Kazakhstan National Research Articles

On Monitoring of mining explosions conducted on the territory of the former Semipalatinsk Test Site

Several mineral deposits located on the territory of the former Semipalatinsk Test Site (STS) conduct active blasting activity. The largest number of explosions is carried out at the Karazhyra coal mine. These explosions are recorded by stations of the IGR NNC RK network, three of them are part of the International Monitoring System. These are seismic arrays Borovoye (AS057), Makanchi (PS23), Kurchatov-Cross (AS058). The distances to the mines from these stations are 668 km, 452 km, 68 km, respectively. In total, about 2800 explosions were recorded during 19 years of observations. The analysis of the results of routine processing on operational seismic bulletins of the IGR NNC RK Data Center has shown that the field of received epicenters of explosions exceeds the size of the quarry. A detailed processing of explosions waveforms was carried out to find out the reasons of this scatter. Geotool and DTK – GPMCC software included in the NDC-in-a Box package was used to process and analyze the waveforms. It was found that back azimuth values for different regional phases Pn, Pg, Sn, Lg differ from each other and have different dispersion. There are systematic deviations of back azimuths for some phases from the true one. A clear dependence of the epicenter determination accuracy on the energy (power) of the explosion was noted. Subjective factors in the work of analysts that affect the accuracy of estimates are also found. Processing recommendations to improve accuracy were given for analysts of Kazakhstan National Data Centre (KNDC).

Great Hospitals of Central Asia: The Kazakhstan National Centre for Neurosurgery

This paper aimed to describe the National Centre for Neurosurgery, the only specialized hospital in the treatment of neurological diseases in Kazakhstan and the leading neurosurgical hospital in Central Asia. Historical data were collected from the archive materials of the National Centre for Neurosurgery. The paper outlines the achievements of the Centre in providing neurosurgical care to the population over the past 15years, commencing with its establishment in 2008. During this period, there has been a 2.3-fold increase in the number of neurosurgeons at the Centre, accompanied by a significant seven-fold rise in the number of surgeries conducted. Additionally, the Centre has hosted international conferences and educational programs in collaboration with the Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. Throughout the last 15years, more than 70 treatment techniques were introduced, and subsequent technology transfer initiatives extended these methods to regions within the country. The National Centre for Neurosurgery has achieved remarkable progress in delivering patient-centered neurosurgical care, rehabilitation programs, and innovative treatments, supported by state funding, benefitting patients across Central Asia.

A retrospective analysis of pharmacotherapy in Kazakhstan: Assessment of the rational prescription and use of antibiotics in the nephrology department of a multidisciplinary hospital

<b>Introduction:</b> The rapid development of the pharmaceutical industry has increased the need to assess and monitor the use of medicines. Thus, necessitates the importance of monitoring the appropriate use of medicines including antimicrobials.<br /> <b>Objective:</b> Pharmacoeconomic analysis of pharmacotherapy in the nephrology department at a multidisciplinary hospital.<br /> <b>Methods</b>: The study is a retrospective analysis of medicine use and expenditure. The study utilized the ABC-VEN analysis of medical use and the WHO-AWaRe-2021 analysis of antibiotic use, to determine the prescription and financial trends of the nephrology department (30 beds) of a multidisciplinary regional hospital (total 844 beds) in Turkestan, Kazakhstan 2018-2021.<br /> <b>Results:</b> The analyzed costs of drugs included 116 international nonproprietary names prescribed to patients from the nephrology department during the study period. In total, pharmacotherapy costs increased by 52.6% in 2021 compared to 2018. Five INN drugs were purchased without their inclusion in the Kazakhstan National Medicinal Formulary, such as atropine sulfate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride (crystalline salt), nitroxoline, and nitrofural. The pharmacoeconomics analysis of antibiotics usage for 2018-2021 showed a sharp increase in the%age of costs.<br /> <b>Conclusion:</b> The study showed an increase in funding for pharmacotherapy in the department of nephrology, which increases the availability of medicines. However, the trend in prescribing drugs with poor evidence base level, and the increase in the proportion of antibiotic prescription, require immediate intervention including the utilization of clinical pharmacy services for regular assessment of the pharmacoeconomic feasibility of antibiotic therapy. This will improve the quality of medical care and reduce the financial costs.

