Once in Kazakhstan: The Snow Leopard Emerges (Paperback)

"Once in Kazakhstan" is much more than a recounting of political upheavals, it is alive with vivid descriptions, some of them hilarious, as Rosten has the gift of keen observation, and also a marvelous dry wit, that sees the dark humor in even the bleakest of scenarios, and this brings balance to the book; it is a page-turner, as one learns a lot about a little known culture, laughs out loud at his zany escapades, and is enlightened on the procedures of creating a new country, all written in a fluid, readable style.

Chapter Two gives us a history of this nation, which is of mixed ethnicity and rugged terrain..."more than a million square miles, but mostly of unforgiving steppe"...and the book is peppered throughout with small b&w photos to help us visualize the land. The only thing missing from this volume is a map, and I do recommend looking at an atlas before delving into this terrific book to see how vast this country is, and where it lies in relation to its neighbors.

There is an epilogue that updates us to the present time, with the many changes, normalization, and improvements, and even a change of capitals, from Almaty to Astana (formerly known as Aknola).
This is one of the very best books I have read in this genre, and I hope it is just the beginning of Rosten's career as a writer. I await further intriguing tales of far-off lands, and many more laughs from this skilled and very entertaining author.

Keith Rosten is a lawyer who went to Kazakhstan (not for the first or last time) in September 1993 as a Fulbright Lecturer in Law. Over the course of a long, typically cold winter, he witnessed some of the most crucial days in the creation of the infant Republic of Kazakhstan. In a country with little infrastructure, almost no experience at self-rule, and a potentially fractious mix of ethnic groups, democracy doesn't just happen. Kazakhstan, led by Nursultan Nazarbayev, former head of the Kazakhstan Communist Party, did not see its people take to the streets embracing their independence; rather, the government plotted a slow and not always sure path to change. Life became, in many ways, harder than ever in this isolated country, cursed with the kind of problems we in the West can hardly imagine. As an experienced lawyer, long-time student of Russian, Soviet, and post-Soviet studies, and MBA holder, Rosten is perfectly suited to describe the struggles of the Kazakhstan people - and to explain why democracy does not always come as easy as we in America sometimes expect it should.

Rosten kept a journal during this particular stay in Kazakhstan, and this Almaty Journal (Almaty is the former national capital in which he resided) evolved into Once in Kazakhstan - as a chronological account of sorts, it is sometimes slightly repetitive in terms of facts, but the personal insights it offers into the people are invaluable. Those people, one should note, cover a wide spectrum: normal, everyday citizens; college faculty and students; Kazakhs, Russians, Germans, and ethnic Jews; parliamentarians and former parliamentarians; members of the intelligentsia charged with codifying a new set of laws for the nation; the American ambassador to Kazakhstan; and others. Thus, he can not only detail the frustrating problems of nonexistent garbage pickup, malfunctioning and non-functioning traffic signals, the all-too-common absence of such luxuries as hot water and heat, extensive transportation and travel problems, and the like, he can also offer insight as to why the government seemed powerless to do anything about them. Rosten also chronicles the pervasive issues associated with the nation's rapid transition from the Russian ruble to new Kazakh currency. Most intriguingly, however, Rosten tells us how the people felt about democracy and the sweeping changes that independence was bringing to their country.

Through Rosten, you really feel as if you get to know - to some real degree - the people of Kazakhstan - the proud Kazakhs who seek to assert their authority, the Russians and Germans who decide to leave Kazakhstan in growing numbers, the small but significant number of ethnic Jews, and the increasing numbers of Moslems. You go into their homes, experience their unique form of hospitality (which traditionally involves a sheep's head), drink with them (a lot), and share their waits for food, gasoline, and public transportation. I can't say the book makes me want to visit Kazakhstan any time soon (it takes a hearty soul to endure the Kazakh winter), but this book gives me a wonderful and invaluable understanding of a people seeking to - finally - build a better way of life for themselves. Now that the former Soviet bloc countries are independent, it does not mean we in the West should abandon or ignore them. Rosten certainly hasn't, as he has traveled back to the country many times since the months chronicled in this book - in fact, he adds an informative epilogue describing the less than democratic changes in Kazakhstan since the end of his Almaty Journal days.

Once in Kazakhstan is immensely informative, but that does not mean it is dry or boring - far from it, in fact. Rosten is a gifted writer who tells his story in a personal, conversational, utterly fascinating manner. He communicates to the reader a very real sense of what life is like in this remote country on the other side of the world.