Atyrau Journal - Astana, the Capital of Kazakhstan

Jim had a conference in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. It was a small village before the first president moved the entire government to the area and named it Astana, which means "capital." The capital was moved from Almaty after the post-Soviet government came into power, so except in some older parts of the city, it is all less than 30 years old. It is a very clean and modern city. Here are some city scenes:

The Bayterek Tower is both a monument and observation deck. It is believed to represent the Kazakh Tree of Life legend with the golden egg laid by a magic bird of happiness. The observation deck is in the egg several hundred feet above the ground.

The Presidential Palace at dusk.

(He doesn't live there; it's an important government building where he and his staff work and host foreign dignitaries.)

Here you see the Abu Dhabi center. It is an ultra modern, mixed group of three buildings. The tallest tower dwarfs the other buildings in the city center. It is 75 stories - or about 1050 feet - tall. It is demonstrative of the type of progress Kazakhstan seeks as it continues to develop a very large but thinly populated country. Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world in area, but has just less than 20 million people. The vast steppes make up most of the country, but the mountainous and developed areas are beautiful.

This is the Kazakh Death Star, set to destroy any invaders.

JUST KIDDING

It is the central architectural feature at the Astana International Financial Center. The AIFC was established in 2015 to help implement Kazakhstan's ambition of being one of the top developed countries in the world by 2050. It plays an essential role in attracting financial resources into the country and is positioned to become a financial hub for the countries of Central Asia, the Caucasus, Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Middle East, Western China, Mongolia and Europe. The ball you see lights up in different colors at night and is visible from many parts of the city. (We couldn't get a clean nighttime picture.)

The AIFC is host to the International Arbitration Center, where Jim attended the Eurasia Arbitration Days. Speakers came from Kazakhstan, other Central Asian countries, the United States, and Europe to discuss trends in international arbitration, which is used to resolve disputes between and among countries and international investors.

Astana hosts many large, modern mosques. This one was near the AIFC. Another large mosque with golden domes was located near the Presidential Palace. We have come to appreciate the values embraced by our Muslim friends and colleagues in the region. The faithful that we know have strong moral and family values and live peacefully and charitably among their neighbors. As for our religion, there is a branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Astana, and we were able to attend Sunday worship services. In addition to some local residents, we met the families of people who work for the US Embassy as well as the family of a fellow Chevron employee who represents Chevron's interest in the pipeline that carries Kazakhstani oil to the Black Sea for sale to customers around the world.

Next week: Another arbitration conference, this time in the largest city of Kazakhstan, Almaty - our second visit there.