate professor (Russian Federation), invited scholar ENU. The university exists for students. It always will be. As the world changes, students change, and they do request to be more involved in the educational process these days.

Lectures where the information flow is one way is no longer satisfactory. They want more details and more interactivity. In my opinion, the most interesting lectures or seminars are those with the aid of modern technologies and which demonstrate the practical skills of research work.

We need a dialogue. Students must to feel the inter-

est in them and that the teacher is on the same page with them. Then the process will evolve, and education continue to improve.

The Eurasian National University in this regard affords opportunities for students if they are to develop their full potential: there are audiences, qualified teachers, high technology and progress. Mainly there is atmosphere of knowledge.

Talal AWWAD, director of the Centre for Entrepreneurshipand Innovation Development of L.N. Gumilyov, PhD, professor, professor of the Department of Geotechnical Engineering of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Damascus (Syria)

For almost two years now the Eurasian National University, and the kindly and friendly multinational country Kazakhstan, have become a kind house for my family and me. Tremendous progress has been demonstrated in the development of Kazakhstan and its people.

It has become policy to transition from standardized to customer and practice-based units, developing entrepreneurship education and business itself as a whole. Every day, the business initiatives of teaching staff are supported, interests are at the boundary between science and production with the commercialization of scientific research results.

It is a great honour for me to work in the L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. International recognition of the Eurasian National University is confirmed by participation in international programs of academic exchange. The University is a pioneer in its country in its PhD program development with support from international consultants.

The ENU was awarded the prestigious international medal “United Europe”, the International Socrates award and the golden star for “CIS Best Company”.

The successful development of the ENU is related to the transformation of the university to an independent educational organisation where knowledge is acquired and imparted, but also new ideas are generated based on the achievements of modern science.

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POLICY

On the Rarity of Nuclear States The proliferation of nuclear weapons is undoubtedly an acute problem in international politics today. Currently, there are nine states in possession of nuclear weapons: America, Russia, China, Britain, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel; while those capable of manufacturing at short notice are estimated to be around 30. This begs a significant question, indeed: Despite the security benefits associated with nuclear weapons, why are there still so few states that procure them in practice? Reflect, for instance, on each of the five Free-Zone regions around the globe, from Latin America and the Caribbean to Central Asia, in order to ask what precludes such states from proliferation? To answer this question in as brief a length as possible, it is perhaps best to examine only the most important factors that come to mind.

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Assuredly, starting with the most obvious of all reasons, one’s initial response must be centred round the fact that many states lack the requisite capabilities, like material resources (highly enriched uranium as well as finances), specialised facilities, not to mention expertise and knowledge, to produce and maintain nuclear weapons. In this vein, a nation, obdurate in acquiring nuclear weapons (if it lacks the capabilities), will fail to even start the process at the very outset. One should bear in mind, however, exceptions to this rule would be the above mentioned 30 states, Japan and Sweden to name but two, which are sufficiently capable. Hence, they do not fall under the said category.

A further ground for nonproliferation is to do with possible external threats to security, which are prob-

ably best delineated from two different angles. On one level, many states that lack nuclear weapons do not face existential threats from other nations. Two cases that demonstrate this point well include Argentina and Brazil. Clearly, when these two states realised in the 1990s – immediately after the Cold War – that they did not pose a danger to each other’s safety, they openly began to reverse their nuclear weapons programmes. Yet, one must not omit, respecting the other level, alternative cases shew that states, in spite of continued hostility from others, might not commit to proliferation as an active means of self-defence. An instance in point comprises South Korea and North Korea. To be sure, while facing a threat for more than six decades and a probability of a nuclear attack, the former is still to manufacture atomic weapons of its own as a means of deterrence against the latter. One may explain this, of course, through no other reason than South Korea’s security alliance with the US overall. Certainly, the former is essentially guaranteed security with the latter’s assurance of retaliation against a belligerent in the potential event of an attack.

Proceeding on this track, a third factor conducive to nonproliferation involves inter-national agreements and the development of long-term norms. In this regard, the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which was instigated by the US – currently signed by five nuclear states and 190 states in total – was intended to reverse the spread of nuclear states until none remained. Furthermore, by establishing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the NPT equally has ensured nuclear facilities within signatory states could be investigated in person and, thusly, prevented (say, by sanctions) from conducting secret programmes. Meanwhile, one must not forget, all this is accompanied by the development of long-term norms, evidenced somewhat by the general aversion to violent images of nuclear explosions, entailing a global consensus that it is better if only a few states possessed nuclear weapons, as well as concern with reputation and prestige amongst ‘good international citizens’, such as Germany and Switzerland.

ing resources and fissile material away from emerging black markets; at the same time as developing long-term norms by way of its soft power. In essence, the leadership must articulate short-term goals and guideposts for the ultimate achievement of nonproliferation. It goes without saying, this role is at present filled by the US as the most powerful nation in the world: not only did it inaugurate the NPT and the IAEA, it has engaged in bilateral as well as multilateral negotiations with states under its ‘security umbrella’, assuming in turn the responsibility of their safety and protection. During the Cold War, to recall, the Soviet Union offered an alternative leadership and ‘security umbrella’, which is why (when it collapsed), some nations that already possessed nuclear weapons, such as Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, became convinced of their dispensability when offered to join the US’s ‘security umbrella’ in addition to receiving package deals, like economic aid.

Summarily, all things considered, four factors may explain the rarity of nuclear states across the globe: capabilities; external threats and alliances; inter-national agreements and norms; and, finally, leadership. Here, one must be cautioned that no single factor is responsible for absolutely every case of nonproliferation. Rather, to conjecture, it is the dynamic combination of these factors under the specific context of a state that really determines their relative significance compared to another. In this way, all factors might be said to be probabilistic, but not deterministic. What seems to be important, therefore, is to treat the above reasons as ‘implements’ within a toolbox used circumspectly to form relevant and context-based policies towards the eventual objective of a nuclear-free world.

text by Daniele Hadi Irandoost

Lastly, bearing those in mind, the final reason concerns a leadership, or hegemony, enforcing and managing nonproliferation across the globe; secur-

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POLICY

The Global Silk Road: Building the Financial Pillars The revitalisation of the Silk Road has been envisioned as a scheme, which would stimulate the free movement of people, goods and services from East Asia to Western Europe via Central Asia. The Central Asian leaders believe that it could stimulate economic growth in the region, the rise of small-and-medium enterprises (SME) and the creation of new jobs. The New Silk Way also could give opportunities to millions of travellers to visit natural beauties still untouched by civilisation and unique cultural centres of the millennia-old Silk Road. According to the World Bank (World Bank, 2018 est.) estimates of economic prospects from the modernisation of infrastructure and easing of movement of goods and services in the region could double intra-regional trade by 2025-2018. Updating infrastructure can also add at least 1.2-1.5 percent of GDP growth within next decade, which would add at least 2-3 billion dollars to the combined GDPs of the five Central Asian States (CAS) and help to create at least 500,000 jobs in tourism sector alone within next 10 years (the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), 2017 est.).

The business community in the Central Asian States came up with the idea of the International Financial Centre (IFC), which would serve the entire region in attracting investments and offering financial services, using the examples of IFCs in Dubai IFC, London and some others.

THE SILK ROAD COOPERATION: BIG PROMISES AND FAILURES After the fall of the “Iron Wall” about 30 years ago, the governments of Central Asia repeatedly declared the benefits of the development of what Newspaper AIF-Kazakhstan calls the “Global Silk Road” and announced a “Silk Road collaboration.”

However, until now many ideas have remained only on paper. One of the key problems has been the underdevelopment of infrastructure and service sector in the region, and the need to finance thousands of small and large projects – from developing tourist clusters to rehabilitation of hundreds of small and medium airports, which were closed in the 1990s. Unfortunately, the government-led investment funds in the region could not attract enough capital to the CAS and foreign investment funds did not rush into the region. Indeed, the business community badly need an International

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Financial Centre (IFC). It would serve the entire region in attracting investments and offering financial services, using the examples of IFCs in Dubai IFC, Singapore, and Shanghai as national financial centres were too small to achieve the required economy of scale. Since the 1990s, the governments in the region have attempted several times to establish financial centres and stock exchanges, which were supposed to serve the entire region, but failed miserably. The last failed attempt was the establishment of the International Financial Centre in Almaty City, which after US$300 million of investment was quietly closed.

The China-led Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) program could become a solution for the Central Asian region, providing financing for several largescale infrastructure projects connecting China with Europe via Kazakhstan. For example, Beijing has offered several loans to the government of Kazakhstan during the difficult years of oil revenue decline and actively participated in the privatisation program between 2012 and 2018, investing about US$28 billion during the past five years.

The “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) program and the Asian International Infrastructure Bank (AIIB) have helped to create a foundation for financing some projects in the region. However, the OBOR program did not meet the expectations of Central Asian leaders as the program’s initiatives have

more often focused on a series of infrastructure mega-projects and macro-economic indicators and has paid significantly less attention on working with local private sector institutions, such as the myriad of so-called “bazar capitalists” – small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) was officially inaugurated in summer 2018 out of the necessity to revitalise regional and global economic cooperation and technological exchanges, expanding them from the Central Asian markets to the wider markets of the so-called Silk Road Belt region. Indeed, for almost two decades policy-makers in Kazakhstan and Central Asia have been talking about the need to stimulate intra-regional economic integration – especially in the area of regional and international infrastructures.

Yet, the political will and joint declarations did not lead to concrete large-scale joint regional projects or joint ventures, despite the long history of effective collaboration in the 20th century and the obvious need to develop an “economy of scale” by enlarging national projects into joint regional schemes to become competitive in the international arena. The main obstacle often has been – among other things – a lack of adequate capital and financial resources for funding such projects.

It is projected that the AIFC will provide financial services in the words of Kazakhstan’s government officials - “not only for Kazakhstan, but also for the whole world” creating a competitive financial hub and financial pillars for the development of the “Global Silk Road.”

The “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) program and the Asian International Infrastructure Bank (AIIB) have helped to create a foundation for financing some projects in the region.

IMPLICATIONS: The OBOR program and significant rise in Chinese investments into Kazakhstan’s economy, infrastructure and financial projects have boosted economic growth in the country and led to the completion of several long-delayed large infrastructure

projects. At the same time, Astana has started thinking of avoiding dependency on a single investor and decided to take a number of steps toward diversifying its portfolio of international investors.

While the government of Kazakhstan welcomes investments, infrastructure and business development with its Chinese counterparts, it has clearly highlighted its quest for diversifying investments, building its very own, internationally competitive financial system and raising capital directly in the international financial markets.

For almost three years, a team of Kazakh government officials and local and international experts have been working closely with several international and transnational financial institutions, such as the NASDAQ, Shanghai Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange and many others to develop a unique project – the Astana International Financial Centre. They have developed an exclusive regulatory system introducing among other things changes in the national constitution, investing almost US$400 million in funding and in large business space transfers to the AIFC. The preparation work of the team has included three major aspects of additional legal regulatory changes. First is that the entire functioning and all activities of the Centre would be outside of the legal regulation of Kazakhstan, and would be conducted under British law. Second is the introduction of a special system of preferences and regulations in taxation, currency exchange and currency movements as well as a special visa immigration status for the AIFC. Third is the commitment of Astana to continue its national privatisation program using the AIFC platform. To this end, the government has committed itself to holding Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) of more than US$34 billion within the next few years, including privatisation of such national business jewels as Samruk-Energy and Kaz-Post, as well as privatisation of major enterprises currently under the control of the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Energy. The managing team of the AIFC has created a series of extremely favourable concessions (some experts say – one of the most liberal in the region) to attract the attention of financial top-players from the USA, such as the NASDAQ and Goldman Sachs Group.

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TOURISM

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The government of Kazakhstan hopes that through collaboration with leading international partners the AIFC will gain access to the latest technologies and know-how in working with various financial instruments at the national, regional and global levels. This is especially important as Kazakhstan has launched a new round of ambitious multi-billion dollar reforms dubbed Industrialisation 4.0 betting on the benefits in moving towards a service-driven economy.

The government of Kazakhstan hopes that through collaboration with leading international partners the AIFC will gain access to the latest technologies and know-how in working with various financial instruments at the national, regional and global levels.

CONCLUSION: The government bets that its new financial and other initiative can contribute to diversification of investments into Kazakhstan’s ambitious projects, making Kazakhstan’s and Central Asia’s section of the Silk Road more attractive for business and financial deals. For example, as recently as September 2018, during his visit to Kyrgyzstan to attend the Sixth Meeting of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States (CCTS), the president of Kazakhstan declared that he would like to improve collaboration with neighbouring countries in Central Asia in industrial, agricultural and financial sectors, inciting them to work with the AIFC. Indeed, the Centre needs to attract enough financial resources from regional players, especially from Uzbekistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan, to become a real financial hub for Kazakhstan and Central Asia.

In this regard, Astana plans to take several important steps towards creating sustainable and stable economic and financial systems. Firstly, this includes overcoming “economic nationalism” and embracing intra-regional “Silk Way” economic collaboration with neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as well as with Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Secondly, the government of Kazakhstan intends to reconceptualize the current model of economic development taking into con-

sideration the new realities and trends emerging upon the need in moving away from the commodity-exports driven economic development.

In collaboration with leading U.S. universities Kazakhstan proposes training a new class of financial talents and professionals capable of handling financial instruments, wealth and assets management not only for individual states, but also for regional projects. Last but not least, the government envisions developing closer working relationships with U.S. partners at all levels, not only with large companies but also with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) able to attract technologies and investments, create jobs, and move goods and services.

AUTHOR’S BIOS: Rafis Abazov, PhD, is a visiting professor at Al Farabi Kazakh National University and a director of Ban Ki-moon Institute for Sustainable Development. He is author of The Formation of Post-Soviet International Politics in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan (1999), The Culture and Customs of the Central Asian Republics (2007), The Stories of the Great Steppe (2013) and some others. He has been awarded an IREX 2010–2011 EPS fellowship (Title VIII program) for research on public policy reforms in Kazakhstan.

text by Rafis Abazov, photos are courtesy of the author

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POLITICS

AFGHANISTAN LOOKING TO THE FUTURE The South Asia and Middle East (SAME) Forum hosted a special session on the topic of ‘Afghanistan: Looking to the Future’ on the 25th October 2018 in the Houses of Commons. The discussion began with Mr Khalid Nadeem, the Chairman, highlighting the tragic death of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi Arabian journalist, a point which was commented on by both Ivan Lewis MP and Jim Shannon MP. Ivan Lewis MP related the death to the breakdown in international law and norms that is becoming globally prevalent and the increasing number of ‘big players’ on the global stage who are tearing up the international rulebook. Mr Khalid Nadeem noted that it was imperative to maintain close defence and intelligence relations with Saudi Arabia, especially relating to counter terrorism whose help has proved invaluable to the UK. He also stated that it was critical the UK maintain a constant dialogue with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia because of the aforementioned security issues.

The discussion soon focused on the recent Afghan elections that took place last Saturday, in which one-third of the polling stations did not open for security-related reasons and voter turnout was lower than its previous two elections. On a brighter note the BBC World Service journalist Mrs Sana Safi noted the introduction of biometric registration technology in the election and the fact that it was the first to occur without substantial international intervention.

Ivan Lewis MP conducted the first speech on the UK’s perspective on Afghanistan, bringing to light his concerns regarding the dysfunctional political process and the possible departure of the U.S.

