Adventures with Julia

Friday, May 24, 2013

We made our final border crossing early this morning, 7am, by road from Kyrgyzstan into Kazakhstan. Olga wanted us to beat the traffic and we certainly did. There were few ahead of us and we sailed through in less than half an hour. We waited in a cafe for Misha to get the car across, which took another half hour. We were soon back on the road and headed to Almaty, about 2 1/2 hours NE on a good road with many cops on patrol. Misha drove much slower than conditions would have permitted because the cops intentionally keep the speed limit low and then charge a high fine ($100) for speeding and an even higher bribe ($700) to get out of it. It is much worse in Kazakhstan than in Kyrgyzstan. So we went slowly and enjoyed the view, which included Tian Shan mountains on the right and endless steppe on the left. The weather was soggy with heavy mist but the steppe was spectacular in yellow, red and lavender. Sometime there were billions of red poppies mixed with lavender flowers as far as the eye could see. Other times the palate would be yellow and lavender or red and yellow. I wanted to share the experience, but knew that the reality could not transfer to a photo. Another of those many times when you had to be there.

During the ride, we carried on a running Q&A about Kazakhstan and comparisons with Kyrgyzstan. Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world, almost 4 times larger than Texas, has 17.5 million people of which about 2 million live in Almaty, which used to be the capital until the president moved it to Astana in the north central part of the country.

Although Bishkek and Almaty were settled and laid out almost identically by the Russians only two years apart in the mid 1800’s, today they are considerably different. Bishkek, although attractive and pleasant, has stayed traditional and undeveloped. Almaty is very developed with multiple glass, high rises, modern shopping centers, museums, parks, roads and all manner of updated infrastructure. Almost all vestiges of Soviet era buildings and statues are gone, including the blocks of Soviet apartment buildings and Lenin statues that are ubiquitous in the other Stans.

The president, Mursultan Nazarbaev (73), has been president since independence, 8/30/91, and plans to be named president for life soon. The people don’t mind as he has provided stability and economic gain for most of them. Kazakstan has the highest GDP of all the Stans and is 53rd in purchasing power parity in the world. It is the first post-Soviet country to receive an investment grade credit rating. The median age in Kazakhstan is 29.3 as opposed to the 24-25 median age we have seen in the other Stans. By comparison the average age in the US is 37, according to Mark’s I Phone atlas. there is only 5.4% unemployment. Land was privatized very soon after independence. There are land owners who own as much as 100,000 hectares in farm land. OLga’s family own several hectares of land as well. Her father purchased as much as he could for each member of his family when the opportunity was announced. Prices then were very low. She considers her family to be middle class.

The major sources of income for Kazakhstan include: oil, gas, ferrous metals and chemicals. The country is depleting its reserves of oil and gas at a great rate and is currently working on ways to diversify. Kyrgyzstan, on the other hand, depends on trade with China, hydropower sales to neighboring countries and tourism. In terms of GDP parity, Kazakhstan is 53rd in the world and Kyrgyzstan is only 144th. Uzbekistan is 72nd, Turkmenistan is 97th and Tajikistan is 138th. Mark found this info in his atlas and we were only surprised that Kyrgyzstan was lower than Tajikistan.

There is a large and growing middle class. 95% or more of all families own at least one car, and most own more than one. There are new car dealerships around the city as well as the used car dealers. Mark has spotted many makes and models, although very few American models. The banking system is more developed than in the other Stans, although people, like Olga’s Kazak family members, still hide their extra funds in their home, not ready to trust the banking system. After all, what would happen to the banks if the president was ousted and a new one installed, especially in countries like Kyrgyzstan, which has gone through 4 presidents? THis is a problem, we in the US have no concept about

As we entered the city the traffic became intense and we were moving very slowly. We saw at least two fender benders and many close calls. Misha maneuvered us through the morass very well. Along the way to the city center we passed BMW and Toyota dealerships, a KFC, a Hardee’s, a McDonnald’s and several brand name shops, including Sax Fifth Avenue, Escada, Beneton, Bulgari, Gucchi and others. We stopped for lunch at a cafeteria, not my idea of a place to eat, but it was interesting to people watch, expedient, easy to see what we were getting and inexpensive. The city is so congested that parking is nearly impossible. There are attendants on each street, allowing cars to be parked sideways in front of other cars. Misha managed to find a place and rather than loose it, we walked, after lunch, to a wonderful museum of original musical instruments, mostly from Kazakhstan, but also from many other countries in Asia and Europe. In the last room, we listened to the sound of each instrument by pointing to a picture of it. The newly remodeled facility is housed in a very interesting old wooden building.

From there we walked through a tree filled park to see huge sculpted war memorials to those who died in the Russian Revolution (1917-1920) and in WWII. I found the memorials, which included an eternal flame, to be vary moving. Over 6,850,000 Soviets died during WWII, while the US lost 300,000, according to the stats Olga had. No wonder we have seen memorials in every village we have passed through in these post-Soviet countries. Beyond the memorials was the largest Russian Orthodox church in all the Stans. It was colorful and interesting both inside and out. Also, originally made of wood, the structure has been plastered over and painted to preserve it. Inside were many impressive icons, wall paintings, candlestick holders and other objects I can’t name. People were coming and going and the place certainly seemed used. Olga told us the country is about 48% Muslim and 45% Russian Orthodox, but that most are not practicing either religion. Meanwhile, churches and mosques are being built like crazy as if to outdo each other.
On our way to the Opera House, we passed one of my favorite stores, Escada, and I could not resist stopping. The clothes were as dear as in the states, so I bought only one shirt. Also, I did not want to keep everyone waiting for me. At the Opera House we learned that a ballet performance is scheduled for tomorrow night so we bought tickets. I am excited to be seeing a live performance of something.

Then we got dropped off at our hotel, The Intercontinental, and finally settled into our new room for the next four nights. The room is about the same quality as the Hyatt Regency in Bishkek, which is just fine with us. Typed this post and had some dinner in the hotel garden, while listening to a good trio from, of all places, Cuba.

Just for fun, here are a few more pronunciations for Russian words;
Garlic in Russian is pronounced “chessknock”
Dumplings are pronounced “paleman”, and
Beer, a very necessary word we learned late in the game, is Peevo.

Spa See Ba (thank you) for taking the time to read my posts,
Yellowbluebus,
Julia