OCA#45 / 2022

BUILDING THE LANDBRIDGE WITH EURASIA

[ EURASIA ]

RAISA GORBACHEVA – REMEMBERING THE FIRST LADY OF THE USSR NEW UZBEKISTAN SEEKS CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS THE BUSINESS OMBUDSMAN OF KYRGYZSTAN IRAN ON THE HORIZON A ‘STAN’ NO MORE? – SHOULD KAZAKHSTAN CHANGE ITS NAME?

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BURABAY INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

APPLY FOR 2023 SEASON For all questions, please, contact us: burabay@gorizonti.com Instagram: @eurasianfilmfest Facebook: @ECGFilmFestival Burabay International Short Film Festival is an exceptional event that promotes cinema and the visual arts. It is also a meeting place for filmmakers from all around the world. The Eurasian Creative Guild (London) first initiated the annual international film festival in 2021 at the resort area of the Burabay National Park near the picturesque lake Borovoe (Kazakhstan) the beauty of which can be on par with Cannes and can even surpass Berlin and many other traditional festival venues. This fabulous nook of the planet has become a place for creative dialogue, as well as an inspiration source for generation of masterpieces in the field of art.

ECG BOARD GARETH STAMP - CHAIRMAN MARAT AKHMEDJANOV - VICE CHAIRMAN

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF NICK ROWAN PUBLISHER MARAT AKHMEDJANOV EDITOR’S ASSISTANT VITALINA HALAVACH DESIGN ALEXANDRA REY

OPEN CENTRAL ASIA MAGAZINE #45 / 2022

Cover: Raisa Gorbacheva see p.6 MAGAZINE PUBLISHED FOR EURASIAN CREATIVE GUILD

CONTACT INFORMATION: PUBLISHER@OCAMAGAZINE.COM WWW.EURASIANCREATIVEGUILD.UK WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM CONTACT NUMBER (+44) 07411978 955 WHATSAPP & VIBER EDITORIAL OFFICE SILK ROAD MEDIA SUITE 125 43 BEDFORD STREET COVENT GARDEN LONDON WC2E 9HA, UK

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EDITORIAL TEAM GARETH STAMP RAZA SAYED TATIANA SHEVCHENKO DR. AL ARTAMAN (UAE & C. A) CONTRIBUTORS AKMAL SAIDOV ALISHER ILKHAMOV ROBIN ORD-SMITH ELIZABETH WOODS THOMAS BAKER TAINA KAUNIS MARAT AKHMEDJANOV RIZAEV SAIDAKBAR STEPHEN M. BLAND IRINA YEGOROVA ALEXANDER ESIPOV

ADVISORY BOARD ELENA ASLANYAN, ARMENIA ALDONA GRUPAS, UNITED KINGDOM ANATOLIY LOBOV, GEORGIA VICTORIA LEVIN, ISRAEL WARREN WILLS, AUSTRALIA ELENA BEZRUKOVA, KAZAKHSTAN AZIM AKMATOV, KYRGYZSTAN SURIYA YESENTAEVA, KAZAKHSTAN BAKHTYGUL MAKHAMBETOVA, KAZAKHSTAN ANASTASIA KUZMICHEVA, BELARUS ALINA MOSEIKINA, CYPRUS MARINA PODLESNAYA, MOLDOVA JONATHAN CAMPION, UK OKSANA ZHUKOVA, CRIMEA NATALIE BAYS, UK

HELEN BYKOVA RAFIS ABAZOV AINUR KUMARKHANOVA

DISTRIBUTION TIMUR AKHMEDJANOV WEB NAIMATT BUTT

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 Belarus to the UK Embassy of Kazakhstan to the UK Embassy of Kyrgyzstan to the UK Embassy of Russian Federation to the UK Embassy of Tajikistan to the UK Embassy of Turkmenistan to the UK Embassy of Uzbekistan to the UK CATBIG

FROM THE EDITOR The Bolshoi’s summer tour of London was cancelled. Anna Netrebko and Valery Gergiev have disappeared form the opera stage. The idea is to limit any recognition or funding of these artists and creative people, treating them akin to the billionaire oligarchs, which they are clearly not, in the hope that the Kremlin will value culture over its entrenched ideology. Britain’s culture minister, Nadine Dorries, has claimed that the arts are her “third front in the Ukrainian conflict”.This led to the Guardian’s Simon Jenkins to ask whether she will “ban Prokoviev from the Proms?”

Welcome Word It’s tennis season here in the UK – the grass at Wimbedon has been curated all year in anticipation of one of the greatest modern gladiatorial contests fought, all in white, by tennis’ greatest names. Except that not all of tennis’ stars will be there – the All England Club has decided to ban Russian and Belarussian players from attending, leading to the ATP renouncing the competition and offering no ranking points for players taking part.

It has been almost 100 days since I last wrote my welcome word. Back then Russian tanks were moving into Ukraine under their “Special Military Operation”, which was an ineptly disguised attempt to cover up a now disastrous invasion of the country – disastrous clearly for the brave defenders who have endured horrific scenes of violence, destruction and death, but disastrous too for Russia, whose ill-prepared military and arrogant leadership have now turned the country into a pariah state, giving up all the economic and cultural gains of the last few decades’ internationalism in search of a political ideology that neither the Ukraine, nor most of the world will accept. Tens of thousands of people have fled the country, taking their professional and creative skills with them.

And it appears as though this is a war without an end in sight, a war that cannot be lost by either side despite the tragic consequences this will mean in the coming months and years for citizens of both Russia and Ukraine and also the wider world.

The banning of Russians is not isolated to a cosy suburb of London. Film bosses banned Russian films from Cannes.

Many Russians I have spoken to feel similarly shocked, confused, angry and torn about the current situation. Those who have stayed risk 15 years of prison (and other such punishments, some unofficial and worse) if they speak out against the “Special Military Operation”. However, this “third front” may not be as effective as those who seek to fight it think.

It will undoubtedly give credence to the domestic belief that the world is engaged in structural Russophobia and therefore Russia is under existential threat (with all the threatened consequences that the Kremlin has made about that eventuality). It stifles the creativity and communication that allowing people of all cultures, background and nationalities can have when they come together openly and as friends. The arts and literature, indeed wider national culture, is supposed to be about stimulating discussions about the world today and approaching these with open minds – seeking to prohibit this with censorship would appear to do the very opposite of subverting the censorship that exists in Russia today and which serves only to propagate a blanket negative message about the Russian people around the world.

Having had the privilege of living in Russia for five years I know a good deal of very, very good Russian people – this is not their war, they are appalled and frightened by the consequences of it. At the Eurasian Creative Guild we believe that creative people are a force for good in the world, can galvanise political opinion and discussion through their creative work and should be treated with equal respect, dignity and loyalty. So, while we remain absolutely shocked and dismayed by the war in Ukraine, we will stand firm to our commitment of opening doors to all creative people who promote peaceful discussion through their work as they try and recognise (and resolve) the complexities of the modern world through their creativity, whatever their background or nationality. We believe that this is ultimately the best way that conflicts generally can be avoided and resolved.

Enjoy the issue!

Nick Rowan

Editor-in-Chief Open Central Asia Magazine WWW.OCAMAGAZINE.COM

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COVER STORY

RAISA GORBACHEVA – REMEMBERING THE FIRST LADY OF THE USSR

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This year marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of Raisa Gorbacheva.The wife of Mikhail Gorbachev, Raisa was a brilliant sociologist in her own right, and as the first visible First Lady of the Soviet Union, became a sensation in the West, where her candour, forcefulness and glamorous appearance made her an important asset in her husband’s efforts to win over hearts and minds abroad. At home, however, where there was no tradition of a ‘First Lady’ and the wives of top officials were rarely seen and never heard, she was the subject of much criticism, both personal and because of her husband’s attempts to reform the USSR. Born in the village of Rubtsovsk in western Siberia, Raisa’s father was a railway worker from Ukraine, whilst her mother was a peasant. Illiterate until her 20s, her father had been executed in a gulag. Despite these humble beginnings, however, she was an outstanding student and graduated from secondary school with a gold medal, affording her entry to study philosophy at Moscow State University, where she caught the eye of a young Mikhail Gorbachev. With his attempts to woo her rebuffed, Gorbachev would have to persevere for two years before they were married in 1953.Their only child, Irina, was born four years later, by which time Raisa had followed her husband to his home region of Stavropol, where she taught at the Agricultural Institute whilst defending her thesis on The Development of New Features in the Life of the Peasantry in Collective Farms.

When the couple returned to the capital in 1978, Raisa taught at the Moscow State University for seven years whilst her husband continued his ascent into the halls of power, before stepping down to become an unpaid member of his staff in 1985. Unlike the wives of previous Soviet leaders, such as Brezhnev’s wife, Victoria, who stayed at home and made jam, and Andropov’s second wife, Tatiana, whom no one knew existed until she appeared at his state funeral in 1984, Raisa was not one to eschew the limelight. She found the petty politics and gossip of the tea-drinking circles of Kremlin wives stiflingly dull, preferring to accompany her husband when he travelled, both within the Soviet Union and abroad.

Mikhail and Raisa were a partnership, and although it wasn’t officially acknowledged, she served as one of his closest advisors, an arrangement previously unheard of within the Soviet Union. As Mikhail wrote of his

wife in his memoirs, ‘We were bound first by our marriage, but also by our common views of life... We both preached the principle of equality.’ These sentiments were echoed by Raisa in her own memoir, I Hope, and in interviews where she stated she was ‘very lucky with Mikhail. We are really friends, or, if you prefer, we have great complicity.’

A darling of the press in the West for providing a splash of colour amidst the grey suits, Raisa was photographed visiting hospitals, schools and children’s homes, and taking tea with the wives of other world leaders. Her long-running spat with Nancy Reagan - whom she often outshone – also served as an amusing sideshow. After visiting the White House, she famously commented that ‘humanly speaking, a human being would like to live in a regular house. This is like a museum.’ Her shopping trips to London, Paris and New York were the stuff of legend, as was her vast and dazzling wardrobe.

Unsurprisingly, such a public persona didn’t always play as well to the public back at home, where despite the sexual revolution 70 years earlier, the conservative politics of a rigid patriarchy reigned supreme. Raisa was

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COVER STORY often portrayed as egotistical and ostentatious for such faux pas as visiting the victims of the Armenian earthquake of 1987 draped in fox furs. A celebrity in her own right, often subject to, in her own words, ‘invention, myths and even slander,’ in the same year she appeared on the cover of Pravda, a place where women were hardly ever featured. There was also an element of jealousy to the dislike of her, as her chauffeur-driven car and lavish designer wardrobe were obviously not available to ordinary Soviet citizens.

Over time, however, Raisa found her niche at home in promoting the welfare of sick children and women’s issues. She began to change minds though such acts as ensuring the victims of the Chernobyl disaster were taken care of, sponsoring a major paediatric hospital, and donating US$100,000 to the blood cancer charity, the International Association of Haematologists of the World for Children.

On the final day of the coup attempt by hardliners in 1991, Raisa suffered a stroke which left her left arm paralysed. According to her husband, she never fully recovered. After stepping out of the spotlight, she died of leukaemia on September 20th 1999 in the Munster University Hospital at the age of 67. Shortly before her passing, Raisa said that ‘I had to get sick with such a fatal illness and die to make people understand me.’

Upon learning of her death, U.S. President Clinton said that ‘The example she set, through her help for child victims of leukaemia and through her own courageous struggle against this terrible disease, was an inspiration to people everywhere.’ Raisa was interred in the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, with thousands coming to say their farewells. In 2006, her family founded the Raisa Gorbacheva Foundation, which raises money to support those with childhood cancer.

by Stephen M. Bland

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POLICY

NEW UZBEKISTAN SEEKS CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS

On May 20, 2022 the Constitutional Commission was established to develop proposals for constitutional amendments as part of a “New Uzbekistan” image refit.

This Constitutional Commission is comprised of deputies and senators from all regions, representatives from various social strata, civil society institutions, leading lawyers, political scientists, and other experts (47 people in total).

Uzbekistan has a long history of implementing constitutional reforms. 32 amendments and additions to 21 articles of the Constitution were made 7 times as part of the implementation of the tasks of the Action Strategy in five priority areas between 2017–2021.

They concerned, in particular, the activities of the parliament, government and the President, strengthening the independence and development of the judiciary, the system of checks and balances between the branches of government, the democratisation of the electoral system and the Mahalla.

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During the presidential elections of Uzbekistan in October 2021 an important proposal was put forward to transform Uzbekistan’s democracy – the implementation of constitutional reform.

The first proposal to consider constitutional amendments and additions was made by voters during a meeting with UzLiDeP presidential candidate Shavkat Mirziyoyev in the Karakalpakstan district of Bozatau. The priority directions of constitutional reforms were outlined in President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s fundamental book, “New Uzbekistan Development Strategy,” raising democratic reforms to a fundamentally different level.

Several areas of constitutional reform were identified as priorities: (1) the change of the paradigm “state – society – person” to a new one: “person – society – state”; (2) the provision of human interests in the process of economic reforms; (3) constitutional consolidation of the role and status of civil society institutions with the principle “Society is the initiator

of reforms”; (4) the definition of the constitutional foundations for the development of the institution of the family and traditional human values; (5) a state youth policy with comprehensive support for youth; (6) reforming the principle that “New Uzbekistan is a social state” with a just society; (7) improving human rights including preventing child labor and protecting those with disabilities or from the older generation; (8) new environmental provisions linked to global climate change; and (9) the development of kindergartens, schools, higher education and science, which are interrelated components of the basis of the “Third Renaissance”.

As such, the Uzbek Parliament determined that the Constitutional Commission should be responsible for developing suitable proposals and draft laws and engaging experts to interpret statistical data and documents from among various state bodies and organisations. The commission will also monitor violations of the new constitutional rights and engage the relevant departments.

The Constitutional Commission is expect to follow a number of important principles including those of transparency and accountability. In performing this role the Press Service of the Constitutional Commission will provide in simple and understandable language the needs, priorities and main directions of constitutional reforms. Additionally, collegiality will be practiced - all members of the Constitutional Commission have a single vote and equal decision-making rights. Finally, the President’s idea that “the people are the creators of the law” is to be implemented through widespread participation of civil society institutions, academic, research, and analytical centres in the Constitutional Commission’s activities.

To date the Commission has received more than 45 thousand proposals from citizens, organizations, educational and academic societies. The most important issues raised regard: human rights issues; activity of high state bodies (government, parliament, judiciary); local authority; ecological issues;

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social welfare; civil society institutions (mass media, public control); gender issues; international relations; cultural heritage.

President Mirziyoyev at the meeting with the members of the Commission on June 20 proposed the adoption of amendments through a referendum to take into account the opinion of the population and its initiatives as much as possible. The President also emphasised the priority of reflecting in new Constitution additional guarantees for ensuring interests, freedoms and dignity of people as well as securing the principles of a social state - the idea of “Uzbekistan is a social state”.

In conclusion, the constitutional reforms will undoubtedly serve to implement the tasks of further improving the well-being of the population and the prosperity of the country, strengthening its economic power and competitiveness in the world.

Prof. Akmal Saidov, Chairman of the Commission for Constitutional Reforms in Uzbekistan, First Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis (Parliament) of Uzbekistan, Director of the National Centre of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights.

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ECONOMICS

CENTRAL ASIAN ECONOMIES FACE DIFFICULT TIMES IN 2022 The full-scale military invasion of Ukraine by the Russian armed forces and the subsequent series of unprecedented sanctions adopted by Western countries against Russia have led to significant economic consequences not only for the culpable but also for the whole world, especially the former Soviet republics.

Among these consequences, it is necessary to distinguish between both negative and positive and shortterm and long-term impacts. Moreover, the effect does

not much depend on whether the country is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan) or not (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan). In almost all of these countries, Russia is the leading trading partner and one of the prominent investors. At the end of 2021, the trade turnover with Russia was around 20-30% in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Therefore, the state of the Russian ruble could not but affect the national currencies of these countries.

Table 1. External trade turnover of central Asian countries by the end of 2021

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Among the short-term implications, it is necessary to highlight the impact on the Central Asian states’ financial and banking spheres. Although significant, far less strong sanctions were adopted against Russia back in 2014 and had already affected the ruble exchange rate - it fell by almost half against the US dollar, which forced the Central Bank of Russia to significantly raise its interest rate, which, in turn, severely limited the access of businesses and citizens to bank loans. As a result, economic growth slowed down considerably, which led to a long stagnation of the Russian economy and caused, along the chain, similar problems in Central Asian countries. For instance, the Kazakh national currency was also in free fall while inflation rose sharply.

