Product Description
Through comparative analysis of the reactions of Kazakhstan's Germans and Koreans to the emergence of an independent Republic of Kazakhstan, this book enhances understanding of the conflicting dynamics of socio-political integration in post-Soviet space, the role played by "kin-states" in the creation or negation of "return myths", and the significance of small-scale homelands in the process of de- and re-territorializing identity. Preface In recent years there has been a rapid growth in the number of studies exploring the impact of globalization on ethno-national identity construction, much of it tending to emphasize the increasingly transnationalized, homeless, diasporic quality of life in a post-modern world that is undergoing a dramatic process of deterritorialization. Yet as Billig, Edensor and others have convincingly shown, national identity continues to be reinforced in countless banal ways, not only through official policies and formal cultural rituals and ceremonies, but also and perhaps more importantly through informal popular networks and everyday life-paths of the public that shares that identity.A major part of the performative ways in which national identity is re-enacted and reinforced is in the images, representations and material expressions of homeland, which helps to ground and legitimize the idea of nation through a dynamic process of de- and re-territorialization across a multiplicity of geographic scales. More geographically sensitive studies of identity that investigate the discursive and material ways in which place, power, and scale interact in the making, un-making and re-making of cultural communities are beginning to emerge, but there is much work that remains to be done. In the present work, Diener provides a valuable contribution to this geographic research agenda. His focus on identity as a discursive field and a category of practice that is constituted through a sense of place and a process of reterritorialization engages with and makes its own contribution to the leading edge works in the fields of cultural and political geography, political anthropology and ethnosociology.His focus of attention on two of the deported peoples whose members were forcibly resettled in Kazakhstan provides an exceptionally clear lens through which to assess the reterritorializing and rescaling of place and identity among diasporic communities. Diener's conceptual framework goes well beyond Brubaker's notion of a triadic relational nexus between nationalizing state, homeland or 'kin' state and ethnic minority, and examines the localized sense of homeland that exists toward the "areas of compact living" that were set up to give territorial expression to ethnic group identity during the soviet era. Originally created as territories meant to contain and control the movement of deported peoples whose loyalties to the state were viewed as suspect, these territories became places in which ethnic identity was reconstituted, reimagined and reinforced. Even today, when few Koreans live in their "areas of compact living," Diener's study finds that there remains a general sense of homeland toward these places, a feeling that Korean identity is secure so long as these places exist.On the other hand, German emigration and the in-migration of ethnic others into the German areas of compact living have fundamentally disrupted the local scale at which German identity was reterritorialized. This is the first detailed study of these localized ethnic raions and the role they have played in the rescaling and reterritorialization of diasporic identity in post-soviet space. They also raise serious questions about the idea of diasporas as deterritorialized or 'placeless' communities. Beyond this contribution, Diener's focus on two diasporic communities-the Koreans and Germans - whose circumstances of arrival in the Russian Empire, experiences of ethnic discrimination and pro-Bolshevik stances, and conditions under which deportation to Kazakhstan were all quite comparable, yet whose relationship to the nationalizing state of Kazakhstan, to their 'kin states' and to their localized homelands in Kazakhstan are very different - provides a well-designed research project that helps uncover the factors contributing to the reterritorialization and rescaling of diasporic identity.In particular, this study provides a very clear if multidimensional explanation for why Germans have been much more likely to emigrate than Koreans, and why even the Germans who remain behind are much more likely in surveys to express a desire to leave. This variability in propensity to emigrate is reflective of the degree to which a civic sense of place and identity toward Kazakhstan - a Kazakhstani identity - has developed, and Diener's study provides a very solid discussion of the historical, place-based, socioeconomic and political factors contributing to this differentiation. This study also provides a thorough examination of the meaning of Kazakhstani civic identity in the context of a nationalizing state, both as hegemonic discourse and as part of an interactive renegotiation of public discourses that allow for the remaking of ethno-national identities situated within a patriotic state-scale discursive field.Finally, this study relies on more than secondary source materials and content analysis of official documents, speeches and laws, in that Diener has tested his ideas about the reterritorialization and rescaling of diasporic identities through the use of his own surveys and in-depth interviews among Koreans and Germans in Kazakhstan. This enriches the study enormously, and provides the reader with a much more nuanced understanding of the interactive ways in which identity and sense of place are reterritorialized and rescaled in the contemporary Former Soviet Union. Robert J. Kaiser University of Wisconsin-Madison ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good, basic overview of Kazakhstan with added bonus:on-line web links for up-to-date info on country
I am blessed to be the great-aunt of two boys adopted from Kazakhstan nearly eight years ago. The boys are now in 2nd and 3rd grade and our family encourages interest in their country of birth, so I have purchased this book along with others listed below to have in our "family" library.

