No To Borat, Yes To Kazakhstan

A Quick Guide to the Real Kazakhstan

Misrepresented by the comic movie Borat, Kazakhstan has beautiful sights and a varied landscape that are worth visiting.

Facts about Kazakhstan

Sandwiched at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country on the planet, and, at one time, was the 2nd largest republic in the former Soviet Union (USSR).

Kazakhstan gained independence from the USSR in 1991. Nowadays Kazakhstan's population is divided: half Kazakh and half Russian.

Almost surrounded by China and the Russian Federation, its abundance of natural resources (especially oil and gas) have put this relatively new country on the front burner of international investors and multilateral corporations.

The Baikonur Cosmodrome, the world's oldest and largest working space launch facility, is located about 200 km to the east of the Aral Sea, on the north bank of the Syr Darya River. The Cosmodrome is under Russian control.

Misconceptions from the Movie Borat

Of course Kazakhstan has its own problems, but they are nothing like what was shown in the movie Borat. It was supposed to be a joke, but unfortunately, many people believed Kazakhstan is one big village and all the people there live in yourts. On top of that, Borat was filmed in Romania, and entirely different landscape.

If you open Google Earth and find Almaty or Astana, you will see that Kazakhstan is a land of contrasts--there are some really poor regions, but a number of people in Kazakhstan are extremely wealthy.

Kazakhstan is an amazing country with its own unique nature, traditions, food, architecture and history.