This time, immediately after the adoption of the first packages of sanctions, the Russian ruble immediately collapsed, falling from 80 to 120 against the US dollar.

But in a short time, the Central Bank managed to stabilize the ruble exchange rate by raising the interest

rate to 20% (a bit later, this rate was reduced to 17%) and through restrictions on the conversion and export of foreign currency from the country. The return of the ruble exchange rate to its pre-war status was also facilitated by a radical reduction in imports to Russia due to its disconnection from SWIFT and measures to restrict Western exports to Russia. However, despite the stabilization of Russia’s financial and banking sector, commercial credit has again become unaffordable for businesses and citizens. As a result, GDP is expected to drop by 8.5% this year.

The short-term depreciation of the ruble led to a sharp drop in exchange rates of the national currencies in Central Asia, too, for example, in Kazakhstan - by 22%, Kyrgyzstan - by 24%, Tajikistan - by 15%, and Uzbekistan - by 7%. Likewise, following the stabilization of the Russian ruble, these national currencies restored somewhat, but not completely.

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ECONOMICS The exchange rates of the central Asian countries were affected by the fact that these economies are dependent on remittances from labour migrants. Since Russia introduced significant commissions and restrictions on the purchase and export of US dollars, labour migrants have had no choice but to transfer their incomes to their homeland in Russian rubles, which has led to an oversupply of this currency in the local currency markets of these countries.

There is, and will continue to be, longer-term implications caused by the expected recession in Russia.

This recession will negatively impact the incomes of labour migrants and the state of Central Asian countries’ foreign trade. For example, in Uzbekistan, remittances from labour migrants reached $7.6 billion in 2021, mainly from Russia, constituting 11.6% of the country’s GDP. In Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, this share is even higher - 27.8% and 30.1%, respectively. But now, the World Bank forecasts a decrease in income from migrants this year in Kyrgyzstan - by 33%,Tajikistan - by 22%, and Uzbekistan - by 21%.

A significant proportion of migrants from the region have been employed in Russia’s massive and, until recently, rapidly developing construction sector. Now that mortgages are becoming too expensive for Russians, production decline in this sector is expected.

This means a reduction in both the income of migrants and the demand for labour in this sector. That will entail the outflow of a significant part of migrants back to their homeland, which, in turn, may lead to an increase in social tensions in the countries of the region, especially in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

As for foreign trade, there are two essential aspects to keep in mind. First, the fact that a significant share of foreign trade in Central Asia, especially with Europe and Asia, was carried out along the trade and logistics routes passing through the territory of the Russian Federation, primarily through seaports in the Baltic States, the Black Sea, and the Far East. Now that sanctions have been imposed on Russia on the use of European seaports and its sea vessels, the question arises as to how the countries of Central Asia will trade with Europe and Asia. For them, the routes connecting them with China and Iran remain the only ones available for the moment.

In this regard, Uzbekistan has already intensified negotiations and reached agreements with Pakistan and Afghanistan on opening a rail-road and track trade routes

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that would allow for cargo transportation between Central Asia and the southern seaports of Pakistan, Karachi, and Bin Qasim. As a result of these negotiations, the first cargo from India was sent and received by Uzbekistan in March this year. However, the development of this trade route will take a long time before it becomes a full-fledged alternative to the northern ones that have developed over the past century and a half.

In the same context, we should view the revived negotiations between Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China on constructing a railway route through the territory of these three countries. Again, this route will not begin to operate soon. Finally, in view of the territory of Russia having turned into a logistical impasse, even China was forced to promote the project of a bypass combined railway and sea route through the territory of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, then Romania and other European countries, crossing the Caspian and Black Seas, with a total length of 11 thousand km. On April 13, the first cargo from China was sent along this route.

Another aspect of the impact of the war and sanctions on trade activities of the Central Asian states has to do with the region’s bilateral trade with Russia. In March, Russia imposed a ban on grain exports from the country, followed by a similar decision by Kazakhstan, which itself had previously imported Russian wheat, but in turn, provided 90% of the needs of its southern neighbours. As a result, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan now face the threat of a shortage of flour for domestic consumption.

Besides, it is no longer clear how both sides will settle payments with each other, given that settlements in dollars will be inaccessible for the Russian side. The parties will have to conduct settlements in rubles and local currency, which will complicate the process technically and in terms of pricing.

In addition to the negative consequences for the economies of the Central Asian countries, there are also some emerging opportunities for them, especially in terms of increasing exports to Russia of certain types of products, primarily agricultural ones. However, there are no signals that these new opportunities are being realised. And it is not yet clear whether the growth of exports from the Central Asian countries to the Russian Federation will be able to thoroughly neutralise the impact of sanctions. text by Alisher Ilkhamov Central Asia Due Diligence

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TURNING THE TANK AROUND HOW BRITAIN BECAME THE JURISDICTION OF CHOICE FOR DIRTY MONEY AN INTERVIEW WITH DAME MARGARET HODGE

A long-serving politician for the British Labour Party and holder of many ministerial positions during her distinguished career, on February 3rd Dame Margaret Hodge caused a stir in the House of Commons by calling on the government to sanction Kazakh oligarchs.

Whilst positive changes to the hierarchy appear to be afoot, in her speech Dame Margaret highlighted how the UK is seen as the ‘jurisdiction of choice for dirty money,’ leaving numerous figures connected to the old elite, including Timur Kulibayev, Dariga and Dinara Nazarbayeva and Kairat Sharipbayev ‘laughing all the way to the bank.’ OCA Magazine decided to find out more…

OCA Magazine: Obviously, Ukraine is at the forefront of everyone’s thoughts at the moment - in terms of sanctions, do you think the British government is doing enough?

Margaret Hodge: No, I think we should go further, and I’ve given a number of lists to the foreign office of people I think should be sanctioned. Another problem is that we’ve frozen the assets of some of these people, not seized them. I think that’s a challenge for the government, to seize assets which are often being stolen from the populations, whether you’re talking about Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan or Russia. To the extent that sanctions can have an impact in the medium term - and I think we’ve got to be much tougher on cutting our oil and gas supplies from Russia - this has got to be much more vigorously pursued if it’s to be at all effective in curtailing the worst excesses of what Putin is trying to do.

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OCA: You may not be aware, but you’re now famous in Central Asia because of the statement about Kazakh oligarchs you delivered to the House of Commons.

Looking at Kazakhstan in the wake of events there in January, given that the UK is among the top five countries in terms of investment, and approximately 500 British companies operate there, what impact do you think sanctioning Kazakh individuals would have on this?

MH: Obviously, it was those events that led to people talking to me about the activities of the kleptocrats, the ruling elite in Kazakhstan; it was in the wake of the response of the ruling elite and the bringing in of Russian troops to overpower the demonstrators that my attention was drawn to what was happening there.

My speciality is the campaign against dirty money. If we’re serious about trying to exert our influence to clamp down on kleptocracies and to prevent Britain becoming a hub for dirty money, there may need to be an adjustment to where we invest. It goes to the financial services sector here in the UK and it will go to investment in Kazakhstan. We have to make sure there’s an ethical dimension to how we invest around the world, and I think if anything has come out of this dreadful Ukraine crisis it’s an understanding that there are ethical and moral dimensions to how we operate, both nationally and internationally, that must impact on where we invest, who we make friends with, and who we allow to trade in the UK. I think there’s going to be a cultural shift as a result of this crisis. It’s sad because it will create more a divided world, but on the other hand, where our investment can support democratic movements and the fight against kleptocracy, we should do that.

OCA: According to a KPMG report, 162 people control around 55% of Kazakhstan’s total wealth, and now some of Kazakhstan’s infamous elite live in London, whilst others own properties here. Transparency International identified £600 million worth belonging to those with links to the Kazakh elite. What can be done to combat this?

MH: I think this is an area where Britain has allowed itself to become the jurisdiction of choice for dirty money. It doesn’t have to be like this. There are actions on four fronts we could take in the UK. First, we need to look at regulation. Since the time of Margaret Thatcher, both Labour and Conservative governments have deregulated the financial services sector too much, so we need to look at our regulatory framework and there are various things that need to be done. So, for example, when people set up a company here but put forward a letter box name for the beneficial owner, we have to reform Companies House so we can check the information and know who the beneficial owner is.

We also need to give Companies House the power to interrogate the data and raise red flags. A new register of ownership where properties are owned by foreign entities is another example we’ve got to look at.We’ve also got to look at those who enable financial crime, the accountants, lawyers, advisors, the banks, all of whom collude, and in the worst cases, facilitate and enable financial crime. We have to hold those enablers to account.

We also need greater transparency throughout the system. One example in the recent sanctions would be that there’s no transparency about who owns trusts.

So, Alisher Usmanov has been able to hide assets he holds in the UK in trusts. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, so that needs to be built into the system. We need tougher enforcement, because even where the agencies exist, they’re either starved of resources or there isn’t the political will for them to pursue dirty money in the way they should.The other thing is we’ve got to hold all of this to account for the public through parliament, and there’s got to be much better systems of accountability. If we start doing these things, Britain will become a less attractive place in which to try and launder your illicit, ill-gotten gains. So, there has to be a root and branch reform to start turning the tank around.

OCA: Why did it take so long for the government to proceed with the Economic Crime Bill, and does it go far enough?

MH: This was promised by David Cameron in 201516, and my reading of it is that because of the impact Brexit has had on our GDP and the economy the government ran away from tackling the financial services sector, which facilitates a lot of this dirty money. I think they were worried about challenging the financial service sector when they knew the economy was going to be hit by Brexit. I also think there’s a very close relationship with too many of the political class and those in the financial services sector, and you see that throughout the system from political donations to public appointments. Does the legislation go far enough? No, it’s badly drafted, and it only deals with the tip of the iceberg. To take Usmanov as an example again as just passed his assets to his daughters, it doesn’t cover family members or trusts, and it talks

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about freezing not seizing. This is why the forthcoming Economic Crime Bill will be our opportunity to see whether the government is serious about stamping out dirty money.

OCA: What can you tell our readers about the Tier-1 Investor or so-called ‘Golden Visa’ scheme which allowed figures such as Madiyar Ablyazov a path to British citizenship?

MH: That was brought in by the Labour government and the idea was to attract investment into the UK, but I thought it was ill thought through and really badly implemented as neither the Home Office, who were granting these golden visas, nor the banks that were taking the money checked on the individuals and where the money was coming from. Both thought the other was doing it, so nobody did. At its height, 60% of the visas granted were given to either Russians or Chinese.

So it became a brilliant route for criminals and kleptocrats to bring their stolen wealth into the legitimate system. There’s a long-promised report analysing who was let in; it’s sitting somewhere in a government office and needs to be published. At that point, they could pick it up through sanctions, but we’re still waiting.

OCA: Is there anything else you’d like to add about how we can stop Kazakh kleptocrats ‘laughing all the way to the bank’ in the UK? For example, we have Unexplained Wealth Orders [UWOs], but the agencies tasked with implementing them are patently under-

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funded.

MH: They’re not just underfunded, they haven’t got the expertise. One important thing we did in the Economic Crime Bill is cap the amount people who challenged UWOs could claim from the government if the case was lost. I think we need to fund these agencies properly and staff them with the best people, either pay them enough or bring in private expertise to support them. UWOs have only been used four times, two of which have failed, and this was heralded as the big answer to the campaign against dirty money.We need a comprehensive approach to stop what’s happened from Kazakhstan and elsewhere, and it’s not just the former USSR. You can see from the Panama papers how dirty money floats around from regimes all over the world.

If we get it right internationally for Russia and Ukraine, we’ll get it right for many, many other places too.

By Stephen M. Bland

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FOCUS

THE BUSINESS OMBUDSMAN OF KYRGYZSTAN: 2 YEARS PROTECTING THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT It is now nearly three years since I resigned as a UK diplomat and subsequently took up the challenge of becoming the first Business Ombudsman of the Kyrgyz Republic, a project funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and a partnership with the government and business. While not as conventional as going on to my next diplomatic Head of Mission role, I hoped that the creation of an organisation that could help protect the private sector from the state might contribute to the positive development of the economy and country. I was under no illusion that the challenge would be easy.

Looking back, just over 2 years have passed since opening the Business Ombudsman Institute (BOI) at the end of February 2020 to establishing ourselves as trusted partners with business and government. But the headline figures, having helped save businesses over

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$24 Million and a case success rate of over 50%, give hope that it will be possible to deliver the mandate as the authorised person to “protect the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of business entities”.

There are different models of Business Ombudsmen around the region and World. That the government of the Kyrgyz Republic chose to establish an independent Business Ombudsman and not one either reporting to government or being a civil servant is perhaps reflective of the unique openness of this country in the wider region. But in keeping with other Ombudsmen, my role is to provide a free, pre-court, alternative dispute reconciliation service that can help business overcome areas of disagreement with state bodies.

My mandate is three-fold. Private business can complain to me that the state (national, local, regional

government, Ministries or Agencies, State Owned enterprises or state servants) have in their actions (or inactions) infringed their legitimate rights. Secondly, I should help to increase “transparency” in state bodies and lastly I am able to recommend changes to existing laws or even suggest new laws where my work determines that there are gaps or inconsistencies that hamper business. Successive Prime Ministers have also asked me to contribute to the drive to improve the business and investment climate.

Even by the standards of post-independence Kyrgyzstan, the past two years have been a period of tumultuous challenge. The pandemic hit businesses and the economy hard with lockdowns, supply chain and border disruptions and inflation. October 2020 saw unrest that led to a change in leadership and since then there have been Presidential, parliamentary and local elections and associated government changes and legislative reform. This has impacted the ability to communicate our existence and mandate, especially in the regions. Nonetheless, in this time over 200 businesses have formally registered complaints with me. Others

have sought our expert advice and support to help overcome their difficulties.

Part of the challenge for my colleagues and I has been to establish and maintain good working relations with government and state bodies. As my powers are limited to recommendations it has been essential to secure political support to encourage state bodies to implement the Response Acts that I issue if I find a business has had its rights infringed. Successive Presidents, Prime Ministers have confirmed this and my team and I work very closely with the Ministry of Economy, the General Prosecutor’s Office and the State Tax Service.

And of course, our partners amongst the Business Associations who also work tirelessly to protect their business members. But a challenge remains to get some state bodies to engage or, at times, to implement recommendations.

Increasingly, government Ministries consult my colleagues and I on proposed changes to legislation that affects business or the economy. I am fortunate to have an expert team that provides high quality advice

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FOCUS

from a legal and international best practice perspective, and uses the experience we gain from the consideration of complaints and our other work. In total I have sent government over 200 proposals and recommendations, including 34 Response Acts where I have found a complainant’s rights infringed and recommending how to rectify this and avoid them being repeated.

Oher recommendations have been aimed at reducing inconsistencies and improve the prevailing business climate. Many of these recommendations have made it through to the updated legislation.

From this wider work, we have identified several key systemic problems holding back the private sector in the Kyrgyz Republic. These include a worrying lack of consistency in state policy and frequent changes in legislation, a tendency for state bodies to make decisions in favour of the state even if improper (and even illegal at times), a lack of transparency, accountability and an apparent increase in pressure from law enforcement bodies.

then Kyrgyzstan. But I have never been more proud to lead a team of such dedicated, determined and professional colleagues trying to make a difference in such an important field. There will be many more challenges ahead to deliver a lasting impact, but I remain confident that my mandate is achievable, the challenges can be overcome and that we can make a real difference in this fascinating country that has become home for me.

Robin Ord-Smith

Assessing where the BOI has got to halfway through my five-year term as Business Ombudsman, I see similarities with my school reports of many years ago: some notable achievements, but much more still to be done!

But, given the ongoing geopolitical, economic, and other challenges affecting Kyrgyzstan my colleagues and I must redouble our efforts to protect the entrepreneurs and help bring about the reform in state bodies working practices, and the necessary improvements in the business and investment climate, that will provide the sustainable economic growth that Kyrgyzstan needs and deserves.

Reference: The Business Ombudsman is an authorized person to protect the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of entrepreneurs and business entities, who operates on the basis of Decree No. 647 of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic dated December 31, 2018.

I spent thirty years as a British diplomat and was especially proud to have been Ambassador to Tajikistan and

For more information, please visit the BOI website www.boi.kg

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The Business Ombudsman accepts complaints by post, email, in person or online.