This book was expensive, even used, $22 + $4 S/H.Other than the website, which anyone can access for free:www.vgsbooks.com, this book is not nearly as good, nor does it have as many pictures as ISBN 0-7614-1193-3 "Kazakhstan" by Cheng, Pang Guek, published 2001, used price + S/H, $5.45.

A third book with nearly identical information is:"Kazakhstan", by Zoran Pavlovic, 2003, ISBN 0-7910-7231-2.All three books offer almost identical information/pictures.The Cheng book is the best of the three.The website of www.vgsbooks.com can be used to supplement for more current information.

Two more books of Kazakh traditional folktales which will be of much more interest to the kids have been ordered (used), but not yet received:
"Stories of the Steppes" Kazakh folktales, by Mary Lou Masey, 1968, Publisher:McKay.(try ABE.com if you cannot find it)
"Tales Told In Tents" (Hardcover, 2005) ISBN-10 : 1845070666.Neither book has been received yet, but reviews indicate they are both very good.

It is difficult to find quality information on Kazakhstan, but hopefully this will help out others!I hope the two boys and their little sister enjoy them as much as I have.

Great summary book
Provides nice color pictures and general summary of the areas of interest in Kazakhstan.Great coffee-table type book -- not too involved with details, just an overview of the country.

Kazakstan review
Our family is adopting a baby from kazakstan, and this book was purchased for my 9 year old son, and for our family to learn about the country. It's a great book, we learned a lot, and my 9 year old really loved it and brought it to school and shared with his friends. We had never even heard of Kazakstan, now I feel we are becoming experts. :) This will be a great book to teach our child about the country he/she came from. Its easy to read and very informative. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Kashagan Field, Talgar, Kurmangazy Oil Field, Kazakhstania, Zhanazhol Field, Karagiye, Balabansai Formation, Indricotherium Formation. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 39. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt:Kashagan Field is an oil field located in Kazakhstan. The field is situated in the northern part of the Caspian Sea close to the Kazakhstan city of Atyrau. The field was discovered in 2000. One of the larger discoveries of this decade, it is estimated that the Kashagan Field has commercial reserves from 9 billion barrels (1.4 m) to 16 billion barrels (2.5 m) of oil. The field is offshore in a harsh environment, where sea ice is present in the winter and temperatures from -35 °C (-31 °F) to 40 °C (104 °F) can be encountered. Commercial production is expected to start by the end of 2012, according to Kairgeldy Kabyldin, the chief executive of Kazakhstan's state oil and gas company KazMunaiGas. It has been designated as the main source of supply for the Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline. Kashagan which is considered world's largest discovery in the last 30 years and Tengiz rival to the 22 billion barrels of the US oil reserves. The Kashagan Contract area covers an area of over 5,500 km (3,400,000 mi) in the Caspian Sea. The field contract area consists of five separate fields, producing formations from the Precaspian Basin. These fields are Kashgan, Kalamkas A, Kashagan Southwest, Aktote and the Kairan. Kashgan was discovered first in 2000 and Kairan most recently in 2003. However some of the later finds have yet to be declared commercial. The area covering the Kashagan Contract has changed hands several times since independence of Kazakhstan. Interest in the Caspian Sea first began in 1992 when an exploration program was begun by the Kazakhstan government. They sought the in...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=4632616 ... Read more