Knowledge and experience of Kazakhstan athletes in anti-doping and the impact of past educational intervention

BackgroundAlthough Kazakhstan National Anti-Doping Organization (KazNADO) exists since 2013, but little is yet known about anti-doping (AD) knowledge of Kazakhstan athletes. The aim of this study was to assess the AD education knowledge level and experience among Kazakhstan athletes, as well as the impact of any past AD educational program on them.MethodsAltogether, 590 athletes (the median was age 17 years (interquartile range 8)), representing various sports, participated in the web-based study and completed the questionnaire, which consisted of socio-demographic part and ALPHA test. We assessed the association of any past AD education and experience with anti-doping knowledge using adjusted regression models.ResultsA total of 54.6% participants underwent doping control and 82,7% of athletes received AD education at least once. More than 300 participants (50.8%) provided correct answers for 10 questions. Age and years in sports (competition duration) were significantly associated with the ALPHA scores of athletes. Athletes who received AD education more than once in the past had significantly higher ALPHA scores than non-AD educated athletes in most questions.ConclusionAD education was associated with AD knowledge. Further research is needed to identify the adherence to anti-doping knowledge.

Сравнительный анализ 21 перечня основных лекарственных средств Всемирной Организации Здравоохранения с Казахстанским Национальным лекарственным Формуляром

The purpose of the work: to conduct a comparative analysis of the list of essential medicines of the World Health Organization with the Kazakhstan National Medicinal Formulary to determine the similarities and differences in their composition.Methods: a comparative analysis of the 21st main list of medicines of the World Health Organization with the Kazakhstan National Medicinal Formulary was carried out to search for common and distinctive features of the studied lists of medicines. For the convenience of the study, spreadsheets were used, also available on the websites of the studied lists of medicines.Results: the total number of medicines listed in the 21 list of essential medicines of the World Health Organization is 567, of which 385 are included in the Kazakhstan National Drug Form. The total number of medicines listed in the Kazakhstan National Drug Formulary is 2020-702. Based on the common identification of analogues from both lists, the Kazakhstan National Drug Form has fully complied with the recommendations of the World Health Organization regarding essential medicines in 4 out of 29 standard therapeutic sections.Conclusions: during the study, we did not reveal any obvious differences in the choice of the Main medicines of the Kazakh National Medicinal Formulary. According to the results of our research, it became clear that the Kazakh National Medicinal Formulary contains 67.9% of the Main Medicines of the World Health Organization, that is, more than half of the medicines of the Kazakh National Medicinal Formulary correspond to the 21 Approximate List of Essential Medicines of the World Health Organization.Keywords: medicines, medicinal formulary, main list of medicines, rational use of medicines, Kazakhstan.

Cervical cancer screening: Twelve years experience of the Kazakhstan National Screening program.

