Aivar Azamatov, 23, Volgograd region, Stepnoi village, founder of the YouTube channel AIVAR
I was interested in Kazakh culture and history, Kazakh clans and zhuz since my childhood. I was also wondering why many Kazakhs live in Russia. My grandmother is a great patriot of Kazakh people. She knows well the Kazakh language and follows the traditions, this is why I addressed her all my questions. About a year and a half ago, I thought that in the future my children would also be interested in their history and ancestors. So I bought a camera and a microphone and decided to shoot a small video interview with my grandmother. I asked her questions, recorded and put it on the internet. This video received a big response, people liked it.
I realized that people are curious about this and decided to continue. I myself became even more interested in Kazakh people and wrote several articles on the theme of Kazakh culture and history.
Later, I met a guy from Saratov who invited me to develop Kazakh language together in Saratov. I decided to move there and started working with the local Foundation for the Development of Culture and Sports "Dostar" under the leadership of Yerbulat Uteshev. I started to shoot even more videos about language, culture and events. I also found interesting Kazakhs in Saratov, recorded interviews with them and posted them all on the internet.
We have created the Kazakh language online courses. People not only from Saratov but also from Saratov region and other regions, even from Kazakhstan are studying there. Also, many students are Russians who are interested in Kazakh language. For example, one of our students is interested in Turkic languages and mainly he likes Kazakh. Moreover, his daughter is metiska, that’s why he wants to learn the language.
I believe that video format is useful and informative. For instance, in Russia, I have not seen anything like this. I would like to tell about Kazakhs and their lives. Our foundation works in all social networks, and we are receiving a big response, especially, from the older generation. Due to the fact that we tell about the history of Kazakh people and the necessity to know the language and traditions, people start getting interested in this. In this way, step by step, our culture in Russia is developing.
We want to promote our online courses so that everyone can have an access to free language learning. We also want to introduce the Kazakh language in the city schools. I have plans to record a few videos with Kazakh historians about the outstanding figures of Kazakhstan. We want young people to be occupied with something useful and interesting so that we will have a Kazakh-speaking environment in our region.
Altynai Alzhanova, 46, hometown — Omsk, director of the "Arman" and "Aspan" banquet complexes
Our banquet complexes is a family business, the initiator of which was my husband Marat Alzhanov. When he was a student, he dreamed about opening a dumpling cafe, but later this idea grew into the idea of creating a Kazakh national cafe. We wanted to create a space where we could conduct national events. We were oriented towards the Kazakhs, because we are the Kazakhs, and, in Omsk, there was no service for holding any Kazakh event.
I supported this idea, and we began to develop our business. At first, the “Arman” hall appeared. We dreamed about it, that's why we named it in that way (“arman” in Kazakh means “dream”). Then, we started to expand and opened two more halls in this complex — “Madina” and “Rahmet.” Last year we opened the complex “Aspan” that includes two halls — “Otau” and "Aspan".
We are Kazakhs, and our festive events are distinguished by their scale and observance of traditions. First of all, we ourselves needed this, and now this is in demand in the whole city. We can cook beshbarmak and serve it as if it was prepared at home. This facilitates the life of the Kazakhs in the city because it is inconvenient to hold such events at home. The maximum capacity of the hall “Aspan” — 280 people. Of course, for Kazakhstan, this is not a big hall. However, by Russian standards this is a roomy banquet hall, there are few such kind of halls in the city.
Not only Kazakhs visit us but also the representatives of other nationalities. All this contributes to the fact that people become more familiar with our culture. For example, we hosted an event for the Russian family from Kazakhstan who invited relatives from Germany. And they were delighted with our Beshbarmak, it tasted as if they have visited their homeland Kazakhstan.
Mereke Murzanova, 26, hometown — Almaty, public figure
I was born in Kazakhstan but I studied at Tyumen State University, graduated from it, and then married a Kazakh from Tyumen and stayed at my husband’s homeland. My husband is an entrepreneur promoting Kazakh culture. Although I am on the maternity leave, I am actively engaged in public activities and in the creation of Kazakh ethnic accessories. My husband and I participate in every national event. My mother-in-law is the chairman of the National Cultural Autonomy of the Kazakhs of Ishim city. So, we can say that we are promoting our culture with the whole family.
When I came to Tyumen, I noticed that the Kazakhs of Tyumen region are interested in Kazakh culture and traditions, so I started to teach young people Kazakh language. I organized language courses and opened a discussion club, I am still giving individual lessons.
In addition, a year ago I started to create Kazakh accessories because I feel that there is an interest in this, but people do not always have access to it. The main idea is to make it clear that women can wear such accessories not only for the stage or a celebration. I believe that they can wear it every day and it is stylish. Such decorations can be combined with everyday look or even with evening dresses. I want to demonstrate that this is modern. It emphasizes the Kazakh personality, especially, when you are in another country. In addition, it helps to show people who a Kazakh beauty is and to create a certain image. I want everyone to know what Kazakhs are rich in.
In general, Kazakhs in Russia are drawn towards their roots, many of them are interested in their culture. Girls always with great pleasure put on Kazakh outfits for the events. When I had an idea to organize a photo-project with Kazakh accessories, the girls were delighted with the idea, since it was close and pleasant to them. They posted these photos in their social accounts because they are proud of it and they want to emphasize belonging to their nation.
Each accessory has its own purpose, each one has a story. I have many friends of other nationalities who are interested in Kazakh culture and admire it a lot.
Ethnic accessories is my hobby. This is not even a business but a popularization of the Kazakh image. I regularly organize exhibitions of Kazakh accessories and participate in various fairs. In the future, I would like to take part in the events and exhibitions not only in Tyumen but also in other regions and cities.