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from Afghanistan under President Trump. He noted that such an eventuality would reverse more than decade-long progress whilst further extenuating an on-going cycle of young men being drawn into the Taliban lines as a result of economic exclusion. He also highlighted the importance for a regional solution if long term peace was going to be achieved. Further, he expressed hope regarding the new generation of candidates and youth that were becoming more politically engaged in Afghanistan. However, he did note the deteriorating security case, specifically in the elections which saw multiple attacks on election officials and security services.

US analyst Johnathan Paris also praised the impact of the U.S. in the Afghanistan war highlighting that many Afghans voted in the last elections.

This commitment to democratic elections is partly due to the U.S. approach towards Afghanistan. He therefore emphasised the crucial role of current U.S generals in preventing any premature policy moves from the Trump administration towards Afghanistan. Jim Shannon MP began speaking about the impact of the Afghan conflict on religious toleration in the region following a Q&A session. He criticised the increasing levels of sexual and religious violence in the region, citing several examples of different faiths being marginalised and persecuted within Afghanistan. Mr Shannon expressed deep reservations about Saudi Arabia in terms of its failures in religious and civil liberties, particularly in the case of the Jamal Khashoggi affair, having been concerned for a long time about the Saudi Arabian government.

Dr Nasir Shansab, Afghan writer and businessman, followed up with a speech on the economic

prospects of Afghanistan. He highlighted Afghanistan’s poor economic conditions and fragile economy. Dr Shansab saw little hope for the future of Afghanistan’s economy, pointing to its high infant mortality rate - which is one of the highest in the world - and to the average male life expectancy of only 45 years. Furthermore, he pointed to Afghanistan’s reliance on international aid and its illegal opium trade, and its widespread and systemic corruption.

Sir Barney White-Spunner, former Lieutenant General, commented on defence strategy within Afghanistan. He noted the relative success of military intervention in Afghanistan whilst putting its troubles down to a disunited economy and hostile tensions between ground actors. Furthermore, he mentioned the troubles facing those supporting intervention, mainly from men such as President Trump who are raising questions about whether

intervention has been value for money and why the U.S. should continue to act as the world police. Sir White-Spunner highlighted the importance of recognising that the Taliban are not a perfectly united front and that the ability for potential peace talks involving the organisation’s representatives, to have an impact on areas such as drug-smuggling in some regions is likely to be low. Thus, suggesting that a solution to the conflict may lie in identifying fractions within the Taliban and exploiting its disunity. He argued that since narcotics was the main driver for the Taliban, greater focus should be put on this area. He also disagreed with the practicality of attempts to find an alternative cash-crop with which to replace opium production, citing these as often naive.

The Chairman, Mr Khalid Nadeem, closed with a final comment on the importance of these fora to keep close attention on Afghanistan and ensure that politicians, and the public alike, do not become complacent in what has now been a 17-year conflict.

Contributors: Sarmed Hyder, Marketa Jerabek, Luke Oades, Johann Power

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HISTORY

The Ruzhansky Legends:

Women in Belarusian Art and History Ruzhany Castle, located in Brest region of Belarus, is currently under reconstruction. Earlier it was the residence of the potent dynasty of Sapieha, a castle whose beauty was compared to the French Versailles. Historical information states that the duke Jan Sapieha received the king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Sigismund 1 the Old in Ruzhany. There was a theatre in the castle where the performances were in French. Destructive wars, especially the Second World War, turned a beautiful castle into ruins, but legends about those places still inspire Belarusian artists.

In one of the legends telling about the origin of the name Ruzhany - a small cozy town in Brest region, located on the border of Belarus with Poland, the names of two sisters - Ruzha and Anna, who were the daughters of the owner of the town (but the owner’s name remained unknown) are mentioned. The contemporary Belarusian artist E. Los (born in 1957) decided to embody her ideas

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about the appearance of these young beauties in the triptych “Ruzhansky Legends”. It should be noted that her works are also in the collections of the Museum of Ethnography in St. Petersburg, the Museum of Ancient Belarusian Culture of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, in the holdings of the Belarusian Union of Architects and Moral Re-Arnament (Switzerland).

The artist turns to pages of Belarusian history in lithographs “Anna”, “Ruzha”, “Hunting” (they make the series “Ruzhansky Legends” (1990)). On the lithographs of E. Los we see the coat of arms of Ruzhany with the image of St. Casimir in a wreath of scarlet roses, and the spire of Holy Trinity Ruzhany Church, and the domes of the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and Ruzhany Palace.

The image of the girl, depicted by the artist on the lithography “Ruzha”, can be described as collective, idealised, especially since the rose is

the flower of Venus – the goddess of beauty [1, p. 485]. That is why knights-troubadours (XI-XIII centuries), chanting female beauty, compare the Beautiful lady with the rose, the most exquisite and desired of all flowers. On the other hand, the wreath of scarlet roses depicted on the coat of arms of Ruzhany (which is “Allusive arms” - the speaking coat of arms), and the name of the flower are surprisingly in tune with the name of the city, and with the name of lithography. Thus, we can assume that on the engraving “Ruzha” E. Los recreated an idealised female image - in the form of a girl holding a rose and a book. And a book has always been an indisputable attribute of virtue [2, p. 299], which is emphasised by the artist and through the image of the dog [3, p. 522] next to the Ruzhany-Rose.

Pondering the riddle of the image of the girl depicted by E.Los on the lithography “Anna”, one can assume that this image in some way goes back to the real (and legendary) historical character - Anna Jagiellonka (1523-1596), the daughter of the Polish king Sigismund I the Old and Bona Sforza. An original “hint” of the artist, necessary

for deciphering the mystery of lithography, is the image of the stork - this bird in Renaissance and Baroque traditions symbolized respect to parents [4, p. 55]. Indeed, Anna Jagiellonka became the queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania only at a very mature age (in 1575), in other words, the young years of the future queen were influenced by the powerful mother – the Queen Bon Sforza, who actually ruled the country.

Note that the artist portrayed Anna as playing the lute (against the background of Catholic Church of Holy Trinity), and this instrument also served as an attribute of Music, whose heavenly patroness was St. Cecilia [5, p. 610]. Religious and secular ideas about the “ideal of a creative woman” were broad-

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HISTORY

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cast through the image of Saint Cecilia in Western European art culture. These representations reflected an unspoken set of rules for a woman’s behaviour in society; society’s judgments on the level of general and artistic education of a woman; socially approved forms of creative activity of women [6]. On the other hand, the lute (along with harpsichord) was the most popular instrument of Renaissance, sounded at the royal courts. The lute was an ideal home instrument with a soft, silvery sound, and the lute in Anna’s hands seemed to recall the rapid rise of culture in the 16th century on Belarusian lands, the intensive development of music exchange among Western European countries, the popularity of the works of F. da Milano, V. Galilei, G. Bakfak. At the same time, the image of the entrance gate (brama) of the Ruzhansky castle on the lithography “Anna” nevertheless “approximates” the image of the girl to the legend of two sisters whose names merged in the name of the town.

It is possible to identify the generality of the artistic and aesthetic ideas inherent in the lithographs “Anna” and “Ruzha” E.Los through the comprehension of the specific characteristics of the space of everyday life. During the XV - XIX centuries for women the most accessible way of knowing the surrounding world of all historical forms of comprehension of the phenomenon of being (religion, philosophy, science) was precisely artistic creativity Playing musical instruments, reading, painting, organising home theatrical productions, embroidering (and other forms of artistic creativity) were expression of a personal relationship to the world around them, a way of intellectual and creative self-development of women within the framework of private life.

rite genres of Italian early Renaissance (more precisely, the Ars nova period), which arose “under the influence of the pictorial nature of the genre: the canon of the two upper voices conveys a kind of revival and dynamics of hunting, pursuit of the hunter for the beast, roll call, cheerful exclamations “[7, p. 119]. The display of the sound of the musical canon on the engraving “Hunting” is undoubtedly the roll of two instrumental voices - the hunting horns of the horseman and the hunter is clearly “traced” by the artist.

Another important accent of the Linocut “Hunting” by E.Los is quoting fragments of works by other authors - in particular, the drawing of the Belarusian artist, musician and diplomat Napoleon Orda (1863), which shows the entrance gate and the main building of the Ruzhany palace ensemble. (It should be noted that it was practically destroyed during the Second World War). The artist “borrows” the image of the main building of the palace from the image of N. Orda, as if reminding the viewer of the brilliant events of the past: the reception in honour of King Stanislaus August Poniatowski (1784), the magnificent theatrical productions, luxurious balls and numerous hunts.

Such a bright historical and chronological contrast, which is the undoubted creative finding of E. Los, expresses the emotional and simultaneously anxious attitude of the artist to Belarusian history, and attention to the past and the present.

by Shkor Lydia Alexandrovna Associate Professor of the Department of Belarusian and World Artistic Culture Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts

The softness and lyricism of the female images of “Ruzhy” and “Anna” is strengthened by comparison with the lithography “Hunting” (also related to the series “Ruzhansky Legends”). Its vigour, dynamic saturation of the figurative system is emphasised by the figure of the horseman, who proudly flaunts on the galloping horse. The stage of hunting is, as it was “voiced” by the artist through the evocative sounds of hunting horns, and in the imagery-emotional terms “Hunting” directly echoes the once popular musical genre “caccia” (Italian caccia, literally - hunting, pursuit).

Caccia - the two-part canon - was one of the favou-

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EVENT

Kazakh Superstar

Brings Sensational Show to London

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EVENT

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The London DQ show is part of the Kazakh Culture Days in the UK, hosted by The Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Republic of Kazakhstan and supported by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Dimash Quadaibergen is an international, multiple award winning and world-famous Kazakh superstar. A unique singer with a world-wide fan base, predominantly in Asia, with over 1.5M Instagram followers, Dimash performed an exclusive solo concert, the ‘DQ’ show at London’s Indigo at O2 on 19th November.

‘DQ’ is an astonishing new concert program by Dimash, which features his greatest hits as well as brand new unique pieces that were performed exclusively in London. Dimash’s repertoire included a large amount of world popular vocal masterpieces as he sings in various languages and genres. His record-breaking vocal range covers 5 octaves, 4 notes and 1 semitone, he can sing in almost all known vocal registers, both male and female, from bass to soprano; he also sings in a rare whistle register.

Dimash’s talents have been recognized by several prestigious awards including: Best Overseas Singer Award at the MTV Global Chinese Music Awards; Most Popular Male Singer Award at the Golden Mango Stars Awards; Most Popular Singer of the Year at OK! Magazine Music Gala and many more…

Dimash was born 1994 in the city of Aktobe (Kazakhstan) in a musical family. The singer’s parents are Kanat Aitbaev and Svetlana Aitbaeva, professional popular music vocalists awarded with the state title of ‘honoured cultural figures of the Republic of Kazakhstan’. In accordance with Kazakh custom, Dimash was brought up by his grandparents. He calls them his mom and dad. Dimash’s grandfather, Kudaibergen, is an engineer, and his grandmother, Miua, is a schoolteacher. Dimash has a younger brother, Abilmansur, and a younger sister, Raushan.

in the Piano category. From the age of ten Dimash sang and participated as a presenter in various children events, including on television. Since the age of eighteen he has participated and won various Kazakhstani and international competitions and festivals.

All funds raised from ticket sales were used to support young talents of Kazakhstan and will help them participate in international contests and concerts. The program of support was established by the Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2008. Over 1000 young talents – artists, designers, singers and musicians have already been supported through the program.

Kazakhstan is becoming an active player on the world’s culture stage. Astana Opera built in 2013 has already hosted La Scala, Operalia Placido Domingo, San Carlo and Mariinsky Theaters. Kazakh movie Amre won Best Global Hollywood Film Award in October 2018, Kazakh Actress Samal Eslyamova has become Cannes Best Actress Award in 2018 for her role in the Ayka movie. 11-year-old talent Danelia Tuleshova is a Kazakhstan representative at Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Minks this November.

Dimash came on stage at the age of two and by the age of six, he already won his first contest called the Ainalaiyn Republican Children Contest

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EVENT

A Celebration of Afghan Culture in London On the 19th August, we saw a truly authentic reflection of vibrant Afghan culture. Singers and dancers brought the energy to Hounslow’s excitable residents whilst a range of international cuisines added to the festivities. A Taekwondo club, managed by two Afghan brothers, demonstrated the skill and discipline of their students, whilst fairground lights and Afghan singers invigorated the festival further. We were lucky enough to have hosted the Mayor of Hounslow, Councillor Samia Chaudhary, as well as the Deputy Mayor of Har-

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row, Councillor Nitin Parekh, and officials from the Afghan Embassy, all of whom had some very kind words to say of the ACAA’s noble altruism. Our director, Dr Nooralhaq Nasimi, made a powerful and moving speech about the wildly unstable situation in Afghanistan, and underpinned the gratitude of Afghan refugees who have settled in Britain. The ACAA Summer Festival gave West London residents a glimpse of exquisite Afghan culture – a day of great celebrations and nostalgia for London’s Afghans.

The Land Drenched in Tears: Story of a Tatar Woman in Mao’s China The Land Drenched in Tears is a moving history of the tumultuous years of modern China under Mao’s rule, witnessed, experienced, and told through the personal lens of an ethnic minority woman, who endured nearly 20 years imprisonment and surveillance regime as a result of her political activism in Xinjiang, or East Turkistan, located in the far west of China.

Writing her autobiography as an extraordinary melange of diary and memoir, which oscillates between first-hand narrative and flashback, the author, Söyüngül Chanisheff, traces her unfortunate youth from her university years, when she founded the East Turkistan People’s Party as a result of her anger and frustration with communist China’s devastating mishandling of the socio-economic life of the people of her native land, through her subsequent imprisonment in China’s notorious labour camps as well as under the surveillance regime, to her emigration to Australia.

Chanisheff’s autobiography is a rare, detailed, and authentic account of one of the most poignant and most fascinating periods of modern China. It is a microcosmic reflection of the communist regime’s tragic realities presented through the suffering and hope of a young woman who tied her fate to that of her beloved homeland. By boldly exploring hidden territories of modern Chinese history, it not only invites the reader to contemplate the universal topics, such as the relationship between citizen and state as well as between ethnic minority and majority, but also encourages similar stories to be told from our troubled contemporary world. This book is highly recommended for anyone who seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the many issues contemporary China faces. *The Land Drenched in Tears was translated from Uyghur by London-based Uyghur translator and singer Rahima Mahmut. Having received English PEN Translates grant in May 2017

ISBN: 978-1-910886-38-0 RRP:£24.50 AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.CO.UK WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

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COVER STORY

Original Family Owners to Finally Sell Unique 17-19th Century Turkic Collection

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COVER STORY

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The tradition of private collecting has existed in Russia for centuries. Such donations and gifts helped to create the collections of many university cabinets and museums of the pre-Revolution Russian Empire. For example, the collection of the present-day National Library of the Republic of Tatarstan (Kazan) is based on the collection of Ivan Vtorov, a well-known Kazan bibliophile and regional ethnographer, while the collection of the National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan is based on the collection of a well-known Kazan collector Andrey Likhachev. The traditions of private collections of items with museum importance, of national costume and household utensils, jewellery, coins, books, and so on have continued to d velocity even today.

Raphael Khalitov, a Kazan collector, owns a unique collection of articles of applied art and ethnography of the Turkic culture of the 17th–19th centuries, which have been inherited – for centuries – within his family on the side of his mother’s great-grandfather, Zarifoullah. As to Raphael-efendi himself, he comes from the Xo‘jayli District of Uzbekistan. His ancestors were from the village of Kushar of the Kazan District of the Kazan Province (currently in the Atninsky District of the Republic of Tatarstan). The family of his grandfather and grandmother moved to Central Asia in the 30s of the past century saving themselves from dekulakisation at the period of collectivisation.