e17520 Background: Cervical cancer (CC) is the most common gynecological cancer in Kazakhstan (KZ). Standardized incidence rate of CC was 16.7 per 100, 000, while the mortality rate was 5, 9 per 100, 000, in 2020. The National Cervical Screening program in KZ uses cytology (Pap test) from 2008, which is free of charge for women aged 30 to 70 years of age with an interval of 4 years. In 2017 Experts from ImPact Mission and analyzed existing CC screening revealed a number of recommendations aimed at reducing the screening interval and increasing the coverage. The purpose of this study was to analyze results of CC screening in KZ and his impact on CC incidence and mortality. Methods: Coverage, the number of screened women, the level of pre-cancer detection and cervical cancer during screening have been obtained from specific reports (form № 025, № 08) for 2008-2020. Results: The total number of screened women for 2008 were 554 283 women. There is a decrease in screening coverage to 45.9% in 2017 due to a decrease in funding. in this regard, in 2017, a number of changes were made to the existing screening program. In 2020 after the CC screening improvement 786 690 women were examined during the screening program, coverage rate was 66, 2%, . Analysis of screening results showed a marked increase in the detection of precancerous lesion from 0, 136 in 2008 to 0, 87 with an increasing by 37%. The analysis of CC incidence revealed significant changes: after the introduction of screening, an increase in the incidence rate is noted from 15.5 in 2008 to 20.1 per 100, 000 female population in 2015. Since 2015, there has been a significant decrease to 16.7 per 100, 000 women. Conclusions: Despite the positive results of screening, an increse the screening coverage, improvement in the detection of the initial stage of CC, mortality rate from CC and a one-year mortality remain high, which makes it necessary to improve the screening of CC in KZ through the introduction of HPV-screening

Фармакоэкономическая оценка эффективности службы клинической фармакологии в части амбулаторного лекарственного обеспечения в медицинской организации г. Нур-Султан (Казахстан)

Purpose of the study. Evaluate the clinical pharmacologist's contribution to the rational use of medications at the outpatient level.Methods. Clinical and economic analysis of budgetary expenditures on drugs purchased as part of the Guaranteed amount of free medical care and in the system of mandatory social health insurance (MSHI) for the period from 2019-2021. Assessment of the effectiveness of spending budgetary funds for drugs was conducted using data on the number and cost of drugs purchased to provide outpatient care in the medical organization of Nur-Sultan.Results. A three-year analysis showed a positive trend of a 7.1% decrease in the proportion of spending on unproven drugs (index N) by 2021 compared with the previous year 2020, which was 29.54% of spending on 13 drug items, despite the expansion of lists under insurance medicine. Before the introduction of mandatory social health insurance in 2019, this figure was 8.18% of all outpatient drug coverage costs in the Guaranteed amount of free medical care, indicating an average use of drugs not included in international clinical guidelines.Conclusions. The introduction of clinical pharmacology services into clinical practice has optimized the cost of drug therapy and promoted rational use of medications. The result is a 7.1% decrease in the share of spending on unproven drugs compared to the previous year 2020, which amounted to 29.54% of spending on 13 drugs (index N) not included in the Kazakhstan National Medical Formulary and the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. However, due to the long-term training of clinical pharmacologists, including basic education in therapeutic medicine (6-7 years) and additional education at the level of residency or doctoral studies (2-3 years), there is decreased motivation of clinical pharmacologists to work in budget medical organizations due to the "low" level of wages. Abroad, in particular, this problem was solved by the introduction of clinical pharmacy, where training includes basic pharmaceutical education (4-5 years) with the possibility of additional training at the master's level (1-2 years) and doctoral studies (2-3 years).Keywords. ABC-VEN analysis, pharmacoeconomic analysis, clinical pharmacology, clinical pharmacy.

PND7 Cost-Effectiveness of Cladribine Tablets in the Treatment of Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis with High Disease Activity in Kazakhstan

