Kazakhstan - Kasachstan

location
Map of Asia with marked location of Kazakhstan
flag
Flag of Kazakhstan
Short dates
CapitalAstana
Form of governmentPresidential Republic
currency1 tenge (KZT) = 100 Tiin
surface2.72 million km²
population15.1 million
languagesKazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, common as intercultural colloquial language)
ReligionsMuslims 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestants 2%, others 7%
Phone code 7
Internet TLD.concentration camp
Time zoneCET 4 / CET 5h

Kazakhstan located in Central Asia. Bordering countries are Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The country is known, among other things, as the location of the Russian spaceport Baikonur, for those in Soviet times Semipalatinsk nuclear weapons tests carried out and for its oil and gas reserves. Rather sad notoriety was due to one of the greatest environmental disasters of modern times, the drying up of the Aral Sea, obtained. In the old cities there are impressive buildings from the heyday of Islam. The mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Turkistan has been part of the UNESCO world cultural heritage. In terms of landscape, Kazakhstan offers the coast on the Caspian Sea in the west, the wooded steppe of the Siberian lowlands in the north, the barren steppes of Central Asia with the Kyzylkym Desert in the southwest, in the south and southeast the high mountain ranges of the Tienshan with the 7010 m high Khan Tengri and to the east the Alatau and Altai Mountains.

Regions

Kazakhstan is divided into 14 areas:

Cities

Map of Kazakhstan
  • Almaty - (former capital) at the foot of the Tien Shan Mountains
  • Nur-Sultan - Test-tube city and new capital in the center of the country. The city was called from 1998 to 2019 Astana. Earlier names were Akmolinsk (1830–1961), Zelinograd (1961–1992) and Aqmola (1992–1998)

, former names of the city

Other goals

background

The current borders of the country are those of the former Soviet republic. The country is governed in a highly autocratic manner.

getting there

Entry requirements

Since 2014, Kazakhstan has gradually relaxed its entry requirements for short-term stays. Citizens of the CIS are allowed to stay for 90 days. Other citizens of economically progressive nations receive a 30-day right of residence. All EFTA citizens belong to the latter in 2018. Registration is still required, and there are still restricted areas in the interior of the country.

Certain foreigners who have a valid visa for Kyrgyzstan have or do not need such a visa-free stay in the border regions of the districts of Almaty and Jambul.

If a visa is required, it cannot be applied for by post, but only in person or through the intermediary of a travel agency

  • Consular section of the embassy, Nordendstrasse 14-17, 13156 Berlin. Tel.: 49 (030) 47 007 161 (Information 14.00-16.00), Fax: (030) 47 007 131. Open: Mon., Tue., Thu. Fri. 9.00-12.00.
    (Consulate district: Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt)

or the regionally competent consulate, as those are

  • Branch office Bonn, Rathausstrasse 3, appointments: Mon.-Fri. 15.00-17.00 at (0228) 403 87 0. Responsibility: NRW;
  • Consulate General, Beethovenstraße 17, 60325 Frankfurt, jurisdiction: Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland; Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri: 9.00 a.m.-12.30 p.m.
  • Honorary Consulate Anderter Straße 99d, 30559 Hanover (Appointments Mon.-Fri. 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on 0511 301 868 99).
  • Consulate, Redwitzstraße 4, 81925 Munich, (Appointments can be made Mon-Fri 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. at 49 (0) 89 909 010 60. Responsibility: Bavaria.

The other consulates in Bremen, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Dresden do not issue visas.

For Austria:

For Switzerland:

Another condition is a passport that is valid for at least six months beyond the planned stay. A migration card must be filled out upon entry and must be kept until departure.

Note: "Automatic registration"

In the case of entry without a visa, the obligation to register for stays of up to 30 days has been abolished since January 1, 2020. Otherwise, the mandatory registration should take place automatically. That this actually happened is either through the affixing of a second stamp on the one to be filled in upon entry migration card recognizable or in the case of visas over 30 days by a corresponding note in the passport. This automatic registration is carried out routinely when entering via airports, but not always when entering by land. Should the second stamp be on the migration card missing, the official can be asked for this by the traveler. Registration will also be certified by the hotel on request or must be obtained personally from the registration offices of the district capitals and the state capital.

Kazakhstan continues to discriminate against TB and HIV infected people who have been in the country for more than 30 days when entering the country, as a negative AIDS test and a lung x-ray are required upon registration,[1] which is hardly surprising given the generally problematic human rights situation in the country.[2]

By plane

→ Main Products: Airports in Kazakhstan

The most important international airports are those of Astana and Almaty, both of which are served from Germany from Frankfurt. Smaller airports are also served by regional foreign airlines.

By train

All Kazakh trains of the Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ; Қазақстан Темiр Жолы (ҚТЖ)) travel to “Astana time.” Trains are booked out quickly, especially in summer.

