Author: Christopher Robbins Publisher: Atlas and Company ISBN: 1934633933 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 305
Book Description
In this funny and revealing travelogue of Kazakhstan--a blank in Westerners' collective geography--Robbins reveals the country to be diverse, tolerant, and surprisingly modern. A superlative addition to the literature of travel--"The Observer" (UK). Illustrated.
Author: Christopher Robbins Publisher: ISBN: 9781846680458 Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
"Unifier or destroyer, law-maker or tyrant? The First Emperor of China (258-210 BC) has been the subject of debate for over 2,000 years. He gave us the name by which China is known in the West and, by his unification or elimination of six states, he created imperial China. He stressed the rule of law but suppressed all opposition, burning books and burying scholars alive. His military achievements are reflected in the astonishing terracotta soldiers - a veritable buried army - the surround his tomb, and his Great Wall still fascinates the world." "Despite his achievements, however, the First Emperor has been vilified since his death. This book describes his life and times and reflects the historical arguments over the real founder of China and one of the most important men in history."--BOOK JACKET.
Author: Joanna Lillis Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 0755626702 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 369
Book Description
Dark Shadows is a compelling portrait of Kazakhstan, a country that is little known in the West. Strategically located in the heart of Central Asia, sandwiched between Vladimir Putin's Russia, its former colonial ruler, and Xi Jinping's China, this vast oil-rich state is carving out its place in the world as it contends with its own complex past and present. Journalist Joanna Lillis paints a vibrant picture of this emerging nation through vivid reportage based on 17 years of on-the-ground coverage, and travels across the length and breadth of this enigmatic country that lies along the ancient Silk Road and at the geopolitical and cultural crossroads where East meets West. Featuring tales of murder and abduction, intrigue and betrayal, extortion and corruption, this book explores how a president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, transformed himself into a potentate and the economically-struggling state he inherited at the fall of the USSR into a swaggering 21st-century monocracy. A colourful cast of characters brings the politics to life: from strutting oligarchs to sleeping villagers, from principled politicians to striking oilmen, from crusading journalists to courageous campaigners. This new edition features two additional chapters covering the aftermath of Nazarbayev's fall from power in 2019; the Chinese government's repressions against the Kazakhs of Xinjiang as part of its crackdown on Muslim minorities; and an Afterword reflecting on the tumultuous events of January 2022 in Almaty. Traversing dust-blown deserts and majestic mountains, taking in glitzy cities and dystopian landscapes, Dark Shadows conjures up Kazakhstan as a living, breathing place, full of extraordinary people living extraordinary lives.
Author: Mukhamet Shai͡akhmetov Publisher: Stacey International Publishers ISBN: Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 378
Book Description
"Here is a rare book. It is the first-person story of Mukhamet Shayakhmetov, born into a family of nomadic Kazakh herdsmen in 1922, the year of the consolidation of Soviet rule across his people's vast steppe-land in central Asia, specifically eastern Kazakhstan." "Thus was brought to an end, with dread ideological ruthlessness, a way of life of sanctified interdependence between man and nature. Designated as a kulak, Mukhamet's father was imprisoned as 'an enemy of the people', and his family were stripped of all possessions, including livestock, and ostracised." "Collectivisation of agriculture was forcibly imposed, and famine ensued. In the years 1932-34 alone, well over a million Kazakhs died: more than a quarter of the indigenous population across a territory as great as western Europe. Of all this, the outside world knew - or chose to know - nothing." "Somewhat as Wild Swans laid bare the truth of Mao's China, so The Silent Steppe awakens the reader to the scale of suffering of millions in Soviet central Asia under Stalin." "Shayakhmetov takes his story to his recruitment in the Red Army, his wounding at Stalingrad, and his long trek home as a discharged solider at the age of 21. He is today in his mid-eighties."--BOOK JACKET.
Author: Didar Kassymova Publisher: Scarecrow Press ISBN: 0810879832 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 363
Book Description
Kazakhstan is in some ways a very old nation dating back to the Kazakh Khanate of 1458, but it dramatically transformed within the Russian Empire and even more so during the period when it was part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Since 1991 it has been independent and has had to forge its own policy in all fields. Kazakhstan is in an enviable position in terms of exportable natural resources, but at the same time it is faced with many domestic problems, such as an inadequate infrastructure. Along with solving a multitude of social problems, Kazakhstan has had to simultaneously create a normal functioning state, which added to its political difficulties. The situation at present is a state run by a strong ruler, which solves some problems but creates others. The Historical Dictionary of Kazakhstan covers the history of Kazakhstan through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and a bibliography. The dictionary section has over 400 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Kazakhstan.
