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Have you ever wondered where your hometown or region got its name, and what stories are hidden behind the names of capitals and major cities? A recent project from Kazakhstan highlights how data-driven methods, combined with modern visualization techniques, can shed light on these onomastic mysteries.

Kazakh city names

Nurasyl Abdrazakuly, a Kazakh data scientist with a passion for transforming raw data into meaningful insights and compelling visuals, has created a map that translates the literal meanings of city names across Kazakhstan into English.

Nurasyl’s visual map reveals that many Kazakh city names are rooted in natural landscapes and...

Another festival is on its way to Astana — the Qazaqstan Coffee Festival, a major thematic event for coffee lovers. Kursiv LifeStyle reveals the details.

The festival will take place from July 19 to 20. Guests of the event will be presented with a market featuring coffee and sweet treats, the finals of the barista championship, masterclasses by experts from Kazakhstan and Europe, as well as summer DJ sets on a terrace with a city view.

The Almaty edition of the Qazaqstan Coffee Festival, originally scheduled for May 17 to 18, was effectively disrupted due to extreme heat on the...

Alatau City Bank, formerly known as Jusan Bank, reported that Forbes Kazakhstan-listed billionaire Vyacheslav Kim finalized the deal to acquire a 100% stake in the financial organization.

«The acquisition of Alatau City Bank is extremely important for me, and I plan to create on its basis a fundamentally new financial institution for the Kazakhstani market. I thank the bank’s management for the outstanding work carried out over the past two years. I am confident that we will achieve continued success if we preserve all the best practices in place and focus on accelerated technological development...

Comic book conventions — events that bring together fans of comics and the culture around them — rose to global popularity largely thanks to San Diego Comic-Con, which has been held annually since 1970. Over time, the concept evolved beyond comic books to embrace a wide range of pop culture, including movies, TV shows, video games and cosplay. Kazakhstan is no exception. Comic Con Astana was first held in 2019. After a three-year hiatus, the event returned in 2023, 2024 and now in 2025, constantly expanding and becoming a truly international event with prominent guests and partners.

This year’s...

Kazakhstan-based Akashi Data Center and China Mobile have signed a memorandum of understanding. The signing ceremony took place during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Digital Economy Forum in Tianjin, China, on July 11.

The document covers cooperation in the development of intelligent infrastructure for data centers, the artificial intelligence (AI) industry and the construction of a computing power network in Kazakhstan.

«This cooperation marks China Mobile’s first project in Kazakhstan, underscoring the growing importance of the region in the global digital economy,» Akashi Data Center representatives said.

The two parties will focus on the implementation...

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a decree establishing a new council to oversee the country’s National Fund, a sovereign wealth fund financed by oil revenues. Tokayev will serve as chair.

The decree nullifies a 2004 order that designated former President Nursultan Nazarbayev as chair of the council.

Regular members of the new council include the prime minister, the speakers of both chambers of parliament, the head of the presidential administration, the chairman of the National Bank, the first deputy prime minister, the chair of the Supreme Audit Chamber, and the ministers of finance and economy.

The council...

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Kazakhstan, individuals who hand over their bank cards to fraudsters may face the blocking of all their bank accounts, followed by criminal prosecution for acting as so-called «money mules.» The agency reports that thousands of people in Kazakhstan may be involved in such financial crimes.

So far, the Prosecutor General’s Office has identified more than 50,000 individuals in the country involved in online fraud and drug trafficking. Over 6,000 of them are so-called money mules, whose identities have already been established by law enforcement. Officials believe the actual number may be significantly higher.

Kazakhstan’s net international reserves fell by $366 million (-0.73%) to $49.8 billion in June 2025, according to the National Bank. It marks the second consecutive monthly decline since the start of the year.

Gross international reserves, which include assets in freely convertible currencies and monetary gold, dropped by $282 million (-0.54%) to $52 billion.

Foreign currency reserves saw a sharper decline, falling by $903 million (-4.37%) to $19.7 billion in June. In contrast, gold reserves rose by $622 million (+1.96%) to $32.2 billion.

