Paddling Yessil With Astana’s Growing SUP Community
On summer weekends, stand-up paddleboards have become an increasingly familiar sight on the Yessil River and waterways beyond the capital. Some people come for an easy evening paddle, while others plan 20-kilometer routes, weekend excursions and trips in search of new places to explore. More people are also moving beyond occasional rentals and buying boards…
Semipalatinsk Legacy 35 Years On: Can Research Translate Into Care?
ASTANA — Thirty-five years after Kazakhstan closed the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, researchers and community advocates say its legacy still shapes health, science and policy. As evidence becomes more precise, experts say the focus is shifting toward how that knowledge can better support affected communities. The Aug. 29, 1991, closure ended more than four decades…
Experts: Kurultai Results Put Political Parties’ Ability to Deliver to Test
ASTANA — Kazakhstan’s first Kurultai election has shifted the focus from winning votes to how effectively political parties can represent voters, develop clear political agendas and deliver results in parliament, experts said following the Aug. 23 vote. The Central Election Commission (СEC) confirmed final results on Aug. 25. Five parties entered the 145-seat Kurultai after…
Observers Call for Improvements After Kazakhstan’s First Kurultai Vote
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s first election to the new unicameral Kurultai marked a significant stage in the country’s constitutional reform, according to international assessments released after the Aug. 23 vote. An OSCE-led mission found the process technically well prepared but said political competition remained limited. The International Election Observation Mission presented its preliminary findings in Astana…
What to Expect from Kurultai Elections in Kazakhstan This Week
ASTANA — Kazakhstan’s citizens will elect the members of the Kurultai, a new unicameral Parliament, on Aug. 23, putting a redesigned parliamentary and electoral system into practice for the first time. Beyond determining who receives the 145 seats, the vote will offer an early indication of how the new rules affect party competition, political representation…
Kazakhstan Economy Grows 4.1% as Non-Oil Sectors Expand
ASTANA — Kazakhstan’s economy grew 4.1% in the first seven months of 2026, maintaining the pace recorded in the first half of the year despite an 8.9% decline in oil production, reported the Ministry of National Economy on Aug.11. According to preliminary data from the Bureau of National Statistics (BNS), oil production totaled 53.2 million…
Kazakhstan Considers Baku-Supsa Oil Route Amid CPC Disruptions
ASTANA — Kazakhstan is considering additional oil export routes through Azerbaijan and Georgia, including Baku-Supsa, after temporary restrictions on crude intake by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) in July prompted the diversion of some volumes to alternative routes. During the restrictions, some Kazakh oil was redirected through the Aktau port, the Atasu-Alashankou pipeline toward China…
Fewer Births, Better Chances: Kazakhstan Advances in Newborn Care
ASTANA —Kazakhstan recorded nearly 150,000 births in the first half of 2026, down approximately 7% year on year, while neonatal mortality fell to 3.9 per 1,000 live births in 2025, the lowest rate in Central Asia, according to the Bureau of National Statistics and the Ministry of Healthcare. The decline in births follows a broader…
eGov GPT Expansion Advances Kazakhstan’s Digital Government Push
ASTANA — Kazakhstan plans to expand its AI-powered eGov GPT assistant so that services available through it account for approximately 70% of citizen requests by the end of 2026, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev said at an Aug. 11 government meeting. The assistant currently provides access to…
Sport’s Next Generation Won’t Choose Sides, Says Phygital International CEO
ASTANA — Phygital sport’s future will depend on building lasting local ecosystems, developing a new generation of athletes skilled in both physical and digital competition, and establishing itself as a distinct international sporting movement, Phygital International CEO Daniel Merkley said in an exclusive interview with The Astana Times. The Games of the Future 2026 powered…
Five Doctors, One Race and Life Beyond the Hospital
ASTANA — When former patients line up for the Jüregımnıñ Jeñımpazy (a champion of my heart) charity run in Astana on Aug. 9, some of the doctors who treated them will be at the starting line too. For five surgeons working across cardiac, transplant, neonatal and pediatric care, the race offers a rare chance to…
Where Gaming Meets Sport: Inside Astana’s Phygital Games
ASTANA — What happens when a video game result carries over to a basketball court, football pitch or combat arena? That is the central idea behind phygital sport, which combines digital and physical competition within a single match. As Astana hosts the Games of the Future 2026 powered by Samruk Kazyna (GOTF 2026) from July…
From Screens to Stadiums: Games of the Future 2026 Kicks Off in Astana
ASTANA – The Games of the Future will become another golden bridge of unity, friendship and solidarity among countries, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said as he opened the international tournament in Astana on July 29. The tournament brings together more than 800 participants representing over 50 nationalities. They will compete through Aug. 9 across eight disciplines…