There are 3 disease-modifying medicines for multiple sclerosis currently licensed and approved for use in Kazakhstan: natalizumab, okrelizumab, and cladribine. Only the natalizumab and cladribine are presented in the Kazakhstan National Formulary (KNF). The aim of the study was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of Cladribine Tablets in the treatment of high disease activity relapsing-remitting MS (HDA-RRMS) compared with natalizumab, from the healthcare payer perspective in the Republic of Kazakhstan. A cohort-based Markov model was developed. The model included 10 Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] states and death. Transition matrices derived from the previous economic evaluations and adjusted to HDA-RRMS patients were used to model the natural history of EDSS. The effect of the medicines compared was modelled using an indirect treatment comparison. The annual relapse rate and the probability of suffering adverse reactions were obtained from the literature. The derived costs were calculated from Kazakhstan medical tariffs and unit costs. The utilities were obtained from the clinical trials and the literature. Uncertainty was assessed via one-way deterministic sensitivity analysis. Under base-case assumptions, cladribine tablets were associated with modest gains in QALYs in HDA-RRMS patients. Cladribine yielded 3.20 QALYs at a cost of 24,380,274 KZT per patient, whereas natalizumab yielded 3.13 QALYs at a cost of 23,242,316 KZT. This resulted in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 15,591,777 KZT/QALY gained. Cladribine tablets at the current declared price cannot be considered a cost-effective alternative to natalizumab in the treatment of HDA-RRMS from the healthcare payer perspective in Kazakh settings at the threshold of three times the per-capita gross GDP per QALY gained.

Q-pop as a Phenomenon to Enhance New Nationalism in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan

Q-pop refers to popular music that was developed by applying or combining western music composition techniques on the basis of the musical elements in Kazakhstan. Even though Western and South Korean pop music played an important role in the creation and development of Q-pop, reviews or research about the topic itself as well as how Q-pop changes Kazakh society have not been conducted comprehensively. This study aims to compensate the research gap by investigating the new popular culture phenomenon that is termed as Q-Pop with ‘Q’ standing for Kazakhstan, and ‘Pop’ meaning popular music. The issue of the new ideology of ‘Q’, the prefix of Q-pop, will be critically examined by the recognition of new nationalism in Kazakhstan. This study also discusses how the way of listening has changed in relation to the form and content of popular music in Kazakhstan. Based on this analysis, the study intends to examine Q-pop’s challenges in the present and its potential in the future.

Совершенствование формирования Казахстанского национального лекарственного формуляра для повышения рационального использования лекарственных средств

Kazakhstan national drug formulary form is defined as - a list of medicines with proven clinical safety and efficacy, as well as orphan (rare) drugs, which is a mandatory basis for the development of medicinal formularies of medical organizations and formation of lists of procurement of medicines within the guaranteed volume of free medical care and in the system of compulsory social health insurance in the Code “On public health and health care system”. Health research data show that in 18% of cases, non-KNF drugs were prescribed in Nur-Sultan medical organizations, 86% of healthcare organizations did not analyze rational use of financial costs for medicines and analyzes of drug consumption, 90% of medicines are assigned by trade name. At the same time, polypharmacy, excessive prescription of antibiotics and injection drugs are noted. The lack of a systematic understanding of the role of CNF in the rational use of drugs reduces the effectiveness of the measures taken. The value of the Kazakhstan National Drug Formulary for the health care of the Republic of Kazakhstan is enormous, for example, for clinicians it is a public resource for doctors and serves as a reference book on medicines and pharmacotherapy based on evidence-based medicine, as well as a guide to integrate Kazakhstan's usual clinical practice into international best practice, in addition to educational a guide providing continuing education in clinical pharmacology and a restrictive list of drugs recommended for routine use in routine clinical practice. For the population, it plays the role of a guideline in the provision of medicines within the guaranteed volume of medical care and in the system of compulsory social health insurance, as well as guidance on involving civil society in the process of monitoring the rational use of medicines. This policy brief shows three policy options and visions for implementing policy options. At the same time, the existing legislative framework of Kazakhstan has all the necessary conditions to support the implementation of the proposed policy options, however, the main barriers to the implementation of policy options may be a lack of human resources, unethical promotion of medicines on the market, lack of support from the authorized body in the field of health, and there is also a lack of understanding by medical workers and the public of the role of the Kazakhstan national formulary in the rational use of medicines

The body global and the body traditional: a digital ethnography of Instagram and nationalism in Kazakhstan and Russia

ABSTRACTWhat is the power of social media in defining and policing sexual identities and bodily expressions, and what are their connections to understanding nation, power and self in authoritarian contexts? Through the study of popular Instagram accounts in Kazakhstan and Russia, I argue that these sites serve as spaces of visualization and re-creation of new forms of ‘acceptable’ behaviour and lifestyles, that on the one hand may lead to new globalized visions of sexual identity and the body while on the other promoting localized conflict and resentment online, triggered by online users’ fear of losing their ‘national culture’ in these global trends. While many resort to policing gender norms and heteronormative body images online, influencers and Instagrammers from Russia and Kazakhstan take an active part in resisting these frameworks and categories.