Since the beginning of the year, foreign currency assets have fallen 9.96%, while monetary gold reserves...

Kazakh millionaire Berik Kaniyev and his wife have established a scholarship to study at Duke University in the U.S., allowing one citizen of Kazakhstan each year to complete their education at the Fuqua School of Business free of charge. Among the prominent graduates of the institution are Tim Cook, Melinda Gates and David Rubenstein.    

The presentation of the Berik and Bayan Kaniyev Foundation and its eponymous scholarship took place at the library — bearing the name of Seraly Kaniyev, the businessman’s father, since 2024 — at the Kazakh National Women’s Teacher Training University. The new scholarship is intended to...

According to the National Bank, Kazakhstan’s external debt amounted to $170.5 billion in the first quarter of 2025, after a sharp increase of $5.7 billion at the beginning of the year. This is the highest figure since 2001, when the regulator started monitoring the indicator. The previous record was reported in 2018 ($167.4 billion).

«In the first quarter, external debt increased by $3.4 billion due to balance of payments transactions and by $2.3 billion due to exchange rate, valuation and other changes,» the National Bank explained.

The structure of the external debt is as follows:

–        Public external debt...

The global fragrance market has recently welcomed a new addition — Kiz Jibek, a perfume launched under the Tolegen Paris brand by an ethnic Kazakh entrepreneur living in France.

A French Kazakh born in China

Nurjan Tolegen, the founder of Tolegen Paris, is an ethnic Kazakh born in the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in China. He spent his early years in the city of Kulja before relocating to Paris, where he now lives and works.

Nurjan describes himself as the grandson of nomadic people. His grandparents left their homeland “during the time of civil war,” carrying with them...

Kazakhstan’s largest cities — Astana and Almaty — are preparing for two major concerts as the Backstreet Boys announced their visit to the Central Asian country. Kursiv LifeStyle explains where and how to get tickets.

According to organizers, negotiations for the band’s concerts had been ongoing for a year. This will be the first time the Backstreet Boys perform in the CIS. The concert in Almaty will be part of the official City Day celebrations.

The Almaty concert is scheduled for Sep. 19 at the Central Stadium. Tickets will be publicly available for sale on July 15 at...

As global demand for rare-earth elements continues to grow, interest in these strategic materials is expanding beyond traditional producers. Used in everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to wind turbines and defense systems, rare earths are an essential part of the modern economy. At the same time, experiences from current leading producers raise important questions about the environmental and social impacts of rare earth extraction.

China’s experience with rare earth production

China plays a central role in the rare earth market, producing more than 60% of the world’s supply and handling around 85% of global processing. The country extracts key...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev responded to Donald Trump’s letter on the introduction of a 25% tariff on goods imported from Kazakhstan. He said that the country is committed to developing fair, predictable, mutually beneficial trade relations with the United States, a long-standing trade and investment partner of Kazakhstan.

As the press service of the Akorda, the official residence and workplace of the president, reported, Tokayev confirmed that Kazakhstan is ready to continue a constructive dialogue in order to find a well-balanced solution to the current trade issues.

Earlier this week, Donald Trump sent Tokayev a letter, informing him of a...

A new grant program for young artists from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan has been launched by the independent initiative Easy Art, supported by the BeWoman forum.

The idea behind the initiative is not just to provide financial support, but to create a sustainable platform for a new generation of artists, shaping the region’s visual language.   

The program’s themes center around not only art, but also what matters to society: identity, female leadership, cultural transformations, collective experience and outlooks toward the future. This isn’t just pretty language — participants will have the chance to explore what’s intimate and...

KazMunayGas (KMG), Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil and gas company, reported that oil production at the Dunga field in the Mangystau region reached 340,000 tons between January and June 2025, an increase of 7,000 tons year-on-year.

In 2024, the field produced 630,000 tons of oil, and KMG is projecting the output to rise to 649,300 tons in 2025.

Askhat Khassenov, KMG’s CEO, recently visited the Dunga field during a working trip to the region. As part of the visit, he held a meeting with representatives of Dunga Operating GmbH, the company developing the field. Discussions focused on the supply and...

