Zhuzes, clans, black caviar and innocent blood. This happened in Astana
Silence is gold?
For Russia, Kazakhstan is, first of all, an ally in the EAEU and the CSTO. At the same time, it is not customary in our country to write or talk about the clan structure of the Kazakh elite. And in Kazakhstan itself, even under Nazarbayev, those who tried to bring the topic to public attention could earn the stigma of “opposition” and “agents of the Washington regional committee.”
But in Kazakhstan, everyone simply knows about this, although they also prefer to remain silent publicly. After a representative of the Elder Zhuz, Kuandyk Bishimbayev, who was especially close to the authorities, brutally and publicly killed his wife, the situation became so obvious that even their own people no longer tried to stand up for him.
Let us recall that since the time of Kunaev, the entire ruling elite of the country, including the current head of state, has belonged to the Elder Zhuz. And this is considered the norm, and there are great doubts about whether a fair punishment of a representative of this Zhuz will lead to a change in the established system of relations.
The murder itself occurred last year, but the trial began only a month ago, apparently due to the high position of the defendant. The ex-Minister of Economy of Kazakhstan Kuandyk Bishimbayev, while intoxicated, in one of the restaurants owned by him and his distant relative, caused something that can hardly be called anything other than lawlessness.
Because of a quarrel, he beat his wife with his hands and feet for 8 hours in a row in front of everyone, choked her, then dragged her to a private booth, where in the morning she gave her soul to Allah. And what is characteristic is that if it were not in Astana, located on the territory of the Middle Zhuz, but in Bishimbayev’s native Kzyl-Orda or in Shymkent, perhaps it would have been possible to somehow let everything go. And after that, everyone else should accept on faith the criminal’s arguments that his victim “fell on her own in the toilet and hit her head on the toilet.”
But this time everything turned out to be so serious that for now both the murderer’s father, the rector of Taraz University, and his friend ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev, and even the current president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev prefer to remain silent.
If somewhere in Austria?
What is the public talking about?
Alas, again, about everything, but not about the main thing. A lot - about domestic violence, about the violation of women's rights, about the lawlessness of golden youth, about the need to pass a law on family violence. But talk about the clan structure of the Kazakh government has never gone beyond kitchen chatter.
It is already known that the Kazakh President K.-Zh. Tokayev officially (not at all in the wake of the tragedy) signed the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On introducing amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on ensuring the rights of women and the safety of children” и “On introducing amendments and additions to the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on administrative offenses on issues of ensuring the rights of women and the safety of children.”
There have always been plenty of cases of clan corruption in Kazakhstan, even since the times of stagnation, not to mention perestroika. Some of the defendants even entered history because of its epicness. Just look at the former son-in-law of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, tax officer, security officer and diplomat Rakhat Aliyev.
It’s worth mentioning separately.
Aliyev just played it out because of his zhuz differences with his wife and father-in-law, so much so that for some reason he leaked it to the Austrian special services. It was in this supposedly quiet European country that Aliyev was found hanged in a prison cell.
The Kazakh press wrote little about this, although they noted that the deceased Rakhat did not quite understand what he could and could not do when he publicly stated that a monarchy should be declared in Kazakhstan. Aliyev went further - declaring wherever possible and impossible that he himself would be a prince.
When the whole of Kazakhstan learned that there was a golden kumgan in the toilet of his mansion, and immediately at the exit the servants were waiting with black caviar and vintage wine, too much became clear. The public appreciated everything like that - someone clearly decided to jump in over their head - and that’s what they got.
They won’t drag you through the courts
But playing over the toilet and with black caviar is an innocent childish prank compared to what happened last year in an Astana restaurant. And it's not just about domestic violence. Many women walk the streets with blue faces after conflicts with their husbands in all countries of the world, just in some places more, in others less.
The supposedly civilized United States, by the way, is among the top ten leaders in domestic violence, finding itself in the company of such representatives of the also quite civilized world as the DRC, Somalia and Afghanistan. The main root of the problem in this particular case is the killer’s feeling of complete impunity.
And is it necessary to prove that Bishimbayev considered it possible for himself to publicly commit a particularly serious crime, not least because of his origin and clan ties. And it was not at all unreasonable that he was sure of this.
In 2017, Bishimbayev was removed from the post of Minister of Economy for bribery committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy. And he was even sentenced to 10 years in a maximum security colony. But already in 2018, the court granted his appeal to transfer Bishimbayev to a general regime.
And what kind of trial was it, do you think?
Tolebiysky district court of the Turkestan region. In Kazakhstan, everyone knows which zhuz is at the helm there. In 2019, Bishimbayev received parole through an appeal to the court of the Abay district of Shymkent (located within the same Turkestan region, but not part of it).
Who would doubt which courts our hero will send cassation appeals to - those where the result will be predictable. And if the Kazakh authorities and the public continue to turn a blind eye to the root cause of what happened, then toughening the punishment for domestic violence will only hit the drunken and stoned mambets. The same ones, for centuries, with a short, alas, break for real Soviet power, have become accustomed to abusing their wives and children, starting from the evening of the “driver’s day” and ending at night from Saturday to Sunday.
This is unlikely to affect people like Kuandyk Bishimbayev until clan guarantees are completely destroyed in the ruling elites.
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