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SILK ROAD

IRAN ON THE HORIZON: FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR CENTRAL ASIAN RAPPROCHEMENT In recent years, China has propelled itself to the position of Central Asia’s leading external partner - in the process, investing previously unthinkable sums of money in the region and expanding its political and economic influence. However, Iran, whilst currently unable to compete with China in Central Asia on almost all fronts, has repositioned itself towards fostering engagement with the former Soviet “Stans”. Tehran, combining its sizeable religious and ethnic affinity with many parts of the region and its access to vital seaports and security priorities in Afghanistan, has leveraged a more-than cordial level of rapport with the countries of Central Asia. To this end, Iran has implemented a new “Look East” policy to engage Central Asian countries on a selective, bilateral basis, which contrasts with China’s hegemonic approach of pumping billions into Central Asia, viewing the region as a vital ingredient to its global infrastructure and soft power agenda.

The Central Asia Barometer (CAB) Survey is a biannual large-scale research project which measures social, economic, and political atmospheres in Central Asian nations by conducting interviews with 1,000-2,000 respondents in each country from 2017 (Wave 1) to 2021 (Wave 10). Data collected by CAB shows that Iran is seemingly perceived as unknown - unproven, untested, and unfamiliar. However, Iran could see itself considered as a possible supplementary partner on the horizon, offering a different set of opportunities and challenges for Central Asia.

Iran is a nation that possesses deep historical ties to large parts of Central Asia, given the cultural and linguistic legacy which sprawling Persian empires left upon the region. Even today, Uzbek cities such as Samarkand and Bukhara boast large Persian-speaking populations, while Tajikistan remains a majority ethnically and linguistically Persian nation. However, only recently has Central Asia become a policy priority for Tehran, which now sees this region as a potential “bridge” between Iran and the East. The “Look East” policy constitutes a key aspect of Iran’s approach to international relations, and it has sprung engagement with nations within the region on an individual, bilateral basis - in particular, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

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1. Public sentiment toward Iran Remains Low and Uncertain

Surprisingly, many in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan remain ambivalent in their sentiments towards Iran. Despite a large Persian legacy in sections of Central Asia and recent efforts by Tehran to establish a stronger presence within the region, Iran is just simply not on the radar for many.

When asked their opinion on Iran, around one quarter and above of all respondents from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan replied with the answer “Don’t Know” over several different waves of the Central Asia Barometer study.

In addition, the number of those who report a very unfavorable opinion of Iran has steadily risen from 2017 onward. Perhaps residents of these nations are hesitant to accept another large external partner within the region, given the influence which China and Russia already wield. It is conceivable that Central Asian policymakers would consider the possible implications that the Iranian exportation of the Islamic revolution could have upon their own populations, given that Central Asian nations have fought to establish themselves as independent states both politically and culturally in the wake of the Soviet Union.

Despite negative sentiments surrounding Iran held by residents of these countries, there are many who have planted themselves firmly in the middle - unaware of this nation and its priorities at all. Iran remains unproven and unknown, but its priorities for the region - in particular, security and access to water - are highly salient for the growth of individual Central Asian nations.

Will Iran’s repositioning towards Central Asia allow 2. Iran as a Potential Future Supplemental External Partner Tehran to contribute to a new multipolar environment to challenge China’s economic hegemony within the Kazakhstan is a nation that is linked to Iran through its region? While Iran is unlikely to become a direct rival joint participation in international conflict resolution, of China in the short term, Tehran’s “Look East” policy with the former often serving as the host for Iranian could provide a new set of opportunities for Central nuclear negotiations. Trade has also increased between Asia. these two nations as well, with the introduction of the East Caspian Rail Corridor in 2014 providing a faster Looking forward, Iran must continue to engage the naand cheaper route for moving goods (and potentially tions of Central Asia on a bilateral basis, determining passengers) along a route meaningfully linking Iran and the most mutually beneficial avenues for meaningful rapprochement. Tehran should also look to sell its ecoKazakhstan. nomic vision for the region through enhanced collabDespite Uzbekistan’s previous reluctance to develop a oration with regional economic integration projects. relationship with Iran, bilateral relations between these Iran has received preliminary approval to become a full nations have flourished. Potential transit corridors have member of the Russian-Sino-led Shanghai Cooperation been discussed amid Uzbekistan-Iranian trade having Organization and under the chairmanship of Russia, the increased exponentially, namely in agricultural pro- Eurasian Economic Union penned a major preferential duction. Both nations collaborated during the Afghan trade deal with the Middle Eastern country. Continuing peace process; an issue of especially high priority for along this path and in the process raising its profile Iran, which had set its sights on an enhanced role in beyond an unknown and alien actor in the eyes of orregional security. By working with Uzbekistan, a major dinary citizens in Central Asia would present both Iran power within the region, Iran has inserted itself into and Central Asia with a unique position. a position where it is perhaps overperforming when you consider the catastrophic challenges Tehran faces Elizabeth Woods domestically - perhaps foreshadowing a future mandate Elizabeth Woods is a research fellow at to grapple with such large-scale issues on a grander Central Asia Barometer and an anthroscale in the future. pology graduate student at the University of Tübingen. Her research focuses on Kyrgyzstan was the sole nation in the region to sucKazakh return migrants and questions of cessfully sign a 10-year cooperation deal with Iran in identity, belonging, and homeland.

2016 and was the first to acquire dock space in Iran’s Gulf of Oman Chabahar port in 2007. Such access to the sea is especially important for the land-locked CenThomas Baker is a research fellow at Central Asian nations, who are vying for such trade routes tral Asia Barometer. After completing his and facilities. India also helped secure access to Chamaster’s degree at King’s College Lonbahar for Turkmenistan, opening a gateway for trade don’s Russia Institute, he now works as to the region through Turkmenistan as well. It appears an OSINT country risk researcher for the that Iran and India are directly addressing this practical Former Soviet Union region at S&P Global. need, bolstering relations and further opportunities for collaboration as well.

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OPINION

A ‘STAN’ NO MORE? – SHOULD KAZAKHSTAN CHANGE ITS NAME? In recent months, in a bid to rebrand and distance itself from its often turbulent neighbours, the perennial question of whether Kazakhstan should change its name has raised its head once more. First mooted by Nursultan Nazarbayev back in February 2014, the former president argued that the ending ‘Stan’ led many people to lump Kazakhstan in not only with the other nations of Central Asia but also with hotspots such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the words of the Director of the Kazakhstan Risk Assessment Group and member of the presidium of the Kazakhstan Council on International Relations, Dosym Satpayev, ‘in the outside world there has long been the stereotype of Central Asia as the region of the five ‘Stans,’ although in general political terms Kazakhstan and its neighbours still greatly differ from one another.’ So, how much should be read into a name, and what are the potential benefits and drawbacks of a change?

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To begin with, it should be noted that there are a plethora of examples of countries which are known by one name internally and another externally. A prime example of this is Georgia, which locals call ‘Sakartvelo,’ derived from the Georgian region of Kartli, which was also known as Iberia in Byzantine and Classical sources.

Though there are multiple theories as to why foreign designations for Georgia came to be, it is widely held that the Russian name ‘Gruzya’ and the Western name came from the Persian moniker for the area, ‘Gurğān,’ meaning ‘land of the wolves.’ Staying with this region, the external name for the breakaway Republic of Artsakh is even more convoluted, with the name ‘Nagorno-Karabakh,’ meaning ‘Black Mountain Garden,’ coming from an amalgam of three languages: Turkish, Persian, and Russian.

A country choosing to change its name is not without precedent, and happens more frequently than one might initially think, and for a variety of reasons. Recent examples would be Macedonia becoming North Macedonia, and the Czech Republic rebranding as Czechia.

In the case of North Macedonia, this change was made to end a long-standing dispute with Greece which had been a source of instability in the Western Balkans and effectively stymied Macedonia’s attempts to join NATO and the European Union, but with Czechia, the change came to pass for more aesthetic reasons.

When Czechoslovakia broke apart in 1993, the Czech part of the name was slated to serve as the name of the new Czech state, but many felt that ‘Česko’ sounded harsh and was too reminiscent of ‘Československo.’ Statesman and playwright Václav Havel stated that ‘slugs crawl on me a little whenever I read or hear the word ‘Česko,’ whilst the explorer Miroslav Zikmund associated it with Hitler’s Nuremberg rallies. According to Petr Pavlínek, a member of the Civic Initiative Czechia which was launched in 1997 and campaigned for a change in the country’s name: ‘People were concerned that the name Bohemia (which translates as Čechy) was increasingly used for the entire country even though Bohemia only covers the western half of Czechia. Bohemia does not include Moravia or Silesia.

[Now] both Czechia and the Czech Republic are correct. Countries usually have two official names: a formal name and a short name. Short names are much more practical than formal names. Eventually, many Czechs will realise that Czechia makes a lot of sense in a similar way that Austria, Slovakia, Croatia, Indonesia, Australia and other short country names do. It’s only a matter of getting used to it.’

time there’s a cost – a physical cost in changing the identity.’ Olivier estimated it would set the country back $6 million to change its name, a figure which is ‘not insignificant’ for a minnow nation.

Of course, budgetary issues are not such a pressing concern for natural resource rich Kazakhstan. However, whilst arguing in favour of a change, Dosym Satpayev stated that ‘from which sources the state will take the resources for rebranding is not known,’ before concluding that the burden would be considerable and would likely come from the National Fund and tapping into taxpayers.

Kazakhstan is no stranger to name changes, or change in general. In 2021, the government long-mooted announced plans to switch from Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet, and this on top of an earlier transition from Arabic to Latin, and then to Cyrillic. Between 1991 and Other factors to consider include the cost of a change, 2005, three oblasts, twelve cities, 53 districts, and 957 and whether the new name will take root. An example smaller settlements were renamed, Alma-Ata becomof the latter would be Kyrgyzstan, which may officially ing Almaty, Guriyev becoming Atyrau, etc., though in be called the ‘Kyrgyz Republic,’ but few people refer to many cases this was done to replace Soviet-era names it as such. In terms of the cost, meanwhile, in 2018 one with Kazakh names. More recently, following eleven of the world’s last remaining absolute monarchs, His years of lobbying, in 2019, the capital, Astana, formerRoyal Highness, King Mswati III told a crowd gathered ly known as Akmolinsk, and then as Tselinograd, was at a small sports stadium that Swaziland was no more, rebranded Nur-Sultan in honour of former president and henceforth the ‘country will be officially known as Nazarbayev, though given his fall from grace following the Kingdom of eSwatini,’ meaning ‘Home of the Swazi the uprising in January, this should perhaps serve as a people.’ According to the intellectual property lawyer, cautionary tale.

Darren Olivier, although ‘there’s intrinsic value in that identity and what it means for the people, at the same

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OPINION

Unsurprisingly, talk of a change of name has met with a hostile reception in Russia, with the tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda opining that: ‘It is exactly with this sort of talk that many interethnic conflicts began in the post-Soviet lands. When Moldavia became Moldova, when Tajikistan became Tojikiston, when Chechnya became Ichkeria and Yugoslavia became a cluster of warring microstates.’ Putting this revanchist imperialism to one side, however, aside from the obvious rebranding and distancing the country from its arguably less stable neighbours, what are the arguments for a change, and what alternatives are on the table?

The option favoured by MP and Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security, Aidos Sarym, and leader of the ‘constructive opposition’ party, Ak Zhol, Azat Peruashev, is ‘Kazakh Republic.’ This name would ‘restore historic justice and boost unity and amity among all ethnicities,’ argues Peruashev.

Another possible moniker is ‘Kazakhia,’ which would chime with the former president’s praise for the name ‘Mongolia.’ This option may not fare well with nationalists, however, as it would bear distinct similarities to names in Russian, such as Rossiya (Russia) and Turtsiya (Turkey).

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Former president Nazarbayev’s suggestion was ‘Kazakh Yeli,’ which means ‘country of the Kazakhs,’ whereas Kazakhstan means ‘land of the Kazakhs.’ As ethnic Kazakhs account for 63.1% of the population, ethnic Russians 23.7%, and a veritable smorgasbord including Ukrainians, Uyghurs, Germans and Koreans in a land which was home to some of the largest Soviet-era gulags, there is an argument that Kazakh Yeli would be more inclusive. Kazakhstan is predominantly Muslim, but also has a sizeable Orthodox Christian community, and a change to Kazakh Yeli may be welcomed by citizens who are not ethnically Kazakh as a path to forming a national identity they can embrace. Despite the spectacular downfall of Nazarbayev, therefore, there may be a case for not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

by Stephen M. Bland

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OPINION

KAZAKHSTAN - NEW NAME, NEW LIFE, NEW TARGETS

‘You call your luxury yacht “Titanic,” and it sinks soon after that.’

Does the issue sound relevant to you? Can the name really determine the future? We won’t dig into the roots of the question, but if it makes sense to you, then let’s continue with this point: name is destiny. That’s why it’s so important for every nation to have a name which fits it, and why the Republic of Kazakhstan needs this change so badly.

The renaming and rebranding of the country is not just an attempt to distract attention from some political and economic issues. It’s an endeavour to find a new path for the whole state. Historically, Kazakhstan is a very diverse land uniting three zhuzs (union of tribes), and over a hundred tribes and different groups in north, south, east and west.The territory of Kazakhstan is extremely fragmented, and at the beginning of the summer 2022 three more new provinces were added to the map.

Due to public disagreements, in recent times, political, economic, social and other issues have become more complex.This means that the main idea Kazakh officials should keep in their minds - and to a large part they do - is how to build a holistic state with a common ideal. In this case, the question of the name appears to be more complicated than it might initially seem.

The current name, ‘Kazakhstan’ (‘Qazaqstan’ – literally, the ‘land of the Kazakhs’) has some inherent contradictions. On the one hand, it’s the name of a territory but not the state, and therefore doesn’t contain any idea of the nation. ‘Stan’ is most likely derived from Slavic language groups, and usually means a limited inhabited area, which doesn’t represent the traditional nomadic mentality and lifestyle of ethnic Kazakhs. The Proto-Indo-European root ‘sta’ means to ‘stand.’ In Russian, ‘stan’ means ‘settlement’ or ‘semi-permanent camp,’ and in other Slavic languages it means ‘apartment.’ Experts in Kazakhstan have also asserted that

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this name doesn’t work well for the external brand of the country. This is why it makes no sense to use any “territorial” name, such as the ‘Great Qazaq Steppe’ (though it’s perhaps a very interesting name in terms of marketing, it could only be an informal one). So, in 2014, Nursultan Nazarbayev (the president at that time) proposed the new name ‘Qazaq Eli,’ literally ‘the State of the Kazakhs.’

Of course, some patriotic native Kazakhs supported that idea, and the name itself sounds good, but unlike ‘Kazakhstan,’ it doesn’t take into consideration the multinational composition of the country. Not all ethnic groups are ready to declare themselves ‘Kazakhs’ or agree that Kazakhs are the only ones leading the nation. Within the Kazakh ethnic group there is no consensus either, because there are at least three zhuzs (families) - elder, middle and younger - divided into tribes, so the question about power remains open.

At the beginning of the 20 century, an attempt to give the country the name of a nation was made - it sounded like ‘Alash-Orda’ (meaning ‘people’s republic,’) but it didn’t work.The term ‘Republic’ isn’t particularly useful, and the idea of changing ‘Kazakhstan’ to ‘Qazaq Republic’ didn’t get a huge amount of support. Now, the current president of Kazakhstan, K.-Z. Tokayev has noted that a united nation is important more than ever, and this is not only about the union of people who actually live in Kazakhstan but also about kandas (literally, ‘one blooded persons’) aka oralman (ancient Kazakh tribes representatives born and raised in other countries).

More than a million oralman have already come to Kazakhstan and tried to find their place in the community.

Perhaps the best concept, therefore, is a name which reflects not only the mono-structural but also the multi-structural organisation of the state, as is the case with the ‘United Kingdom’,’ the ‘United States of America’,’ or the ‘United Arab Emirates,’ for example.

These names give some sense of identity to each na-

tional group without losing the main territorial idea of a holistic country. Such names are also very effective name in terms of the international brand, showing democracy and the power of the state, and its modern way of life.

If ‘United,’ though, the next question is ‘United’ what?

It could be the ‘United Qazaq Republic,’ but as we have already seen, the term ‘Republic’ doesn’t sit well with historical notions of Kazakh identity based on tribal rules of power. The name ‘United Qazaq Steppe’ is more striking and catches one’s attention with its uniqueness. This name might be a good marketing trick in terms of tourism, but it would be the same thing as ‘Qazaq-stan’ - the name of a territory, but not a nation.

