Kazakhstan: big country, great leader? | VPRO Documentary

Where exactly is Kazakhstan and who is the leader of this big country? How do people live in Kazakhstan and how does the population live around the nuclear test site Semipalatinsk? How does the leader of Kazakhstan, president Nursultan Nazarbayev, lead the country? A documentary about Kazakhstan, his leader and the still visible legacy of the Soviet Union.

In this eight-part travel series, the Dutch journalist and author Jelle Brandt Corstius travels through Russia and visits the neighbor countries Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. What image do the Russians have of their neighbors and vice versa? What are the relations between powerful Russia and the other former Soviet republics? And how do the countries around Russia treat their Russian inhabitants? A series about propaganda and identity.

In the ice-cold steppe, where labor camps used to be, lies Astana, the new capital of Kazakhstan. The city was built out of nowhere using huge oil and gas reserves found in the Caspian Sea in the 1990s. Where you would expect nomads and yurts are futuristic buildings designed by the famous architect Norman Foster. In the Soviet era, Kazakhstan was a kind of backyard, where hundreds of labor camps were created and where millions of Russian prisoners were found.

Since Kazakhstan has become independent one man is in power, Nursultan Nazarbayev. He is probably longer President than anyone else in the world. All elections are manipulated and an opposition does not exist. Putin is a Democrat if you compare him to Nazarbayev. He governs the country as if it were his property. Parks are named after him, statues of him are everywhere and children born on his birthday receive a gift.

Kazakhstan is as big as Western Europe, but only few people know this big country. Most have heard of the nuclear weapons test site Semipalatinsk, where a total of 468 nuclear bombs were detonated. We visit the test site and meet people that live in that area. The local population is still struggling with health problems. It`s the legacy of a Soviet Union, of which some fear it will return.

Original title: Grensland: De achtertuin (3/8)
Director: Alexander Oey and Jelle Brandt Corstius
© VPRO September 2015

On VPRO broadcast you will find nonfiction videos with English subtitles, French subtitles and Spanish subtitles, such as documentaries, short interviews and documentary series.

This channel offers some of the best travel series from the Dutch broadcaster VPRO. Our series explore cultures from all over the world. VPRO storytellers have lived abroad for years with an open mind and endless curiosity, allowing them to become one with their new country. Thanks to these qualities, they are the perfect guides to let you experience a place and culture through the eyes of a local. Uncovering the soul of a country, through an intrinsic and honest connection, is what VPRO and its presenters do best.

So subscribe to our channel and we will be delighted to share our adventures with you!
more information at www.VPRObroadcast.com

Visit additional youtube channels bij VPRO broadcast:
VPRO Broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/VPRObroadcast
VPRO Metropolis: https://www.youtube.com/user/VPROmetropolis
VPRO Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/VPROdocumentary
VPRO World Stories: https://www.youtube.com/VPROworldstories
VPRO Extra: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTLrhK07g6LP-JtT0VVE56A
VPRO VG (world music): https://www.youtube.com/vrijegeluiden
VPRO 3voor12 (alternative music): https://www.youtube.com/3voor12
VPRO 3voor12 extra (music stories): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtgVYRLGraeL9rGMiM3rBHA
www.VPRObroadcast.com

English, French and Spanish subtitles by Ericsson and co-funded by the European Union.

Видео Kazakhstan: big country, great leader? | VPRO Documentary канала vpro world stories