Raphael Khalitov came to know about the ancient family treasures shortly before his father’s death in 2009: “Father told me in his dying hours that parents of my mother were from the village of Kushar and that the major portion of these ancient articles was from there. He left it all to me as to his eldest son…”

The family collection contains about one hundred works of art. They include jewellery articles, household and interior items from dwellings of the Turkic nomads, manuscripts in the Arabic and the Old-Tatar languages, coins, cloths with tambour embroidery united by cultural peculiarities

that are typical for peoples of the Turkic origin, and much more. The rare headgear of a noble Tatar woman from the Nogai family of the 17th–18th centuries is a true gem and pride of the collection.

The headgear complex is decorated with jewellery pendants with turquoise and cornelian stones of different shapes. Attached to the lower rim of the hat (on its sides) is the chest ornament made of the red cloth with a deep cut for head. There are small irregular and horn-shaped ornaments on the chest ornament that were widespread at the period of the late Medieval Age with many nomadic Turkic peoples, including the Nogais. Attached to the back side of the hat is the cloth plait ornament that covered the plaits of a woman. It is made of a silk cloth on a semi-rigid base and is decorated, just like the chest ornament, with irregular and horn-shaped embroidered pattern, semi-precious stones and jewellery pendants. Surprising and fascinating is the fact that the headgear of a Turkic woman has preserved in one copy only in the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan. Historians and ethnographers assume that it belonged to the tsar’s family of the last ruler of the Kazan Khanate (15th–16th centuries), Tsarina Syuyumbike (Sumbecca) (circa 1516–1557). As is known, Syuyumbike was daughter to the Nogai Bey Yusuf and a great granddaughter of Edigey (Edigu), the founder of the dynasty of the Nogai Horde.

This headgear represents an early version of the framed festive (wedding) headdress of the Turkic peoples of Eurasia that was used by nobles of certain regions until the early 20th century. Svetlana Suslova, Senior Researcher of Department for Ethnology of the Shigabutdin Marjani Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, Candidate of Historical Science, underlines in her expert opinion that the headgear belonged to the Yaushevs, the ancient princes of the Zakazanye (north-western part of the Kazan Khanate), who were known from documented sources as early as from the times of the Kazan Khanate. The Yaushevs carried out an active diplomatic and trade activity in the Kazakh steppes and

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COVER STORY in the states of Central Asia, as well as performed some administrative functions in the Kazan Territory.

The other peculiar features of the collection include the horse harness of the 16th century that consists of 28 fragments, the men’s kalyapush skullcap (18th–early 19th century), bracelets, earrings, signet-rings, rings, pendants (17th–early 20th century), and so on.

The value of the family collection of Raphael Khalitov is truly great. A considerable portion of the collection of items was gathered in the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan and in Central Asia.

They introduce us to several centuries of life and to the habits of the Turkic nomads. Many items are unique and cannot be found in collections of museums of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Russian Federation.

The collection of Raphael Khalitov was displayed in Kazan two times. The first was in March of 2014, at the National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan, titled “Return from the Past”. The second time was in February 2017, at the Museum of Statehood of the Republic of Tatarstan under the Kazan Kremlin State Historical, Architectural, and Art Museum Reserve, titled “Journey to the Past: Turkic Culture Items from the Family Collection of Raphael Khalitov”.

According to opinion of the leading experts, the treasures from the collection of Raphael Khalitov are of great scientific and historical value. Expert opinions are available. This unique collection of the Turkic culture of the Yaushev Princes, which survived by miracle in one copy only, is now on sale. The price of the collection is EUR500 000.

Who will become their new owner?

Lenar Shaekh, Candidate of Philological Sciences, member of Eurasian Creative Guild

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This is a major new history of an increasingly important country in Central Asia.The book opens with an outline of the history of Almaty, from its nineteenth-century origins as a remote outpost of the Russian empire, up to its present status as the thriving second city of modern-day Kazakhstan. The story then goes back to the Neolithic and early Bronze Ages, and the sensational discovery of the famous Golden Man of the Scythian empire. A succession of armies and empires, tribes and khanates, appeared and disappeared, before the siege and destruction in 1219 of the ancient Silk Road city of Otrar under the Mongol leader Genghis Khan. The emergence of the first identifiable Kazakh state in the sixteenth century was followed by early contacts with Russia, the country which came to be the dominant influence in Kazakhstan and Central Asia for three hundred years. The book shows how Kazakhstan has been inextricably caught up in the vast historical processes - of revolution, civil war, and the rise and fall of communism - which have extended out from Russia over the last century. In the process the country has changed dramatically, from a simple nomadic society of khans and clans, to a modern and outward-looking nation.The transition has been difficult and tumultuous for millions of people, but Vanished Khans and Empty Steppes illustrates how Kazakhstan has emerged as one of the world’s most successful post- communist countries.

ISBN: 978-0993044403 WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM

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SPORT

KURASH – TASHKENT HOSTS INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT IN MEMORY OF ISLAM KARIMOV FOR THE PRIZE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UZBEKISTAN 34 OCA MAGAZINE

Tashkent played host to a prestigious international Kurash tournament in September attracting athletes from across the globe to compete for $100 000 of prize money. Great Britain were represented by Neil Schofield and Paul Sawyer at this event which paid homage to the nation’s first President, the late Islam Karimov, whilst also celebrated the 20th anniversary of the International Kurash Association. It was under the direction of the fledgling nation’s first President that Kurash developed from an unstructured, localised activity confined within the borders of Uzbekistan and Central Asia to the modern international sport status it enjoys today.

A brief history The Uzbek national sport of Kurash enjoys a history stretching back several millennia. The earliest records of this style of wrestling can be found on 3500 year-old cave paintings. However, it was only when Uzbekistan established independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 that, with the blessing of President Islam Karimov, former judo and sambo star Komil Yusupov took the first steps to restructure Kurash into an international sport.

Within a very short time Kurash transcended the boundaries of Central Asia. On September 6th 1998 Tashkent hosted the first international tournament coinciding with the formation of the International Kurash Association. This event, for the Prize of President Islam Karimov, was attended by some of the world’s top judo, sambo and wrestling athletes including Georgia’s former Olympic judo champion, David Khakaleishvili and the UK’s Tim Thomas, an accomplished Olympic-style Wrestling, Judo and Sambo practitioner.

Since then, Kurash continued to grow and now boasts federations on every continent with over 120 individual member countries, including the UK.

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SPORT 30 countries challenge top Uzbek stars To mark the occasion of the IKAs 20th anniversary and in recognition of the late President Karimov’s immense influence on the current global position Kurash now enjoys, the Uzbekistan Kurash Federation hosted a memorial international tournament in his honour. The tournament was further endorsed being also for the Prize of the new President, Shavkat Mirzizoyev. On September 6th, thirty countries’ athletes arrived in Tashkent to challenge eight top ranked Uzbeks. The tournament format was a straight knockout “Wimbledon style” elimination with no weight limit restrictions on the competitors meaning most wrestlers weighed in excess of 100 kilos.

Great Britain were represented by Neil Schofield, a current member of the British national Judo squad and 2016 British Judo champion in the +100 kilos category. Neil had previously represented Great Britain in the 2017 World and European Kurash Championships and UK hopes were high that Neil would present a significant challenge in Tashkent.

Accompanying Neil in an official capacity was Paul Sawyer, a former Kurash, Judo and Sambo international and a founder member of the British Kurash Association in 1999 with Tim Thomas.

Capacity crowd and TV coverage This televised tournament, held in the Uzbekistan National Sport Complex attracted a large, vociferous crowd united in their desire to see the local heroes repel the international threat. They were not disappointed!

With no seeding of athletes, there was something of an FA Cup feel to the tournament with some favourites drawn together in the early rounds which also meant some lesser-favoured competitors avoided the big guns early on.

Japan thwart British challenge A 38-strong field ensured most drew a bye in the first round including Great Britain’s Neil Schofield.

Neil’s second round opponent was Japan’s Ken-

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to Taira who had impressively defeated his Georgian opponent in round one in under two minutes. The pair looked evenly matched in the early stages with the shorter, squat Japanese wrestler proving extremely difficult to unbalance. The first positive score came in the second minute from a well-timed foot throw from the tank-like Japanese which landed Neil on his side. Although not a contest-ending throw (to win outright the opponent must be thrown onto their back), it edged Taira in front thereby forcing Neil to take a few risks to get back on terms. As a result, he was caught for a second minor score but came agonisingly close to a winning throw himself in the last minute, the surprisingly agile Japanese barely managing to extricate himself from landing on his back from Neil’s leg attack. The Japanese ran out a narrow winner at the end of the 4 minute bout.

The Japanese destroyed his next opponent from Kazakhstan in under one minute before losing to the very highly rated Russian, Aslan Kambiev, in the quarter-final. Kambiev himself was beaten in the semi-final by Oltiboev of Uzbekistan.

Tense Final The final between the two Uzbeks, Sherali Juraev, who had booked his final place by defeating Tajikistan’s Temur Rakhimov, and Bekmurod Oltiboev, was a desperately close, tactical affair. These were two adversaries who clearly knew each other very well. With so much at stake both approached the opening minute with some caution. A passivity penalty to Oltiboev followed almost immediately by a minor score to Juraev when he threw Oltiboev onto his front, ensured Juraev held a slight advantage at the half-way point. With one minute to go Juraev was also penalised for passivity as Oltiboev applied intense pressure. However, Juraev rode the storm, just managing to cling on to victory and the $50 000 first prize much to the delight of his supporters.

Neil Schofield – onwards and upwards No medal for Neil Schofield on this occasion but certainly valuable experience for the future. “This was my first time in Uzbekistan and I was amazed

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SPORT at the huge level of interest and enthusiasm for Kurash”, Neil said. “I was very disappointed to lose and it would have been nice to have had some more contests but that’s just the way it goes sometimes. All in all though it’s been a fantastic few days and I’ve learnt a great deal from watching the other competitors, in particular the Uzbeks. Their contest strategies, jacket gripping engagement and sheer throwing skills set them apart from the other countries and I am taking some great inspiration back home with me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel to many places through Judo but the hospitality and friendliness I’ve met in Uzbekistan is second to none. I’m really looking forward to returning as soon as possible!”

IKA Gold Medal of Honour for Great Britain At the post tournament banquet, Paul Sawyer was presented with the IKA’s Gold Medal of Honour in recognition of nearly 20 years involvement with Kurash as an athlete, coach, BKA official and also organiser of the World Junior Championships in Bournemouth in 2012. “This was an unexpected surprise”, he said. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my involvement with Kurash over the years. It’s very satisfying to see athletes of the calibre of Neil Schofield representing Great Britain with honour at these big international tournaments. I am sure that it’s only a matter of time before Neil is on the rostrum at a major event.”

Paul added, “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Komil Yusupov and the IKA, the Uzbekistan Embassy in London and the people of Uzbekistan as a whole for their enthusiasm and support for British Kurash over the last 20 years. We look forward to it continuing and developing further in the future!”

by Paul Sawyer

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Conjuring images of nomadic horsemen, spectacular monuments, breathtaking scenery and crippling poverty, Central Asia remains an enigma. Home to the descendants of Jenghiz Khan’s Great Horde, in the nineteenth century the once powerful Silk Road states became a pawn in the ‘Great Game’ of expansion and espionage between Britain and Russia, disappearing behind what would become known as the ‘Iron Curtain’. With the collapse of the USSR, the nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were born. Since independence, Central Asia has seen one civil war, two revolutions and seven dictators.

An insightful mix of travel, history and reportage, in Does it Yurt? journalist Stephen M. Bland takes the reader on a voyage of discovery. Travelling to a desert sea, a collapsed Russian gas rig daubed the ‘Gate to Hell’ and along the ‘Heroin highway’ atop the roof of the world, the author sets out to explore these lands, unearthing the stories of the people and places behind this fascinating region.

ISBN: 978-1-910886-29-8 AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

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SILK ROAD

Bishkek Hosts Macbeth with a Twist

In March 2018 I was lucky enough to spend six extraordinary weeks in Kyrgyzstan directing the first ever Kyrgyz translation of Macbeth, translated from the Russian into Kyrgyz, at the state theatre in Bishkek. I was working with 30 Kyrgyz actors who spoke no English and I don’t speak Russian or Kyrgyz.

To add to the mix I took two British actors with me who performed in English indi-vidually with the rest of the cast playing in Kyrgyz.They played Lady Macbeth and Macbeth respectively. In addition there was also a fully Kyrgyz performance which was filmed and screened on State TV.

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So I had to deliver three different versions of the production in just over three weeks, as we performed four premieres, with the cast variations.

The challenge of that aside, their method of working is entirely different. The company comprises of people who have trained there and effectively are attached to the theatre through-out their working life, this has advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages are that they practice their craft every day, and are used to working as a company.

They are vocally highly trained and can easily fill an 800 seat thea-tre. They are physically grounded and able to experiment with movement and voice.

For example the witches and Hecate invented a unique style of delivery incorporat-ing song and dance into the text.

The disadvantages are that they are not hungry for work in the same way that Brit-ish actors are.

We were, I think, mutually bemused by the casting process. In Brit-ain it is standard that even well known actors interview or audition for roles and it took some time and a little diplomacy to explain that as I wasn’t familiar with their work, I would need to meet and audition them. I am glad to say that even the great state artists came to meet me, and I consider myself very lucky to have had the op-portunity to work with them.

Because of the state system they lack, to some degree, the competitive edge, and this affects their attitude to punctuality, line learning and even taking direction. It was noticeable that the younger actors were markedly less disciplined than the old-er actors who had trained under the old Soviet system. In the UK you have to con-stantly audition for the next job, it’s rare to belong to a company for more than a year at most, and that insecurity means not only are you only as good as your last job, but if you are not disciplined or reliable you won’t be employed again.

As in the UK, there is some sense that they are more interested in television and film than in theatre, despite their long tradition of storytelling and theatrical perfor-mance.

The whole production took place on a virtually bare stage with the actors providing a live soundscape and, through movement, a form of living scenery. It was fascinat-ing navigating the huge cultural differences and finding, of course, a common lan-guage in theatre. We discovered that the challenge of acting opposite someone speaking a different language was surmountable when the intentions of the scene or particular line were clear.

The challenge for the actors in particular wasn’t so much in the language but in the differing approach to rehearsals and the text. It quickly became apparent that we adhere much more strictly to and are led by the verse, whereas for Kyrgyz actors

that is just one element of the performance. They do not adhere as strictly to the text, for example, which sometimes proved problematical, as key cue lines were sometimes omitted.

I was greatly impressed by their passion, technical ability and their willingness to take risks and commit to their performances. It was some of the most exciting thea-tre I have participated in. I felt privileged to work with such experience and talent and we had a lot of laughter along the way. I feel we had a great deal to learn from one another and it has left me with a thirst to work further with artists from Central Asia.

Kyrgyszstan as a post soviet state has a huge love and respect for culture, though as in the UK, the interest in theatre is waning and needs to be reinvented. This cross cultural fusion was the brainchild of the distinguished writer and politician Sultan Raev, a great cultural figurehead for his country. He invited me to direct the production after we met at the international festival “Women and War” which I pro-duced in London in 2016.

I had intended to bring the cast back to London but owing to the fact that the fund-ing completely fell through, that is unlikely, though I think we have much to learn from one another. I would very much like to bring the company here and to continue our cultural exchange. The production itself worked remarkably well given its dis-parate elements and the lack of rehearsal time. I would recommend the experience of working in such a different arena as it informs our practice and the more we can develop international links and collaborations the better.