A highly authentic name could be the ‘United Qazaq Zhuz.’ Unfortunately, however, this might be a bit narrow to describe the wide variety of peoples that live in the territory of modern Kazakhstan.

whole together. Such a name doesn’t contain a strong territorial tag, but describes a community of lands united by the idea of a common state. Of course, this is only a suggestion, and an analysis of economic or other risks was not the aim of this article, which was simply to attempt to find a new way of understanding the complicated path of the nation in its quest for identity and sustainability.

by Marat Akhmedjanov & Taina Kaunis

So, perhaps the ‘Birikken Qazaq Eli’ (‘United Qazaq State’) or Birikken Qazaq Dostastiq (‘United Qazaq Commonwealth’) are the best options. They both sound powerful, reflect the key identity and give some autonomy to different districts whilst still keeping the

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HISTORY

THE SHAKESPEARE OF THE TURKIC WORLD 130TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OUTSTANDING AZERBAIJANI DRAMATIST, HUSEYN JAVID “Damn all life, all the Universe, if all the glorious world wars, bloody battles won’t generate love in the end, universal love” Huseyn Javid, Extract from the play “Amir Timur

Biography The outstanding poet and playwright, Huseyn Javid, was born in 1882 in the ancient Azerbaijani city of Nakhichevan. His father was a theologian, but was also known as an expert on eastern poetry and music.After graduating from a mollakhana, an elementary school, where Javid learnt to read and write, he entered fourgrade school, Mektebi-terbiye, which was founded by Mohammed Tagi Sidgi, one of famous educators at the end of the 19th Century. After leaving school, Javid

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wanted to continue his education, but acute eye illness compelled him to go to Tabriz for treatment, where his elder brother was living. In 1905, Javid went to Turkey where for a year he prepared himself for preliminary courses of the famous Turkish poet and philosopher, Rzy Tevfik, and then entered the literary department of Istanbul University. Although a first-year student, he also attended second year lectures. He experienced material difficulties in Turkey, pointing out in one of his letters: “I manage to live for weeks on only bread and cheese”. In letters the young student sharply criticized the regime of Sultan Abdulhamid who “fiercely smothers political freedom, and freedom of speech, thought and conscience. The word “independence” is strictly forbidden here”. In 1909, Javid returned home and began to teach Azerbaijani language and literature at schools in Tiflis (Tbilisi), Gandja, and Nakhichevan. His poems, and then his plays were published in the press at that time.

In 1918, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic declared independence, the first such independent republic in the Muslim East. The process of national revival had begun and Javid moved to Baku. His works were published in big print runs during this period, and he was named the “Shakespeare of the Turkic World”.

In 1920, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was conquered by the Red Army. Javid took the liquidation of

independence hard and, though his works continued to be staged and he himself was included in the structure of the Union of Writers of Azerbaijan, on principal he did not write works to propagandize Soviet power. He would be blamed for it later.

On 4th June 1937, Javid was arrested. The file of the criminal case shows that the investigation lasted almost two years, but he could not be forced to slander himself or any of his friends and acquaintances. Despite being very ill, thrown into a rough cell, and exhausted by interrogations lasting many days, he stuck to his convictions. In June 1939, a special meeting, a “troika” (a group of three people) considered his case for 25 minutes and accepted the final charge: “Huseyn Javid is accused of being a member of a counter-revolutionary, nationalist organization in Baku. In essence, Huseyn Javid did not admit his guilt under interrogation”. Javid was sentenced to a labour camp in Siberia for eight years. Javid died in Magadan on 5th December 1941, before the end of his sentence. In March 1956, the criminal case against Javid was reviewed, and, in the absence of any evidence of a crime, he was rehabilitated.

Poetic Creativity Javid’s first poem was printed in the Baku magazine “Fiyuzat” in 1906, and the first collection of his poems, “The Past Days”, was published in 1913. A new collection, “Spring Dew”, was published in 1917. Besides lyrical verses, young Javid also wrote social poems. His demands for social reform drew the attention of the imperial police, who became interested in his political orientation in 1914.

Javid become famous as a poet-humanist with his works, where motifs of philosophical lyrics, questions of humanism, and philanthropy were reflected. However, the awful events at the beginning of the 20th Century, the start of the First World War convinced Javid of the need to overcome abstract-political conclusions and representations, and, by writing dramatic works, to show people the roots of all the evil. Javid started to write play-poems, and dramatic poems, the sources of which go back to Mohammed Fizuli’s poems and William Shakespeare’s tragedies.

Dramaturgy Javid’s dramas played a huge role in the formation of Azerbaijani literature of the 20th Century, especially

its romantic direction. Javid’s first play, “Sheyda”, was written in 1913.The play showed that in Javid’s dramatical art the main “romantic theme” is one of love and passion, before which there are no barriers.

His play, “Sheikh Sanan”, was published in 1914. This was a romantic tragedy directed against racial and religious struggles, singing about people and love.The hero of the play, Sheikh Sanan, was on the boundary of two epochs, in search of spiritual and moral values which he could not find in habitual society, so he was torn into other worlds, trying to find love and hope.

Publication of the play “Iblis” (literally, Satan) in 1918 was like a bolt from the blue. The aggravated historical cataclysms of his time allowed the author to see clearly in these events originally tragic embodiments of Satanism. Heroes of this type had been created in European dramatic art before Javid’s time: Milton, Mephistopheles, and Goethe’s Satan, Byron’s Lucifer, Lermontov’s Demon. But Javid’s play was not about the casting of a Mephistophelean type of hero. Javid brought the Satan closer to life, forcing him to participate in what was un-

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HISTORY Scenic Life of Javid’s Works His plays, “Iblis”, “Sheikh Sanan”, “Sheyda”, “Afet”, and “Topal Tejmur” were staged in his lifetime. The longest running plays were “Iblis” (till 1925) and “Sheikh Sanan” (till 1930).The works were a great success, and played a big role in the formation of Azerbaijani drama theatre.

The huge influence of Javid’s works was also recognized by the inspectors who conducted his criminal case. It was not by chance, that in his criminal case it was recorded that: “As a skilled playwright, he influenced the youth. He has created his own “school”, in opposition to the Soviet school”.

Despite the popularity in Central Asia during the 1920s and 1930s, Javid’s works were forbidden after he had been repressed, and his plays were staged again only after his rehabilitation. His last, completed, large work, “Khayyam”, was staged for the first time in 1970.

Life after Death

attractive in it. In the image of the Satan he pursues the aim of finding an original cause of the defects, having plunged people into their troubles: world war, hatred of one another, ruin, death, and grief. Everything is the result of the revelry of demonic forces unleashed by the malicious will of rulers. Javid’s Satan shows in what conditions crimes are born, how people themselves become demons and how these demons start to walk over the world, bearing their plans for war, cataclysms, and terror.

In addition to historical plays: “Prince”, “Siyavush”, “Topal Teymur” (“Amir Timur”) and philosophical plays: “Mother”, “Khayyam”, “Maral”, “Prophet”, “Iblis’s Revenge”, from 1910 to 1926, Javid wrote nine plays, six of which are about the pre-revolutionary period. According to his daughter, Turan Khanum, the manuscripts of the plays “Attila”, “Chingiz”, “Inspiration of a Demon”, “Shahla”, “Telli Saz”, and the scenario “Keroglu” disappeared during the arrests and searches of 1937. After the rehabilitation of her father she asked the security service to find and return these works. But it seemed that all the works had been burnt.

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A house-museum in Baku and, later, a house-museum in Nakhichevan were created for the playwright’s 100th anniversary. In 1982, thanks to the efforts of the head of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, Javid’s grave was found in a cemetery of the repressed in Siberia. His coffin was transported home and reburied in Nakhichevan. Javid’s drama, “Amir Timur”, was shown on Azerbaijani television in 1983.

Since independence, Javid’s works have often been republished in Azerbaijani and other languages, a “Theatre of Poetry of Huseyn Javid” was organized, and streets, parks, schools, and cinemas were named after him. A monument to Javid was erected in Baku in 1993.

In 1996, a mausoleum, in the style of medieval mausoleums of Azerbaijan, was built over the poet’s grave in Nakhichevan. Visitors to Nakhichevan, whether they are tourists or businessmen, should visit the tomb of the man rightly called “Shakespeare of the Turkic World” in his lifetime.

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PEOPLE

SHARAF RASHIDOV – MAN AND POLITICIAN CELEBRATING THE 105TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH In the autumn of 2022 the 105th anniversary of the birth of Sharaf Rashidovich Rashidov will be celebrated. A famous statesman of Uzbekistan and the Soviet Union, he made a huge personal contribution to the economic and social development of Uzbekistan between 1959-83 when he was leader of the ruling Communist Party of the Republic.

October 31, 2022 will mark the 39th anniversary of Rashidov’s death. The past years have been full of events, including those related to the memory of this man. Initially, the government passed a major resolution to perpetuate his name, but soon after a campaign sought to discredit him posthumously. In the 1980s, a wave of publications continued for several years in the central media, in which Rashidov was essentially declared the organiser and inspirer of all kinds of negative phenomena in Uzbekistan. The decree on perpetuating Rashidov’s memory was revoked. His ashes were reburied from the city centre to the Chigatay city cemetery.

Nevertheless, Uzbekistan has maintained a deep respect for Rashidov’s memory throughout these years. People never believed the slanderous publications and far-fetched accusations against him. In 2017, the country widely celebrated the 100th anniversary of Rashidov. During the celebrations in Jizzakh, President Mirziyoyev opened a monument to him in

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his homeland. The district of Jizzakh was renamed the Sharaf Rashidov district.

In 1991 I was given a unique opportunity to obtain access, to the “holy of holies” - the previously closed documents of the Party Archives of Uzbekistan. The documents of Rashidov’s personal file, his extensive personal correspondence, and other archival documents as well as meetings and conversations with dozens of associates and my personal observations helped to dismiss the accusations against him in the media in the 1980s.

In the course of my work with documents and reflections, I began to form an image of a rare and multi-faceted and talented prodigy. He was a real Uzbek intellectual, encyclopaedically educated, who had an infused desire to do good for others. Rashidov sharply suppressed attempts to distort reporting, embezzlement, deception of the state, and demanded that those who allowed this be brought to justice.

He did not tolerate lies, deceit, and parade.

One of the main sources of information about Rashidov as a man and a politician is his personal correspondence. His rich epistolary archive makes a powerful impression. Rashidov’s correspondence reveals the generosity of his soul and the

kindness of his heart, as well as the love and great respect that he enjoyed not only in Uzbekistan but also beyond its borders.

Rashidov sincerely loved people, reaching out to them, and they reciprocated in return. As First Secretary of the Central Committee, he spent a lot of time on business trips.

He was constantly in the midst of people. He finds warm words for everyone he talks to. After a conversation with him, people would leave feeling elated and inspired. His respectful and sincere attitude, coupled with deep attention to the person he was talking to, easily won people over. Rashidov impressed many people with his talent for communication, kindness, caring, and ability to hold a captivating and exciting conversation with his interlocutors. They admired his profound knowledge of ancient and modern history and modern literature.

Studying the letters, memoirs of comrades-in-arms and other documents, one concludes: in Moscow, in the Politburo, in ministries and departments, in the union republics, Rashidov’s human and business potential, his intelligence, friendliness and internationalism were very highly valued. Uzbekistan under his leadership was a winner in the All-Union socialist competition from year to year. All this aroused respect in Moscow.

There is no doubt that Rashidov’s role in the rapid development of Uzbekistan’s productive forces in the 1960s-1980s was significant, and perhaps even decisive. He understood that the republic had a high population growth rate. In 1959, there were 8.5 million people, while in 1983 there were 17.0 million. In less than 24 years the population had doubled.

He saw that it was necessary to create new jobs, and improve the conditions and quality of life of people. He helped develop and irrigate new lands, build new roads, cities, and develop new sectors of the economy.

As a result, in the 1960s-80s the agrarian republic was transformed into an agrarian-industrial republic. More than 2 million hectares of new lands were watered and developed, hundreds of industrial enterprises were built in all regions.

Among them are the famous giants of non-ferrous metallurgy and gold mining, such as the Almalyk and Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combines.Thousands of kilometres of new roads and railroads, dozens of cities and towns appeared on the map of the republic.

Hi work couldn’t have been carried out without his team.

Rashidov’s talent as an outstanding organiser, deep insight, and knowledge of people and their psychology, allowed him to select and place people around him who could work selflessly. These were creative, ambitious, enterprising people, excellent organisers and specialists. They worked confident-

ly, constantly felt the business support, attention, and respect of Rashidov. When necessary, the leader of the Republic came to their aid, appealed to the Centre and the Union ministries to solve the most difficult issues.

Fate and history had wished Sharaf Rashidov to be “in the right place at the right time”. After heading Uzbekistan for almost a quarter of a century under the conditions of a centralised union state, limitation of rights and possibilities of the republics, thanks to the rarest gift of man and politician Sharaf Rashidov managed to achieve the maximum possible for its social and economic development. A powerful scientific, industrial and social infrastructure was created, as well as an atmosphere of friendship and co-operation among millions of people of different nationalities.

Sharaf Rashidov has remained in the hearts and memory of millions of people. The following lines of the great poet Alisher Navoi are fully applicable to him, a faithful son of the Uzbek people: Since the best of men must pass through Death’s portal, Happy is he who makes his name immortal.

Information about the author: Rizaev Saidakbar Rizaevich - Doctor of Historical Sciences, Director of Scientific-Technical Enterprise “ITM-TASHABBUS” Ltd.

E-mail: rizaev41@mail.ru

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EVENT

M@RCH CONTACT INTERNATIONAL FORUM The International Youth Theatre Forum “M@rch.Contact” dates back to 2006. The city of Mogilev of the Republic of Belarus plays host each year. To date, the Forum is one of the most anticipated cultural events in Belarus in the theatrical arena. In its fifteen-year history, the Forum has gathered participants from more than twenty countries. On its stage it has shown at least two hundred performances, which have been watched by over forty thousand spectators. Theatre troupes from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Israel and many others have taken part in the festival.

The opening of the theatre forum takes place on the stage of the Mogilev Regional Drama Theatre, the oldest theatre in the region, founded in 1888. It is noteworthy that during the First World War (1914-1918), the Russian Emperor Nicholas II was in Mogilev. Since there were few cultural institutions in the city, he regularly visited the city theatre, and the place he usual-

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ly had occupied has since been called the “Imperial”.

By the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus in 2008, the building of the city theatre was included in the State List of Historical and Cultural Values of the Republic of Belarus.

The infrastructure of “M@rch.Contact” is quite extensive and diverse. During the theatre week, in addition to the main venue, guests are invited to the Mogilev Regional Puppet Theatre, the Mogilev Concert Hall, the Regional Centre for Creativity, as well as improvised open-air scenes on pedestrian streets of the city.

At the theatre festival, performances on the topic of mass culture and the global Internet, personality formation, love and relationships in the family, relations between parents and children and much more are offered to the audiences. The program of the forum is extensive and grows every year so that every par-

ticipant can find a performance to their taste. To the attention of foreign guests of the city and the country, national Belarusian productions with local flavour and entourage are presented, fascinating with their depth and understandable simplicity even to the most sophisticated viewer.

tional theatre productions and innovative live communication with the audience, allows you to plunge yourself into the atmosphere of creativity and stage magic, meet new people, as well as become acquainted with a new country and its distinctive culture.

by Irina Yegorova

Within the framework of the youth forum, master classes are held for actors, directors and other employees and students of the theatre sphere, along with discussions held in the format of creative meetings to exchange opinions and discuss productions.

The founders of the forum are the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus, the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee and the Mogilev Regional Drama Theatre. In 2022, eleven creative teams from Belarus, Russia, Moldova, and Armenia took part in the forum.

The theatre forum, which combines the best of tradi-

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NATURE

INTRODUCING THE DESERT MONITOR

The desert monitor is a large lizard, reminiscent of a dragon, and commanding instinctive respect from anyone who sees it. It is common throughout the Central Asian steppe, can weigh up to 3 kg and grow up to one and a half metres long.

Desert monitors can also be found in North Africa and Southeast Asia. It mainly inhabits sandy deserts and is very well adapted to harsh environments.

The desert monitor’s primary color is brownish with circumferential stripes, which allows it to blend easily into the desert landscape. It can also change colour to match its surroundings, and is diurnal.

Each year, females over the age of four lay up to 20 eggs in their burrows. Hatchlings crawl up to the surface, where they are left to fend completely for themselves - not all of them surviving this process. The average lifespan of a desert monitor is around 10 years.