The Determinants of Civic and Ethnic Nationalisms in Kazakhstan: Evidence from the Grass-Roots Level

This article investigates the determinants of ethnic and civic nationalism in post-Soviet Kazakhstan. Using data from an original nation-wide survey (N = 1600), the regression analysis is applied to evaluate the influence of trust and perceptions of discrimination as well as sociodemographic factors on people's support of civic and ethnic nationalism(s) in Kazakhstan. The results show that trust in political institutions, perceived discrimination, and the knowledge of the Kazakh language have an impact on both types of nationalism. In addition, intragroup (ethnic) trust and income determine civic–nationalist attachments, while rural residence, Kazakh ethnicity, income, and other ethnic minorities influence ethnonationalism in Kazakhstan.

Entrepreneurial University Perspective: Tracking Labor Force Capacity to Support Industrialization Processes in the Emerging Markets, Evidence from Kazakhstan Data

Industrialisation is considered as main engine of growth in economic development of the most emerging markets. This is especially true for Central Asian transitional countries as Kazakhstan, which obtained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. For enhancing country’s competitiveness potential, Kazakhstan National Program for 2010-2014 aimed to accelerate industrial-innovative development of the country. While many papers published about the importance of industrialization activities in Kazakhstan, few have focused on examining the current capacity of labor market to meet the industry demand. Main aim of this paper was to investigate if current manpower is adequate to maintain the planned rate of growth in the country. Higher level of economic production led to higher demand of engineering labor force. High demand with low frequency supply created an imbalance in the labor market that resulted what we see as shortage of technically skilled labor. Low frequency of supply is influenced by such factors as high engineers’ outflow rate, low students enrolment and graduation rates, and lack of practical skills of the graduates hired. An erratum to this article has been published as https://doi.org/10.5195/emaj.2017.132.

Performance of the Experimental Methods of Highly Skilled Biathletes Preparation on the Example of Kazakhstan National Team

This article deals with the problem of lack of effective methods for the preparation of highly qualified biathletes. Currently, the practice presents new ways of structuring the training process and calls for their implementation. The need to use an effective method of preparation is evident. In this paper, we propose a solution to the example of one of the world's national teams in biathlon.

Developing drug formularies for the "National Medical Holding" JSC.

