Khadisha Akaeva is a correspondent for RFE/RL's Kazakh Service.
An annual cultural event called the Essay Of Victory is due to be held soon around Russia and Central Asia to test participants’ knowledge of World War II. But one Kazakh city is refusing to take part, calling it Russian state propaganda that is inappropriate with war raging in Ukraine.
Nearly two weeks after the deadly unrest in Kazakhstan, dozens of families are still looking for their loved ones who vanished during the massive protests that were violently put down by security forces.
Most people who live near Soviet-era nuclear test sites in Kazakhstan say they don’t receive the aid or subsidies they should get from the government.