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There are many myths pertaining to this unique lizard.

For instance, it is said that it can break a dog’s leg with its tail, and bite off a human finger with its sharp teeth.

The Uzbek name for the desert monitor is “echkemar”, which means “creature which sucks goats’ milk”. It is probably associated with yet another myth that this lizard creeps into barns at night, wraps its tail around goats’ legs, and drinks their milk.

The English name of the monitor lizard is representative of its lifestyle. Roaming regularly through colonies of rodents, it eats not only unwary inhabitants, but any living creature within its grasp: birds, smaller lizards, snakes, insects and sometimes hares, hedgehogs and turtles.

Despite being a terror to all small desert inhabitants, young desert monitors may themselves become a larger predator’s lunch; birds of prey and foxes being their enemy. When feeling threatened, the lizard hisses, expands its body by inhaling, and strikes out with its tail, lashing it from side to side. Its numerous small teeth are well suited to holding its prey. Males often use their teeth to fight off potential rivals during the mating season. However, desert monitors prefer to retreat when they encounter humans.

These lizards can remain in hibernation for as long as one and a half years. In cooler weather, they are not as fast as they are under the hot summer sun, when they can demonstrate unexpected agility and sprint short distances at amazing speed. Desert monitors can easily climb small trees and enter various burrows, enlarging them if necessary.

In the 20th Century, desert monitor leather came into fashion, and they were killed in tens of thousands. This led to a sharp drop in their numbers in the wild, and in some areas they became extinct. The situation was worsened by the encroachment of cultivation into their habitats. Nowadays the desert monitor species are included in the Red Book of the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and national Red Books of countries where this animal is still found.

Intrepid naturalists may see this unusual lizard in Tashkent Zoo or on an adventurous trip to Central Asian deserts.

Alexander Esipov Helen Bykova

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ELOCOGY

GREENING CITIES THROUGH GREEN CAMPUSES Over the past few years, the themes of sustainable development and the challenges related to climate change are rapidly moving from the pages of academic journals and academic conferences to the front pages of popular newspapers, TV talk shows, and social media. Even everyday discussions of ordinary citizens often go around the topics of climate abnormalities and the impact of weather changes on everyday planning and lifestyle.

Indeed, we all have concerns about many issues that have emerged from climate change. How to react to unusual heat in our cities? How to react to the increasingly high level of air pollution in our districts? How to react to the disappearance of green parks and trees around our counties?

Of course, our politicians, government officials, city councils, and members of parliament work on addressing those problems at macro development levels, as they make important decisions, introduce laws, and regulate businesses and economic activities. Diplomats

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are busy crafting inter-government treaties and agreements, which are designed to improve international cooperation in dealing with pollution and climate change at state, regional and global levels.

However, there is still a place for ordinary citizens and especially for creative youth to contribute to solving global sustainability challenges at local levels. As the ancient Central Asian proverb says: “if every person will plant even one flower, the whole world will become a garden!”

For example, universities and university campuses have huge potential, especially if they are located within the cities. Universities and university campuses have huge technological potential to become central in identifying innovative technological development and technological ways to make our cities smarter. They also have the intellectual potential for social innovations and for mobilising activists at the community level on a small scale but in a smart way. Importantly, they can create, plan and implement concrete projects both inside and

and scooters inside and outside of their campus. They plant and replant trees and flowers inside and outside of the campus making both the campus and city even greener. In addition, students promote recycling ideas like switching from traditional plastic bottles to the usage of recyclable and multiuser bottles. Many students are also involved in various innovative initiatives, like eco-trons, eco-startups, and eco-innovations. There is also a proposal that students’ assignments should focus on practical sustainable development solutions, instead of writing on vague topics just for getting grades. The laboratories and experimental plots of the university make their contributions by working on the selection of new plants, bushes, and trees, which are better adapted for vertical city gardening, absorbing CO2, and for climate change.

The opportunities for implementation of the Green Campus concept are limitless. Practically every Central Asian republic and many countries in Europe have hundreds of thousands of students who can make not only intellectual but also practical contributions to greening their cities by developing, designing, and implementing their very own smart green and innovative ideas for their campuses and their cities and ultimately contributing to addressing global climate change challenges. outside university campuses. Over the past few years,

by Rafis Abazov the concept of a Green Campus increasingly become popular among students and faculty members.

Rafis Abazov, Ph.D., is a visiting professor at Kazakh National Agrarian University (KazNARU) and a director of the Take the example of Kazakh National Agrarian Re- Institute for Green and Sustainable Development. He is the search University (KazNARU) - which is located in one author of The Formation of Post-Soviet International Poliof the central districts of Almaty city in Kazakhstan.The tics in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan (1999),The entire university community – teachers, administrators, Culture and Customs of the Central Asian Republics (2007), and students – have begun working together on the The Stories of the Great Steppe (2013), and some others. development of the concept of a ‘Green Campus’ by regularly brainstorming smart ideas for greening the campus and adopting smart technologies and innovations to make their campus even greener and smarter.

The discussion of concepts of a Green Campus have allowed students and faculty members to analyse what should be done and to develop a systematic approach for planning and doing, even more, both today and in the future. Students and faculty members of KazNARU – like their colleagues and classmates from other universities in Kazakhstan and many other countries in Europe – have started from small projects. For example, they have increased the use of electric bicycles

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HERITAGE

THE MYSTERIOUS CAVE SPRING

DISCOVERING THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF KAZAKHSTAN Zhylagan-ata is located in the Turkestan region, it is included in the map of sacred Kazakhstan and is among the most valuable monuments of the country’s natural heritage. The legend of this place is characterised by the places of a special child. But no one knows the secret of the cave waterfall, however because of the legend many people believe in the healing power of the place.

According to legend, there was an old man named Gurzikhan. He was rich, but he and his wife had no children. At the time when Islam came to the Kazakh land, Gurzikhan converted to Islam, became a Muslim, and he and his wife went to the ridges of Mount Karatau to ask God for a child. Accepting the will of God, ShashAna’s mother gave birth to a child, but the child was born wrapped in a wineskin (a wineskin made of whole goat skin). Then Kydyr Ata gave Gurzikhan a vision. In this dream, he said: your wife should revile him for a while, but the child will not talk, will not laugh and will not cry. When his time comes, he will be born on his own and will leave his wineskin.

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But some time passed, and the child was in no hurry. One day, when the mother got tired of wearing it, coming closer to the river (the river is located near the village of Igilik, not far from the cave of Zhylagan Ata), she angrily said: “Oh, my God, why do I have such torments, in my old age, to carry this burden in myself!”. As soon as she said that, the boy jumped out off the wineskin and ran away. His parents ran after him, hoping to catch up with him, but the boy did not stop.

He was running playfully along the road, but his parents were tired. Suddenly they were thirsty, they stopped, and the boy found hit the ground with a cane, after which a well appeared there. The well is called a Taskudyk (Stone Well). Currently, “taskuduk” is found along the way to the cave of Zhylagan-ata and is considered sacred. When the parents came to the well, the boy playing with a stone, for some reason, continued to ignore them. They could not catch up with their son, the son climbed high up the mountain, and suddenly said: “40 days were tolerated before my birth, there is only one day left, if you had suffered one more day, every-

thing would have been great, sorry!” He hid in a cave, and disappeared before their eyes.

Now this big cave consists of three large holes. The first hole appeared when the parents looked back at their son with hope, the second hole appeared when the Soviet government wanted to explore this place to solve the mystery. But they did not succeed. The third time they set off an explosion again, but the cave was covered with snakes.

Now the land of “Zhylagan Ata” is known for its sacred water flowing from this mountain cave, but water flows only when reading the Koran, and not just like that.

When a waterfall suddenly collapses, those who come to this place do not know, sometimes even one or two days will pass, sometimes weeks of waiting for water.

This taiga waterfall is popularly called “The Crying Old Man”, that is, Zhylagan ata. No matter how many domestic and foreign scientists have tried to test it with their instruments, their instruments refused to work.

No one can still say with certainty why the water flows

only at certain times. In front of this cave there is a stone resembling a human figure. They say that from time to time water comes out of the stone.

Many people remember that during the years of independence, many historical and cultural monuments and objects were reconstructed within the framework of the state program “Cultural Heritage” in order to change the spiritual orientation of the people. That is why sacred objects will forever remain in the hearts of people. If the generation is wise, there will be no shortage of the great steppe.

by Ainur Kumarkhanova

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CULTURE

A TURKMEN TOUR OF FASHION Simplicity without combinations Turkmen dress is simple and of the same type. Tunics worn next to the skin, wide trousers, gowns, fur coats, turbans, and takhi or tyubeteyki formed the basis of the wardrobes of both men and women.

National Clothing - Male Costume If we take the men’s national costume of any Central Asian nation, we see that headdress is given special attention. In Turkmenistan the telpek, a lambskin hat, is a sign of masculinity.

The telpek is special: in summer it protects from heat, in winter from cold, and in bad weather from rain.

Although there are drawbacks too: it is quite bulky and inconvenient for everyday life, especially when particular agricultural or other work had to be performed.

However, this is provided for. If necessary, the telpek can be taken off and hung on a nail or twig: beneath the telpekmen a small skullcap with Turkmen type embroidery of national ornaments is also worn. This avoids a bare head, which is considered indecent. Otherwise the telpek always adorns a man’s head. Removing the telpek from someone’s head in public is considered to be the worst of insults, which is often washed away in blood.

Turkmen dress is simple and of the same type. Tunics worn next to the skin, wide trousers, gowns, fur coats, National Clothing – Robes and Skirts turbans, and takhi or tyubeteyki formed the basis of the Turkmen women’s clothing, especially of those who wardrobes of both men and women. live in the southern regions of the country, attracts a lot of public attention with its embroidered headband National Clothing - Male Costume (chirpy), decorated robes (kurt), dresses (koynek), loose If we take the men’s national costume of any Central robes (chavyt, maldoi don, and sarytahta don).

Asian nation, we see that headdress is given special attention. In Turkmenistan the telpek, a lambskin hat, is In general, Turkmen women’s clothing retains its a sign of masculinity. simplicity of form and balance. The cut, successfully discovered and adapted to the life and climate, has The telpek was special: in summer it protected from not changed for centuries. Women’s clothing is mostly heat, in winter from cold, and in bad weather from rain. made of silk and cotton fabrics. In the making of tradi- Although there were drawbacks too: quite bulky and tional dresses (koynek), cloaks and wraps (kurt, chyrpy), inconvenient for everyday life, especially when particua silk cloth (keteni) in red, green, and purple is used. For lar agricultural or other work had to be performed. the tailoring of women’s loose coats (chavyt, maldoi don, However, this was provided for. If necessary, the telpek sarytahta don) fabrics such as sarytahta, gyrmyzydonlyk, could be taken off and hung on a nail or twig: beneath maldoi, cheppetou are used. the telpekmen wore a small skullcap with Turkmen type

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embroidery of national ornaments. This avoided a bare head, which was considered indecent. Otherwise the telpek always adorned a man’s head.

Removing the telpek from someone’s head in public was considered to be the worst of insults, which was often washed away in blood. To conclude this brief excursion into the past, I would like to note that the telpek is a unique and beautiful aspect of a hat, which still is worn by the vast majority of older and some middle-aged people.

National Clothing – Robes and Skirts Turkmen women’s clothing, especially of those who live in the southern regions of the country, attracts a lot of public attention with its embroidered headband (chirpy), decorated robes (kurt), dresses (koynek), loose robes (chavyt, maldoi don, and sarytahta don).

In general, Turkmen women’s clothing retains its simplicity of form and balance. The cut, successfully discovered and adapted to the life and climate, has not changed for centuries. Women’s clothing was mostly made of silk and cotton fabrics. In the making of traditional dresses (koynek), cloaks and wraps (kurt, chyrpy), a silk cloth (keteni) in red, green, and purple was used. For the tailoring of women’s loose coats (chavyt, maldoi don, sarytahta don) fabrics such as sarytahta, gyrmyzydonlyk, maldoi, cheppetou were used.

The clothing of rich people is decorated with embroidery. There are various methods of embroidery, - keshte, haym, kok, chigmet, ilme, kokdzheme, oram((two-sided looped and lower seams, satin stitch)) - ornamentation, which demonstrate the rich artistry and imagination of the seamstresses.

Natural dyes were used in the past. Red, in different shades (from dark red to brown, from bright red to magenta), was obtained from vegetable dyes, extracted from the stem and roots of the madder plant, grown in Turkmenistan, or imported from Iran. The blue dye nil (from the Arabic word for blue), was also imported from Iran, and was widely used among the population for dyeing wool and silk. For yellow dye, seamstresses used the shrubby plant sary chop, native to the mountains.

Women’s headrobes (chyrpy) were intended to be worn on special festival occasions. In the southern region there were chyrpy in three colours: white, yellow and green. They draw attention to form of construction, strictness of colour, great skill in execution, delicate taste and amazing bonding of decor with colour, texture, fabric and cut. The peculiarity of ornamentation in each gown is outstanding. They are executed in variable patterns of stylized forms. Vegetable ornaments, stylized images of animals, and household goods were used on some of the items. Still, the favourite motifs were flowers: lotus flowers, tulips, often enclosed in a circle or a diamond, which were used as a starting point for building compositions, right across the entire surface of the chyrpy.

The kurt (gizil kurt, yashyl kurt) is a type of gown-robe.

They are decorated with embroidery, but to a lesser extent than chyrpy. The most common symbolic T-shaped ornament was used on the sides and bottoms of these gowns.

A variety of gown-robes (chovdurok) is worn by women living in northern areas of the country, and are called

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CULTURE purendzhe or bash atgych. These days, such gowns are almost impossible to see in everyday use. Such clothes were made of red cloth or brocade fabric. The most common pattern is ghoul bossano, which has a vegetable origin, freely deployed on the entire surface of the gown.

For the draped headdress (byoreck), women from the Teke tribe use a head scarf (gynach). It is made of narrow strips of red, sometimes green keteni, and had a triangular shape. Two edges of the scarf are decorated with a broad woven ornamental band, adorned with long, wide tassels. Skilful use of ornamentation with white, black, and yellow flowers, in combination with the background, gives the shawl elegance and completeness.

National Turkmen costume is inconceivable without jewellery, which was once used as amulets, providing protection from diseases and sterility. If you look closely, you can see images of animals and insects in the jewellery, which once linked people with the elements of nature. Three to four year old girls wear bracelets, and clothes with pearl buttons and beads. The amount of decoration increases with age.

One of the interesting things is the small silver dome (kupby) that is worn on the head. Silver plates, ending with a fringe of hangers, are scattered from the edges of the dome throughout the skullcap. This hat, with a plume of feathers at the top, recalls a small helmet.

Maiden’s (tahya) and women’s(byoreck) headdresses are finished with set of plates, pendants, pins, and amulets covering the temples, and guarding the neck, chest and shoulders. The Turkmen folk song goes: “When the geese ... rise into the sky, then all the air is filled with their voices, when the girls go to fetch water, then all the air is filled with the ringing of jewelry.”

mental elements, but all Turkmen ornaments possess proportionality, conciseness, and massiveness.

Girl in Red A girl in red is the dream of every Turkmen bachelor.

Brides wore red dresses in the old days: a dress of red silk, on top of it a coat made of red cloth, below were red trousers. In addition, the groom at a wedding wore a red shirt, and children were also dressed in red.

Where does the love of red come from? Traditionally, red symbolised the life-giving forces of nature; it asThe amount and type of jewelry that a woman wore cribed magical properties to protect people, to help depended largely on her economic situation. On sol- them in life. The wearing of such clothes was considemn occasions, a woman from a wealthy family would ered the prerogative of children and youths, because of the belief in the beneficial effects of red. Colour in put on from six to eight kilogram’s of jewelry.

Turkmen clothing does not differ widely: it is dominated The ornaments are mostly silver, with inlays of natural by red-brown tones, and the presence of blue, green, stones: carnelian, which brings peace, joy and abundance yellow, pink, blue and violet, black and white is optional. according to ancient beliefs; turquoise, which improves The palette of colours, going from red to white, and vision; corals, giving richness and abundance of all fruits. the fading of color, marks mankind’s life from birth to The surfaces were covered with geometric and floral death. Young people wear bright clothes, in ageing the engraved patterns. Different tribes have different orna- color becomes lighter, pastel: green - the color for girls,

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yellow – for older women and mothers, white - only for old women. This colour gradation is strictly observed in female headdresses and capes. After marriage or the marriage of a child, clothing colour changes to white for mothers. Some groups of Turkmens wear yellow clothing on the second day after the wedding. Later, yellow scarves are worn for 2-3 days, and then are worn only at mourning ceremonies.

