KAZAKHSTAN: LIFE ON THE STEPPE, MARCH 28 - APRIL 3

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SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI KDEM KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: LIFE ON THE STEPPE, MARCH 28 - APRIL 3

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1. This is another in a series of weekly cables drawn mostly from
public media, as well as think-tank, NGO, and opposition web-sites,
selected to show the diversity of life in Kazakhstan, and
information about it available to citizens of Kazakhstan. Our goal
is to choose what might interest and be of use to various end-users
in Washington and -- especially -- to provide a more complex view
from the other side of the world, illustrating the vitality (and
sometimes the quirkiness) of discourse available to citizens of
Kazakhstan.

KICK HIM WHILE HE'S DOWN


2. Sergey Tupitsyn, until recently an aspiring, well-regarded local
politician and activist, has experienced a rapid fall from grace. A
member of the Pavlodar maslikhat (city council),chairman of Nur
Otan party's youth wing in Pavlodar oblast, a member of the
government's Council for Youth Issues, winner of multiple state
award and prizes, and holder of four advanced degrees, Tupitsyn was
dismissed from the Nur Otan party under accusations of
"megalomania." Tupitsyn has also been sentenced to two years of
imprisonment for beating up his neighbor. One of the most respected
party members suddenly has become a pariah.


3. "Tupitsyn chairs an association, which includes 13 NGOs. The
association was always winning tenders and receiving government
orders worth millions," one of his former colleagues now claims.
"In March 2008, several officials from Pavlodar's city
administration said that Tupitsyn pressured them to grant government
tenders to his affiliates. If they refused to give the grants, the
head of the council's revision commission would start endless
inspections."


4. "We have received complaints from citizens, accusing Tupitsyn of
megalomania," another former colleague says. "A survey on the work
of the town council and its members, held by the regional management
school public foundation, showed that people view Tupitsyn as an
arrogant, haughty man, driving a foreign car with tinted windows.
The administration of Pavlodar gave him a new Ford Mondeo for
official business, but the car was mostly seen at night and near
restaurants."

"MISBEHAVING" BOY PUT IN "SOLITARY" DETENTION


5. A "misbehaving" seven-year old child spent several hours in the
"solitary confinement" of a tiny office in a village school near
Aktobe after his teacher locked him in and conveniently "forgot"
about the boy. According to the boy's parents, he spent more than
three hours in the office and was only able to escape when he broke
through a window. To add insult to injury, the school has demanded
that the boy's parents pay for the window that the first-grader
broke. In a statement explaining the incident, the teacher pleaded
ignorance and claimed that she did not notice that the boy was
missing. However, according to the director of local Department
for Children's Rights, that would not be an easy feat since the
village school only has a total of 20 students, and just six of
those attend the first grade.

POLICE AND SPECIAL FORCES FREE HOSTAGE


6. The economic crisis has been causing people to find increasingly
creative ways to earn money. Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence
suggests that property crime has increased as well. In a joint
operation, the Almaty police department and the government's Arlan
special forces unit freed a 32-year old hostage who was kidnapped
several weeks ago and held for 16 days in a basement near Almaty.
The kidnappers demanded a ransom of $80,000 in exchange for the
man's life. The businessman from Almaty was abducted in broad
daylight, when several masked men in a black BMW cut him off while
he was crossing a street and then forced him into their car. After
a thorough beating, the hostage was forced to phone his parents and
ask them to pay the ransom. The parents did not turn to the police
for ten days and tried to negotiate with the kidnappers on their
own. Failing in that effort, they finally involved the police, who
established contact with the kidnappers. In a meeting where the
ransom money was to be dropped off, all the kidnappers were
captured. They are currently awaiting trial.

SHYMKENT'S PASTRY CHEFS BUILD GIANT YURT CAKE

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7. Local pastry chefs gave an unusual and possibly record-setting
present to the residents of Shymkent, a city in southern Kazakhstan.
For the Nauryz (Persian New Year) holiday, 35 chefs "built" a
two-meter-tall yurt made out of honey, dough, raisins and nuts. To
build the giant cake, they used 2,650 eggs, 370 pounds of flour, 205
liters of vegetable oil, 11 pounds of each nuts and raisins, and 160
pounds of each sugar and honey. Since no car was big enough to
actually carry the cake, the chefs had to load it onto an excavator
to drive it to Shymkent's main square. Despite the possible
record-setting size of the yurt cake, its creators do not plan to
pursue an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records. "Our main
task is to keep people in good spirits," said Elena Kharitidi, one
of the organizers of the event.

HOAGLAND