The people of Kyrgyzstan were so welcoming, their culture so ancient and rich and the landscape so beautiful that it has won a lasting place in my heart. I look forward hugely to visiting and collaborating more with the artists of Central Asia, as our two great cultures have much to share and art is a great way to open the door to not just cultural but social, political and economical exchange.

by Sarah Berger

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HISTORY

Bukvar Slavic Primer Celebrates 400 Years Since First Edition In late October London saw a series of events dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the first edition of the East Slavic Primer – Bukvar, with the participation of the Director of the National Libray of Belarus, Roman Motulskiy.

Book culture in Belarus has a long history. The first library known to us on the territory of Belarus – the library of the Polotsk St. Sophia Cathedral – was created almost 1000 years ago. Belarusian educators gathered rich collections of books known far beyond their homeland. In 1517 Francysk Skaryna from Polotsk published the first printed East Slavic book. Having rich traditions in the field of book printing and creation of book collections, which influenced the development of not only

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their country but also neighbouring countries, Belarusians have suffered irreparable losses over the past few centuries due to historical and political circumstances: endless wars, religious struggle, changes in statehood and territory, etc., and the efforts of librarians to create book collections have been nullified. It was the mission of the National Library of Belarus to restore the lost historical and cultural heritage.

The National Library of Belarus, established in 1922, for almost 100 years of its existence, has gathered the world’s best collection of Belarusian books, which includes ancient manuscripts, the first works of Francysk Skaryna, rare Belarusian editions of the 19th century, and numerous con-

temporary publications. In total, the Library’s fund has almost 10 million units of storage, of which more than 1 million are a collection of national documents.

The staff are working to restore the lost cultural values in the following main areas: - creation of a national bibliography; - return to Belarus of its book heritage; - virtual reconstruction of lost book collections - facsimile reproduction of valuable literary monuments.

Over the years, the Library has prepared a number of unique facsimile editions and accumulated rich experience in facsimile reconstruction of book monuments. So, in 2017, to the 500th anniversary of the Belarusian and East Slavic book printing, it completed the largest project on facsimile publishing of Francis Skaryna’s book heritage in 20 volumes.

This year Belarus celebrates another big anniversary – 400 years of the first Primer – Bukvar.

For most of us, the first book was a primer. The real pride of the national book culture is the fact that the first book in the world, which was called “Primer” and marked the beginning of the centuries-old tradition of many peoples in the field of primary literacy training, was published by a Belarusian printing house.

Given the importance of this event, the National Library of Belarus decided to implement an international scientific publishing project on facsimile reconstruction of the first “Primer”.The successful implementation of the project was made possible with the support of the Library’s partners: the Library of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in London, Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the United Kingdom, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus, the International Association of Belarusian Studies, Belarusian State University, Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as well as “Belinvestbank”.

The first book in the world, simply called “Primer”, was published in Church Slavonic on July 24, 1618 in the printing house of the Vilna Orthodox brotherhood of the Holy Spirit in the town of Evie near

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HISTORY Vilna (today Vilnius). It is one of the oldest Belarusian publishing houses that published books in Church Slavonic, old Belarusian and Polish. Before that there were other educational publications, but this was the first “Primer”.This publication has had a significant impact on the development of the book tradition of educational activities not only in the Belarusian lands, but also in many countries of Europe and Asia.

As of today, only two copies of the first Primer have survived. One of them is incomplete, located in the Royal Library of Denmark, and the second (full) copy is kept in the library of the Honorary Society of the Middle Temple.

The exceptional rarity and great value of the first Primer made it almost unknown to both scientists and the general public. Almost none of the Belarusian researchers had the opportunity to see the unique publication firsthand. At home not a single copy has been preserved: they were just “read to tatters”, as was often the case with academic publications. Thanks to the assistance of British Belarusians and lecturers of the University of London, in 2015 Belarusian experts had the opportunity to get acquainted with the valuable document and study it in detail. Later on, with the assistance of the Middle Temple Library, a high-quality digital photography of the book was made, on the basis of which a facsimile reproduction was performed.

The facsimile includes full-colour high-quality reproduction of the “Primer” the size of the original and with all defects and marks preserved. The “Primer” of Evie is a small book, compact and ideal for training. On 52 pages, each letter of the Cyrillic alphabet is printed in half-uncial. The external decoration is reminiscent of Vilnya editions of Francysk Skaryna. In addition to educational tasks, the “Primer” was intended for the needs of upbringing and was based on the Christian system of values. To this end, prayers, religious hymns, the creed, the commandments of God, sermons, the list of virtues of man and his sins are included as important texts to read.

Together with partners from the Belarusian State University, the National Library conducted a scientific study on the first “Primer” and the translated it into the modern Belarusian language, which

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made it accessible and understandable to a wide audience. The study was published in Belarusian, Russian and English, so that the spiritual wealth of Belarus would be accessible to the international community.

In April this year, the National Library of Belarus held the 14th International Bibliology Reading, dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the first edition of the Bukvar. The scientific event brought together more than 400 bibliology experts, teachers, linguists, cultural experts, historians and philosophers from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Great Britain, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Ukraine.

The opening of the international exhibition “ABCs of the peoples of the world” was held within the framework of the Readings. For the first time in Belarus about 1400 primers in 587 languages of various peoples from five parts of the world – Europe, Asia, America, Africa, Australia and Oceania – were shown. The exhibits were very diverse. In the space of the exhibition “Belarusian primer: 400 years of history”, in addition to excursions, there were held master classes on the methodology of literacy training, museum classes for children and other events.

The publishing project of facsimile reconstruction of the first “Primer” was completed on the eve of the Day of Knowledge (September 1) and on August 28 the NBB held its solemn presentation which was attended by a wide range of the public.

A number of events are planned in Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, Switzerland and other countries in order to present the facsimile edition of Bukvar to the foreign audience. But the first one took place in London, in the Library of the Middle Temple, the library that has preserved this monument of Belarusian book culture. The fresh facsimile book is the best example of cooperation between the peoples of Belarus and the United Kingdom over the centuries and a symbol of faith in friendly relations in the future.

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BOOK REVIEW

Dreams Come True!

If today Kazakhstan is a happy nation, its main support is in its independence! Kazakhs have their own homeland, the blue flag and the capital, Astana! There are the nationalities more than ten times bigger by population than we are, without their Fatherland. The most dangerous thing is that the flag falls, the language is lost, and ultimately the loss of independence. God bless you! For each of us, we must fight inwardly. Part of that is propagation of the value of the tribe. Praise the Father by praising the Mother. Preserving the nation by breeding offspring. The Kazakhs are no longer starved, but if their descendants are hungry and have no consciousness, globalisation will swallow it.

By writing “The tragedy of a bastard”, I reminisced about our national family values, by Whether we want to strike globalisation or not, disclosing the unclean character of our youth, it will be a part of our everyday life, embrac- by correcting the errors, by keeping traditions ing our future generations. We cannot escape of the ancestors, who preserved their blood. from it anywhere. It would not be wise to say Moreover, dreams come true! that we do not accept it. This is our future destiny. Every one of us should strive to develop “A Master of Linking Different Views” technological advances in society and in our Review by Laura Hamilton family, by learning about the achievements of science and technology while maintaining our traditions and customs. Being in the midst of ‘TheTragedy of a Bastard’ and ‘My own Strange globalisation, we need to be able to absorb Heart’ is a duology in which award-winning the roots of the heart, to glorify our treasures, author Saule Doszhan explores aspects of the and to absorb the blood through our descen- radical changes which have taken place in her dants. The younger generation will try to avoid native Kazakhstan in the post-Soviet era. the mistakes of the previous one and, if we endeavour to prosper our noble qualities, we For centuries, Kazakhs have placed great imwill never perish as a nation. portance on tradition and adhered to rules and 46 OCA MAGAZINE

values set down by their ancestors in a bygone age. Since gaining independence, the country has seen a resurgence of interest in principles and practices, which are often perceived, as oppressive by the current generation, leading to conflict within families and communities striving for a harmonious balance between the old and the new. In the first story, a naïve, middle-aged and highly educated woman gives birth to a child out of wedlock; an act regarded as both scandalous and selfish and which thirty years on, has a devastating effect on her long-stigmatized, illegitimate son.

Saule Doszhan sensitively portrays all sides of the situation, from the perspectives of diehard nationalists to young, forward-looking professionals and in so doing, provides a poignant insight into both everyday life and the heritage of her country.

to encourage the reader to contemplate how dynamically different views of the world can co-exist in the present day.

“The Greatness of Morals”

by Zhusipbek Qorgasbek Literature has had a transitional period. At this stage, skillful authors may be reset. Instead, many new names are being replaced.

It is not surprising that those who have been recognised achieve great success. They write

Her second story, inspired by Kazakhstan’s first heart transplant in 2012, marks the stellar advances in medical care recently enjoyed by the country. Part fiction and part fact, it includes astonishing excerpts on the psychological impact of organ transplants and cites examples of recipients taking on the traits and characteristics of their donors.

This inevitably leads to debate concerning the ethics of transplants and whilst the medics and scientists are concerned only with the health of the donors’ organs, it clearly raises issues regarding ‘mixed blood’ and the importance which Kazakhs have historically placed on maintaining pure lineage through generations.

The significance of the ‘seven fathers’ lineage’ and the ‘steppe passport’ lies at the core of the first tale and by alluding to it again in the second, Doszhan deftly links the two WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

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BOOK REVIEW worthy compositions for today’s readers’ demands. The reader is confident that he or she is experiencing those problems today. The reader also wants to see himself. For example, the “carrier assigned woman” can be found in every person’s life. We have experienced the “big house threat” as the nation, we are still passing through. “The Tragedy of a Bastard” is deeper than we imagine. It’s not a mistake to say that the “bridegroom

with two husbands “ opens up some secrets.

Saule Doszhan writes about these themes, connected with the past, with the social status of the past, the greatness of morals, and the humour that is underneath the foot. These are not memorable memorabilia of the country, and a raincoat bare plot is not set there, but also a full-fledged work of art, which is rich in various colors.

Saule Doszhan, a talented poet and a popular writer, was born on 2 September 1959 in Almaty Region, Kazakhstan. Her poems and articles started to be published in the regional newspaper in 1974. Her University background includes the Kazakh State University studying “Journalism” (1987) and then “Law” the Central Asian University (2006).

Being a student, she entered the collection of young poets “Audience”, “Nine Keys”, and “Karlygash”. She gained a experience as a reporter-journalist, editor, senior officer in the following fields: “Socialist Kazakhstan (Egemen Kazakhstan)” newspaper; the Kazakh radio;”Kazakh language and literature” newspaper; the “Ulagat” magazine; Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan. She is a member of the Writers’ Union of Kazakhstan and the Union of Journalists as well as a member of Eurasian Creative Guild (UK) and the International Women Writing Guild (USA)

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ECG EVENTS

ECG Vice-Chairman Addresses Houses of Parliament Event

CREATIV IAN

N DO

UILD, LON EG

EURA S

The panel discussion for the evening was “How British Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė, Chief Executive OfDemocracy Inspired the World” and was organised by ficer of Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT).

Vesna Petkovic in the Parliament’s Jubilee Hall.

Jūratė Caspersen, The Chair of the Lithuanian World Community Culture Commission.

British democracy, as we know it today, started in 1832 with the Reform Act of Parliament and was followed Mrs Ahlam Akram, BASIRA (British Arabs Supporting

by The People’s Act in 1918 which enabled women to Universal Women’s Rights) vote for the first time. During the meeting various topics were discussed, such as how British democra- The meeting was attended by David Pierce, an ECG cy came to be a model for other nation’s around the board member, as well as UK member Svetlana Cheworld, women’s influence in shaping early democratic valier. thinking and modern concepts surrounding this popular system of government.

The event was organized by Vesna Petkovich, a British ECG member from the organization ProArt, who has asMr Akhmedjanov also spoke about the work of the Guild sisted us with arranging the Guild’s first-ever meeting and the publishing house, Hertfordshire Press. in British Parliament in spring 2019.”

The panel speakers included: Charlotte Dobson - Women Vote 100 – Parliament Community Outreach and Engagement

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ECG Chair

Visits Kyrgyzstan CREATIV IAN

N DO

UILD, LON EG

EURA S

Over the past 5 years, I have edited some 26 works for Hertfordshire Press and the Eurasian Creative Guild, as well as a series of small epics published by the International University of Kyrgyzstan. The latter is the initiative of the indefatigable Professor Zina Karaeva who generously hosted my recent visit to Kyrgyzstan and meetings with teachers and students, as well as authors, poets and translators.

so inherent in much of the work published in translation. Such first-hand experience, coupled with invaluable time spent with translators passionately committed to preserving historic legends, and talented writers determined to promote their work in the West, has undoubtedly enriched and reinforced my appreciation and understanding of how a nation’s cultural heritage informs and is portrayed through its art and literature.

Mentoring sessions and dialogue with groups and individuals at IUK, the Kyrgyzstan-Turkiye Manas University and ECG, in addition to interviews for Radio Manas and the national state newspaper, led to interesting discussions concerning the preservation and promotion of the nation’s culture, and differences, and similarities, between Kyrgyzstan and countries within the UK.

I look forward to seeing what the future holds for this extraordinary country and to supporting the ever-growing campaign to share its riches with the rest of the world.

by Laura Hamilton, Chair, Eurasian Creative Guild

Seven years had passed since my last visit and thanks to the kind hospitality of everyone I met, I found myself truly immersed in the landscape, traditions and history,

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TOURISM

The Fourth Official Ceremony of the Welcome to Georgia!

National Tourism Awards

On December 17, 2018 Rustaveli Theatre will host the most remarkable event of the Tourism and Hospitality industry of Georgia - the Fourth Official Ceremony of the Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards.

On the Awards Ceremony winners and finalists of 20 different nominations, out of more than 350 nominees will deservedly receive recognition of “The Best in Tourism and Hospitality”.

Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards is the Annual Awards Ceremony, which is held in Georgia for the field of tourism and hospitality since 2015 and has successfully established itself as a unique platform to develop Tourism industry of the State.

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Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards is the Annual Awards Ceremony, which is held in Georgia for the field of tourism and hospitality since 2015. It is kind of “Oscar” to celebrate the achievements of Georgian tourism and hospitality industry!

Award Ceremony is closed and will host to 800 guests: General Managers and owners of the best hotels, restaurants, wineries of the country, the market leading developers, the main businesses of the country, Government officials, national and local authorities, representatives of the largest hotel operators, travel agencies and tour operators, mass media and industry press.

The venue of event is national and cultural monument of Georgia - Rustaveli Theatre. Exquisite culture, centuries old traditions and unique hospitality will come together in Rustaveli Theatre on the Fourth Official Ceremony of Welcome to Georgia!

National Tourism Awards to celebrate success of Georgian Tourism and Hospitality!

For the fourth year already Georgian National Tourism Administration on behalf of Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia is Co-organizer of the Award Project. Also Co-organizer of the project is Bank of Georgia. Official Supporters: Tbilisi City Hall and Partnership Found.

General Sponsor - Alliance Group.

After Party host is Republic – newly opened multifunctional venue which combines cool and contemporary interiors by the worldwide renowned Georgian architects and artists. Located in the very heart of the city with panoramic windows offering a spectacular view over the city center and the Caucasus Mountains, Republic with its slick design and gorgeous views is an elegant addition to the historical center of Tbilisi.

For more information visit the website: www.awards-tourism.com

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ECG EVENTS OEBF - 2018

VII Open Eurasian

Literature Festival & Book Forum - 2018 The 7th Open Eurasian Literature Festival & Book Forum, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the outstanding portrait painter and revolutionary theatrical decorator Leon Bakst, took place in Thailand from 23-27 November.