One of the main problems of drug provision of multidisciplinary hospitals is the necessity to improve the efficiency of budget spending. Despite the efforts undertaken in Kazakhstan for improving the mechanism of drug distribution (creation of the Kazakhstan National Formulary, Unified National Health System, the handbook of medicines (drugs) costs in the electronic register of inpatients (ERI), having a single distributor), the number of unresolved issues still remain."National Medical Holding" JSC (NMH) was established in 2008 and unites 6 innovational healthcare facilities with up to 1431 beds (700 children and 731 adults), located in the medical cluster - which are "National Research Center for Maternal and Child Health" JSC (NRCMC), "Republic Children's Rehabilitation Center" JSC (RCRC), "Republican Diagnostic Center" JSC (RDC), "National Centre for Neurosurgery" JSC (NCN), "National Research Center for Oncology and Transplantation" JSC (NRCOT) and "National Research Cardiac Surgery Center" JSC (NRCSC). The main purpose of NMH is to create an internationally competitive "Hospital of the Future", which will provide the citizens of Kazakhstan and others with a wide range of medical services based on advanced medical technology, modern hospital management, international quality and safety standards. These services include emergency care, outpatient diagnostic services, obstetrics and gynecology, neonatal care, internal medicine, neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, transplantation, cancer care for children and adults, as well as rehabilitation treatment. To create a program of development of a drug formulary of NMH and its subsidiaries. In order to create drug formularies of NMH, analytical, software and statistical methods were used.AII subsidiary organizations of NMH (5 out of 6) except for the NRCOT have been accredited by Joint Commission International (JCI) standards, which ensure the safety of patients and clinical staff, by improving the technological infrastructure, management systems, production environments, and developing program for medications management and use (MMU), etc.MMU is the Chapter 7 of the 5th edition of the standard JCI [1] which is an up-to-date recognized international standard for hospital drug supply and includes 7 points of medication management lifecycle for inpatient hospitals: drug management and organization; selection and procurement; storage; prescription; preparation and distribution; administering medications; monitoring.Due to the developed MMU program of subsidiary organizations the drug provision system was rationalized, starting from defining the individual therapy of a patient and ending with the drug procurement strategy. The practical activity was introduced to the use of drugs committeees with reliable evidence-based performance with obligatory consideration of cost-benefit analysis for each diagnosis-related group. Pre-collected applications for drugs for the year 2015 were submitted in a uniform format in accordance with the structure of the Republican form of the drug [2]. In view of the evidence-base physicians-clinical pharmacologists performed discussions and review of 851 drugs included on the uniform format of the list. Totally 51 (6%) positions were excluded from the list; it was suggested that the format of the application for Paracetamol and Ibuprofen in injectable form be revised; the committee revised the sections on the list for "Antianaemia drugs", iron preparations and methods of prevention of venous thromboembolism with oral anticoagulants.On the basis of this work, the new format, consisting of 449 international nonproprietary names was developed, representing 795 positions with pediatric formulations. In view of the exisitng data and the move to bring to the common standards and uniformity prices of drugs purchased for 2016, the NMH program of clinical pharmacology content with on-line and open access to physicians was created. Within 60 days the DSCHC work was carried out with consultations, selection, definition of requirements of generic and therapeutic substitution. Summing up, drug applications for 2016 with dosage forms include 802 positions and the total bid in monetary terms was by 4,7% lower than in 2015.For the establishment of NMH rational and balanced system of medicine provision to patients and in order to increase availability of quality, safe and effective drugs, we need to have an open and transparent program of the MMU, developed in accordance with the standards of JCI, with the NMH drug formulary, indicating the reference price values of the lower units (tablet, capsule, ampoule, vial, etc.), including the drug lists for a single distributor.To improve drug supply of the NMH DSCHC we have to further cooperation with clinical pharmacologists for the rational use of medicines, guided by the principles of evidence-based medicine.

Family Medicine as a Model of Primary Health Services Delivery: A Pilot Study in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

IntroductionAdvanced models of delivering primary health care are being implemented in various countries of the world. This is especially true for countries undergoing a healthcare transition in Central Asia, such as Kazakhstan, which obtained independence from Soviet Union in 1991. The Kazakhstan National Program of Health Reform, implemented between 2005–2010, aimed to create an effective system of primary care. One of the key directions of healthcare reform implemented in Kazakhstan included the development of family medicine, which has become cutting-edge agenda for Kazakhstan Health Ministry over the past 10 years. While many papers have been published about the importance of family medicine and primary healthcare models, few have focused on analyzing family medicine effectiveness in Kazakhstan and its impact on access to family doctor services and patient satisfaction. The key aims of this pilot investigation were 1) to assess the model’s impact on access to primary care and patients’ satisfaction, and 2) to explore the model’s effectiveness in some Central Asian and transitional countries in the literature.MethodsThis pilot study was based on semi-structured interviews and questionnaires about the perception and impact of the primary care model to 86 respondents aged 19–51 (54% females, 46% males). The majority of respondents were Almaty city residents (71%), while the rest were Almaty Province rural residents (22%) and residents of other Kazakhstan regions (7%).ResultsRespondents from rural areas associated general practitioners, or family doctors, with community clinics (also referred to as feldsher posts). Even though urban area respondents use family doctor services, they were more likely to get those services in private rather than public clinics. Rural residents appear to have better access to primary care providers than urban residents participating in our study. Also, respondents from rural areas were more satisfied with services provided by family doctors than respondents from urban areas.ConclusionsThis pilot study helped to improve our understanding of primary health care reforms implemented in Kazakhstan, a topic that is not traditionally covered in international literature. This pilot study suggests that primary care is more effectively implemented in rural areas of Kazakhstan (Almaty Province); however, future full-scale research in this area is needed to fully understand the complexity of primary healthcare access in Kazakhstan.