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Kazakhstan. History of Kazakhstan, Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, Government of Kazakhstan, Geography of Kazakhstan, Economy of Kazakhstan, Energy policy of Kazakhstan, Foreign relations of Kazakhstan, Military of Kazakhstan, Demographics of Kazakhstan, Religion in Kazakhstan, Education in Kazakhstan, Sport in Kazakhstan, Culture of Kazakhstan, Kazakh cuisine, Music of Kazakhstan, Kazakh wedding ceremony, Media of Kazakhstan, Transport in Kazakhstan, Outline of Kazakhstan ... Read more

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Chapters: Lake Zaysan, Ishim River, Petropavl, Karkaraly National Park, Chu River, Provinces of Kazakhstan, Fort-Shevchenko, West Kazakhstan Province, Oral, Kazakhstan, Ulytau District, Stepnogorsk, Mangystau Province, Karagandy Province, Khromtau, Zhanaozen, Jambyl Province, East Kazakhstan Province, Ili River, Uzynagash, Taskala, Tekeli, Pavlodar Province, North Kazakhstan Province, Karabulak, Kazakhstan, Zhansugirov, Sarkand, Shu, Kazakhstan, Ushtobe, Kaskelen, Usharal, Atbasar, Baikonur, Atyrau Province, Aktobe Province, Akmola Province, Kokshetau, Aralkum, Kyzylorda Province, Katonkaragay District, Priozersk, Kazakhstan, Burabay District, Sayram District, Ayagoz District, Akzhaik District, Chapaev, Kazakhstan, Shyngyrlau District, Borili District, Terekti District, Korday District, Zhanakala District, Aral District, Jambyl District, Jambyl, Karatobe District, Taskala District, Zhanybek District, Tulkibas District, Kaztal District, Maktaaral District, Kyzylkoga District, Saryagash District, Kazygurt District, Abay District, East Kazakhstan, Kokpekti District, Aktogay District, Pavlodar Province, Borodulikha District, Syrym District, Zelenov District, Beskaragay District, Baydibek District, Shemonaikha District, Tarbagatay District, Bokey Orda District, Mugalzhar District, Karkaraly District, Altynsarin District, Zhualy District, Glubokoe District, Ordabasy District, Enbekshilder District, Zhanaarka District, Zhanakorgan District, Akkayin District, Munaily District, Shardara District, Moiynkum District, Zhylyoi District, Denisov District, Zyryan District, Aktogay District, Karagandy Province, Bayanaul District, Abay District, Karagandy Province, Ereymentau District, Kurshim District, Korgalzhyn District, Otyrar District, Amangeldi District, Egindikol District, Esil District, Akmola Province, Zhambyl District, North Kazakhstan Province, Zharma District, Bayzak District, Gabit Musirepov District, Makhambet District, Sozak...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=15062447 ... Read more

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Kazakhstan is located in Central Asia, northwest of the People's Republic of China, though the area of the country west of the Ural River is geographically, if not politically, located within Europe. With an area of about 2,717,300 square kilometers, Kazakhstan is more than twice the combined size of the other four Central Asian states, or about twice the size of Alaska. The country borders Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan to the south; Russia to the north; Russia and the Caspian Sea to the west; and China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to the east. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Focus on Geography, published by American Geographical Society on June 22, 2009. The length of the article is 2549 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Photojournal: Kazakhstan.(Country overview)
Author: Leon Yacher
Publication: Focus on Geography (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2009
Publisher: American Geographical Society
Volume: 52Issue: 1Page: 18(7)

Article Type: Country overview

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

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Discusses the topography, location, ethnic mixture, history, and current political climate of the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Nice overall summary - A 50,000 ft. view of this dynamic
Overall, a nice BASIC overview of Kazakstan, and its history and culture.Good description and lots of nice pictures.The main weakness is not enough depth regarding its geography, major cities and their demographics.For example, the map leaves off the city of Petropavlosk, etc. ... Read more