Organized by the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) and the British publishing house Hertfordshire Press, the Open Eurasian Literature Festival & Book Forum (OEBF) is the only annual literary festival in the world to promote Eurasian literature internationally. As a cultural bridge between East and West, this unique event provides an opportunity for authors to talk about their work, share experiences and find like-minded people from different countries with whom to implement joint projects.

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This year’s OEBF festival was attended by numerous honoured guests and included: representatives of the Russian Embassy, Attache for Culture of the Russian Federation Irina Vorobyova, Counselor of Kazakhstan Embassy in Thailand, Yerlan Danabekov and Bruno Lemercier, representative of the Jim Thompson Foundation.

Held for the first time in Southeast Asia, the festival comprised book presentations, art exhibitions, a tour of the most famous museum in Thailand, an official dinner, a cruise around the Gulf of Thailand on which “Eurasia Voices” were heard. Guests also gave presentations of their work at the international school Diplomat (Pattaya), and at the University of Chulalongkorn (Bangkok).

The conference at the oldest university in Thailand, Chulalongkorn, which was hosted by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, included presentations by: the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Thailand Raushan Yesbolatova, Vice-Rector of the University Dr. Pirongrong Ramasoota, Vice-Chairman of the Guild Marat Akhmedjanov, Elena Bezrukova (Kazakhstan), Murat Ualee (Kazakhstan), Oksana Zhukova (Crimea), Nurgulya Osmonkulova (Kyrgyzstan), Temirbek Dzholdobaev (Kyrgyzstan), Alina Yurchenko (Thailand), and Aynura Berdikul (Kazakhstan).

The splendid opening ceremony and dinner took place in the Jim Thompson House Museum, Bangkok supported by a wonderful exhibition of

paintings by Eurasian artists Alesya Issa (Belarus), Olim Kamalov (Tajikistan), Elena Bezrukova (Kazakhstan) and Lekim Ibrahimov (Uzbekistan).

In addition to Bangkok, the festival programme extended to Pattaya, where a meeting of the creative Russian-speaking intelligentsia was hosted by the SunDay Studio art gallery.

This year, no fewer than 13 new books published in London under the ECG Book Series 2018 were presented under the following categories:

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ECG EVENTS OEBF - 2018 FICTION SERIES : 8 BOOKS Yuri Bashmanov “Vertical Racing” (Kyrgyzstan) Shamshiya Zhubatova “Oh Men Tus” (Kazakhstan) Lara Prodan “Why are we so Similar?” (USA) Shahsanem Murray “Cold Shadows” (Scotland) Dildora Tulyaganova “Imitating the Sufis” (Turkey) Literary collection “Thread” 1,2 Aldona Grupas “Nurse, Give Me a Pill for Death” (Latvia) NON-FICTION SERIES (POPULAR SCIENCE) - 5 BOOKS: Bakhyt Rustemov “The Earth is our Common Home” (Kazakhstan) G. Kapanova “Professional Competence of a Ballet Dancer” (Kazakhstan) Nadezhda Kolyshkina “Feast instead of War” (Russia) Nurym Taybek “Love for all, Hatred for No One! - the meaning of the life of Ahmadi Muslims (UK) Orazaly Sabden “Abai. Future of Kazakhstan and World Civilization ”(Kazakhstan) The festival also included the following presentations of other books: OEBF CONTEST WINNERS 2017: Kamran Salayev “Elish and The Wicker Tales” (Azerbaijan) Wind: Short Stories - 2017 (A compilation of short stories by winners of the 2017 competition: Jacqueline De Ge (USA), Lenar Shaeh (Russia, Tatarstan), Isajon Sulton (Uzbekistan), Muhamed-Ali Sulaymanov (Crimea) Anna Komar “Recycled” (Belarus) PUBLICATIONS

BY HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS 2018: Gulsifat Shahidi “Tales of Grandma Gulsifat” (Tajikistan) Soyungul Chanisef “The Land Drenched in Tears” (Australia) Leyla Aliyeva “The World Dissolves, like a Dream” (Azerbaijan) Short Stories from Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan) Saule Doszhan “The Tragedy of a Bastard” (Kazakhstan)

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One of the key attractions of the festival is the provision of a platform where creative people can share their ideas, and receive feedback from readers and experts about their work, and many authors and poets took the opportunity to discuss their recent work with fellow participants: • Svetlana Krivoshlykova presented her children’s book, “The Adventures of Mokhnatik and Venichkin”; • Timur Akhmedjanov presented Kamran Salayev’s books “Elish and The Wicker Tale” and Gulsifat Shahidi “Tales of Grandma Gulsifat”; • Ayder Muradosilov (Crimea) - winner in the video category 2016, made a speech about how the Guild connects the work of authors from different countries; • Husan Tursunov (USA) spoke on the topic “How to publish in the USA”.

• Temirbek Dzholdobayev (Kyrgyzstan) gave a speech during the cruise on the “Voice of Eurasia”, and at the international school Diplomat, spoke about the work of the outstanding Eurasian writer Chingiz Aitmatov and his upcoming 90th anniversary.

Presentations on the famous author’s work, during the cruise, were also made by : • Nadezhda Serebrennikova (USA) • Alla Kretchmer (Israel) • Nurgul Osmonkulova (Kyrgyzstan) • Anastasia Kuzmicheva (Belarus) • Natalya Polyushkina (Russia) • Murat Ualee (Kazakhstan) • Elena Bezrukova (Kazakhstan) • Husan Tursunov (USA) • Hosiyat Rustamova (Uzbekistan) • Elena Zyulkova (Thailand) • Alina Yurchenko (Thailand) • Ainura Berdikul (Kazakhstan) As part of the Open Eurasian Literature Festival & Book Forum, the 4th Annual General Meeting of the Eurasian Creative Guild members was held in the Caravan restaurant in Pattaya, at which a new Guild Charter was approved and Laura Hamilton (Scotland) was re-elected Chairman of the Guild for 2018-2019.

The approved Guild Advisory Council comprises: Marat Akhmedjanov, Anna Lari, David Parry, John

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ECG EVENTS OEBF - 2018 Fardon, Azim Akmatov, Elena Bezrukova, Gulsifat Shahidi, Isajon Sulton, Alexandra Vlasova, Elena Aslanian, Anastasia Kuzmicheva, David Pearce, Lev Altmark, , Oksana Zhukova and Victor Reylyan.

An important part of the Open Eurasian Literature Festival & Book Forum, is the annual Open Eurasia international Literary Contest in which the 2018 winners shared a total prize fund of $ 30,000. This year, a staggering 800 applications were submitted by authors from 33 countries and the winners announced at the Awards Ceremony on November 23.

POETRY CATEGORY: 1st place: Hosiyat Rustamova (Uzbekistan) 2nd place: Murat Ualee (Kazakhstan) 3rd place: Osmonkulova Nurgulya (Kyrgyzstan) and Bestvitskaya Tatiana (Ukraine) PROSE CATEGORY: 1st place: Lina Di (Russia) 2nd place: Farhat Tamendarov (Kazakhstan) 3rd place: Alona Kita (Israel) SHORT STORY CATEGORY: 1st place: Alla Velts (Czech Republic) 2nd place: Husan Tursunov (USA) 3rd place: Anna Gogoleva (Russia) BEST FEMALE WORK: 1st place: Lyudmila Dubkovetskaya (Moldova) 2nd place: Stasya Mio (Ukraine) 3rd place: Eva Sever (Russia) BEST CHILDREN’S WORK: 1st place: Arina Chunayeva (Russia) 2nd place: Kulubek Bokonbaev (Kyrgyzstan) 3rd place: Svetlana Krivoshlykova (Russia) and Ioanna Reeves (Belarus) VIDEO: 1st place: Gordiyko Oksana (Poland) 2nd place: Andrei Yesaulov (Russia) 3rd place: LMN (Kyrgyzstan) video clip for Sultan Raev’s book “The Flood” ILLUSTRATION: 1st place: Agafon Boke (Russia)

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2nd place: Elena Lobova (Russia) 3rd place: Maria Erokhina (France) illustration for Alexey Batusov’s work “The Love of Stones” TRANSLATION: 1st place: Translation of a passage from Gulsifat Shahidi’s book “Tales of Grandma Gulsifat” (Tajikistan) 2nd place: Dana Zheteeva (Kazakhstan) translation of Yulia Sobolenko’s poem “The Freaks” 3rd place: George Butchard (UK) translation of the passage from Nadezhda Kolyshkina’s book “Feast instead of War” THE LAUREATES A OF THE FESTIVAL AWARDS: • Marziya Zakiryanova Award for the best women’s work : $ 5000 awarded to Lyudmila Dubkovetskaya (Moldova) • Nemat Kelimbetov Award for Video: $ 5,000 awarded to Oksana Gordiyko (Poland) • Maria Shevel Award Children’s work:$ 5,000 awarded to Arina Chunayeva (Russia); • Generals for Peace Association Award (Diplomas): Kuchkar Norkobilov (Uzbekistan), Oksana Zhukova (Crimea), Firdausa Khazipova (Russia), Nadezhda Serebrennikova (USA), Alexander Chigolsky (Belarus), Aizat Rakysheva (Kazakhstan), Nina Belomestnova (Russia).

• The Live Line Illustration Award, established

by Adam Kapanov: $2,000 awarded to Agafon Boke (Russia) • The “Butterfly’s Song” Award, founded by the creative studio of Ermek Amanshayev for Poetry: $ 1,000: awarded to Hosiyat Rustamova (Uzbekistan) • Irina Drofa Award for Translation: $1,000 awarded for the book by Gulsifat Shahidi (Tajikistan) The “OPEN EURASIA - 2018” competition, awarded 33 winners of whom 15 attended the event in Thailand to collect their prizes. Further winners, this time nominated by Hertfordshire Press, will be announced in Paris on 12 January, 2019. This prize of $ 10.000 to one of the winners in the literary category, will go towards the publication of the winner’s book followed by a presentation at the 2019 festival.

AUTHORS/ SPEAKERS LIST: 1.Yelena Bezrukova (Kazakhstan) 2.Anastasiya Kuzmicheva (Belarus) 3.Mark Akhmed (UK – Uzbekistan) 4.Anna Lari (UK – Russia) 5.Aynur Berdikul (Kazakhstan) 6.Muradosilov Aider (Crimea) 7.Khazipova Firdausa (Russia) 8.Karavayeva Ilona (Belarus) 9.Serebrennikova Nadezhda (Russia) 10.Lobova Yelena (Russia) 11.Tursunov Khusan (USA) 12.Krivoshlykova Svetlana (Russia) 13.Polyushkina Nataliya (Russia) 14.Bestvyckaya Tatiana (Ukraine) 15.Ualee Murat (Kazakhstan) 16.Rustamova Khosiyat (Uzbekistan)

17.Narkabilova Gulchiroi (Uzbekistan) 18.Kretchmer Alla (Israel) 19.Gogoleva Anna (Russia) 20.Osmonkulova Nurgulya (Kyrgyzstan) 21.Zheteeva Dana (Kazakhstan) 22.Zhukova Oksana (Crimea) 23.Temirbek Joldobayev (Kyrgyzstan) 24.Aleksey Klimov (Russia) 25.Oksana Gordiyko* (Poland) 26.Lyudmila Dubkoveckaya* (Moldova) 27.Nina Belomestnova* (Russia) 28.Timur Akhmedjanov (UK) 29.Yelena Zyulkova (Thailand) 30.Alina Yurchenko (Thailand) *via representative

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2017

EURASIAN CREATIVE GUILD BOOK SERIES САУЛЕ ДОСЖАН САҒЫНЫШ... сборник рассказов на казахском языке / kazakh language ISBN: 978-1-910886-46-5 RRP: £9.50 MARSEL SALIMOV

THE BOOK WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN WRITTEN BEFORE

CATALOGUE

ISBN: 978-1-910886-61-8 RRP: £12.50

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ГУЛЬЗАДА НИЕТКАЛИЕВА ЖҮРЕКТЕГІ ИМАН ГҮЛІ поэзия на казахском языке /kazakh language ISBN: 978-1-910886-51-9 RRP: £9.50 РАИМ ФАРХАДИ ОСТРОВ СТИХОВ стихи ISBN: 978-1-910886-56-4 RRP: £14.50

МУРАТ УАЛИ ИЗ СИБИРИ К СВОБОДЕ роман russian language ISBN: 978-1-910886-44-1 RRP: £12.50

КУАНЫШ ЖИЕНБАЙ ТАҒДЫР рассказы на казахском языке / kazakh language ISBN: 978-1-910886-50-2 RRP: £9.50

DENIS KUVAEV THE DOOR TO A FAIRY TALE Fairy tale Illustrated (english /russian) ISBN: 978-1-910886-63-2 RRP: £22.50

ТЕМIРХАН МЕДЕТБЕК КӨК ТҮРІК - КӨК БӨРІ поэзия на казахском языке / kazakh language ISBN: 978-1-910886-48-9 RRP: £9.50

МАРИНА МИХАЙЛОВСКАЯ СОРОК ХРАМОВ поэзия russian language ISBN: 978-1-910886-41-0 RRP: £14.50

ПИТЕР БЕРМАН БОИ БЕЗ ПРАВИЛ авантюрный роман russian language ISBN: 978-1-910886-42-7 RRP: £12.50

ДИЛЯРА ЛИНДСЕЙ МУЗЫКА МЕЖДУ СТРОК поэзия russian language ISBN: 978-1-910886-57-1 RRP:£ 9.50

НАЗИКЕН АЛПАМЫСКЫЗЫ ҚИЯЖОЛ ҒҰМЫР поэзия на казахском языке/kazakh language ISBN: 978-1-910886-49-6 RRP: £9.50

ANASTASIA KUZMICHEVA BELARUSIAN WHALES poetry english-russian language ISBN: 978-1-910886-45-8 RRP: £14.50

НАЗЫМ САПАРОВА ПРАВДИВЫЕ ИСТОРИИ рассказы russian language ISBN: 978-1-910886-55-7 RRP: £12.50

LENAR SHAYEKH ONE OF YOU poetry ISBN: 978-1-910886-47-2 RRP: £9.50

ANTONINA SHUSTER THE LINES OF LIFE english ISBN: 978-1-910886-64-9 RRP: £9.50

2018 ALDONA GRUPAS NURSE, GIVE ME A PILL FOR DEATH true stories ISBN: 978-1910886922 RRP: £9.95 PB / £14.95 HB

ДИЛЬДОРА ТУЛЯГАНОВА ПОДРАЖАЯ СУФИЯМ

ЮРИЙ БАШМАНОВ ГОНКИ ПО ВЕРТИКАЛИ рассказы ISBN: 978-1-910886-82-3 RRP: £9.95

ШАХСАНЕМ МЮРРЕЙ ХОЛОДНЫЕ ТЕНИ повесть ISBN: 978-1-910886-74-8 RRP: £9.95

ISBN: 978-1910886830 RRP: £7.95

Nadezhda Kolyshkina is an editor of historical literature and the author of over 10 books puЫished in Russia and Ukraine. Нег main work is the six-part mythological series Quarrels of the Gods, which comprises: А Feast in Р/асе of War, The G/oomy Abyss, Heroes and Geniuses, Mirages Made Rea/, The lnnocence of Simplicity and The lnverted Universe. She is currently working on the seventh book, А Сир of Woe. The play А Feast in Р/асе af War was based on the book of the same name and draws together mythological subject matter with the very real issues and challenges our own civilisation faces. Колышкина Надежда - редактор исторической литературы, автор более 10 книг, изданных как в России, так и на Украине. Основной труд - мифологическая серия «Споры богов», которая насчитывает 6 книг: «Пир вместо войны», «Тьма над бездною», «Игры в героев и ге­ ниев», «Реальность миражей», «Невинность простоты» и «Опрокинутая Вселенная>> . В настоящее время идет работа над 7-й книгой «Чаша горя». Пьеса «Пир вместо войны» написана по мотивам одноименной книги. В ней мифологические сюжеты перекликаются с проблемами и вызовами нашей цивилизации.