Decorating Clothes Turkmens decorate clothing very modestly: narrow geometric patterns of dots, dashes and double scrolls were sewn on the collar, and along the edges of clothing slits.The bases of slits are reinforced, especially with dense, bright satin, called gurtykin or pugtama.

The bottom of the trousers are also decorated with embroidery, but mainly for young people.

Turkmens sew amulets on outerwear when they leave their homes. Women usually sew a big red or green triangle (dogadzhik or doga), which means “protector from evil” on the back of men’s coats (chekmen).Women sew dogas not only on the back, but also on the sleeves and shoulders, and often embroidered them with their geometric or floral patterns. Against the modest background of the decoration of everyday clothing, the embroidered festival clothing of women was eye-catching, striking, with a variety of subjects portrayed and a wealth of fabric. Some groups of Turkmen women wear bibs on top of a simple dress(koynek), embroidered with colourful threads and oval silver plates (albasami), sewn in a series of 45-50 pieces, like scales covering the front of their dresses. Festive outerwear is brightly decorated: the neck and cuts are trimmed with silver circles (chapraz), and at the bottom of the chabyta, that prevents anyone from seeing the flowers in a narrow vase - a figure called “lunar vessel” (mie kunduk). The kurt is embroidered with branches, flowers and broken, wavy lines with trefoil and buds, and the head is covered with chyrpyor purendzhek, displaying red, blooming tulips on top. Such naturalistic motifs are most likely inherited from pre-Islamic times.

Wedding Dress and a Crown made of Dough A special, luxurious dress is the right of the Turkmen bride: sewn from red germezi keteni, the wedding gown (chekmen), is embroidered on the shoulders, arms, and back with amulets, next to embroidered pheasants, goats, camels, horsemen and women with widespread arms in long dresses and rays around their heads.

The most amazing part of the bridal costume is the khasab (or hasava), tall (up to 30 cm or more), with the headdress growing wider towards the top, sort of an echo of the ancient ceremonial headdress associated with the cult of the goddess of fertility. The frame is made of several layers of fabric glued together with thick dough. The upper part is made of stacked rings of grass bundles. Some groups of Turkmens sculpt the khasab completely out of grass bundles or straw. All this construction is then wrapped in red silk, and black or dark blue velveteen or velvet strips were sewn on top of it, which are later decorated with silver and golden squares and circles, gold, cornelian set in silver, and pendants, hanging low on the forehead. Long silver chains with plates in the form of female figurines are attached at the temples. Some khasab tops are adorned with pointed objects, recalling crowns or tiaras. They throw a red silk veil or purendzhek, embroidered with branches, leaves and flowers on top of such a massive crown. Not every family can afford a khasab, decorated with pure gold and silver, so it is often simply borrowed from rich neighbours.

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ART

A MASTER COMIC VISITS SCHUCHINSK

For the first time, school children and students of the Burabay district had the opportunity to take part in master classes on the creation of comic books from Daniel Akhmed - the young author of British publishing house, Hertfordshire Press.

Daniel, the young author of “The Final” graphic novel, made his first visit to Kazakhstan, where he visited both Nur-Sultan, Almaty, and Burabay. The purpose of the visit was to hold a series of art presentations for the youth of the city. The program was organizsd by the creative residence of ECG HORIZONS BURABAY (Shchuchinsk) with the support of the non-profit public organization Eurasian Creative Guild (London).

During the five days Daniel held seven presentations.

More than 200 young people, from 11 to 25 years old

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(as well as their teachers and mentors) learned the basics of creating comics, thanks to the support of the Guild Ambassador in the Burabay district, Yussuf Krykbessov.

“We were very lucky that Daniel came to us in Schuchinsk. I was moved to the core that our children are striving to learn English, they tried to talk to Daniel! We are finally joining European models of creative activity, this is a very significant event” - Mr. Krykbessov emphasised.

The first presentation started on the hospitable venue of the Higher College of Technology, where future programmers and designers learnt the art of creating comics. During the meeting, the audience received not only techniques and tricks that Daniel had experienced

first-hand, but also discussed with Taina Kaunis, executive director of ECG (London), the relevance of comic books for programmers.

The director of the school Mr. Kuanyshbek Shayakhmetov expressed gratitude to the Guild team. “We are grateful to our guests for lighting up a spark of desire in the souls of the guys to create, study, learn and create something new in their lives,” he said.

Daniel continued the cycle of meetings with a presentation at the Arman School of Art, where the youngest students delved deeper into the technical details of the rendering of characters and pages. “Daniel held a master class on creating comics, which made the kids very interested. It should be noted that Daniel is only 13 years old, and he already has personal creative publi-

cations on this topic,” - the school director Mrs. Aigul Turguzhina shared. No less actively and exciting, Daniel held a master class for students of Gymnasium №.1.

Curious students did not plan on stopping him any time soon, asking question after question.

Students of the school “IQanat Burabay” also discussed the creation of comics. The audience gathered in the cinema hall, where a theatrr rehearsal had just ended, so a creative atmosphere surrounded the event from the very beginning of the meeting. And the boldest of the meeting participants even asked Daniel for autographs, so he gladly signed copies of his book for them.

Daniel talked intensively with translation students of the Higher Pedagogical College: the students not only enthusiastically participated in the conversation, but

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ART

also supported the idea of volunteer assistance to the international festival “Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art,” which will soon take place in Shchuchinsk at the initiative of the ECG (London).“Surprisingly, even I, a person twice as old as Daniel, found a lot of new and interesting things for myself in the master class,” - Nelly Filippova, a hotel designer, shared.

Of course, participants benefited not only from the performance of Daniel himself but also the projects in which talented young people can participate. The founder and head of the Hertfordshire Press publishing house, vice-chairman of ECG (London) - Marat Akhmedzhanov – was also present and noted that “Often teachers and parents find the comic to be something frivolous and sometimes harmful.

But let’s turn to statistics. In 2020, the entire US comic book industry (all periodicals, graphic novels and digital editions of all publishers, genres and channels, as well as merch) - brought a record $1.28 billion, that

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is, approximately 800 billion tenge (according to the DTF portal). Not so bad to make more than a billion dollars, right? At the same time, Comics beat published statistics on sales of graphic novels and manga in the United States for 2021. Judging by it, the popularity of the genre is at an unprecedented height, and sales are growing at a huge pace. For 2021, sales grew by almost 70%, and the total number of comic books/graphic novels sold for the year is more than in 2018 and 2019 combined. Since 2003, growth has been an impressive 558%. The industry is probably going through a new golden age. The manga has even better numbers - the genre generated 280% more profits than last year (according to Shazoo).

The heads of the ECG HORIZONS BURABAY and ECG (London) residence plan to make such creative “business trips” of foreign cultural and art workers regular, allowing residents of the Akmola region to become acquainted with modern trends in creative industries and realize their creative potential.

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BOOK REVIEW

NEW BOOK SEEKS TO HELP FIGHT AGAINST COMING WORLD HUNGER…AND HELP SOLVE OTHER CRITICAL ISSUES agricultural products, we must consider the development of the agricultural sector.

In this book Mr. Yespolov publishes the university’s 90 years of research related to the development of agricultural activities, crop sources and crop sustainability.The university has successfully participated in joint projects with USDA, NASA and Michigan National University.

A particularly valuable outstanding feature of the book “Kazakh Model of a Research University” was the chapter, which is a step-by-step guide to transforming an educational organization into a national research institute.The results of the work are shown in a worldwide international research project. The English language, in which the book was published, is accessible and interesting not only for the CIS countries, but also for the rest of the world.

Together with the editors of Hertfordshire Press (Great Britain), the rector of KazNARU, Tlektes Yespolov, has published a new book, “The Kazakh Model for a research University”, dedicated to the research of the university. This invaluable experience can help the universities of the world become an effective platform for solving the challenges of our time, such as, for example, the unexpected threat of world hunger.

At present, when in countries with a heightened risk of a decline in agricultural production, as well as imports and exports of key products for food production, the impact on a sharp increase in the prices of alternative

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“Kazakhstan Model of a Research University” has received positive feedback from professional reviewers such as Thomas Celluchi, Ph.D., MBA, CEO of Bravatek Solutions Inc., White House Commercialization Adviser. Representatives of foreign universities were also highly appreciated.An international expert, international project manager of Wageningen University, Eva Wietsma, noted: “KazNARU develops new knowledge and advanced strategies, uses models and learning technologies based on modern international practices.”

The book was published in the UK with the official presentation of the book taking place on June 15 in Almaty at the KazNARU University, with further launches in November at UK universities. It will also feature in London as part of the eleventh Open Eurasian Literary Festival & Book Forum (November 25-28, 2022) by the Eurasian Creative Guild (London), which will form a discussion platform that will bring together academics from all over the world.

IX - OPEN EURASIAN BOOK FORUM & LITERATURE FESTIVAL

11th OPEN EURASIAN LITERARY FESTIVAL & BOOK FORUM

25-28

th

NOVEMBER LONDON, UK

2022

For detailed information, please contact the following email: lari@ocamagazine.com

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FILM THE INDEPENDENT EURASIAN FILM FESTIVAL CELEBRATES ITS FOURTH ANNIVERSARY On May 19-25 in the heart of London (Romford) the IV ECG Film Festival, together with the Romford Film Festival, was held including the presentation of more than 10 Eurasian countries.

with the support and participation of the British film festival - Romford Film Festival and Premiere Cinemas.

For the fourth year in a row, the Eurasian Film Festival has traditionally gathered the attention of many talented directors, actors, producers, screenwriters and The festival was organised by the British non-profit animators from all over the world. Over 500 entries organization, the Eurasian Creative Guild (London), from 30 countries were evaluated by and international jury.

2022 JURY MEMBERS: Spencer Hawken: director, founder of Romford Film Festival (UK) Bradley Barton: director, film critic (UK) Michael Sagatis: researcher, composer and cinematographer (Wales) Tim Wilson: director animator and theatre designer (UK) Sergei Timchenko: director. editor and operator (Ukraine) Nuno Martini: cinematographer, editor, screenwriter, producer from Lisbon (Portugal) Taalaibek Kulmendeev: Producer, director, screenwriter. Co-Chairman of the Confederation of Unions of Cinematographers of the CIS and Baltic States. (Kyrgyzstan) Mansur Sarsembaev: screenwriter, director, winner of the “Altyn Kalam” award for “Best Screenplay and Dramaturgy of the Year”, winner of the third “ECG Film Festival” in the nomination “Best Screenplay” (Kazakhstan).

Maksud Sarsembaev: screenwriter, director, winner of the third “ECG Film Festival” in the nomination “Best Screenplay” (Kazakhstan) Peter Blunden: British film critic, member of the jury at the Romford Film Festival and the Romford Horror Festival (UK).

Oksana Zhukova: TV journalist, TV presenter, head of the “ArtMedia” production center.

The official Opening of the festival took place on May 19.

On the first day, the finalist films in the “Short Film” category were presented to the audience. Among them were such films as ELECTROOKO - “Tomorrow” by the Uzbek journalist, producer and public figure, Nikita Makarenko; the debut short film “Steps” by AUCA graduate from Kyrgyzstan, Zhanaiym Ashimova; a film by a Ukrainian director, Natalia Pasenetskaya, “Honorable Lviv Lady” and the film of a well-known director from Azerbaijan “The Last One” Fariz Ahmadov.

“Good sentiment, nice camerawork. And even though by some cultures this may be daring, its a nice innocent

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piece”, commented director and film critic Spencer Hawken on the Ukrainian film.

At 8 p.m, the solemn Opening Ceremony of the festival took place, where the vice-chairman of the Eurasian Creative Guild, Mark (Marat) Akhmedjanov, and a member of the board of curators of the Eurasian Creative Guild, John Farndon, Mayor of the London district of Havering (Havering Borough) - John Mylod and the founder of the Romford Film Festival, Spencer Hawken all took to the stage to welcome participants. It served as a starting point for the British public to immerse themselves in the world of Eurasian cinema.

A new international film festival of the guild in Kazakhstan was also announced - Burabay International Short Film Festival, which will be held in June 2023.

Prior to the opening ceremony, all guests were invited to the premiere of a feature film by an Iranian director and musician in London, “World, Northern Hemisphere”, Hossein Tehrani.

“This is a forceful film about growing up in Iran as the embattled main character is constantly clashing with his overbearing mother about how to classify the discovery of human remains found”, noted Welsh director and film critic, Michael Sagatis.

The second culminating day of the shows took place on May 21st. Among the films of the finalists the following works were presented: Music video - “His saving Grace” directed by Alexey Pavelko from Russia Mobile Video - Eli Nazik, Mehmet Tigli (Turkey) Animated film - Lullaby created by the director and founder of the animation studio “Dala Animation” in Kazakhstan, Dilshat Rakhmatullin.

Short film “On the Silk Road” - an aspiring director from Uzbekistan, Sherzod Nazarov “Nunik” - director, screenwriter and winner of several international festivals with 20 years of experience in the field of cinema from Armenia, Elena Arshakyan.

“Coincidence” - director and screenwriter from Almaty, Kazakhstan, Egor Lymarev “Catherine II. The Fall of the Great” - the youngest director from Russia, Andrey Archakov Documentary film “Saykbai and the Beatles” - Honored Artist and Cultural Figure of Kyrgyzstan, Tynai Ibragimov.

“Stray Children” - director from Russia, Anna Dranitsyna.

“The Dream of Kaplan” - Devrim Taban, Tahir Un (Turkey).

“Share the Sky” - musician and director of documentary and feature films from Uzbekistan, Aliaskar Fatkhullin.

“ZHANYRTUU” (Renewal) - Victoria Arkhangelskaya (Kyrgyzstan).

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FILM Also, on May 21, a guest film from Russia “Blockade Diary” by Russian director, screenwriter and producer Andrei Zaitsev, was shown, which caused heated discussions among the audience. A film about February 1942, with severe frosts and a terrible famine, it follows a young woman, Olga, who has just buried her husband and is sure that soon she too will die of starvation. She simply wants to see her father one last time and say goodbye to him.

As part of the online program of the film festival, a master class by Irina Egorova “Let me introduce you to yourself!” was held. Irina Egorova is an actress, writer, chief director of the Komedian Theatre in Moscow, with 20 years of acting teaching experience.

Irina shared her experience and skills on how to learn to see, hear, perceive each other, and direct speech in such a way as to be understood.

The final day of the festival, May 25, became the most memorable among the festival days. Two feature films from Russia and Tajikistan closed the premiere program of finalist films. “Tygyn Darhan” by the famous director and screenwriter from Russia, Nikita Arzhakov and the film “Water Boy” by Faizullo Faiz (Tajikistan).

“A beautiful film, requiring some effort to watch but so thoroughly rewarding. There is no levity here: this is about a bellicose and determined history but it is a story worth telling and it is a stunning piece of cinema”, commented film critic from England, Professor Tim Wilson.

The main event of the day was the Closing Ceremony of the IV Eurasian Film Festival, where the best Eurasian films of 2022 were announced.

The guests of honour of the Ceremony were the Ambassador of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan to the UK, Ulan Zhusupov and adviser Batyr Kadyrkulov. Advisor of Embassy of Kazakhstan, Arsen Omarov, Second Secretary of the Embassy of the Russian Federation, Konstantin Yushmanov and Second Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan in the UK, Bakhtiyor Mukhamedzhanov.

The winners were selected by both an audience vote and the evaluations of the jury members. The winners of the IV Eurasian ECG Film Festival are:

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Grand Prix: Best Eurasian feature film - Tygyn Darhan (Sakha-Yakutia/Russia); Nikita Arzhakov.

Best Eurasian Short Film - On the Silk Road (Uzbekistan); Sherzod Nazarov.

Best Eurasian Documentary Film - Sayakbai and the Beatles (Kyrgyzstan); Tyni Ibragimov.

Best Eurasian screenplay - Bifurcation point (Kazakhstan); Natalia Makhno.

Additional awards were given to: Audience Award Audience Choice Award - Honorable Lviv Lady (Ukraine); Natalia Pasenetskaya.

Audience Choice Award - Water Boy (Tajikistan); Faizullo Faiz.

Audience Choice Award - ZHANYRTUU (Renewal) (Kyrgyzstan);Victoria Arkhangelskaya.

Audience Choice Award - Lullaby (Kazakhstan); Dilshat Rakhmatullin.