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Chapters: Eurasian Steppe, Southern Russia Geography Stubs, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Siberia, Khazaran, Circassia, Manych River, Volgograd Oblast, North Caucasian Federal District, Great Hungarian Plain, Southern Federal District, Makhachkala, Pontic-Caspian Steppe, Malgobek, nor Nakhichevan, Greater Caucasus, Cherkessk, Tsimlyansk Reservoir, Labinsk, Terek River, Dykh-Tau, Chogray Reservoir, Armavir, Russia, Lake Manych-Gudilo, Kura River, Kamyshin, Zheleznovodsk, Seversky Donets, Magas, Zhirnovsk, Kuma-manych Canal, Adygeysk, Argun River, Maysky District, Akhtubinsk, Chereksky District, Urvansky District, Kizlyar, Tersky District, Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Prokhladnensky District, Elbrussky District, Baksansky District, Ponezhukay, Chegemsky District, Zolsky District, Nevinnomyssk, Temryuk, Volgodonsk, Leskensky District, Znamensk, Astrakhan Oblast, Tambukan Lake, Buynaksk, Abazinsky District, Khakurinokhabl, Slavyansk-Na-Kubani, Veshenskaya, Gimry, Prokhladny, Sochi River, Nazranovsky District, Ryn Desert, Vedensky District, Kuban River, Khasavyurt, Sunzhensky District, Republic of Ingushetia, Mount Bazardüzü, Federation Island, Tebulosmta, Arpachin, Akhtuba River, Malgobeksky District, Aksay, Kuma River, Mount Khalatsa, Krymsk, Poltavskaya, Pallasovka, Batkachnyy Island, Tarki, Dzhangi-Tau, Mineralnye Vody, Mikhaylovsk, Stavropol Krai, Novoalexandrovsk, Kamennomostsky, Kharabali, Karachayevsk, Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Khopyor River, Mostovskoy, Krasnodar Krai, Karabulak, Republic of Ingushetia, Psou River, Chyornye Zemli Nature Reserve, Sochi National Park, Mamison Pass, Taganrog Bay, Morozovsk, Puszta, Chechen Island, Enem, Nozhay-Yurtovsky District, Semikarakorsk, Koshtan-Tau, Kropotkin, Krasnodar Krai, Goryachy Klyuch, Vedeno, Kuma-manych Depression, Olya, Kalach-Na-Donu, Kurchaloyevsky District, Gudermes, Krasnoslobodsk, Volgograd Oblast, Tyuleniy Island, Neftekumsk, Maysky, Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Kizilyurt, Nikolayevsk...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=16642 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not as good as a similar book: "Kazakhstan" by Cheng
I am blessed to be the great-aunt of two boys adopted from Kazakhstan nearly eight years ago. The boys are now in 2nd and 3rd grade and our family encourages interest in their country of birth, so I have purchased this book along with others listed below to have in our "family" library.


This book: "Kazakhstan", by Zoran Pavlovic, 2003, ISBN 0-7910-7231-2 is nearly identical to two others.The Cheng book:ISBN 0-7614-1193-3 is the best of the three, as well as the cheapest."Kazakhstan In Pictures", ISBN 0-8225-6588-9, a third nearly identical book was the most expensive and has a link to [...] (which anyone can use for free) This free link can be used to supplement for more current information.

Two more books of Kazakh traditional folktales which will be of much more interest to the kids have been ordered (used), but not yet received:
"Stories of the Steppes" Kazakh folktales, by Mary Lou Masey, 1968, Publisher:McKay.(try [...] if you cannot find it)
"Tales Told In Tents" (Hardcover, 2005) ISBN-10 : 1845070666.Neither book has been received yet, but reviews indicate they are both very good.