НУРЫМ ТАЙБЕК ЛЮБОВЬ КО ВСЕМ, НЕНАВИСТЬ НИ К КОМУ!

— СМЫСЛ ЖИЗНИ МУСУЛЬМАН-АХМАДИ послание ISBN: 978-1-910886-73-1 RRP: £14.95

The play is set оп the sacred Mount Meru, where the mythological figures we know as the pantheon of Greco-Roman gods have assemЫed. lt is the eve of war between the gods and Titans, and they have gathered for an emergency council. However, Zeus unexpectedly replaces this solemn affair with an evening of feasting and entertainment. And yet the gods cannot escape the concerns of complex earthly life even at such а supposedly light-hearted event...

Действие пьесы происходит на Священной горе Меру, где собрались мифологические персонажи, известные как боги греко-римского пантеона. Собрание богов происходит в преддверии войны богов и титанов. Однако Зевс неожиданно заменяет военный совет дружеской вечеринкой. Но и на веселом балу богов не оставляют тревоги непростой земной жизни ...

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ЛАРА ПРОДАН ПОЧЕМУ МЫ ТАК ПОХОЖИ? рассказы ISBN: 978-1-910886-79-3 RRP: £14.95

ШӘМШИЯ ЖҰБАТОВА ӨҢ МЕН ТҮС поэзия ISBN: 978-1-910886-69-4 RRP: £9.95

WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

67

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS - AWARD WINNING

BLUE RIVER

by Zinaida Longortova (2016) Through her childhood reminiscences, Zinaida Longortova brings to life a remote region in far-northern Russia. Extrapolating the folklore and mythology of the Khanty people from her experiences - set around the simple story of a wounded elk calf - the author explores the bonds between humans and nature. Yet whilst this is a novella about a little known indigenous group, the narrative succeeds in harnessing powerful emotions which speak to us all. A timeless story, at once both joyful and melancholy, Blue River is a beguiling tale for all age groups.

LANGUAGES ENG / KHANTY HARDBACK ISBN:978-1-910886-34-2 RRP: £17.50 WIND: SHORT STORIES 2017 In this collection of Open Eurasian Book Forum & Literature Festival 2017 prize winning stories, The Fried Chicken by Jacqueline de Ge weaves a magical narrative within which the urban reality of dispossessed children conflicts with the sorcerous assignations of a mysterious, cloaked, figure, while My Heart is Burning by Lenar Shaeh allows the overwhelming human need for an organic community to engage Western audiences with the lament of a paradise now lost. What is more, The Fish by Sultan Isahon uses the innate mysticism of our natural surroundings to act as a backdrop against which hidden motives (whether they be naïve, brutalised, or toxic), are permitted to speak with an almost existential argot, before this masterful literary assemblage finishes with the flourish of A Drug Addicts Confession by Mukhamed-Ali Sulaymanov; a modern “morality anecdote” detailing the innocent sentiments of abandoned youth teetering on the brink of self-destruction, whilst framing its shabby social sketches through images of urban squalor. All in all, an intriguing synod of stories boding extremely well for the future careers of these wordsmiths, as much as being a tantalising taste of future delights for our European readerships.

CATALOGUE

HARDBACK

68 OCA MAGAZINE

ENG ISBN: 978-1910886915

RRP: £17.50

MAN OF THE MOUNTAINS

by Abudlla Isa (2014) ( OCABF 2013 Winner) Man of the Mountains” is a book about a young Muslim Chechen boy, Zaur who becomes a central figure representing the fight of local indigenous people against both the Russians invading the country and Islamic radicals trying to take a leverage of the situation, using it to push their narrow political agenda on the eve of collapse of the USSR. After 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan by coalition forces, the subject of the Islamic jihadi movement has become an important subject for the Western readers. But few know about the resistance movement from the local intellectuals and moderates against radical Islamists taking strong hold in the area.

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0-9930444-5-8 RRP: £14.95

MY HOMELAND, OH MY CRIMEA

by Lenifer Mambetova (2015) Mambetova’s delightful poems, exploring the hopes and fates of Crimean Tartars, are a timely and evocative reminder of how deep a people’s roots can be, but also how adaptable and embracing foreigners can be of their adopted country, its people and its traditions.

LANGUAGES ENG / RUS HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-04-5

CRANES IN SPRING by Tolibshohi Davlat (2015)

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

This novel highlights a complex issue that millions of Tajiks face when becoming working migrants in Russia due to lack of opportunities at home. Fresh out of school, Saidakbar decides to go to Russia as he hopes to earn money to pay for his university tuition. His parents reluctantly let him go providing he is accompanied by his uncle, Mustakim, an experienced migrant. And so begins this tale of adventure and heartache that reflects the reality of life faced by many Central Asian migrants. Mistreatment, harassment and backstabbing join the Tajik migrants as they try to pull through in a foreign country. How will Mustakim and Saidakbar’s journey end? Intrigued by the story starting from the first page, one cannot put the book down until it’s finished.

LANGUAGES ENG / RUS RRP: £14.50

HARDBACK

ISBN: 978-1-910886-06-9

THE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR THE DAY THAT DAD RETURNED Maral Hydyrova (2017) “One day of the big year or when the father returned” is a new novel that was written

by Hydyrova Maral. According to the author herself, she is an amateur in the art of literature.

Nonetheless, in the category “best literary work” in the “Open Eurasia 2016” competition, this book has won the first place.

LANGUAGES ENG PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-65-6 RRP: £12.50 FOREMOTHER ASIA

by Natalia Kharlampieva (2016) In this first ever collection of Sakha poems in our English language, the highly talented poet Natalia Kharlampieva weaves openly neo-Impressionistic threads of common heritage, communal faith and shared ethnicity, into an overall tapestry of cultural optimism.

Indeed, to Kharlampieva’s mind, the unique significance played by independent women (willing to endure every hardship) in these restorative endeavours clearly signals the spiritual strength of Central Asia Unanimously applauded as an impassioned book revealing the delights of a recovered national identity, Kharlampieva also captures Natures savage beauty, as well as the harsh existential truths of life in the far North.

LANGUAGES ENG / SAKHA RRP: £17.50

HARDBACK

ISBN: 978-1-910886-22-9

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME S.S. NAZAROVA (2017) Called ‘taboo-breaking… revolutionary” by RFE/RL, Stockholm Syndrome is one of the most controversial books to emerge from Tajik society in recent years. The story of a young woman’s struggle to choose between her career and motherhood, the novella shocked this traditional and conservative society. A remembrance of childhood and rumination upon challenges present and future, Nazarova’s work explores themes of immigration, identity and mental imbalance.

Acclaimed as ‘ahead of its time’ by Persian reviewers, Stockholm Syndrome is an emotional tour de force.

LANGUAGES ENG HARD BACK RRP:17.50 ISBN: 978-1-910886-60-1

WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

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HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

PRIME

KASHMIR SONG

by Sharaf Rashidov (translation by Alexey Ulko, OCABF 2014 Winner). 2017 This beautiful illustrated novella offers a sensitive reworking of an ancient and enchanting folk story which although rooted in Kashmir is, by nature of its theme, universal in its appeal.

Alternative interpretations of this tale are explored by Alexey Ulko in his introduction, with references to both politics and contemporary literature, and the author’s epilogue further reiterates its philosophical dimension.

The Kashmir Song is a timeless tale, which true to the tradition of classical folklore, can be enjoyed on a number of levels by readers of all ages.

RRP: £24.95

ISBN: 978-0-9930444-2-7

THE PLIGHT OF A POSTMODERN HUNTER Chlngiz Aitmatov Mukhtar Shakhanov (2015) “Delusion of civilization” by M. Shakhanov is an epochal poem, rich in prudence and nobility – as is his foremother steppe. It is the voice of the Earth, which raised itself in defense of the human soul. This is a new genre of spiritual ecology. As such, this book is written from the heart of a former tractor driver, who knows all the “scars and wrinkles” of the soil - its thirst for human intimacy. This book is also authored from the perspective of an outstanding intellectual whose love for national traditions has grown as universal as our common great motherland.

LANGUAGE: ENG RRP: £24.95

HARDBACK

ISBN: 978-1-910886-11-3

SERAGLIO’55

by Georgy Pryakhin (2016) “This is a wonderful publication, full of Georgy Pryakhin’s personal recollections of a lifetime spent not only as one of the most revered Russian writers but as a political supremo in the inner circle of the Gorbachev government during the last years of the USSR. It will enchant readers with a thirst to learn more of the inner workings of those who lived through the USSR, Glasnost and Perestroika.

Pryakhin’s vivid recollections of real events, idealistic dreams and his way of seeing life, tell stories that go much deeper than the words printed on the page.

PAPERBACK ENG ISBN: 978-1910886281

RRP:£ 12.50

WHEN EDELWEISS FLOWERS FLOURISH

by Begenas Saratov (2012) A spectacular insight into life in the Soviet Union in the late 1960’s made all the more intriguing by its setting within the Sovet Republic of Kyrgyzstan. The story explores Soviet life, traditional Kyrgyz life and life on planet Earth through a Science Fiction story based around an alien nations plundering of the planet for life giving herbs. The author reveals far sighted thoughts and concerns for conservation, management of natural resources and dialogue to achieve peace yet at the same time shows extraordinary foresight with ideas for future technologies and the progress of science.

The whole style of the writing gives a fascinating insight into the many facets of life in a highly civilised yet rarely known part of the world.

ISBN: 978-0955754951

70 OCA MAGAZINE

PAPERBACK

RRP: £12.50 ( ALSO AVAILBLE IN KYRGYZ )

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

HEIRS TO THE GREAT SINNER SHEIKH SAN’ON

by Erkin A’zam (2016) I think that anyone who wants to write in Uzbek will address again and again the books of Erkin A’zam even in 100-150 years ahead because he is unique. He is the only one.

Nabijon Boqiy An Uzbek writer PAPERBACK ENG

ISBN: 978-1-910886-32-8

RRP: £14.50

KAРА Автор Султан Раев (2015) Кара - главный на сегодняшний день роман автора - писатель работал над ним на протяжении двадцати лет. Это философское размышление о пути человеческом и о роли человека в мире. Книга, удостоенная премии Лучший роман 2014 года. Как сказал Э. Арнольд - Жизнь человека... результат его предшествующих жизней; Горе и беды проистекают от содеянного в прошлом зла, тогда как праведность родит блаженство.... Семь пациентов психиатрической лечебницы решают совершить побег, чтобы достичь Земли Обетованной. Как они оказались в сумасшедшем доме, истории жизни, злоключения в пустыне... Язык издания РУССКИЙ / RUSSIAN ISBN: 978-1910886137 RRP: £24.50

REPENTANCE Yermek Amanshaev (2016) ‘Repentance’ is a poignant collection of three short stories- ‘Song of Laments’, ‘Futility’ and ‘Repentance’ – which explore the psychological complexity of relationships between fathers and sons.

The issues addressed are ageless and universal. Set across the centuries, from biblical times to the present, often merging mythology with illusion and reality, the stories focus on challenges faced by fathers and sons as each struggles to assert his own identity and individual place in the world.

LANGUAGE ENG PAPERBACK / HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-33-5 RRP: £14.95 / £19.95 THE GRAMMAR OF WITCHCRAFT David Parry (2016) In this collection of Mini-Sagas and poems, Parry narrates the final journey taken by his alter ego Caliban from the surreal delights of a lesbian wedding in Liverpool, all the way back to a non-existent city of London. In himself, the author is aiming to resolve lyrical contradictions existing between different levels of consciousness: betwixt reality and the dreaming state.

And as such, unnervingly illogical scenarios emerge out of a stream of consciousness wherein bewildering theatrical landscapes actively compete with notions of Anglo-Saxon witchcraft, Radical Traditionalism, and a lack of British authenticity. Each analysis pointing towards those Jungian Spirits haunting an endlessly benevolent Archetypal world.

LANGUAGE ENG PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-25-0 RRP: £9.95

WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

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HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

PRIME

“SHORT STORIES FROM AZERBAIJAN” 2018 Short Stories from Azerbaijan in one volume. From the Translation Centre under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan. English translation by Nazakat Agayeva, edited by Anne Thompson-Ahmadova.

Located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Azerbaijan’s rich literary heritage reflects the influence of the two continents. The authors in this collection are the successors to the 12th century poet Nizami Ganjavi, the great poets and bards of the 14th to 16th centuries and the Russian-influenced writers of the 19th century. The first writer in this anthology was born in 1870; the last in 1968. Spanning a century, their stories offer glimpses into the marvels and uniqueness of Azerbaijan as it went from being part of the Russian Tsarist empire, to an independent republic in 1918, to being absorbed by the Soviet Union and finally gaining independence in 1991. The stories include an account of the events of Black January 1990 when hundreds of people were massacred by Gorbachev’s forces. There is also a wonderful novella of literary and spiritual musings triggered by Pope John Paul’s visit to Baku in 2002, and stories set in remote villages that shine spotlights on the human condition.

ISBN: 978-1-910886-72-4

RRP: £19.95 ENG HARDBACK

“THE WORLD DISSOLVES LIKE A DREAM”

by Leyla Aliyeva, 2018 “The World Dissolves like a Dream” book by young Azerbaijani poetess Leyla Aliyeva.

Composed of 130 poems, the book was translated into English by famous British poets lators Caroline Walton and Anna Maria Jackson.

usewives, grandmothers ow they value being able mes of trouble. They also fiya’s adopted uncle and

autiful book filled with n and her actual family, rselves and people from n that close camaraderie hich in our current age,

RRP: £19.95

My Neighbourhood Sisters A Collection of Short Stories

HARDBACK 978-1-910886-76-2 RRP: £14.95

I was born in Leningrad in 1955, where my parents lived and studied. According to my mother, children of the postwar generation rarely came into the world healthy. My extraordinary birth- weight of 5 kilograms surprised everyone and the doctors declared me the most perfectly healthy baby. My birth weight was even posted by a Leningrad newspaper, causing my mother to often joke that my profession as a journalist was set from the very start of my life.

MY NEIGHBOURHOOD SISTERS

by Gulsifat Shakhidi (2016) Set in Dushanbe, Tajikstan’s capital city, My Neighbourhood Sisters provides a snapshot of a close-knit community as it endeavours to adjust to changes induced by the country’s senseless civil war in the 1990s. Turning the pages of Gulsifat Shakhidi’s novel is like looking through a photo album, in which the narrator, Zulfiya has lovingly pasted images of both her own family and those of her neighbours. And behind each picture lies a poignant story. Shakhidi’s key protagonists are her close female friends; a group of proud, hardworking Tajik women who are challenged by both political and domestic unrest as they wrestle to maintain traditional family values.

And so it came to be: I graduated in journalism from Tajik University, worked for the republican youth newspaper, undertook scientific research, and completed my thesis on “Twentieth Century Tajik-Russian literary connections in the 1920s-‘30s.”

