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Kazakhstan: Russian Federation
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Most Jews in Kazakhstan today are Ashkenazi. Many Kazakh Jews are descended from Russian army conscripts sent to Kazakhstan from the Pale of Settlement in the 17th century. The Jewish population grew during the Soviet period as a result of deportations to collective farms, and voluntary migration by Jews escaping pervasive anti-Semitism. Thousands of Jews were evacuated to Kazakhstan from Soviet Europe during World War II to escape the German occupation. Bukharan Jews have ... lived there for almost 2,000 years, but most have emigrated. Today between 15,000 and 20,000 Jews reside in Kazakhstan; 11,000 of them live in Almaty city.
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About half the population of Kazakhstan are Muslim Kazakhs, while about 30% are Russians, many of whom belong to the Russian Orthodox Church; there are smaller minorities of Ukrainians, Uzbeks, Germans, and Tatars. Kazakh, a Turkic language that is widely spoken, and Russian, used in business and government, are both official languages. There is considerable friction between the now dominant Kazakhs and the formerly favored ethnic Russians, who continue to emigrate in large numbers.
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Jews in Kazakhstan have a relatively short history. While some Bukharian Jews from neighboring Uzbekistan have settled in Kazakhstan, the majority of Kazakh Jews are Ashkenazi, arriving as Russian army conscripts as early as the 17th century. No synagogues date back to this period; services were usually held in private homes. Under Communism, thousands of Jews were exiled by Stalin from the Pale of Settlement to Kazakhstan for practicing Judaism, most notably, Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, father of the late Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. During World War Two, approximately 8,500 Holocaust-fleeing Jews settled in Kazakhstan.
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Last year Kazakhstan extended the lease of the Baikonur Cosmodrome (where all major Russian launches - since that of the Sputnik - take place) to Russia for a 50-year lease. Kazakhstan has ... started developing its own independent Space programme.
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Kazakhstan is a modern, secular state promoting ethnic and religious diversity and tolerance. VOA's Valer Gergely reports from Kazakhstan that Islam, Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Jewish and other religions peacefully coexist in the republic. VOA's Carol Pearson tells the story for producer Valer Gergely.
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The VimpelCom Group includes companies operating in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia. The VimpelCom Group's GSM and 3G license portfolio covers a territory with a population of about 250 million. This includes the entire territories of Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia. VimpelCom was the first Russian company to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"). VimpelCom's ADSs are listed on the NYSE under the symbol "VIP".
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