From Bronze Age to the Silk Road: Tracing Kazakhstan’s Ancient Past
ASTANA — Archaeologists and regional authorities are advancing research and preservation projects at major sites across Kazakhstan. From Bronze Age settlements in Rudny to Golden Horde monuments and a Caspian trade hub, the work is expanding knowledge of the country’s archaeological heritage and supporting its long-term preservation. Kostanai’s Bronze Age sites and monumental steppe designs…
What Kazakhstan’s Voters Want Beyond Campaign Promises
ASTANA — Raising incomes and curbing inflation were priorities for 62.3% and 48.9% of 1,200 respondents, respectively, according to the findings presented at the July 17 Sapar Expert Club meeting in Astana. Experts discussed expectations, party roles and participation ahead of Aug. 23 Kurultai elections under the new Constitution. Fighting corruption ranked third among respondents’…
Kazakhstan Condemns Drone Attacks on Vessels Carrying CPC Oil
ASTANA — Kazakhstan strongly condemned drone attacks on July 17 and 19 against civilian vessels transporting oil through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) infrastructure in the Black Sea. According to the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the attacks are an “unacceptable infringement on Kazakhstan’s economic interests” and deliberate attempts to destabilize lawful international trade, global…
When Events Become Engines of Tourism
From Nevada’s Black Rock Desert to rural Somerset, festivals have long shown how a temporary event can place an overlooked destination on the global map. A recent trip to Katon-Karagai convinced me Kazakhstan is beginning to experience the same effect. Burning Man brings tens of thousands of people into the Nevada desert. Glastonbury transforms farmland…
See You Soon, Kazakhstan: Enrique Iglesias Shares Kazakh Artist’s Portrait
ASTANA — Global pop star Enrique Iglesias shared a video by Kazakh artist and blogger Assel Sabyrzhankyzy on his official Facebook and X accounts, writing, “See you soon Kazakhstan.” The post comes ahead of his September concerts in Astana and Almaty on Sept.3-5. Carpet becomes canvas The two accounts where Iglesias shared the video have…
When Altai Sang: Dimash-Headlined Festival Draws 50,000 Visitors
KATON-KARAGAI — Thundering hooves, improvised verse and Dimash Qudaibergen’s voice carried across the Altai mountains as the Altai – Golden Cradle of the Turkic World festival drew an estimated 50,000 people to East Kazakhstan’s Katon-Karagai on July 10-11. Across two days, the festival brought together poetry, national sports, crafts, regional music and international visitors in…
Dombra Day Celebrates Kazakhstan’s Living Musical Heritage
ASTANA — Kazakhstan celebrates National Dombra Day on July 5 with concerts, educational events and performances across the country, continuing the annual tradition established in 2018 to promote the dombra and showcase one of the country’s best-known cultural symbols. For centuries, the dombra has occupied a central place in Kazakh culture, accompanying oral storytelling traditions…
Middle Corridor Draws UK Attention Amid Supply Chain Risks
ASTANA — Growing instability around key Middle Eastern maritime chokepoints is increasing the strategic importance of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, said experts during a May 27 webinar hosted by the Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University in London. The webinar, titled The Middle Corridor and the Future of…
NPT Nuclear Talks Enter Final Stretch in New York
ASTANA — Delegates from from more than 190 countries gathered at the United Nations headquarters in New York on April 27 for the 2026 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), after the previous two review cycles failed to produce consensus outcome documents amid growing geopolitical tensions and divisions over…
Young Kazakhs to Study Tien Shan Glaciers in Research Expedition
ASTANA — A new British-Kazakh initiative will send 15 university students to the Tien Shan mountains in July and August to conduct glaciological research, as glaciers – critical to Kazakhstan’s water security – continue to retreat at an accelerating rate. The program combines fieldwork with leadership training for young participants. Launched by the British Kazakh…
Steppe Diplomacy: How Nomads Preserved Peace After War
ASTANA — Nomadic societies across the Eurasian steppe developed distinct approaches to war and diplomacy that did not rely on formal treaties or territorial control. Instead, they used flexible strategies, including personal guarantees and family-based agreements, to prevent renewed conflict. According to Edil Noyanov, deputy head of Kazakhstan’s History Department at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University,…
UAE Exit Puts OPEC+ and Kazakhstan’s Oil Strategy to Test
ASTANA — The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, also known as OPEC+, moved to raise June output quotas on May 3 after the United Arab Emirates left the alliance amid the war in the Middle East and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. For Kazakhstan, the move underscores the challenge of…
