Read My Lips - the blog

Go with me on an early morning adventure

I am so proud to announce that I had my first visitor from a country that I did not know existed: Kazakstan. I am almost sure it is one of those little independent countries in the southern region of what was formerly the Soviet Union. Geography has surely changed since I was in elementary school. So Just where is Kazakstan? Here it is. The essential data:

Full country name: Republic of Kazakhstan
Area: 2.71 million sq km
Population: 16.8 million
People: 46% Kazakh, 34.7% Russian, 4.9% Ukrainian, 3.1% German, 2.3% Uzbek, 1.9% Tatar
Language: Kazakh, Russian
Religion: 47% Muslim, 44% Russian Orthodox, 2% Protestant
Government: republic
Head of State: President Nursultan Nazarbayev
Head of Government: Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov

GDP: US$52.9 billion
GDP per capita: US$3,100
Inflation: 10%
Major Industries: Much of industrial capacity is shut down and/or in need of repair) Oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur, iron and steel, nonferrous metal, tractors and other agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials, grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton, wool, livestock
Major Trading Partners: Russia, UK, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, the Netherlands, China, Italy, Germany, Turkey, South Korea

A few other interesting facts:

If you're not a fan of endless semi-arid steppe and decaying industrial cities, Kazakhstan may seem bleak, but those who enjoy remoteness, wide open spaces, lunar landscapes, long hypnotic train rides and horse sausage will definitely be in their element. [more]

Of course, if you really want the official skinny on Kazakhstan

The only official site in Kazakhstan. Owned by the President of the Kazakhstan. All information you need about Kazakhstan: Political structure, geography, education, geography, tourism, culture, ...

Well, let me conclude this brief foray into our quest for knowledge about Kazakhstan by welcoming our Kazakhstanian friends to our humble blog and asking them to please feel free to drop in whenever the mood should strike them in the future.

OTB Traffic Jam

Posted by notGeorge at April 23, 2004 12:40 AM