Journey into Kazakhstan: The True Face of the Nazabayev Regime

by Alexandra George

Overview

Since independence in 1991, Kazakhstan, the second largest of the former 15 Soviet Republics, stretching across 3500 kilometers, has been descending into a social and economic abyss. The decline is more tragic because it was the most Westernized of the Soviet Central Asian republics. In Journey into Kazakhstan, the author travels to different regions - the Aral Sea, the Caspian region, the vast central steppelands, the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Polygon, Karaganda, built by Stalin labour camp prisoners, ravaged industrial towns like Shymkent and Kentau, and collapsing state farms. Through on-the-spot reporting the reader will witness how an entire society is descending rapidly back to the pre-industrial era on account of misgovernance and malfeasance and the collapse of education and social welfare.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761819646
Publisher:	University Press of America
Publication date:	03/27/2001
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.24(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Alexandra George is a Writer, Translator and Journalist. Her first book was entitled Social Ferment in India (Athlone Press, 1986). Her recent book, Escape form Ward Six: Russia Facing Past and Present is being translated into Polish. The author's newly translated works include Kazakh director Bulat Atabayev's play on the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Polygon, An Angel with a Devil's Appearance.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Illustrations Chapter 2 Maps Chapter 3 Preface Chapter 4 Acknowledgments Chapter 5 Introduction Chapter 6 The New Political and Business Elite Chapter 7 Myth and Reality Chapter 8 One Step Forward, Two Steps Back Chapter 9 Privatization in the Framework of the Post-Soviet State Chapter 10 Industrial Dislocation, Worker Desolation Chapter 11 The Ethnic Card Chapter 12 The Collapse of Agriculture Chapter 13 Oil or Caviar Chapter 14 The Aral Sea Chapter 15 The Nuclear Polygon of Semipalatinsk Chapter 16 Murat Telibekov's Looking Glass Chapter 17 Conclusion: A Myopic Vision Chapter 18 Bibliography Chapter 19 Index Chapter 20 About the Author

Editorial Reviews

In 1991, when Kazakhstan became independent of Russia for the first time in over two centuries, former Communist Party First Secretary Nursultan Nazarbayev came to power there. British- American writer, journalist, and translator, George, current serving as an information officer with the UN administration in Kosovo, accuses his regime of moving from party-dominated to one- man rule; of being so fiercely ethnocentric in favor of Kazakhs that Russians, Ukrainians, Jews, and Germans have streamed out of the country; and of plundering the country's wealth and smuggling it into secret foreign bank accounts. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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