Tag: Kazakhstan
The story of the Xinjiang Kazakhs: silent suffering along the Belt and Road
Relations between Kazakhstan and China are deepening fast. As a linchpin in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, Astana hopes to pluck the fruits of this global infrastructure development strategy, which… [...]
The Ascension Cathedral in Almaty
The Ascension Cathedral is the largest Orthodox building (56 metres high) built entirely of wood and the second largest in the world. It was this architecture that enabled it… [...]
Kazakhstan to become an Unusual Addition to the Abraham Accords: Will this Diplomatic Gesture for Washington Pay Off?
Two years into the war in Gaza – which has killed over 68,000 Palestinians – Kazakhstan has volunteered to join Trump’s Abraham Accords initiative to forge closer ties with Israel. [...]
Guardian of the steppes
Many steppe marmots (Marmota baibacina) live between Akkol and Makinsk. While the young explore their surroundings, the adults keep watch in the shade of the birds… [...]
Support Novastan, the European Central Asia magazine
By supporting Novastan, you are supporting the only English, French and German-language media specialising in Central Asia. We're independent and we need your help to stay that way!
Desert fauna
A Phrynocephalus mystaceus, or toad-headed agama, basks in the sun among saxaul bushes. This small lizard (about 20 cm from head to tail), found notably in Altyn-Emel… [...]
Memories of KarLag
This wall sculpture is located at the Museum of Memory for the Victims of Repression in the Dolinka Colony, also known as the KarLag Museum. For many years, the… [...]
The Karlag infirmary
The former infirmary of the Soviet prison labour camp in Karaganda (KarLag) reveals a bare interior where medical care must have been rudimentary. This labour camp, one of… [...]
In the Karaganda Gulag
In this office at the Karlag labour camp in Karaganda, the only decoration is a portrait of Lenin hanging on the wall. Some historians believe that Stalin’s… [...]
The Karaganda Gulag
In the administrative centre of the former KarLag gulag in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, stands a brightly coloured flag, typical of the Stalinist era, bearing a slogan glorifying work. This… [...]
Alone in the canyon
Ominous clouds rise over the empty canyon during a late afternoon hike. In the Almaty region, close to the famous Charyn canyon,… [...]
Sandstorm over Shetpe
A strong gust of wind sweeps across the arid landscape around the village of Shetpe in western Kazakhstan, obscuring the view of the road and the landscape. Climate change… [...]