In May 2011, the Kazakhstan Network Information Centre notified Google of an order issued by the Ministry of Communications and Information in Kazakhstan that requires all .kz domain names, such as google.kz, to operate on physical servers within the borders of that country.

Creating borders on the web raises important questions for Google not only about network efficiency but also about user privacy and free expression. So they have decided to redirect users that visit google.kz to google.com in Kazakh. This means that Kazakhstan users will experience a reduction in search quality as results will no longer be customised for Kazakhstan (source).

The authoritarian regime of Nazarbayev is making its best to control the information and people but the more effort is made the more dangerous the situation will be when the people of Kazakhstan will try to get rid of it. It’s amazing how the history of all mankind teaches nothing such leaders.

Tags: censorship

Singing Dunes is a mountain of sand of light colors, has a length of 3 km and a height of 150 m. The dune is located in the National Park Altyn-Emel in Almaty oblast of Kazakhstan, 182 km north-east of Almaty.

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Tags: Almaty oblast · Singing Dunes

Astana has the status of the capital city of Kazakhstan from December 10, 1997. The population of Astana is about 700,000, it is the second largest city in the country after former capital Almaty.

The main reason for moving the capital was the geographical location of the city – it is much more accessible to Russia and the chance of earthquake is much smaller. The following beautiful photos of Astana were taken by Stepanov Slava.

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Tags: Astana city

The Council of Heads of CIS governments proposed the chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan Grigory Marchenko to the position of Director of International Monetary Fund. It was announced by Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Masimov. “We consider him as a single candidate from all CIS countries and will submit an application to the IMF” – he said.

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The following short film was commissioned by Majors Office of Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan, for OSCE Forum.

Astana Architecture from alexander chertok on Vimeo.

Tags: Astana city

Islam is the most common religion among the believers in the Republic of Kazakhstan. A lot of cities in the country have picturesque mosques like the following ones.

Mosque “Nur-Astana”, Astana

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Tags: Islam · mosques

Space rocket “Soyuz-U” with a cargo spacecraft “Progress M-10M” was successfully launched at 17 hours 05 minutes 21 seconds, April 27, 2011 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome (Baikonur city, Kazakhstan). The launch mass of the spacecraft was 7290 kg. There was more than 2,6 tones of cargo on board of the Progress M-10M, including fuel, water, containers with food rations, fresh food, medical equipment, parcels for the ISS crew, equipment for scientific experiments.

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Tags: Baikonur city · cosmodrome · launch · space rocket

The nature of Karaganda oblast is beautiful but this land also preserves the historical memory of the tragic events happened in its past. The following memorials are dedicated to the victims of Stalin’s repressions. The photos were captured by mishgun.

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Tags: Karaganda oblast · landscapes · memorials

Khodzha Akhmed Yasavi Mausoleum was built in Turkestan in 1396-1399 on the orders of emir Timur by Persian masters. The mausoleum is a masterpiece of Central Asian architecture representing the architectural heritage of past centuries. In June 2003, the Mausoleum received the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site. The photos were captured by Semyonova.

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Tags: Khodzha Akhmed Yasavi Mausoleum · Turkestan city

Karkaralinsk town is located about 220 kilometers to the east of Karaganda at an altitude of 815 meters above sea level. Pristine beauty of Karkaraly mountains and forests, lush vegetation of the valleys, clear lakes – all this is remembered for a long time by everyone who has visited this region at least once. Unique museum of nature is open near Karkaralinsk having thousands of exhibits that reveal the richness of flora and fauna of this mountain-forest area. The photos were captured by Kochmaryov.

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Tags: Karaganda oblast · Karkaraly