From Berlin there is a connection via Moscow to Almaty, the travel time is 4½ days. From Vienna it takes just as long, here you have to change twice in Warsaw and in Moscow.

By bus

In the street

There are two main routes of arrival by road:

1. From Central Europe to Russia. Roads of international importance lead directly to Kazakhstan via the cities of Saratov, Astrakhan, Samara or Orenburg.

2. From Central Europe via the Balkans, Turkey, Iran and Turkmenistan often plus Uzbekistan.

The second route is much more time-consuming and costly.

By boat

Between Baku in Azerbaijan and Aqtau on the Caspian Sea sails a cargo ship that also takes passengers. However, this "ferry" does not run regularly and has no timetable. As a result, nobody knows more than 24 hours in advance whether a ship is going to leave. So travelers have to ask at the port every day. The fare is US $ 120 and may be negotiable. The travel time is approx. 24 hours, plus any waiting time, it can easily be 48 hours. Passengers are not provided with food or drink on board, so sufficient food should be thought of beforehand.

mobility

language

Russian and Kazakh are spoken throughout the country. The Kazakh language is a Turkic language. Oguzturk is still spoken in large regions (Turkey, Uzbekistan, Turkmenia). Kipschaturk is spoken in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The language has recently been written in Latin script. A large community living in Mongolia and China write in Arabic letters.

shop

The currency is the Kazakh tenge and all goods and services must be paid for in this. In the cities you can easily exchange euros and US dollars. The exchange of currencies from neighboring countries, as well as Swiss francs and other common currencies is also possible, but at lower rates.
It is possible to withdraw cash from ATMs with European bank cards in almost all cities.

It's best to buy everyday necessities in small shops (groceries, small hygiene items, alcohol) or if you are out and about in larger cities: in the bazaar, of course. There is an extremely large and sometimes not manageable range of everything you can imagine (meat, fish (better hands off it, as in Almyty), fruit and vegetables, other food, honey, clothes, shoes, jewelry, household appliances and many other things). It always pays to act. In the big cities, such as in Almaty, there are new, large shopping centers and galleries that are intended for the upper classes and are mostly only used by them. For example, Silkway is a smaller downtown shopping mall with western boutiques. GROS is a large supermarket chain where you can find almost exclusively western products with almost western prices.

The sale of schnapps is only allowed from 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., other alcoholic beverages are available from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. The minimum smoking age is 18.

kitchen

The national dish is called Beschpermak (translated: five fingers). As the name suggests, it is eaten by hand. It consists of extremely wide cooked pasta dough, cooked mutton and steamed onions. However, there are variations with the meat. It can be served like this, for example: the cooked dough pieces cut into small parallelograms lie at the bottom of the plate, and above them the cooked meat (can also be beef). The meat stock is poured over the whole thing and sliced ​​spring onions are sprinkled over it. In addition, in all restaurants (or in fast food outlets) you can get manty (palm-sized dumplings filled with meat and onions and very tasty!), Pelmeni, bleny (pancakes - hearty or sweet), plov (the Uzbek national dish consisting of rice, carrots, meat, raisins - all in all: definitely try it because it tastes really good!) and many other things. The salads are rather simple and are based on the seasonal offer. Tomatoes and cucumbers are usually the main ingredients, especially in the Almaty region, but also elsewhere. Pierogi and samsa are sold on the side of the road, both of which are highly recommended. Pierogi (Russian yeast dough pockets filled with various things (mushrooms, meat, potatoes, fruit filling)) are actually also available in larger supermarkets. Samsa are triangular-shaped puff pastries and can also have different fillings (meat and onions, chicken, cheese). Samsa is widespread throughout Central Asia, and not without reason very popular, cheap in price and filling.

Arts and Culture

nightlife

accommodation

Learn and study

Work

public holidays

dateSurnameimportance
01.01.New Year
08.03.Womens dayInternational Women's Day
22.03.Nauryz meyramyspring Festival
01.05.May Day
09.05.day of the victory
30.08.Constitution Day
25.10.day of the Republic
01.12.1st President's Day
16.12.independence DayNational holiday

In addition, the Orthodox Christmas and the Muslim festivals (e.g .: Id al-Adha: July 19, 2021) partly public holidays.

security

In Kazakhstan, too, there is a rumor that foreigners from the west are generally very rich and carry a lot of money with them. Therefore, one should not use unofficial taxis (official taxis have a taxi sign on the roof and cost just as little as unofficial taxis), do not let strangers get into taxis, do not walk around at night, be very skeptical of outside contacts and under no circumstances allow themselves to be led anywhere. Caution should also be exercised in the markets and on unpopulated streets. Don't show expensive items openly. For your own safety, you should only visit discos and bars if you are accompanied by local people you trust.
Another assessment says that it also depends on whether you can communicate in Russian. If you speak the Russian language and you can communicate with the outside world, you hardly ever get into dangerous situations. Kazakhs are very hospitable people and the poorer and the more rural the area, the more people give. There is more of an attitude: "What do I need your money for?". Whereas in urban areas with high social inequality, such as in Almaty, Nursultan or Karaganda, the above-mentioned phenomenon can occur. But only in certain areas and especially at night.