It is difficult to find quality information on Kazakhstan, but hopefully this will help out others!I hope the two boys and their little sister enjoy them as much as I have.

good intro to Kaz
I am a middle school librarian AND a soon-to-be adoptive mother of a Kaz baby. I happened to have this book in my middle school library and found it good basic info on Kaz. It covers history, people, food, traditions; all the basics. It's fairly up-to-date too which is nice. The author must be Kaz as he (she?) talks about Kaz in glowing terms that don't always seem warrented (I remember something like --Kazakhstan has some of the most beautiful landscape in the world-- which clearly contradicts other information about the steppes.) That said, a good intro to Kaz, especially for the younger reader. ... Read more

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A unique look at the Kokchetav Massif, a type-example of diamond-grade metamorphism. Recording continental subduction and exhumation from depths greater than 120 km and providing unparalleled insights into mantle dynamics, global material recycling and the process of continental genesis and destruction. ... Read more

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As conflicts continue in Iraq and political tensions mount in China, the world is beginning to take notice of Central Asia as the crossroads between the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Central Asia: A Global Studies Handbook explores the three central states of the region, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, and provides insight to their past, present, and future.

The first of its kind, this reference work covers a wide range of topics on Central Asia as a whole. From the geography, history, and economics to politics, education, and religion, students and teachers will find this an informative and comprehensive research source, while business-people and travelers will discover a fascinating look into the region's society. From the times of Alexander through globalization and the politicization of Islam, the mysteries of Central Asia are finally brought to light.

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is one of the six independent Turkic states. It is located in Eurasia and ranked as the ninth largest country in the world. It is also ranked the world's largest landlocked country, its territory of 2,727,300 km² is greater than Western Europe. It is neighbored clockwise from the north by Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and also borders on a significant part of the Caspian Sea. The capital was moved in 1997 from Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, to Astana. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Otrar or Utrar (also called Farab) is a Central Asian ghost town that was a city located along the Silk Road near the current town of Karatau in Kazakhstan. Otrar was an important town in the history of Central Asia, situated on the borders of settled and agricultural civilizations. It was the center of a great oasis and political district, commanding a key point connecting Kazakhstan with China, Europe, Near and Middle East, Siberia and Ural. ... Read more

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Following the dismantling of the old Soviet Union, the new Republics have formed a loose Commonwealth. This book looks at the new found status of the independent Republic of Kazakhstan, and details its history and development. ... Read more

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Chapters: Vozrozhdeniya Island, Barsa-Kelmes, Tyuleniy Archipelago, Bolshiye Peshnyye Islands, Spirkin Oseredok Island, Zhanbay Island, Durneva Island, Korzhin Island. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 26. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Vozrozhdeniya Island, also known as Rebirth Island (Russian: ), is a former island of the Aral Sea. Due to the ongoing shrinkage of the Aral, it became a peninsula in 2002.. Since the disappearance of the Southeast Aral in 2008, Vozrozhdeniya effectively no longer exists as a distinct geographical feature. The area is now shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Located in the central Aral Sea, Vozrozhdeniya Island was one of the main laboratories and testing sites for the Soviet Unions Microbiological Warfare Group. In 1948, a top-secret Soviet bioweapons laboratory was established here, which tested a variety of agents, including anthrax, plague, brucellosis, and tularemia. In the 1990s, word of the island's danger was spread by Soviet defectors, including Ken Alibek, the former head of the Soviet Union's bioweapons program. It was here, according to just released documents, that anthrax spores and bubonic plague bacilli were made into weapons and stored. The main town on the island was Kantubek, which lies in ruins today, but once had approximately 1,500 inhabitants. The laboratory staff members abandoned the small island in 1992. Many of the containers holding the spores were not properly stored or destroyed, and over the last decade many of these containers have developed leaks. As the water level of the Aral Sea continues to recede, the area will eventually connect further with the surrounding land. In 2002, through a project organized by the United States and with Uzbekistan assistance, 10 anthrax burial sites were decontaminated. According to ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=2633153 ... Read more