Few elements of Kazak culture

While Baikonur street names widely remind the Russian heroes of the space conquest, 2 streets only (TBC) refer to Kakak figures:

• Аба́й Кунанба́ев, or Abai Kunanbaiev Avenue (one of the three largest avenues of Baikonur city with Gagarin and Korolev Avenues). A commemorative statue in front of a carved wall celebrates the "father" of the Kazakh literature (2nd half of the XIXth century).

• Zhankozha Batyr Avenue, along the Peace Park, reminds a warrior of the XIXth century from the North East of the Aral sea region who became a national Kazakh figure.
  

• There is no reference in Baikonur of a legendary Turkic artist of the 9th century who lived close to the Syr Daria river and known as Коркут Korkut . He was a kind of universal artist: composing songs, improvising singer (Акы́н, like our troubadours) writing poetry, inventor of the Kobyz (Кобы́з, may be the ancestor of our modern violin?), and promoter of Arts in general ... Therefore, his fame spread far beyond the borders of Kazakhstan to be present in almost all countries of central Asia. Korkyt-Ata is a Museum in the desert, 45 minutes drive from Baikonur city, which has been dedicated to the "epic artist" widely recnicognised by all turkic (oguz) tribes.
  

The most interesting exhibition of Kazak items and culture in Baikonur can be found in a dedicated room of the "City cultural Palace",
The beautiful carpets are not produced in the Baikonur area but more towards Alma Ata

Credits: Richard

...as well as the the traditional kazakh music instruments:

In the window above are displayed:

• 2 Домбра or dombras (guitar like, 2 strings, frets on the Kazakh but not on the Uzbekh one)
• 2 Jew's harps
• 1 castanets like
  
• 1 modern Kobyz with a contemporary bow (Kazakh violin, likely played like a cello, i.e holding the instrument between the legs?)
• 2 дауылпаз or Dauylpaz (drums)
• 1 Cыбызгы or Sybyszy (flute like instrument)
• 1 Syldyrmak (above the bottom drum; from the idiophone family; the sound is produced by shaking)
  
• 1 Zyther like instrument at the bottom (a Kazakh version of the chinese Guzheng?)
  

Ready now or a representation of Mozart's "Die Entführung aus dem Serail " performed on Kazakh epoch instruments at the Baikonur Saturn "KinoKontsertnyi Zal" ? :-)

Far from joking, this is may not a crazy idea as long as in November 2009, a South African troop performed in Paris (Théâtre du Châtelet) the Mozart's Magic flute with their traditional instruments... this was warmly welcome by the critics.

A young city for the youth

Baikonur has celebrated in 2005 its 50th anniversary. Despite this young age, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early nineties where many people were oblige to leave due to job cuts, the young city still counted 70.000 inhabitants in 2006.

The transition to a fully controlled Kazakh city has already started. This will probably last as a minimum 2 generations, i.e. the time remaining to the end of the Russian leasing of the Cosmodrome enclave in 2050. Due to this particular feature, it is difficult to apply to Baikonur Russian demographic figures as long as the city is a complex mixture of Kazakh and Russian populations and cultures.

Anyway, 2008 demographic figures from both sides are worrying:

• Total Fertility Rates are respectively for Russia and Kazakhstan: 1,49 children born by woman and 1,88 (1,53 for the European Union)
• Life expectation at birth for men: 61,8 years in Russia and 62,58 years for Kazakhstan (against 77,5 years for the European Union)
  

Drastic measures have been taken by Russian authorities to reverse these negative trends:

Year 2008 was declared "year of the family" (Год семьи)
Advertisement on a Baikonur door shop

and 2009 "year of the Youth" ( Год Молодежи)
Large board on the "Prospekt Koroleva" (Korolev Avenue)

Both programs were supported by the Baikonur city and widely advertised within the town.
One funny poster carries over the national slogan with a slight local flavor:
Baikonur is my city! says this baby looking in the telescope.
Note on the left side of the poster, the typical steppe short red tulips; we may also have the chance the see them blooming (?)