Author: Erika Fatland Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1643133799 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 473
Book Description
Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan became free of the Soviet Union in 1991. But though they are new to modern statehood, this is a region rich in ancient history, culture, and landscapes unlike anywhere else in the world. Traveling alone, Erika Fatland is a true adventurer in every sense. In Sovietistan, she takes the reader on a compassionate and insightful journey to explore how their Soviet heritage has influenced these countries, with governments experimenting with both democracy and dictatorships. In Kyrgyzstani villages, she meets victims of the tradition of bride snatching; she visits the huge and desolate nuclear testing ground "Polygon" in Kazakhstan; she meets shrimp gatherers on the banks of the dried out Aral Sea; she travels incognito through Turkmenistan, as it is closed to journalists, and she meets German Mennonites that found paradise on the Kyrgyzstani plains 200 years ago. We learn how ancient customs clash with gas production and witness the underlying conflicts in new countries building their futures in nationalist colors. Once the frontier of the Soviet Union, life follows another pace of time. Amidst the treasures of Samarkand and the brutalist Soviet architecture, Sovietistan is a rare and unforgettable travelogue.
Author: Bhavna Dave Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1134324987 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 257
Book Description
Kazakhstan is emerging as the most dynamic economic and political actor in Central Asia. It is the second largest country of the former Soviet Union, after the Russian Federation, and has rich natural resources, particularly oil, which is being exploited through massive US investment. Kazakhstan has an impressive record of economic growth under the leadership of President Nursultan Nazarbaev, and has ambitions to project itself as a modern, wealthy civic state, with a developed market economy. At the same time, Kazakhstan is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the region, with very substantial non-Kazakh and non-Muslim minorities. Its political regime has used elements of political clientelism and neo-traditional practices to bolster its rule. Drawing from extensive ethnographic research, interviews, and archival materials this book traces the development of national identity and statehood in Kazakhstan, focusing in particular on the attempts to build a national state. It argues that Russification and Sovietization were not simply 'top-down' processes, that they provide considerable scope for local initiatives, and that Soviet ethnically-based affirmative action policies have had a lasting impact on ethnic élite formation and the rise of a distinct brand of national consciousness.
Author: Chokan Laumulin Publisher: Global Oriental ISBN: 9004213015 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 186
Book Description
Here is a well-informed, concise introduction to the culture and history of the vast territory of Kazakhstan, equivalent to the size of Western Europe, located at the centre of geographical Eurasia.
Author: Yelena Kalyuzhnova Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1351972650 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 298
Book Description
Kazakhstan is rich in natural resources including coal, oil, natural gas and uranium and has significant renewable potential from wind, solar, hydro and biomass. In spite of this, the country is currently dependent upon fossil fuels with coal-fired plants accounting for 75% of total power generation leading to concerns over greenhouse gas emissions and impacts on human health and the environment. This book analyses the implications of the global shift to cleaner energy for a country whose economy has centred on hydrocarbon exports. The challenge is urgent for Kazakhstan, whose recent economic growth has driven increased demand for energy services, making the construction of additional generating capacity increasingly necessary for enabling sustained growth. In this context, renewable energy resources are becoming an increasingly attractive option to help bridge the demand-supply gap. Chapters written by experts in the field provide a comprehensive review of the current energy situation in Kazakhstan including fossil energy and renewable resources and analyses policy drivers for the energy sector. Emphasising that clean energy covers a variety of renewables, as well as cleaner use of hydrocarbons, this book argues that future technological change will affect the relative attractiveness of the various choices. Recognising technical, geographical and domestic and international political constraints on policymakers’ options, this book will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience in the fields of resource management and clean energy, development economics and Central Asian Studies.
Author: Jean-François Caron Publisher: Springer Nature ISBN: 9813343087 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 109
Book Description
The final page in the political history of the Soviet Union was turned on March 19, 2019, when Nursultan Nazarbayev, the last former Chairman of a Soviet Republic who had managed to stay in power following the collapse of USSR, unexpectedly decided to resign. This edited book looks to analyse the political aspects of this event more specifically by trying to understand its political significance for the country’s policies, the prospects of democratisation, the uniqueness of the transition compared with others that have previously occurred in the region and how it may play an influential part in future political transitions in this part of the world. This book will interest scholars of authoritarian politics, scholars of Central Asia, and those researching the Belt and Road Initiative.
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Author: Christopher Robbins
Author: Christopher Robbins
Author: Joanna Lillis
Author: Mukhamet Shai͡akhmetov
Author: Didar Kassymova
Author: Erika Fatland
Author: Bhavna Dave
Author: Chokan Laumulin
Author: Yelena Kalyuzhnova
Author: Jean-François Caron