Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ASTANA672
2009-04-20 11:53:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Astana
Cable title:  

KAZAKHSTAN: LIFE ON THE STEPPE, APRIL 11-17

Tags:  PGOV PHUM ECON SOCI SENV KCRM KZ 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000672 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON SOCI SENV KCRM KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: LIFE ON THE STEPPE, APRIL 11-17

ASTANA 00000672 001.2 OF 002


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000672

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON SOCI SENV KCRM KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: LIFE ON THE STEPPE, APRIL 11-17

ASTANA 00000672 001.2 OF 002



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.

POLICE FORCE IN LISAKOVSK PURGED FOLLOWING INCIDENTS


2. The town of Lisakovsk in Kostanai oblast witnessed a major
shakeup of its police force. Five policemen were dishonorably
discharged, five others resigned, and another nine received
warnings. Local residents, used to the antics of local policemen
which they engaged in with apparent impunity, reacted with both
relief and surprise. The two drops which have caused the vase to
finally overflow were recent incidents at a local cafe called
Maksim. On two separate occasions, drunken off-duty policemen beat
up other patrons to the point where they had to seek medical care.
Moreover, on both occasions, police patrols called by other
residents not only did not intervene, but also failed to report any
incidents. Following these events and a flood of complaints by
victims and witnesses, regional law enforcement brass decided that
the situation finally deserved their attention. "Those who should
protect the law are the ones breaking it," the deputy chief of the
Department of Internal Affairs of Kostanai oblast told the disgraced
officials during their disciplinary hearings. "You all acted as if
you were your own bosses, your own prosecutors, and your own judges.
Hand over your badges."

DAM BREAKS, LOCAL "ENTREPRENEURS" LAUNCH MINI-FERRY SERVICE


3. As the spring slowly makes itself felt in Kostanai oblast, local
residents are bracing themselves for the annual flood season.
Experts claim there is no real danger of a major flood, but
overflowing rivers are making lives difficult for many residents,

especially those living in sparsely inhabited rural areas. Kozyrevk
and Krasnooktyabrskiy, two neighboring villages in the center of the
oblast, are normally connected by a road running on a narrow dike,
but they became separated when a usually small river broke through
the feeble dam. According to local residents, the dike break occurs
annually, almost as if on schedule. Dodging of responsibility of
who will be in charge of repairing the dike is also an annual
occurrence. Happy are only those 20 Kozyrevk elementary school
students who attend school in Krasnooktyabrskiy. It took local
officials several days to arrange for a school bus to bring the
children to school via a different route. Also quite content with
the situation are some entrepreneurs who launched a mini-ferry
service between the two small villages for a fare of 50 tenge
($0.33) a person.

UNSUCCESSFUL SALESMAN PAID IN ICE CREAM CAKE


4. A frozen goods producer from Pavlodar is reportedly using rather
drastic means to motivate its sales staff. According to several
employees, salespeople who do not meet their monthly sales quotas
receive unsold ice cream in lieu of their salaries. To make matters
even worse, the frozen goods that they receive are past their
expiration date. Yuriy Zhakiyanov, who was previously warned about
the practices of Smak, the Pavlodar firm, did not think twice when
he received a call from the warehouse to come pick up his salary.
Yet, as he quickly discovered, he found himself among the
"unproductive" salesmen and brought home eight ice cream cakes in
lieu of part of his salary. Anatoliy Fesikov, Smak's director,
claims that such practices do not exist. In the meantime,
Zhakiyanov's parents turned to local authorities to investigate the
firm's strange motivational practices. Zhakiynov himself summarized
the ordeal as follows: "I, of course, love sweets -- but not in
such quantity and in such (bad) quality. But they told us: 'You
couldn't sell, so go ahead and eat.'"

DRIVER'S LICENSE DEALER ADVERTISES HIS SERVICES, GETS CAUGHT


5. Last week, Almaty police detained a sophomore at KIMEP
university under suspicion of fraud. According to the police, the
student posted a classified ad on a public Internet website

ASTANA 00000672 002.2 OF 002


advertising his driver's license "business." For 50,000 tenge
(approximately $333),he offered to provide anyone with a driver's
license without having to pass a driving test and an oral exam.
When contacted by a police officer posing as a potential customer,
the student doubled his fee and promised that he would take the
driving test and smooth out any possible complications with the road
police. Not surprisingly, when finally apprehended, the young
"entrepreneur" admitted that he had a good friend at the road police
in East Kazakhstan oblast, with whose help he ran his driver's
license "business."

GIANT MUSHROOMS CAN FEED A VILLAGE


6. Mushroom pickers in Moiynkumskiye Peski in the Zhambyl oblast in
southern Kazakhstan were ecstatic about their recent find. Local
mushroom enthusiasts found several Boletus edulis, more commonly
known as porcini mushrooms, weighing more than two pounds each.
"One such mushroom is enough to make soup for an entire small
village," one lucky finder bragged. Reportedly, the unique size is
due to unusually high rainfall this spring -- and not to anything
more ominous, such as radioactivity or chemical waste.

HOAGLAND