Festival diplomas: Certificate of Acknowledgment / Music Video His saving Grace; Alexey Pavelko (Russia) Certificate of Acknowledgment / Mobile Video Eli Nazik; Mehmet Tigli (Turkey) Honorary diplomas from the Festival Jury: Honorary Mention Award - Nunik (Armenia), Elena Arshakyan.

Honorary Mention Award - The Dream of Kaplan” (Turkey), Devrim Taban, Tahir Un. Honorary Mention Award - “Share the Sky” (Uzbekistan), Aliaskar Fatkhullin.

Honorary Mention Award BLACK FOREST MYSTERY (Great Britain), Jaroslaw Gogolin.

Best Young Director - Catherine II. The Fall of the Great (Russia), Andrey Archakov.

The 5th Eurasian Film Festival (London) opened entries for the 2023 season. Applications can be made through the FilmFreeway platform.

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ECG EVENT

II INTERNATIONAL POETRY AND ART “VOICES OF FRIENDS” FESTIVAL AND THE FIRST BURABAY INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL WERE HELD IN KAZAKHSTAN. From May 6 to10, 2022, the Second International “Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art” Festival was held in the resort area of the Burabay National Park (Kazakhstan).

The festival was organised by the British non-profit organization Eurasian Creative Guild (London) with the support of the Rixos Borovoe Hotel, Akim of the Akmola region, Akim of the Burabay district, Akim of the village of Burabay and the Higher Pedagogical College in the city of Schuchinsk.

The long-awaited event brought together more than 300 poets, prose writers, artists, musicians and filmmakers from 18 countries this year: Kyrgyzstan, Great Britain, Ireland, Lithuania, Israel, Kazakhstan, Russia, Canada, Finland, Uzbekistan, USA, Georgia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Qatar, Ukraine and Belarus.

sketch the SHCHIPT micro district, covering not only the beautiful landscape, but also the amazing landmark Horse Yard.

The festival itself officially opened on May 6 at the Rixos Borovoe hotel. The program started with Elena Bezrukova and Marina Alyasova, representing the executive committee of the ECG Expert Council (London) on Business Coaching. They held a master class “Formation of the emotional climate outside and inside”.

This master class allowed the participants to quickly recharge their batteries and tune into the event in the right way.

An informal start to the festival was made on May 4 in Nur-Sultan with a welcome by Guild Chairman Gareth Stamp and Vice Chairman Mark (Marat) Akhmedjanov.

A warm meeting of like-minded people took place in the hospitable space of the ARNAU Art and Education Centre. It became a bright starting point for wonderful events, where not only the participants of the festival, but also members of the Guild from Nur-Sultan got the opportunity to personally introduce themselves to the Guild Chairman and get to know him better.

The next event that captured the attention of festival participants and guests from different parts of the Akmola region, as well as guests of the five-star Rixos Borovoe hotel, was an exhibition of visual arts, turning the hotel lobby into an international art gallery. Members of the Guild - artists from the USA and Kazakhstan - Yulia Ward, Daria Zalesskaya, Elena Bezrukova, Yusuf Krykbesov, Milana Yusufova, Maria Luzina, Elena Tsygvintseva, Elena Serebryakova and Nelli Filippova presented their works at the exhibition of visual arts. It is gratifying to note that during the festival three works

by Akmola artists were purchased for private collections and sent to Bulgaria, Ireland and Wales.

The Festival continued on May 5 in the city of Shchuchinsk, where the creative residence “ECG HORIZONS BURABAY” is located. The event was attended by a delegation of students from the creative studio “Granat” from Kokshetau, as well as its creator and leader, Anar Sattybayeva. Students, together with Gareth Stamp and the Guild volunteers, went to

The pearl of the program of the first day was the Opening Ceremony. The festival was opened with welcome words from the British Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Kathy Leach, to the guests and organizers of the festival.The Ambassador emphasized the importance of this event for building international cultural relations. Welcome speeched were made by Akim of the region, Mar-

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zhikpayev Ermek Boronbayevich, Deputy Head of the State Institution “Department of Entrepreneurship and Tourism of the Akmola Region”, Andrey Ivanovich Podgursky, and the regional Akimat was represented by the Deputy Akim of the Burabay District, Kuzembaeva Anara Tleuzhanovna. During the ceremony, each of the festival participants shared their wishes, filling the atmosphere with a festive mood. The solemn part of the evening continued with the screening of the films as part of the pre-launch of the Burabay International Short Film Festival. The audience saw the films “Ander” (dir.

- Alina Mustafina, Kazakhstan/Qatar) and “The last one” (dir.

- Fariz Akhmadov, Azerbaijan) for the first time.

Later the festival participants from the Rixos Borovoe hotel moved to the creative residence of ECG HORIZONS BURABAY, where the ceremony of raising the flags of the countries and cities of the festival participants took place. The flags of the states participating in the festival were solemnly presented at the ceremony. The main idea of the ceremony was to show that creativity has no geographical and political boundaries, and the Guild unites cultural figures from all over the world. A worthy end to the first day was the opening of the Wall of Memory in the residence - a memorial in which the first two commemorative plaques took their place. The first one was installed by Yulia Ward in honour of Andrew Wesley Ward (USA), a collector, traveller and entrepreneur, who greatly influenced Yulia’s development as a creative person. The second plaque was installed in memory of Maria Shevel (Ukraine), whose name was given to the award in the framework of the Open Eurasia contest for the best work for children.The memorial is designed to preserve the memory of the Guild members who have passed away, as well as people significant to them and the Guild.

During the celebration, Nargiza Karasartova and Bubuira Bektenova awarded the vice-chairman of the guild, Marat Akhmedjanov, with a medal from the Democratic Committee of Women of Kyrgyzstan public association. The participants noted his invaluable contribution to supporting the creativity of women.

The second day of the festival began with bright colours and precise lines of an artistic master class from Yusuf Krykbesov, Ambassador of ECG (London) in Shchuchinsk.

Together with his students, Yusuf Zhagiparovich helped the festival participants, even those who were far from fine art, to reveal their creative nature with the help of an intuitive gesture. The result was a collective work, which the craftsmen donated to the ECG Horizons Burabay residence. Both the creators themselves and all the participants of the festival left their autographs on the canvas.

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ECG EVENT At the invitation of the Akimat of the Akmola region, the festival participants went to the city of Kokshetau, where a series of events took place at the site of the Museum of Local Tradition and History, each of which deserves special attention.

The program was opened by the welcoming speech of the department of culture of the Akmola region Sabitova Aigul Baubekovna. It reinforced the hope for the development of such cultural and event projects as festivals. The deputy director of the museum Dyusenbaeva Anar Amantaevna also greeted the guests.

The presentation of the phenomena associated with their work has become a sensory platform not only for self-promotion, but also for discovering the intercultural ties of the Eurasian space from China to Ireland.

For example, Aliya Akhetova, the first participant in the history of the festival from Kokshetau, a member of the Union of Journalists of the Republic of Kazakhstan, presented a book dedicated to creative people born in Akmola, highlighting Bulat Mekebaev, an artist well known to the Guild, originally from Kokshetau. Yulia Ward and Andrey Grodzinsky (winner of the Open Eurasia - 2021 contest in the “Prose” category) presented a view of their master class on the work of an illustrator. Dilara Lindsay, Marina Vernalis, Dana Zhateeva, Daria Zalesskaya, Bubuira Bektenova, Nargiza Karasartova, Maria Muchinskaya (winner of the Open Eurasia - 2021 contest in the Poetry category), Elena Bezrukova, Marina Alyasova and Galina Primorskaya shared their creativity and ideas about modern culture.

Of particular interest was the presentation by Bruce Gaston, a member of the Guild from Ireland. Bruce spoke about his suspicion of the development of the Celtic culture. The highlight of the presentation part was the joint musical performance of Bruce and Gareth.

The film screening also caused a storm of emotions and discussion. The films “Honorable Lviv Lady” (dir.

- Natalia Pasenitska, Ukraine) and “On the Silk Road” (dir. - Sherzod Nazarov, Uzbekistan) were presented to the audience. These films, dedicated to the issues of happiness, family values and love, have become a great topic for discussion.

The third festival day - May 8 - was opened by a series of video messages from remote participants of the festival. Remarkable poets, writers and artists Polina

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Lakhtina, Alexander Binshtein, Raisa Melnikova, Darien Roitman, Victoria Levin, Marlan Nysanbaev, Alexander Kazarnovsky, Marlan Nysanbaev and Mikhail Ananov, Elena Bosler-Guseva, as well as chairmen of the Guild of different years David Parry and John Farndon shared with their creativity, good mood and wishes for a wonderful festival. Online performances and live presentations, as always, have become an integral part of the evaluation of the participants in the “Voices of Friends - 2022” poetry and art contest. It was thanks to the performances that the ranking table of the contest acquired its final form.

On the same day, the Blue Diamonds of Eurasia Assembly was held on the topic of “Who creates the future classics today?” with online and offline members of the OCA People 2020-2022 special editions. At the Assembly, a presentation of the numbers of the new issue of 2022 was held, the main character of which was the Irish poet and publicist Bruce Gaston and 39 other prominent members of the guild from different countries.

The culmination of the evening was a musical Gala Concert in the recreation centre “Okzhetpes”, which was a real treat. Akim of Burabay village, Dzhalmukanov Sabyr Alimzhanovich, expressed his warm wishes to the guests, and Karsybayeva Dina Sadvakasovna, Head of the State Institution “Department of Culture and Development of Languages of Burabay District” presented the Guild with a gift. The head of the Palace of Culture Nurumova Zhumabike Daulenovna also addressed the guests with words of gratitude. The teams of the LEVEL UP Centre for Creativity, the Chechen-Ingush Ensemble Vainakh, the Folk Ensemble Rauan and the reader, Maria Tkachenko, took the stage, and the Okzhetpes Palace of Culture presented the Dombrist Ensemble Ozhetpes Sazy, Omirzak Kurbanov, an instrumental quintet of folklore ensemble “ Kokshe auenderi”, an exemplary dance group “Viva dance”, Evelina Krasyuk and the dance group “Fidgets”. The official participants of the festival - Helen Coro, Marina Vernalis, Tatyana Mendybayeva, Gareth Stamp, Bruce Gaston, Maria Muchinskaya, Andrey Grodzinsky - also presented wonderful poetic and musical performances.

On May 9, writers and poets enjoyed the beauties of the Burabay region, starting with participation in the open air and continuing with excursions to the iconic places of the region.

But the real fireworks of emotions and colours was the Awards Ceremony of the “Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art” contest and the closing of the festival.

The golden ten in the Poetry category included:

Apollonia Delos (Russia) Alexander Binstein (Israel) Alexander Kazarnovsky (Israel) Victoria Levin (Israel) Dilara Lindsay (Great Britain) Marina Alyassova (Kazakhstan) Marina Vernalis (Russia) Maria Muchinskaya (Belarus) Mikhail Ananov (Georgia)

Poetry category winners: 1st place - Marina Vernalis (Russia) 2nd place - Apollonia Delos (Russia) and Marina Alyassova (Kazakhstan) 3rd place - Alexander Kazarnovsky (Israel) Painting category winners: 1st place - Marina Vernalis (Russia) 2nd place - Marilu Lis (Kazakhstan) 3rd place - Sergey Babyakov (Kazakhstan) Illustration category winners: 1st place - Daria Zalesskaya - RATSEL ART (Kazakhstan) 2nd place - Tatyana Mendybayeva (Kazakhstan) 3rd place - Elena Shilova (Crimea) Winners in the photography category: 1st place - Maria Priznyakova (Russia) 2nd place - Helen Coro (Russia) 3rd place - Irina Smirnova (Kazakhstan) Bakhyt Rustemov, the famous writer and head of the International Union of People’s Diplomacy, awarded Gareth Stamp, chairman of the Guild, with an honorary medal.

For all the participants of the festival a new issue of the magazine “Bogema” was presented by a member of the Guild in Shchuchinsk, Pavel Kosovich. He was able to prepare an issue dedicated to the festival for the closing ceremony! This issue has become an excellent souvenir for all those present.

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ECG EVENT

The final day of the festival, May 10, was held at the Higher Pedagogical College (Shchuchinsk). The main event of this day was the acquaintance of two wonderful creative communities - representatives of culture and art of the Burabay region and international participants of the festival. Thus, two associations - “Art-Burabay” and “Lira” - were represented by the “owners” of the region, and the guests shared their creativity.

Yulia Ward also made a presentation on professional development opportunities in the creative industries, and Taina Kaunis, Executive Director of the Guild, shared the history of the creation of the ECG Horizons Burabay residence and plans for its development.

A special place in the program of the final day was the screening of the film “Nunik” (dir. - Elena Arshakyan, Armenia). It deeply touched the hearts of those present. It is worth noting that all films within the framework of the festival were shown as a pre-premiere of

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the Eurasian Film Festival ECG Film Festival, which has been held annually in London since 2019.

At the end, there was a sincere farewell party of the guild members at the ECG Horizons Burabay residence, where, along with the venerable participants of the festival, volunteers of the festival shared their creativity: Alena Vnuchkova, Kirill Komaristy, Nina Fedorova, Louise Nagoeva, Alina Shaymuratova, Sanjar Dyusenov, Adil Kabidenov, Daria Chalenko.

An extensive online program was organized for festival participants who could not attend the festival in person.

With the support of the ECG Expert Council on Poetry, a Zoom-conference was held on the topic “Nature.

Painting. Poetry”. Under the moderation of Council Chairman, Mikhail Ananov, participants discussed im-

portant issues including the source of inspiration hidden in nature and helping artists and writers to create their immortal masterpieces for thousands of years.

“The World of Children’s Literature” - Zoom-conference organized by the Expert Council for Translations represented by Chairperson Elena Bosler-Guseva (Kyrgyzstan) and Vice-Chairman Alina Moseykina (Cyprus) - raised a whole range of complex tasks associated with the creation of a quality children’s book, especially if this is a translated edition. After all, it is children’s literature that is by far the most complex and most demanded product today. The traditional poetic marathon “Voices of Eurasia” was also held in an online format, designed to become a platform for the performances of those members of the Guild who, for various reasons, were not able to visit the festival in person! The main online event was a conference dedicated to the special issue of OCA magazine - OCA PEOPLE, on the theme “Blue Diamonds of Eurasia. Who creates the modern classics today?”, combined with the in-person part of the program.

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book of the year HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

CATALOGUE

BLUE RIVER

by Zinaida Longortova (2016) ENG / KHANTY HARDBACK ISBN:978-1-910886-34-2 RRP: £17.50

CRANES IN SPRING

by Tolibshohi Davlat (2015) ENG / RUS HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-06-9 RRP: £14.50

MAN OF THE MOUNTAINS

by Abudlla Isa (2014) ( OCABF 2013 Winner) ENGLISH PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0-9930444-5-8 RRP: £14.95

KASHMIR SONG

by Sharaf Rashidov (translation by Alexey Ulko, OCABF 2014 Winner). 2017 ENGLISH RRP: £24.95 ISBN: 978-0-9930444-2-7

AND LONGER IFE LASTS

by Ion Jani ISBN: 978-1913356163 RRP: £9.99

68 OCA MAGAZINE

THE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR THE DAY THAT DAD RETURNED Maral Hydyrova (2017) ENGLISH PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-65-6 RRP: £12.50

KAРА Автор Султан Раев (2015) РУССКИЙ / RUSSIAN ISBN: 978-1910886137 RRP: £24.50

CУНДУК БЕЗУМНОГО КУКОЛЬНИКА Нина Ягольницер RUSS 978-1-913356-44-6 RRP: £17.50

best female AUTHOR

FOREMOTHER ASIA

by Natalia Kharlampieva (2016) ENG / SAKHA HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-22-9 RRP: £17.50 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. Their customs and local environment – the communal courtyard where neighbours gather to drink tea on a raised bed- may belong to Central Asia, but the hardships they endure are universal: infidelity, addiction, abuse, poverty, death. And it is this, so sensitively described by Shakhidi that will resonate with readers the world over.

Zulfiya’s ‘sisters’ include feisty professionals and housewives, grandmothers and new brides, and as the novel unfolds, we learn how they value being able to share their problems and support each other in times of trouble. They also rely heavily on the wisdom and experience of Zulfiya’s adopted uncle and fellow tenant, war veteran, Grigory Semenovich.

My Neighbourhood Sisters is a powerful and beautiful book filled with characters drawn from both the author’s imagination and her actual family, but in all of them, we will recognise aspects of ourselves and people from our own lives, and will perhaps be drawn to reflect on that close camaraderie between neighbours and that sense of community which in our current age, are fast disappearing.

