Kazakhstan

[Strider]

I am thinking about taking a trip to Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is off the beaten path, so I am hoping it might be more fertile ground for a Westerner than more popular cities in Ukraine or Russia.  From what little I have been able to find online, there is still a very European population of the descendents of  the German, Polish, Finnish and Ukrainian populations that were sent there by Stalin, as well as ethnic Russian and Belorussians, in Kazakhstan.  Karaganda, near the capital of Astana, was a Soviet penal colony where Stalin sent enemies of his communist paradise.  (From what I read, most of the ethnic Germans, descendents of Germans who migrated to the Volga area during the time of Catherine the Great, were able to emigrate to Germany after the fall of the Soviet Union.)  I did meet a Polish girl, the descendent of Poles exiled to Kazakhstan during WWII, on a train in Poland who had returned to Poland to attend a university.  I suspect there are more ethnic Europeans in Kazakhstan who would be happy to return to the West.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find much online (in English anyhow) about dating/marriage agencies in Kazakhstan.  Does anyone have any information to relay?  I am most interested in Astana and Karaganda. 

[Larry1]

There are indeed many slavic girls and also descendants of the Volga Germans in Kazakhstan.  One of the latter was formerly a member here.

I agree that it might well be a great place to find a wife.  I assume mamba.ru would allow you to meet women in Kazakhstan.  I don't know about any agencies there.

[Strider]

What I learned from my experiences in Russia and Ukraine is that not many ladies there really want to leave.  From the history of the European population of Kazakhstan, I suspect that there are more there who want to leave. 

I was hoping for something more than mamba.ru.  How many ladies there have access to the Internet?

[mendeleyev]

You will find Kazakhstan to be a marvelous land, both modern and ancient. By that I mean that you can stand at a street corner and watch pretty ladies walking and sending texts on their i-phones while across the street is an exhibit of a traditional Yurt (dwelling tent).

I believe you'd forever kick yourself if you didn't visit the ancient capital, Almaty. That city is the crown jewel of Kazakhstan without taking anything away from the Astana, the new capital. Not to mention that Almaty is the original home to the apple and that draws scientific type folks there to study agri science. The city name, Алматы, in Kazakh means "father of apples." Universities there are aplenty which means a multitude of ladies.

There is info on Kazakhstan here: http://www.russianwomendiscussion.com/index.php?topic=15714.msg324368#msg324368


Do you speak Russian? If so, you might visit the Almaty women's portal at http://woman.almaty.ws/

If you don't speak Russian you can at least get an idea of the beauty of Kazakh women here: http://almaty.ws/photo/dev/4 (Apparently you must register in order to read profiles.)


Country photos here: http://www.east-site.com/kazakhstan-pictures


Languages: Russian and Kazakh and in the large cities some English as well.

[Larry1]

I was hoping for something more than mamba.ru.  How many ladies there have access to the Internet?
 

In the cities internet access is, I think, the rule rather than the exception. If they don't have a good enough connection at home they can go to an internet cafe or perhaps communicate from work.

[mendeleyev]

Taking the train in a sleeper kupe from Moscow to Almaty on train #8 departing Moscow's Kazanski Station would be a cultural and sightseeing experience. The travel time is 82 hours and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

[Anotherkiwi]

...If you don't speak Russian you can at least get an idea of the beauty of Kazakh women here: http://almaty.ws/photo/dev/4 (Apparently you must register in order to read profiles.)...

Very interesting to see that, even on the first page of the site, the number of  women with obvious East Asian heritage far outnumbers those with a more European look (don't get me wrong - I love them all  )

[CDW]

beautiful colour, this ASTANA bicycle team

[Shadow]

Kazakhstan is nowadays a pretty good place to live. Due to their oil and gas riches they are able to spend a lot of money on things like sports teams, buying athletes from other countries.

Further I would advise you not to look foor a woman who wants to leave but for a woman who does not want to leave. Her reason to leave her family and friends behind should be you, not where you live or what she can gain by moving.

[CDW]

In addition to Shadow's last posting, you should be her top priority, not her family (ie mother, father, grandmother etc) and friends.

I goodbyed to my ex-engaged girlfriend who wanted to stay in Colombia because of her friends (not for her family!).  She loves to smoke and drink with her friends.

[BillyB]

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find much online (in English anyhow) about dating/marriage agencies in Kazakhstan.  Does anyone have any information to relay?  I am most interested in Astana and Karaganda.

ML has a sticky in the Starting Out forum with a good list of sites to use. Use their search engines to find ladies in Kazakhstan.

[Strider]

I am looking at how to get visas for the trip.  I will be in Europe for a while.  Ukraine doesn't require a visa which makes it convenient.  I don't know if I can get the visa for Kazakhstan without going through the embassy back home.  If i decide to take the train, I will need a Russian transit visa too, which could be a problem and an additional expense.  Any idea how much the train trip should cost?

Taking the train in a sleeper kupe from Moscow to Almaty on train #8 departing Moscow's Kazanski Station would be a cultural and sightseeing experience. The travel time is 82 hours and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

[Slingerland]

The lady I'm currently discussing the future with is a mix: her mother from St. Petersburg, and her father from Almaty.  She is a fascinating mix of features... mostly Asian, but with glowing green eyes.   If you are attracted by exotic features, Almaty will have an interesting blend of European and Asian.

[Faux Pas]

I am looking at how to get visas for the trip.  I will be in Europe for a while.  Ukraine doesn't require a visa which makes it convenient.  I don't know if I can get the visa for Kazakhstan without going through the embassy back home.  If i decide to take the train, I will need a Russian transit visa too, which could be a problem and an additional expense.  Any idea how much the train trip should cost?

The Kazakhstan visa you can get from most any Kazakh embassy. Find the one nearest to you

[mendeleyev]

Strider,

I don't know your country but here is a helpful link on Kazakhstan visas: http://www.kazakhembus.com/page/visa-requirements


Also, if taking the train from Moscow you'll need a double entry Russian visa or one of the new 3 year multi entry visas. That assures that not only can you travel to Kazakhstan, but you can cross the border again to return home.

If you simply fly into Moscow and then change planes at Sheremetyevo (SVO) no transit visa is required if your layover is less than 24 hours (http://www.svo.aero/en/transit/int-int/).

[TomT]

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find much online (in English anyhow) about dating/marriage agencies in Kazakhstan.  Does anyone have any information to relay?  I am most interested in Astana and Karaganda.

The MOB business never caught on in Kazakhstan as it did elsewhere because fewer women want to leave.