The poster below, on the same topic, is quiet interesting. The slogan "Baikonur: my native city" is written in both languages: Kazakh and Russian (last line) reflecting the Kazakh/Russian ruling of the transition period. The portrait of the young Kazakh boy underlines the pride to be born in Baikonur, and also suggests on the long term, the Kazakh fate of this area.
Both posters posted on the Gagarin Avenue

Beyond these statistics, when one wanders throughout the city, Baikonur gives the impression of a dynamic city where the youth is omnipresent.
Full discotheques at the week end, teenagers playing soccer downtown or young children playing on the numerous play grounds everywhere in the city.

...
This long introduction about the youth, makes a perfect transition to talk about "our baby", CryoSat-2. It is going extremely well (this is confirmed by the measurements made during our daily visits). It enjoys much the baby sitting phase provided it will not last too long!
I let you to guess what is the best play ground game it would enjoy in the city,

and its favorite candy bar :-)

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Baikonur city, Kazakhstan, 27/02/2010 - 12:18

Diengi or Tenge?

The similarity between деньги (Dengi means money in Russian, while the present currency is the Pубль/Ruble) and Tenge, the current Kazakh currency, suggests that these two words have a common origin. As always, the "common ancestor" has to be digged out in the past and deserves a short explanation.

Few Kazakh Tenge coins (note the Coat of Arms of Kazakhstan on the bottom line)


The Kazakh word Tenge, also common to other Turkish languages, refers to a set of scale (the root of the word meaning "equal"). From ancestral bartering habits to more modern trading, the name given to the Kazakh money simply seems to reflect the final deal in a transaction when the offer meets the demands.

The Russian word деньги, for money, originates from the same group of Turkish languages.

The etymology of the Russian Pубль/Rubl' or Ruble comes from a verb meaning "to chop": the ruble being a determined weight resulting from chopping a piece off a silver ingot.
A Kopeck is a hundredth of ruble and, with the devaluation of the ruble, does not worth much nowadays.

One and Five Russian Ruble coins (the eagle with two heads represents the Russian Coat of Arms)


The present exchange rate between Russian Ruble and Kazakh Tenge is: 1 Ruble=5 Tenge. To that respect, the Russian currency is a strong currency vis a vis the Tenge. Both currencies are circulating in Baikonur.

Extending the scope of this note to some European currencies, the former Spanish Peso and Italian Lira, as well as the British Pound directly refer to other kinds of standardised "weight" used in the past.

All of this clearly indicates that for centuries (may be millennium) money was primarily aiming at supporting and easing the trade or real economy between the people and to a lesser extent speculation.

Sunday 28th February postcard

Dear all,

Weather today was gorgeous, still cold (slightly above 0C in the afternoon) but extremely sunny.

It seems that few people have anticipated the "spring cleaning" of their interior: beating carpets outside and taking all opportunities to make the bedding stuff breathing...

or even better...


At the market, the lady standing at the "Gelateria" (I mentioned her last week) has even installed a large parasol to protect her and her stock from the sun (but she did not manage yet to connect the cooling machine to a proper power supply!).


If it continues like this,...promised, next week we go to the beach!


From Russia with love.

Kirill B.

Let's take the train

Here is the overall view of the Baikonur Central Railways Station (from south to north):


A view from the upper level clearly shows the platforms, the tracks and the trains:


The odd thing, as you have may be already noticed, is that there is no real station building around to buy a ticket or to get information. But in fact what for?
Info boards stand permanently ahead of each platform, and trains have a single destination: the cosmodrome (with its many stations) and carry its personnel only.
So no real chance for an afternoon ride!


To pull the trains, Kosmotranc operates a standard type of diesel machine. We see them during our commuting trips from the bus on the various rail tracks of the cosmodrome.


This Sunday afternoon, seeing few passengers boarding, I walked up there to know more.
Hundred meters further on the platform, I met with Жана (Zhana), the train manager who was first surprised to see someone coming to this place with no intention to board. After I told that I was just walking around, she explained to me that this train was specially chartered today from the cosmodrome to allow some staff living there to have a break in the city of Baikonur before returning to their working place.


I was allowed to board few minutes and to visit the interior of the wagon. The compartments were effectively full of seated people in working clothes.


To say good bye after our short discussion on the platform, Zhana was happy to make a picture. This very open and friendly attitude is a common feature among the majority of the Kazakh people I met so far in Baikonur.


It is now 15:00 sharp, boarding completed, door are closed and the train leaves.
Bon voyage!