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

My Neighbourhood Sisters A Collection of Short Stories

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.

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.”

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

RRP: £19.95

My Neighbourhood Sisters

RECYCLED

by Anna Komar HARDBACK ENGLISH ISBN: 978-1910886816 RRP:£17.50

GULSIFAT SHAKHIDI

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

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

GULSIFAT SHAKHIDI

НА Е И ЗЫК Я

И РС ВЕ ОМ + СК С РУ

HP_IMAK COVER_JACKET_515x226.indd 1

САГА СТРАННОЙ ЖЕНЩИНЫ by Лина Гордон (2022) RUSSIAN HARD BACK ISBN: 978-1-913356-41-5 RRP: £14.95

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME S.S. NAZAROVA (2017) ENGLISH ISBN: 978-1-910886-60-1 HARD BACK RRP:£17.50

THE LAND DRENCHED IN TEARS

by Söyüngül Chanisheff ENGLISH PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1910886380 RRP:£24.50

01/01/2017 23:25:28

MY NEIGHBOURHOOD SISTERS

by Gulsifat Shakhidi (2016) ENG / RUS HARDBACK ISBN:978-1-910886-35-9 RRP: £19.95

Тегеран-1360 Жанна Голубицкая ISBN: 9781913356118 Paperback RU |2020 £19.95

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POETRY

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

COLORFUL TEARS

by Khosiyat Rustam ISBN: 978-1-913356-12-5 RRP: £12.95

MY HOMELAND, OH MY CRIMEA

by Lenifer Mambetova (2015) ENG / RUS HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-04-5 RRP: £17.50

“THE WORLD DISSOLVES LIKE A DREAM” by Leyla Aliyeva, 2018 ENG HARDBACK 978-1-910886-76-2 RRP: £14.95

The “LIRA” award for the best poetry in the literary competition “Open Eurasian Book Forum and Literary Festival - 2019”

In this jewellike collection of poems from Kyrgyz poet Sagyn Berkinalieva, the poet explores her own personal destiny and her memorable insights into love, plumbing the raw feelings that cut through her heart in the course of one memorable encounter. Berkinalieva’s own unique and genuine voice shines through poignantly on every page.

SAGYN BERKINALIEVA

Published works: 1) «Sheet covered with the dust» (Publishing house «Biyiktik» – 2014).

2) «Girl dancing in the sky» (Publishing house «Great mountains» – 2019).

In 2016 she took part in the competition for young poets and won the Audience Award.

Diploma winner for active participation in the competition of young poets «Mekenge taazim» and «Besh Akin» in 2017.

Diploma winner of the Festival of Eurasian Week of Culture, which was held in Great Britain (London).

In 2019 she had participated in an International Competition of Eurasian Creative Guild in Belgium (Brussels).

She won the first place in the nomination of poetry and was awarded the «Lyre» medal for the best female lyrics.

In 2019 she was awarded «The Best Poet of the Year» in Kyrgyzstan.

SAGYN BERKINALIEVA

Member of the National Writers’ Union of Kyrgyzstan, member of Eurasian Creative Guild, member of the Writers’ Union of North America (German department).

GIRL DANCING IN THE SKY

Poetess – Berkinalieva Sagynbubu Abdusamatovna (Kyrgyz Republic)

edited by John Farndon

GIRL DANCING IN THE SKY

RRP: £12.95

I THINK WE SHOULD JUST LIVE

by Ekaterina Khlebnikova ISBN: 9781913356217 Paperback ENG \RU | 2020 £9.99

GIRL DANCING IN THE SKY

by Sagyn Berkinalieva ISBN: 9781913356217 Paperback ENG | 2020 £12.95

ONE OF YOU

by Lenar Shaehov ISBN: 9781910886472 Paperback ENG | 2017 £9.50

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BELARUSIAN WHALES

by Anastasiya Kuzmicheva ISBN: 9781910886458 Hardcover EN | 2017 £14.50

МАЭСТРО И МУЗА Сергей Белый ISBN: 978-1-913356-28-6 Hardcover RU | 2021 £17.50

MAESTRO AND MUSE Sergey Bely ISBN: 978-1-913356-39-2 Hardcover ENG | 2021 £19.95

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

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history

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

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 KANYBEK IMANALIEV THE KAGANATE Overall, The Kaganate is a remarkably skilful and fabulously imaginative prose poetry collection, which explores the overwhelming need for young men to be destructive, the overtly pagan sensibilities of the authors native Kyrgyzstan, along with those disciplines required by adolescent boys to channel instinctive animosities away from their parents into the rigours necessary to become worthy young warriors in such a way that his volume proves virtually obsessive. After all, each one of these observations evokes a subtle type of “second puberty” occurring between older men assaying values above mere materialism, sexuality, and having children - in order to focus on shared spiritual concerns.

ISBN: 978-1910886960 HB RRP:£19.95

VLADIMIR TULINOV THE GUARDSMEN OF HIPPOCRATES No people suffered more during the Second World War than the people of the Soviet Union and the soldiers of the Red Army. Tens of millions perished and further millions were wounded – horrific numbers, which would have been even higher if it weren’t for the efforts of the army of doctors, nurses, and medics who treated the wounded and the suffering. V.M. Tulinov’s The Guardsmen of Hippocrates brings the reader up close to the men and women who fought to save the lives of those struggling to resist the Nazi invasion.

ISBN: 978-1910886946 HB, RRP: £19.95 WEST MIDLANDS HO!

by Aldona Grupas West Midlands Ho! is a compelling work of local history, focused on a particular corner of England but set against a background of tumultuous international events.In the book, Lithuanian author Aldona Grupas reveals the personal tales of Lithuanian migrants who moved to Britain in the wake of World War II. Unable to return to their homeland due to the Soviet occupation, from 1947 onwards, several thousand refugees swapped the refugee camps of Allied-occupied Germany for basic accommodation in Britain, along with jobs in manufacturing and agriculture. In the following decades, they put down roots in Britain, all the while keeping their Lithuanian identity alive. In a series of interviews, Grupas teases out the personal experiences of five members of this migrant community in the West Midlands of England.

PAPERBACK

72 OCA MAGAZINE

ISBN: 978-1913356231 RRP:£19.95

classicS

THE PLIGHT OF A POSTMODERN HUNTER Chlngiz Aitmatov Mukhtar Shakhanov (2015) ENG HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-910886-11-3 RRP: £24.95

THE GREAT MELODY KINDLE EDITION

by Tabyldy Aktan RRP: 2.40 ENGLISH

“SHORT STORIES FROM AZERBAIJAN” 2018 ISBN: 978-1-910886-72-4 RRP: £19.95 ENG HARDBACK

I AM LOOKING TOWARDS THE EAST

by Gulsifat Shakhidi, 2017 ISBN: 978-1910886663 RRP: £19.95 HARDBACK ENGLISH

BRÄNNANDE SOL, ISANDE VIND, LEVANDE STÄPP

by Dulat Isabekov ISBN: 9789198244977 Hardcover Swedish |2020

A POETIC TREASURY FROM BELARUS: A CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF VERA RICH

by David ParryJim Dingley SBN: 9781913356040 Hardcover EN \ BY|2019 £14.95

GOETHE AND ABAI

by Herold Belger ISBN: 9781910886168 Hardcover EN|2015 £19.95

WHEN EDELWEISS FLOWERS FLOURISH

by Begenas Saratov and (Shahsanem Murray) ISBN: 9780955754951 Paperback ENG 2012 £12.95

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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 y, this is both an of the world that of years but is on e.

Nick

A Silk roAd Journey

Friendly SteppeS:

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

TRAVELOGUES

FRIENDLY STEPPES. A SILK ROAD JOURNEY

by Nick Rowan (2012)

Rowan

rdinary adventure ’s most incredible ll recovering from isunderstood Iran; et domination; and ertwined with the recounts not only e route has had on

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

Friendly SteppeS: A Silk roAd Journey Nick Rowan

THE SILK ROAD REVISITED

by Nick Rowan (2020)

This is the chronicle of an extraordinary adventure that led Nick Rowan to some of the world’s most incredible and hidden places.

Take a trip along this remarkable historic trading route that once ran from Venice, through the Mediterranean, across Turkey and Iran, through the Caucasus and Caspian Sea, onwards via Central Asia and finally to China.

HARD BACK ISBN: 978-0-9927873-4-9 PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0-9557549-4-4

HARDBACK RRP: £34.99 ISBN: 978-1-913356-07-1

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

MEET THE ‘STANS

by Christopher Jones “If you want to travel in peace, you must howl like the wolves among whom you find yourself,” a 19th century French explorer advised on entering Central Asia. Which was simply the Central Asian version of raising your negroni and slurring ‘When in Rome’. Thankfully, the author discovered, the negroni’s had since made their way to Central Asia, or at least Almaty, as part of the somewhat inconsiderable encroachment made by the modern world.

HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-913356-15-6 RRP: £17.50 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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children award winning HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

RHYMES ABOUT BOYS

by Lyudmila Dubkovetcaia (2019) HARD BACK ENGLISH ISBN: 978-1-913356-03-3 RRP: £17.50

MENIK THE MAMMOUTH

by OGDO (2017) PAPERBACK ENG ISBN: 978-1-910886-62-5 RRP: £12.50

СОФЬИНЫ НЕБЕСА, ИЛИ ВОЛШЕБНЫЙ ДАР ГНОМОВ Оксана Гордийко (2019) ISBN: 978-1-910886-97-7 RRP: £14.50

LEIA THE LITTLE MOUSE

by Arina Chunaeva (2019)

TALES OF GRANDMA GULSIFAT

by Gulsifat Shakhidi

ELISH AND THE WICKER TALES

by Kamran Salayev PAPERBACK SQUARE ENG ISBN: 978-1-910886-88-5 RRP:£12.50

HARD BACK ENGLISH ISBN:978-1-910886-90-8 RRP: £22.50

Дневник Ёжика - путешественника, или Где живёт счастье? by Надежда Серебренникова ISBN: 9781913356095 Paperback RU| 2020 £19.50 ELISH AND THE WICKER TALE

by Timur Akhmedjanov ISBN: 9781913356194 Paperback ENG | 2020 £9.99

76 OCA MAGAZINE

HARDBACK ENGLISH ISBN: 978-1-913356-01-9 RRP: £22.50

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

THE GOAT THAT WANTED TO TRAVEL ISBN: 978-1913356170 RRP: £9.99

THE EGRET AND THE COW

by Gareth Stamp ISBN: 978-1913356149 RRP: £9.99

DANIEL AKHMED THE FINAL comic ISBN: 978-1-913356-18-7 RRP: £14.50

The door to a fairy tale

by Denis Kuvaev ISBN: 9781910886632 Hardcover EN| 2017 £22.50

AYSU AND THE MAGIC BAG

by Maide Akan (2016) CARDBOARD ISBN: 978-1-910886-24-3 RRP: £10.00

JUNIOR

ПУТЕШЕСТВИЕ НА ЧЕТЫРЕХ ЛАПАХ Автор Михаил Куницкий (2021) PAPERBACK RUSSIAN ISBN: 978-1-913356-33-0 RRP: £29.95

Crane by Abu-Sufyan ISBN: 9781910886236 Paperback EN| 2016 £12.50

POOL OF STARS

by Olesya Petrova (2007) PAPERBACK ENG / RUS ISBN: 978-0955754906 RRP: £4.95

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DISCOVERY GUIDES & TRAVEL COMPANIONS

HERTFORDSHIRE PRESS

100 EXPERIENCES OF KYRGYZSTAN

by Ian Claytor ENG ISBN: 978-0957480742 RRP: £9.50

101 Zážitok Z Kazachstanu Editori: Nick Rowan a Roman Vassilenko ISBN: 9781913356255 RRP: £9.50

100 EXPERIENCES OF MODERN KAZAKHSTAN

by Vitaly Shuptar, Nick Rowan and Dagmar Schreiber ENG ISBN: 978-1-910886-15-1 RRP: £9.50

THE TASTE OF CENTRAL ASIA COOK BOOK

by Danny Gordon ENG ISBN:978-1-910886-09-0 RRP: £9.50

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 TAJIKISTAN Travel Guide

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

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E IDG BR

INTERNATIONA LP R

2016

RRP: £19.95

nitive-linguacultural methodology and the theory of intercultural communication”.

The work can be applied to the theory and practice of training as well as to the process of upgrading translators, philologists and specialists in the fields of intercultural communication, foreign language education and in other spheres of international correlation.

INTERNATIONA LP R

2016

CONCEPTUALLY-GROUNDED COGNITIVE-LINGUAL BASICS OF FORMING A MULTILINGUAL

RRP: £14.95 CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

ISBN: 978-0957480780 RRP: £19.95

E IDG BR

CONCEPTUALLY-GROUNDED COGNITIVE-LINGUAL BASICS OF FORMING A MULTILINGUAL

The professional and functional model of a modern translator has been proposed FOR HIGHER FOREIGN and the competence-based educational paradigm has been developed on the conceptually-grounded platform.

LANGUAGE EDUCATION

S ES

S ES

CA M

Reviewers: Alshanov R.A. – PhD, President of Turan University

The scientific and theoretical platform and methodology of the “cognitive-comSTRATEGIC GUIDELINES municative concept of translation studies” are presented on the basis of the “cog-

KUNANBAYEVA S.S.

KUNANBAYEVA S.S.

The book is recommended by the Academic Council of Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages (Protocol №3 dated 27 October 2015)

The manual is focused on the conceptual basics of cognitive linguistics in the theory and practice of intercultural communication and the formation of a multilingual personality. It describes the patterns of the formation of a global intercultural space; dwells on the conceptual and theoretical foundations of “intercultural communication” as an independent scientific branch; the ways and cognitive-process components of the formation of the “language personality”; the methodological grounds of translation studies and foreign language education.

CA M

SALIMA KUNANBAYEVA

Kunanbayeva S.S.

Kunanbayeva S.S.

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 ofconceptuallymethodological 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, content-functionally modeling technologies for communicative and intercultural competences’ formation.

STRATEGIC GUIDELINES FOR HIGHER FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

ACADEMY

ISBN: 978-1-910886-67-0 RRP: £19.50

CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

ISBN: 978-1-910886-99-1 RRP: £14.95

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1910886267 RRP: £18.50

ORAZALY SABDEN

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1910886267 RRP: £17.50

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!

PAPERBACK

ISBN:978-1910886373 RRP: £14.50

TLEKTES YESPOLOV THE KAZAKH MODEL FOR A RESEARCH UNIVERSITY

Visiting the Kazakh National Agrarian University on 15 November 2010, the first president of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, was very impressed with how it was run.

President Nazarbayev, the Leader of the Nation, as the president is affectionately known to Kazakhs, tasked the University with creating a national research university.

ISBN: 978-1-913356-46-0 RRP: £24.95

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LIFE OVER PAIN AND DESPERATION

by Marziya Zakiryanova (2014) ENGLISH HARD BACK ISBN: 978-0-99278733-2 RRP: £14.95

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 ISBN: 978-1910886663 RRP: £19.95 HARDBACK ENGLISH LOST PARADISE - TRUE PARADISE

by Gulsifat Shakhidi, 2019 ISBN: 978-1-913356-02-6 ENGLISH HARDBACK 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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CONTENTS 6

INTERVIEW WITH RAISA & MIKHAIL GORBACHEV

46

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL MARCH-CONTACT

14

NEW UZBEKISTAN SEEKS CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM 1 CENTRAL ASIAN ECONOMIES FACE DIFFICULT TIMES IN 2022

48

DESERT MINOTOR

50

GREENING CITIES BY GREEN CAMPUSES 50-53

18

INTERVIEW WITH BARONESS HODGES 54

SPRING AND CAVE (CULTURAL HERITAGE OF KAZAKHSTAN)

24

THE BUSINESS OMBUDSMAN IN KYRGYZSTAN 56

SIMPLICITY WITHOUT COMBINATIONS

28

IRAN ON THE HORIZON: FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR CENTRAL ASIAN RAPPROCHEMENT

60

VOF OF FRIENDS 2022

32

KAZAKHSTAN. NEW NAME, NEW LIFE, NEW TARGETS

64

FIM FESTIVAL REPORT

34

SHARAF RASHIDOV – AS A MAN AND A POLITICIAN

68

MASTERCLASS DANIEL IN KAZAKHSTAN

38

HUSEYN DAVID

71

BOOK REVEW

42

A ‘STAN’ NO MORE? – SHOULD KAZAKHSTAN CHANGE IT’S NAME?

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