GULSIFAT SHAKHIDI

looking through a phoy pasted images of both behind each picture lies her close female friends; are challenged by both intain traditional famihe communal courtyard - may belong to Central fidelity, addiction, abuse, ed by Shakhidi that will

I later worked in the Tajik branch ISTRC “Mir”, as chief editor of Radio and Television and had my work published in Tajikistan and Russia.

This collection of stories was first published in Russian but it is my hope that the English edition is just the start of it being translated into other languages.

Gulsifat Shahidi

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

hbourhood Sisters proendeavours to adjust to in the 1990s.

My Neighbourhood Sisters

LANGUAGE: ENG

and trans-

GULSIFAT SHAKHIDI

НА Е И ЗЫК Я

И РС ВЕ ОМ + СК С РУ

LANGUAGES ENG / RUS RRP: £19.95

HARDBACK

ISBN:978-1-910886-35-9

01/01/2017 23:25:28

‘A BUTTERFLY’S SONG’

by Yermek Amanshaev, 2018 It is a collection of essays, short stories and plays in which the author explores issues of identity and aspiration, illusion and delusion, within the contexts of heritage, culture and the societies in which its characters live and work.

It opens with a short metaphorical passage which a butterfly literally plays with fire; irrepressively drawn to its bright flames despite the inherent dangers.

EBOOK

72 OCA MAGAZINE

ENGLISH

ISBN: 978-1-910886-77-9

RRP: £5.93

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

TRAGEDY OF BASTARD

by Saule Doszhan, 2018 Saule Doszhan’s short story, The Tragedy of a Bastard, treads recognisable territory for us Europeans, even though the plot is placed in present-day Kazakhstan; a land faraway from our conceptual, not to mention socio-historical, spheres. Admittedly, some of Doszhan’s moral assumptions read a little strangely, although the intrigues and pressures of extended familial obligation amid a family at clear war with free emotive choice, speaks volumes across our globe.

COMING SOON

TALES FROM BUSH HOUSE (BBC Wolrd Service) by Hamid Ismailov (2012) Tales From Bush House is a collection of short narratives about working lives, mostly real and comic, sometimes poignant or apocryphal, gifted to the editors by former and current BBC World Service employees. They are tales from inside Bush House - the home of the World Service since 1941 - escaping through its marble-clad walls at a time when its staff begin their departure to new premises in Portland Place. In July 2012, the grand doors of this imposing building will close on a vibrant chapter in the history of Britain’s most cosmopolitan organisation. So this is a timely book.

PAPERBACK

ISBN: 9780955754975

RRP: £12.95

THE LAND DRENCHED IN TEARS

by Söyüngül Chanisheff The Land Drenched in Tears is a moving history of the tumultuous years of modern China under Mao’s rule, witnessed, experienced, and told through the personal lens of an ethnic minority woman, who endured nearly 20 years imprisonment and surveillance regime as a result of her political activism in Xinjiang, or East Turkistan, located in the far west of China.

Chanisheff ’s autobiography is a rare, detailed, and authentic account of one of the most poignant and most fascinating periods of modern China. It is a microcosmic reflection of the communist regime’s tragic realities presented through the suffering and hope of a young woman who tied her fate to that of her beloved homeland.

PAPERBACK

ISBN: 978-1910886380 RRP:£24.50

RECYCLED

by Anna Komar This book is a bilingual collection by a Belarusian award-winning poet Anna Komar. The poems in the book are strongly personal, yet they are reflections of the reality that is so familiar to many of us. Love, friendship, self-exploration, childhood memories, fears – Anna finds new ways to speak about the things we have heard so much about, and her voice is frank. The thread connecting the poems in this collection is being a woman in the strongly patriarchal society which Belarus still is.

These poems are a rebellion, they touch, provoke, embarrass, get under your skin, but leave hope that the wounds will be healed, the home will be found, and love will live in it.

HARDBACK

ISBN: 978-1910886816

RRP:£17.50

WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

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SERIES

HOWL novel

by Kazat Akmatov (2014) PAPERBACK ENGLISH –RUSSIAN ISBN: 978-0993044410 RRP: £12.50

shahsanem murray

SHAHIDKA/ MUNABIA

by KazatAkmatov (2013) PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0957480759 RRP: £12.95

THE NOVEL “ARHAT”

by Kazat Akmatov (2015) LANGUAGE ENG PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1910886106 RRP: £17.50

THE TURKIK SAGA Kairat Zariyanov (2016) LANGUAGE ENG HARD BACK RRP:14.95 ISBN: 978-0-9927873-7-0

UNDER THE WOLFS NEST Kairat Zariyanov (2012 LANGUAGE ENG /KAZAKH HARD BACK RRP:14.95 ISBN: 978-0-9927873-7-0

kairat zakyryanov

13 STEPS OF ERIKA KLAUS

by Kazat Akmatov (2013) PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0957480766 RRP: £12.95

Raushan

Burkitbayeva - Nukenova

KAZAT AKHMATOV

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

SHADOWS OF THE RAIN Raushan Burkitbayeva - Nukenova (2016)LANGUAGE ENG HARD BACK RRP:19.95 ISBN: 978-1-910886-31-1

THE WORMWOOD WIND Raushan Burkitbayeva - Nukenova (2015) LANGUAGE ENG HARD BACK RRP:14.95 ISBN: 978-1-910886-09-0

COLD SHADOWS Shahsanem Murray (2016) LANGUAGE ENG PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-27-4 RRP: £12.50

74 OCA MAGAZINE

FINDING THE HOLY PATH

by Shahsanem Murray (2014) RUS ISBN: 978-0-9930444-8-9 ENGL ISBN: 978-0992787394 PAPERBACK RRP: £12.50

e local myths and ay, this is both an of the world that of years but is on e.

SILK, SPICE, VEILS AND VODKA

by Felicity Timcke (2014) Felicity Timcke’s missive publication, “Silk, Spices, Veils and Vodka” brings both a refreshing and new approach to life on the expat trail. South African by origin, Timcke has lived in some very exotic places, mostly along the more challenging countries of the Silk Road. Although the book’s content, which is entirely composed of letters to the author’s friends and family, is directed primarily at this group, it provides “20 years of musings” that will enthral and delight those who have either experienced a similar expatriate existence or who are nervously about to depart for one.

PAPERBACK RRP: £12.50

ISBN: 978-0992787318

ALPHABET GAME

by Paul Wilson (2014) Travelling around the world may appear as easy as ABC, but looks can be deceptive: there is no ‘X’ for a start. Not since Xidakistan was struck from the map. Yet post 9/11, with the War on Terror going global, could ‘The Valley’ be about to regain its place on the political stage? Xidakistan’s fate is inextricably linked with that of Graham Ruff, founder of Ruff Guides. Setting sail where Around the World in Eighty Days and Lost Horizon weighed anchor, our not-quite-a-hero suffers all in pursuit of his golden triangle: The Game, The Guidebook, The Girl. With the future of printed Guidebooks increasingly in question, As Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop did for Foreign Correspondents the world over, so this novel lifts the lid on Travel Writers for good.

PAPREBACK ENG ISBN: 978-0-992787325

RRP: £14.50

Nick

A Silk roAd Journey

Friendly SteppeS:

in 2006 during his eloped an insatiable An Oxford University stry in London, Nick ing Central Asia and travelled to all the is Editor-in-Chief of vides expert opinion t at home with his w lives, his favourite ains of Central Asia laughing and joking ghman accompanied

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

Rowan

ordinary adventure d’s most incredible ll recovering from misunderstood Iran; et domination; and tertwined with the recounts not only e route has had on

TRAVELOGUES

FRIENDLY STEPPES. A SILK ROAD JOURNEY

by Nick Rowan (2012)

Friendly SteppeS: A Silk roAd Journey Nick Rowan

This is the chronicle of an extraordinary adventure that led Nick Rowan to some of the world’s most incredible and hidden places. Intertwined with the magic of 2,000 years of Silk Road history, he recounts his experiences coupled with a remarkable realisation of just what an impact this trade route has had on our society as we know it today. Containing colourful stories, beautiful photography and vivid characters, and wrapped in the local myths and legends told by the people Nick met and who live along the route, this is both a travelogue and an education of a part of the world that has remained hidden for hundreds of years.

HARD BACK ISBN: 978-0-9927873-4-9

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0-9557549-4-4

DOES IT YURT? by Stephen M. Bland (2016) Conjuring images of nomadic horsemen, spectacular monuments, breathtaking scenery and crippling poverty, Central Asia remains an enigma. Home to the descendants of Jenghiz Khan’s Great Horde, in the nineteenth century the once powerful Silk Road states became a pawn in the ‘Great Game’ of expansion and espionage between Britain and Russia, disappearing behind what would become known as the ‘Iron Curtain’. With the collapse of the USSR, the nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were born. Since independence, Central Asia has seen one civil war, two revolutions and seven dictators.

LANGUAGE ENG PAPER BACK RRP:14.95 ISBN: 978-1-910886-29-8

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HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

SELF HELP

LIFE OVER PAIN AND DESPERATION

by Marziya Zakiryanova (2014) This book was written by someone on the fringe of death. Her life had been split in two: before and after the first day of August 1991 when she, a mother of two small children and full of hopes and plans for the future, became disabled in a single twist of fate. Narrating her tale of self-conquest, the author speaks about how she managed to hold her family together, win the respect and recognition of people around her and above all, protect the fragile concept of ‘love’ from fortune’s cruel turns.

By the time the book was submitted to print, Marziya Zakiryanova had passed away. She died after making the last correction to her script. We bid farewell to this remarkable and powerfully creative woman.

HARD BACK ISBN: 978-0-99278733-2 RRP: £14.95 MADINA DEMIRBASH THE ART OF MATURE LOVE (2017) Madina Demirbash is an international relationship expert. She has lived and worked in seven different countries in the pursuit of the answer to one question: what does it take to be happy with somebody? It took her long years of personal and professional search to find but a simple answer: it takes one’s decision to grow up. As soon as she started a process of conscious maturity, her life thrived. She had better friendships with different kinds of people, started her own international business, and most importantly – regained her inner strength. She later met her husband, with whom she continues to enjoy growing every day, overcoming relationship challenges.

She believes every person deserves and capable of building truly happy relationship.

ISBN: 978-1-910886-42-7 ENG RRP: £12.50 СВЕТЛАНА ЮДИНА КАК ПОЛЮБИТЬ СЕБЯ? (2017) автобиография «Как полюбить Себя» - это первый литературный проект Юдиной Светланы, своего рода – исповедь. Честный, открытый и прямой рассказ о том, как она: родилась, взрослела, развивалась и расцвела. Это история о том, как полюбить Себя, Родных и свое Дело. Если вы хотите вырваться из ловушки постоянных проблем и ищите собственный Путь в жизни, но не знаете с чего начать? Эта книга станет для вас открытием и настольным инструментом, применяя который, вы включите механизм трансформации себя и своей Жизни. Достоинством издания является простата изложения сложных идей и рекомендаций, а также нацеленность на практическое применение в Жизни. Для широкого круга читателей.

ISBN: 978-1-910886-53-3 RUS RRP: £9.95 RUSSIAN

ЭТО ЗАВИСИТ ОТ МЕНЯ 7 СПОСОБОВ ИЗМЕНИТЬ ЖИНЬ К ЛУЧШЕМУ Автор Меган Вернер (2017) Знакомтесь - замечательная книга Мэган Вернер «это зависит от меня». Великолепный стиль изложения, живая, наглядная подача материала, все четко и объемно. Читается на одном дыхании, оставляет самые светлые эмоции, заставляет задуматься – помогает лучше понять себя, понять, надо ли что-либо менять в своей жизни, поставить цели и пошагово их решать, позитивно мыслить, а главное, программировать свое счастливое будущее!

PAPERBACK

76 OCA MAGAZINE

RUSSIAN ISBN: 9781910886397

RRP:£9.95

JUNIOR HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

AYSU AND THE MAGIC BAG

by Maide Akan (2016)

In anticipation of Expo 2017 in Astana, publishing house Hertfordshire Press presents first book by Maide Akan. Entitled Aysu and the Magic Bag, the book tells the amazing story of a girl whose life is no different from ordinary children, until one day she meets a magical bird. Thus begin the extraordinary adventures of Aysu and her quest to save the environment.

Written with a charm and sophistication which belie her tender years, Maide Akan’s narrative is a seamless blend of fantasy and more modern concerns.

Beautifully illustrated, her work is sad and poignant, yet full of youthful hope for the future.

CARDBOARD ISBN: 978-1-910886-24-3 RRP: £10.00

ELISH AND THE WICKER TALES

by Kamran Salayev Elish is a small boy who lives in a small village, a boy who prefers not to socialise, a boy who’s a little scared and clumsy, one that sits alone in a shed… wickering? For him, that is his only true talent and passion, the only thing that really matters. It all changes when Elish meets the Rider, a strong warrior from a distant land. After the Rider learns of Elish’s talents, he sets off with a new wickered bridle to discuss important matters with the King. The Rider learns of a great threat lurking in the far north…

PAPERBACK SQUARE ENG ISBN: 978-1-910886-88-5

RRP:£12.50

POOL OF STARS

by Olesya Petrova (2007) It is the first publication of a young writer Olesya Petrova, a talented and creative person.

Fairy-tale characters dwell on this book’s pages. Lovely illustrations make this book even more interesting to kids, thanks to a remarkable artist Askar Urmanov. We hope that our young readers will be very happy with such a gift. It’s a book that everyone will appreciate. For the young, innocent ones - it’s a good source of lessons they’ll need in life.

For the not-so-young but young at heart, it’s a great book to remind us that life is so much more than work.

PAPERBACK ENG / RUS ISBN: 978-0955754906

RRP: £4.95

MENIK THE MAMMOUTH

by OGDO (2017) The charm of this children’s book lies in its original storyline which successfully encompasses folklore, science, natural history and geography. As the baby mammoth develops, the author raises issues concerning parenting and what a child needs to make its way through life, through the male and female perspectives of its young creators, Boris and Veronica. Menik, by default, finds himself facing the world alone and we learn how he copes with danger and struggles, as a displaced being, against ingrained prejudice and people’s fear of the unfamiliar. But there are also glimpses of human kindness and generosity of spirit which eventually, win the day.

Beautifully illustrated, this little book is likely to become a favourite bedtime story and one to which children will return again and again.

