Journey into Kazakhstan: The True Face of the Nazarbayev Regime by Alexandra George

From the Publisher

Since independence in 1991, Kazakhstan, the second largest of the former 15 Soviet Republics, stretching across 3500 kilometers, has been descending into a social and economic abyss. The decline is more tragic because it was the most Westernized of the Soviet Central Asian republics. In "Journey into Kazakhstan" the author travels to different regions - the Aral Sea, the Caspian region, the vast central steppelands, the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Polygon, Karaganda, built by Stalin labour camp prisoners, ravaged industrial towns like Shymkent and Kentau, and collapsing state farms. Through on-the-spot reporting the reader will witness how an entire society is descending rapidly back to the pre-industrial era on account of misgovernance and malfeasance and the collapse of education and social welfare.

Author Biography: Alexandra George is a writer, translator and journalist. Her first book was entitled "Social Ferment in India" (Athlone Press, 1986). Her recent book, "Escape form Ward Six: Russia Facing Past and Present" is currently being translated into Polish. The author's newly translated works include Kazakh director Bulat Atabayev's play on the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Polygon, "An Angel with a Devil's Appearance". She is currently completing a book, "Artists of Kazakhstan".

Booknews

In 1991, when Kazakhstan became independent of Russia for the first time in over two centuries, former Communist Party First Secretary Nursultan Nazarbayev came to power there. British- American writer, journalist, and translator, George, current serving as an information officer with the UN administration in Kosovo, accuses his regime of moving from party-dominated to one- man rule; of being so fiercely ethnocentric in favor of Kazakhs that Russians, Ukrainians, Jews, and Germans have streamed out of the country; and of plundering the country's wealth and smuggling it into secret foreign bank accounts. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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