health

It is worthwhile to take out private international travel insurance in Germany before leaving, especially since it is usually a shorter stay anyway and the maximum of 10 euros is worthwhile, because the insurance bears all costs in any case. In Almaty and Astana there are western-standardized private clinics with corresponding price levels. Otherwise the polyclinics and medical centers are in very poor condition. In any case, foreigners will only be noticed in such situations with a corresponding investment of money and then possibly also treated. In pharmacies you can get pretty much everything without a prescription, including antibiotics. However, since there are several types of it, it is worth consulting a doctor beforehand which one is more suitable. The drugs come from different countries (Germany, USA, Czech Republic, Romania, Russia etc.) and are often ineffective. The personal first-aid kit should definitely treat diarrhea, angina (unfortunately too often underestimated, but occurs frequently and finding a remedy for it is very difficult, except for "Coldvik" from the USA, which helps best), colds and Contain aspirin. In addition, sterile syringes should be taken with you for a possible hospital stay, so that you do not get AIDS or other diseases, bandages, compresses, plasters, etc. Current recommendations for useful vaccinations can be found on Tropeninstitut.de.

At the nuclear test site (50 ° 7 ′ N.78 ° 43 ′ E) approx. 150 km east of Semei (Semipalatinsk) at Kurchatov, numerous aboveground and underground nuclear tests were carried out between 1949 and 1989. The test site and its surroundings are therefore considered to be radioactively contaminated. Although it is still a restricted area, it is partly used for agriculture and is freely accessible. Therefore, in this region you should refrain from consuming dairy products, eggs, mushrooms and the like.

Climate and travel time

There is a continental climate in the north, a desert climate in central and western Kazakhstan, and a more humid continental climate in the south.

Annual climate: very hot summers with temperatures of up to 40 ° C. Low rainfall. Extremely cold winters with up to -30 ° C.

behaviour rules

Knowledge of Russian is almost essential. Even if English is sometimes understood and spoken (mostly by younger people), this sometimes has disadvantages: You will definitely be identified as a foreigner immediately and foreigners are rich and there is something to get there. Therefore, you often pay more than it actually costs. However, with a good knowledge of Russian, this should not happen. You also come into contact with locals and can find out things faster and identify new destinations than if you search for them yourself. Many of them are very happy to help and give you enough hints and tips. Kazakh has recently become the language that is officially spoken and written in official circles, or should be. For example, locals only have to use forms that are only written in Kazakh. In schools, Kazakh is taught from grade 1. Russian is mostly also taught and spoken or at least understood by the majority of all Kazakhs (those who are not ethnically Kazakhs, but are citizens of Kazakhstan), especially in urban areas.

Post and Telecommunications

The letter and parcel service is provided by Kazpost concerned.

Internet provides the Kazachtelecom (Қазақтелеком) ready to ADSL expansion has begun. There are around 100 resellers. Numerous sites, especially blogs, are blocked.[3].concentration camp- Pages must be kept on servers in the country. Mobile Internet (4G) is currently only offered by Astana and Almaty Altel. 3G access is available from all cellular providers.

There are three cellular providers: KCell (Kazakhtelecom), Beeline and Tele2. The latter are the cheapest but outside of the cities also have the lowest coverage

Foreign missions

Federal Republic of Germany

Austria

  • Austrian Embassy Astana, Kosmonavtov 62, 9th floor, Chubary Microdistrict, 010000 Astana. Tel.: 7 717 297 78 69, Fax: 7 717 297 78 50, Email: .

Switzerland

  • Swiss Embassy Astana, Microdistrict Chubary, ul.Kosmonavtov 62 010000 Astana. Tel.: 7 7172 97 98 92, 7 7172 97 98 93, Fax: 7 7172 97 98 94. Open: Monday-Friday 09: 30-12: 00.

Belgium

Italy

In emergencies, Liechtenstein residents contact the Swiss embassy, ​​Luxembourg residents one of the other EU embassies.

literature

  • Ruler of heaven. In:In Asia, Vol.6 (November / December) (2007), Pp. 34–37 (German). - Where is Kazakhstan actually? The article introduces the Central Asian country

Individual evidence

  1. ↑[1]
  2. ↑Printed matter 18/1193 - DIP21 - German Bundestag
  3. ↑This can be avoided by using proxies or Opera in "Turbo Mode."

Web links

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