Integration of Higher Education in the Republic of Kazakhstan National Innovation Systems

In the context of global trends offensive century competition constructive ideas, high-tech, knowledge-intensity of GDP problem innovative development of Kazakhstan has become central to the dominant understanding of the objectives and methods of reforming the economy, education and science. Today, Kazakhstan is one of the most dynamically developing countries, who are building a real economic area. Nevertheless, at this point in Kazakhstan noticeable following problems in the development of higher education:-Among the first on the magnitude of the challenges highlighted inefficient Soviet tradition of exchange and use of scientific information, which is characterized by secrecy, difficult;-The second obstacle is the poor knowledge of foreign languages;-The third problem is the demographic crisis in the scientific community;-One of the most significant challenges is the problem of the evaluation of scientific research, due to the tradition of consensus between the government and the scientific community, in which the state funded science to a minimum and do not demand results, and the scientific community did not raise the issue of increasing costs.Therefore, in this paper the aim is the analysis of the above problems.

Threading a needle: Kazakhstan between civic and ethno‐nationalist state‐building

AbstractThis paper examines the state‐building project in Kazakhstan since independence in 1991. It argues that both civic and ethno‐nationalistic tendencies in state‐building can be identified but that it is not any particular trajectory of nationalism in Kazakhstan that is of significance so much as the tensions between two very different trajectories. We argue that, at least to date, the government has succeeded in managing these tensions quite effectively both at the policy level and in its relations with different ethnic groups and neighbouring states. Whether Kazakhstan can continue to manage these tensions in the post‐Nazarbayev era is one of the most significant questions facing the country.

Historical Distribution and Molecular Diversity ofBacillus anthracis, Kazakhstan

To map the distribution of anthrax outbreaks and strain subtypes in Kazakhstan during 1937-2005, we combined geographic information system technology and genetic analysis by using archived cultures and data. Biochemical and genetic tests confirmed the identity of 93 archived cultures in the Kazakhstan National Culture Collection as Bacillus anthracis. Multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis genotyping identified 12 genotypes. Cluster analysis comparing these genotypes with previously published genotypes indicated that most (n = 78) isolates belonged to the previously described A1.a genetic cluster, 6 isolates belonged to the A3.b cluster, and 2 belonged to the A4 cluster. Two genotypes in the collection appeared to represent novel genetic sublineages; 1 of these isolates was from Krygystan. Our data provide a description of the historical, geographic, and genetic diversity of B. anthracis in this Central Asian region.

Nuclear-physical methods in macro- and microanalytical investigations of contamination with radionuclides at Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site

The paper presents a complex of nuclear-physical methods developed in the Institute of Nuclear Physics of Kazakhstan National Nuclear Center for the investigations of the rate, character and peculiarities of contamination with radionuclides of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site (SNTS). The developed method combines both macroinvestigations (radionuclide analysis, NAA, XRFA, ESR- and NGR-spectroscopy) and microinvestigations (MS, micro-PIXE, electron microscopy). The results of the investigations at the main SNTS test sites “Opytnoye pole” and “Degelen” are presented.