Kazakstan: General

Think of a world where the sane people are locked up, and the lunatics are outside, yes, its Britain, ur, I mean kazakhstan.

My entry was made from Iran, by boat on some massive lake, landing at Bautino.

Bautino is some industrial armpit, I think it produces oil, but I moved as far away from this area as possible.

Although it is vast in size, much of the land consists of semi-desert terrain.

...greater autonomy, Kazakhstan declared its sovereignty as a republic within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in October 1990. Following the August 1991 abortive coup attempt in Moscow and the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan declared independence in 1991. It was last of the Soviet republics to declare independence,- however, it has coped well do move away.

Kazakhstan has stable relationships with all of ... more

Think of a world where the sane people are locked up, and the lunatics are outside, yes, its Britain, ur, I mean kazakhstan.

My entry was made from Iran, by boat on some massive lake, landing at Bautino.

Bautino is some industrial armpit, I think it produces oil, but I moved as far away from this area as possible.

Although it is vast in size, much of the land consists of semi-desert terrain.

Caught up in the groundswell of Soviet republics seeking greater autonomy, Kazakhstan declared its sovereignty as a republic within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in October 1990. Following the August 1991 abortive coup attempt in Moscow and the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan declared independence in 1991. It was last of the Soviet republics to declare independence,- however, it has coped well do move away.

Kazakhstan has stable relationships with all of its neighbors. Kazakhstan is also a member of the United Nations, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

It is an active participant in the NATO Partnership for Peace program. Kazakhstan is also a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Economic Cooperation Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization along with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The nations of Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan established the Eurasian Economic Community in 2000 to re-energize earlier efforts at harmonizing trade tariffs and the creation of a free trade zone under a customs union.

Since independence in 1991, Kazakhstan has pursued what is known as the multidimensional foreign policy (многовекто 88;ная внешняя политика), seeking equally good relations with two large neighbors, Russia and China, and the United States and the West generally. The policy has yielded results in the oil and gas sector, where companies from the U.S., Russia, China, and Europe are present at all major fields, and in the multidimensional directions of oil export pipelines out of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan also enjoys strong, and rapidly developing, political and economic ties with Turkey.

Kazakhstan possesses the most major Soviet cosmodrome, where the first man was launched in space as well as Soviet space shuttle Buran and the well-known space station Mir.

This is a country where speaking Russian will get you by.

People are generally welcoming, but I kept out of the major industrial and residential areas, and stuck to small towns on my journies, as always, I was surrounded by millions of kids, wanting candy.

As a visitor for a few weeks, I got to work with the locals, and was made welcome just about everywhere, soaked up by the culture, living in mud hut type canvas tents with the family.

Often the town would put on a show or game, always involving horses or some kind of naked man wrestling (Scared me).

Be prepared for a strange cultural visit, and to be enveloped within the strangeness, just accept it! 

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