When a mid-fifties grandmother follows her husband of just three years into the Peace Corps, she leaves behind a promising new career, her home, two brand-new grandbabies, and her beloved dog. Assigned to Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country finding its own way after generations under Soviet rule, she too must find a way to be in a world different from what she knew. Feeling the stresses of a difficult new language, surprising cultural differences, and unexpected changes in her husband, Givens questions the loss of all she's given up. Will it be worth it?

When a mid-fifties grandmother follows her husband of just three years into the Peace Corps, she leaves behind a promising new career, her home, two brand-new grandbabies, and her beloved dog. Assigned to Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country finding its own way after generations under Soviet rule, she too must find a way to be in a world different from what she knew. Feeling the stresses of a difficult new language, surprising cultural differences, and unexpected changes in her husband, Givens questions the loss of all she's given up. Will it be worth it?"

"Here is a rare book. It is the first-person story of Mukhamet Shayakhmetov, born into a family of nomadic Kazakh herdsmen in 1922, the year of the consolidation of Soviet rule across his people's vast steppe-land in central Asia, specifically eastern Kazakhstan." "Thus was brought to an end, with dread ideological ruthlessness, a way of life of sanctified interdependence between man and nature. Designated as a kulak, Mukhamet's father was imprisoned as 'an enemy of the people', and his family were stripped of all possessions, including livestock, and ostracised." "Collectivisation of agriculture was forcibly imposed, and famine ensued. In the years 1932-34 alone, well over a million Kazakhs died: more than a quarter of the indigenous population across a territory as great as western Europe. Of all this, the outside world knew - or chose to know - nothing." "Somewhat as Wild Swans laid bare the truth of Mao's China, so The Silent Steppe awakens the reader to the scale of suffering of millions in Soviet central Asia under Stalin." "Shayakhmetov takes his story to his recruitment in the Red Army, his wounding at Stalingrad, and his long trek home as a discharged solider at the age of 21. He is today in his mid-eighties."--BOOK JACKET.

When a mid-fifties grandmother follows her husband of just three years into the Peace Corps, she leaves behind a promising new career, her home, two brand-new grandbabies, and her beloved dog. Assigned to Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country finding its own way after generations under Soviet rule, she too must find a way to be in a world different from what she knew. Feeling the stresses of a difficult new language, surprising cultural differences, and unexpected changes in her husband, Givens questions the loss of all she's given up. Will it be worth it?

The Hungry Steppe examines one of the most heinous crimes of the Stalinist regime: the Kazakh famine of 1930–33. More than 1.5 million people, a quarter of Kazakhstan's population, perished. Yet the story of this famine has remained mostly hidden from view. Sarah Cameron reveals this brutal story and its devastating consequences for Kazakh society. Through extremely violent means, the Kazakh famine created Soviet Kazakhstan, a stable territory with clear boundaries that was an integral part of the Soviet economy; and it forged a new Kazakh national identity. But ultimately, Cameron finds, neither Kazakhstan nor Kazakhs themselves integrated into Soviet society the way Moscow intended. The experience of the famine scarred the republic and shaped its transformation into an independent nation in 1991. Cameron examines the Kazakh famine to overturn several assumptions about violence, modernization, and nation-making under Stalin, highlighting the creation of a new Kazakh national identity and how environmental factors shaped Soviet development. Ultimately, The Hungry Steppe depicts the Soviet regime and its disastrous policies in a new and unusual light.

Here is a well-informed, concise introduction to the culture and history of the vast territory of Kazakhstan, equivalent to the size of Western Europe, located at the centre of geographical Eurasia. Written by two brothers – one a distinguished scholar and the other well known in Kazakhstan’s media – the book focuses on the Kazakh people who today make up over half the population of some 15 million. Topics covered include Kazakhstan’s historical heritage including the Soviet legacy, its geography and the national psychology, religion and culture and how to do business. Kazakhstan first appeared on the world stage in 2001 with the opening of its oil pipeline linking its vast Tengiz oil field with the Russian Black Sea port of of Novorossiysk.

This book is a collection of biographies of the great people that made Kazakhstan's history. Some of them were real heroes of their time, some were not understood and were even thought they were traitors, however, their input into the future was very significant and their achievements cannot be diminished. You will find out about our national composers-akyns, poets and Khans. You will learn about the three judges that established the first legal system in Kazakhstan. Some of the characters might seem mythical, but the stories about them still live among us. -------------------------------------------------------- Yerkebulan Dzhelbuldin was born in 1934 in Kazakhstan. He worked as a teacher in the Soviet Union for all his life and was gathering the materials about our country and its history for his book after Kazakhstan acquired its independence. Many facts were concealed from our people and even Kazakhs did not know about their Khans and philosophers. This book was never published before, but you can find some information about these people in the internet nowadays. I translated these materials and put them into a book with the sketches of all the characters. I am Dana Jeteyeva, translator of this and other books, specializing in translations of Kazakh fairy tales and other interesting facts about Kazakhstan. I want people all over the world learn about our country, as, even if it is a big country in the middle of Eurasia, not many people know anything about it. I hope my previous experience - teaching English, Kazakh for foreigners, marketing specialist and translating as well as my natural curiosity will help passing this information to as many people as possible.