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took part in the official launch ceremony of a new supercomputer at the Alemcloud National Supercomputer Center in Astana.

The installation and commissioning of the high-performance system, based on NVIDIA H200 graphics processors, took place at a new data center under the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan, in collaboration with foreign partners.

«The new supercomputer cluster has a capacity of up to 2 exaflops using the FP8 calculation method, making it the most powerful computing solution in Central Asia,» the Akorda reported.

According to President Tokayev, the...

Russia has entered the top five countries for expected millionaire emigration in 2025, with 1,500 individuals projected to leave, collectively holding an estimated fortune of $14.7 billion, according to the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2025.

Ranked exactly fifth in terms of millionaire outflow, Russia follows:

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates, the U.S. and Italy are expected to see the highest net inflows of millionaires, with 9,800, 7,500 and 3,600 rich individuals arriving, respectively. These countries are attractive due to...

A video circulating on social media shows an international tourist sharing his experience at a mountaintop toilet near Almaty, Kazakhstan, remarkable not for its facilities, but for its view.

The small wooden structure, perched in the mountains, is notably missing a door.

«Here I am, hiking through the mountains just outside Almaty, and I find this toilet. But that’s not the most interesting thing, of course. The view is incredible. Look at this,» the tourist says in the video.

As he turns the camera to show what’s in front of him, the reason...

Kursiv Research has compiled a ranking of Kazakhstan’s largest renewable energy facilities by installed capacity in 2024. The analysis shows that Chinese investors are increasingly implementing projects in Kazakhstan independently. Previously, they participated primarily as technology suppliers for Kazakhstani businesses.

Who is building renewable energy facilities in Kazakhstan

The logic behind the ranking

Kazakhstan’s largest renewable energy projects

Sarkylmas Kuat 50 MW

Aisha Solar Farm +20 MW

Independent companies

International companies

Large businesses

Industrial enterprises

Who is building renewable energy facilities in Kazakhstan

Business leaders who have been actively...

Condor Energies Inc., a Canadian-based energy transition company, will build methanol and liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants in Kazakhstan. Once operational, the LNG plant will be the first of its kind in Central Asia, according to the administration of the Mangystau region.

The announcement followed a meeting on July 8 between Nurdaulet Kilybay, governor of the region, and Norman Storm, managing director of Condor Energies and CEO of Qazaq LNG.

During the meeting, the parties discussed ongoing investment projects in the Mangystau region, including an LNG plant with a planned capacity of 145,000 tons per year, to be built on...

Insurance companies will have the right to establish marketplaces on their own and acquire shares of IT companies, as reported by Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM).

Furthermore, insurance companies will be allowed to develop software aimed at automating insurance operations and expanding their own online services. The new rules will take effect within two months after June 30, when President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the corresponding law.

In addition, insurance enterprises and holdings are now entitled to acquire shares and stock in IT companies.

«This will enable them to develop...

One of the stages of the Miss Almaty 2025 beauty pageant has concluded, where contenders for the title took on the role of chefs at a premium restaurant, guided by past winners. Kursiv LifeStyle describes how the high-heel cook-off unfolded.

The participants showcased their cooking skills at the recently opened Alcha, a Kazakh-Azeri cuisine restaurant. Aygerim Ormakhayeva, the restaurant’s manager, emphasized that the venue’s team wanted to contribute to the development of the creative industry and support young talent by hosting the contest.

«It’s actually quite nerve-wracking to host such events, especially since we just opened...

Chinese and South Korean companies may take over construction of three thermal power plants in Kazakhstan, replacing Russian contractors, according to Deputy Energy Minister Bakytzhan Ilyas.

Ilyas stated that Samruk-Energy, a state-owned company operating in Kazakhstan’s electric power sector, is currently in talks with potential contractors that can meet the country’s environmental standards and modern energy efficiency requirements.

«These could be energy companies from China or Korea. There are several options,» he said.

In April 2024, the governments of Kazakhstan and Russia signed an agreement to construct three thermal power plants in Kokshetau...