PAPERBACK ENG ISBN: 978-1-910886-62-5

RRP: £12.50

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DISCOVERY GUIDES & TRAVEL COMPANIONS

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

100 EXPERIENCES OF KYRGYZSTAN

by Ian Claytor ENG ISBN: 978-0957480742 RRP: £19.50

100 EXPERIENCES OF KAZAKHSTAN

by Vitaly Shuptar, Nick Rowan and Dagmar Schreiber ENG ISBN: 978-0-992787356 RRP: £19.50

100 EXPERIENCES OF MODERN KAZAKHSTAN

by Vitaly Shuptar, Nick Rowan and Dagmar Schreiber ENG ISBN: 978-1-910886-15-1 RRP: £19.50

THE TASTE OF CENTRAL ASIA COOK BOOK

by Danny Gordon ENG ISBN:978-1-910886-09-0 RRP: £19.50

DISCOVERY KYRGYZSTAN travel guide

by Ian Claytor ENG, DE, FR, RUS, JAP ISBN: 9780955754920 RRP: £5.95

78 OCA MAGAZINE

DISCOVERY UZBEKISTAN travel guide

by Andrea Leuenberger ENG, DE, FR, RUS, JAP ISBN: 9780957480704 RRP: £5.95

DISCOVERY KAZAKHSTAN travel guide

by Vitaly Shuptar and Dagmar Schreiber ENG, DE ISBN: 9780955754937 RRP: £5.95

DISCOVERY KARAKALPAKISTAN travel guide

by Anja Weidner ENG ISBN: 978-0-9930444-7-2 RRP: £5.95

THE GREAT MELODY

by Tabyldy Aktan ( dedicated to Toktogul Satylganov) E-BOOK ISBN: 978-1-910886-02-1 RRP:£3.24

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

BUYUK THEMURKHRON

by Christopher Marlowe PAPERBACK UZ ISBN: 9780955754982 RRP: £10.00

TERROR: EVENTS, FACTS, EVIDENCE.

by Eldar Samadov, 2015 PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-00-7 RRP: £9.99

CHANTS OF THE DARK FIRE

by ZhulduzBaizakova PAPERBACK RUS ISBN: 978-0957480711 RRP:£10.00

THE CITY WHERE DREAMS COME TRUE

by GULSIFAT SHAHIDI 2015 HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1910886205 RRP:29.99

KAMILA

by Rahim Karimov (OCABF 2012 Finalist) PAPERBACK KG / UZ ISBN: 978-0957480773 RRP:£10.00 ISLAM, RELIGION OF PEACE AND CREATION

by Sheikh Abdsattar Haji Derbisali * Joint edition with Stacey International HARDBACK ENG ISBN: 9781906768683 RRP:£24.95 DANCE OF DEVILS, JINLAR BAZMI

by Abdulhamid Ismoil and Hamid Ismailov E-BOOK UZ ASIN: B009ZBPV2M RRP:£2.00 VICTORS

by Sharaf Rashidov E-BOOK COMING SOON KURMAJAN-DATKA

by Bubaisha Arstynbekova COMING SOON SILK ROAD

by Nick Rowan COFEE TABLE BOOK HARDBACK ENG COMING SOON

KYRGYZSTAN - 20 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE: BETWEEN SCANDALS AND CORRUPT ELITE

by Giorgio Fiacconi * Partner Edition By Times of Central Asia HARDBACK ENG ISBN: 9789967265578 RRP:£29.95 THE HOLLYWOOD CONUNDRUM OR GUARDIAN OF TREASURE

by Maksim Korsakov PARERBACK ENG ISBN: 978-1910886144 RRP: £24.95 LITERARY ALMANAC - TVORCHESKOE SODRUJESTVO - 1 RUS HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1910886014 RRP: £15.25 LITERARY ALMANAC - TVORCHESKOE SODRUJESTVO - 2 RUS PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1910886212 RRP: £15.25 GODS OF THE MIDDLE WORLD

by Galina Dolgaya (2013) ISBN: 978-0957480797 PAPERBACK RRP: £14.95 CHANTS OF DARK FIRE (Russian Language Edition)

by Zhulduz Baizakova ISBN: 978-0957480711 PAPERBACK RRP: £9.50 CRANE

by Abu-Sufyan (2015) PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-23-6 £12.50

RRP:

DISCOVERY TAJIKISTAN Travel Guide

by Vitaly Shuptar ENG ISBN: 978-09557549-6-8 RRP: £5.95

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CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL PRESS THE CONCEPTUAL STRATEGY FOR HUMANKIND’S SURVIVAL IN THE XXI CENTURY AND FOOD SECURITY

By Orazaly Sabden (Author), A Ashirov (2016) As the third millennium dawns, this world storms and changes unpredictably. Hence, it has become difficult to calculate what to expect on the morrow. Indeed, questions of recovery from innumerable crises (along with any possible rescue plan for humankind from adverse global conditions), are now paramount. After all, dangers such as rapid climate change, water scarcity, not to mention preventable food shortages, obviously shake social stability and economic sustainability on a planetary scale. At the same time, of course, as potential resource-based political conflicts appear on the horizon, various natural cataclysms, pure accidents, and negative environmental processes are increasing. All presenting humanity with unprecedented socio-environmental issues.

PAPER BACK ISBN: 978-1910886267 RRP: £17.50 THE MODERNIZATION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION: THE LINGUOCULTURAL - COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH

by SalimaKunanbayeva (2013) Professor S. S. Kunanbayeva - Rector of Ablai Khan Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages This textbook is the first of its kind in Kazakhstan to be devoted to the theory and practice of foreign language education. It has been written primarily for future teachers of foreign languages and in a wider sense for all those who to be interested in the question (in the problems?) of the study and use of foreign languages. This book outlines an integrated theory of modern foreign language learning (FLL) which has been drawn up and approved under the auspices of the school of science and methodology of Kazakhstan’s Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages.

PAPERBACK

ISBN: 978-0957480780

RRP: £19.95

LOOKING WEST: A KAZAKH’S VIEW OF GREAT BRITAIN

by Kanat Auyesbay (2016) This new book by the Kazakh broadcaster and journalist Kanat Auyesbay is a fascinating and charming view of Britain. Kanat studied here for a year, living in Norwich with his wife and young son. Here he recounts his impressions of British life and compares aspects of it with life in Kazakhstan. He deals with subjects as diverse as school, charity, public transport, swimming, language and eating horse meat! There are also transcripts of interviews and additional chapters such as ‘35 years in front of the White House,’ in which he talks about Conception Picciotto about her anti- nuclear vigil. The reader will also learn about Kazakhstan and some of it’s customs and monuments. I am sure that British readers will enjoy Kanat’s impressions of our country, and I hope that they be inspired to visit Kazakhstan. I also hope that Kazakh readers will, perhaps, understand our small island a little better.

PAPERBACK

ISBN:978-1910886373 RRP: £14.50

VANISHED KHANS AND EMPTY STEPPES

by Robert Wight (2014) The book opens with an outline of the history of Almaty, from its nineteenth-century origins as a remote outpost of the Russian empire, up to its present status as the thriving second city of modern-day Kazakhstan. The story then goes back to the Neolithic and early Bronze Ages, and the sensational discovery of the famous Golden Man of the Scythian empire. The transition has been difficult and tumultuous for millions of people, but Vanished Khans and Empty Steppes illustrates how Kazakhstan has emerged as one of the world’s most successful post-communist countries.

HARD BACK

ISBN: 978-0-9930444-0-3

RRP: £24.95

PAPERBACK ISBSN: 978-1-910886-05-2 RRP: £14.50

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PROJECTIVE GRAPHICS

by Yelena Bezrukova, Valentina Tikhomirova (2015) This album contains images of an aspiring new art movement known in Kazakhstan as “Projective Graphics”. The images presented in the publication, called “graphelvas” are accompanied by conceptual and explanatory texts, as well as an appendix of works associated with the small, but up and coming movement. This album is intended for a broad audience.

HARDBACK

ENGLISH

ISBN: ISBN: 978 – 0993044434

AZERBAIJAN:BRIDGE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST

by Yury Sigov, 2015 Azerbaijan: Bridge between East and West, Yury Sigov narrates a comprehensive and compelling story about Azerbaijan. He balances the country’s rich cultural heritage, wonderful people and vibrant environment with its modern political and economic strategies. Readers will get the chance to thoroughly explore Azerbaijan from many different perspectives and discover a plethora of innovations and idea, including the recipe for Azerbaijan’s success as a nation and its strategies for the future. The book also explores the history of relationships between United Kingdom and Azerbaijan.

HARD BACK ISBN: 978-0-9930444-9-6 RRP: £24.50 I AM LOOKING TOWARDS THE EAST

by Gulsifat Shakhidi, 2017 Bringing together two works by the Tajik author, Gulsifat Shahidi, I am Looking Towards the East and Sentimental Journey or All in Good Time, this title takes an in-depth look at the historical relationship between Tajik and Russian literature and literary figures. Volume one draws an endearing portrait of the nineteenth-century translator-poet, Vasily Zhukovsky, whilst volume two concentrates on Russian-Tajik literary connections during the early years of the Soviet Union. Through her painstaking analysis of texts, archival documents and personal interviews, Shahidi masterfully bringing the characters and events of both periods to life. Her works are both academic thesis and a lovingly drawn living history.

HARDCOVER

ENGLISH

ISBN: 978-1910886663

RRP: £19.95

IGOR SAVITSKY: ARTIST, COLLECTOR, MUSEUM FOUNDER

by Marinika Babanazarova (2011) LANGUAGE: ENG, RUS, FR ISBN: 978-0955754999 RRP: £10.00 SAVITSKY COLLECTION SELECTED MASTERPIECES. Poster set of 8 posters (2014) ISBN: 9780992787387 RRP: £25.00

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CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

GOETHE AND ABAI

by Herold Belger (2016) Present publication of Herold Berler’s personal and scholarly essay on these two giants of world literature. Berger’s unique stance is to follow the dictates of his imagination, inspired by a close life-long study of Goethe and Abai, and, alongside many detailed scholarly investigations, e.g. his comparative study of Goethe and Abai’s innovations in poetic metre, form and consonance, or of the sources and background of Goethe’s Eastern inspired masterpiece West-East Divan, Berler muses openly about the personal impact that Goethe and Abai have had on him.

HARDBACK ENG RRP: £17.50

ISBN:978-1-910886-16-8

COLD WAR II: CRIES IN THE DESERT OR HOW TO COUNTERBALANCE NATO’S PROPAGANDA FROM UKRAINE TO CENTRAL ASIA

by Charles Van Der Leeuw (2015) Cold War II” is the result of almost two years of intensive monitoring and collecting information and comments from various angles concerning US-led campaigns to surround the Russian Federation with enemies. The book offers a rich anthology of samples how media play into the hands of the US-led “war party” as well as those who try to expose such manipulations. Special attention is given to the civil war in Ukraine and the way it is exploited by the west for its own geopolitical goals, and to Kyrgyzstan which remains at risk of attempts to topple Central Asia’s sole parliamentary democracy and replace it by a US “client regime”.

HARDBACK

ISBN: 978-1910886076 RRP: £24.95

THE EARTH IS OUR COMMON HOME

by Bakhyt Rustemov This book from the famous Kazakh international publicist reflects the international reality in which the Kazakh people lived and live for the last twenty-seven years after gaining their independence.

The reader is given the opportunity to understand how difficult the transition was from socialism to capitalism. The new life caught by surprise the majority of people of the country, that is the simple person. For all these years the author was in the midst of the people and has survived with them all the hardships and privations that usually fall on the shoulders of ordinary citizens. For many years he studied the relationship of people in society, the relationship of peoples and States.

HARDBACK

ENG

ISBN: 978-1910886878

RRP:£14.95

PEACEMAKER THE SYRIAN CONUNDRUM

by Nurlan Onzhanov (2017) The Republic of Kazakhstan’s balanced foreign policy is one of our country’s main priorities and is recognised and understood by many. The aim of Kazakhstan, located in the centre of the Eurasian continent, is to maintain friendly relations with its neighbours and partners, and to develop and strengthen these ties, in line with the policy determined by the Republic of Kazakhstan’s president, our nation’s leader: Nursultan Abishuliy Nazarbayev. This book has been written from the perspective of an author who has personally witnessed the Head of State’s multifaceted work in the international arena.

Following the earlier publication of ‘Peacemaker’ it encompasses events connected with the Syrian crisis from 2011 to June 2017.

LANGUAGES ENG HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-52-6 RRP: £24.95

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LAND OF FORTY TRIBES

by Farideh Heyat, 2015 Sima Omid, a British-Iranian anthropologist in search of her Turkic roots, takes on a university teaching post in Kyrgyzstan. It is the year following 9/11, when the US is asserting its influence in the region. Disillusioned with her long-standing relationship, Sima is looking for a new man in her life.

But the foreign men she meets are mostly involved in relationships with local women half their age, and the Central Asian men she finds highly male chauvinist and aggressive towards women.

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0-9930444-4-1 RRP: £14.95

BIRDS OF UZBEKSITAN

by Nedosekov (2012) FIRST AND ONLY PHOTOALBUM OF UZBEKISTAN BIRDS! This book, which provides an introduction to the birdlife of Uzbekistan, is a welcome addition to the tools available to those working to conserve the natural heritage of the country. In addition to being the first photographic guide to the birds of Uzbekistan, the book is unique in only using photographs taken within the country. The compilers are to be congratulated on preparing an attractive and accessible work which hopefully will encourage more people to discover the rich birdlife of the country and want to protect it for future generations

ncil of Kazakh Ablai World Languages

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RRP: £19.95

Kunanbayeva S.S.

STRATEGIC GUIDELINES

FOR HIGHER FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

Kunanbayeva S.S.

s of modern higher tan. On the basis of dels of innovatively ucation, a system of eign language higher ologically grounded rnization of higher nts ofconceptuallyuage education: the rofessional training innovative versions ng technologies for ormation.

STRATEGIC GUIDELINES FOR HIGHER FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

HARDBACK ISBN: 978-0-955754913

CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

RRP: £25.00

STRATEGIC GUIDLINES FOR HIGHER FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

by Salima Kunanbayeva The monograph is focused on the actual problems of modern higher professional education in the Republic of Kazakhstan. On the basis of critical reflection and analysis of the existing models of innovatively modernizing the higher professional system of education, a system of guidelines for perspective development of the foreign language higher professional education is proposed. The methodologically grounded platform of the approach suggested for modernization of higher education is based on the following components ofconceptually-methodological framework of higher foreign language education: the stage-successive model of competence-based professional training and its universalization; contemporary–demanded innovative versions of basic specialties, contentfunctionally modeling technologies for communicative and intercultural competences’ formation.

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-67-0 RRP: £19.50 ENG

PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY PROBLEMS

by Fakhraddin Veysalli (2016) In this manual, the phonetic structure of the Azerbaijani language and its phonological systems have been (systematically) explained by focusing on comparative materials from a number of different languages. Thus, the author defends his theoretical position, as well as persues common principles, through the topics raised. Additionally, he demonstrates his thoughts and considerations, while basing his own investigations upon existing perceptions in literature. As such, this book is primarily intended for philologists. However, these materials can be used by teachers of language or literature, along with postgraduates, dissertants, and students of philological faculties: including everyone interested in linguistics.

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1910886182 RRP: £19.95 ENG

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CONTENTS

6

WELCOME TO THE EURASIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY!

40

BISHKEK HOSTS MACBETH WITH A TWIST

10

ON THE RARITY OF NUCLEAR STATES

42

BUKVAR SLAVIC PRIMER CELEBRATES 400 YEARS SINCE FIRST EDITION

12

THE GLOBAL SILK ROAD:BUILDING THE FINANCIAL PILLARS

46

DREAMS COME TRUE!

16

AFGHANISTAN LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

50

ECG VICE-CHAIRMAN ADDRESSES HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT EVENT

18

THE RUZHANSKY LEGENDS: WOMEN IN BELARUSIAN ART AND HISTORY

51

ECG CHAIR VISITS KYRGYZSTAN

22

KAZAKH SUPERSTAR BRINGS SENSATIONAL SHOW TO LONDON

52

THE FOURTH OFFICIAL CEREMONY OF THE WELCOME TO GEORGIA! NATIONAL TOURISM AWARDS

26

A CELEBRATION OF AFGHAN CULTURE IN LONDON

54

VII OPEN EURASIAN LITERATURE FESTIVAL & BOOK FORUM – 2018

28

ORIGINAL FAMILY OWNERS TO FINALLY SELL UNIQUE 17-19TH CENTURY TURKIC COLLECTION

60

ECG BROCHURE

34

KURASH – TASHKENT HOSTS INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT 68 IN MEMORY OF ISLAM KARIMOV 80 FOR THE PRIZE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UZBEKISTAN

ECG SERIES - HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS CATALOGUE CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL PRESS CATALOGUE

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