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Kazakh portraits
Kazakhstan photography portraits
Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in the world, covering an area of 2,724,900 km². But with only 19 million inhabitants, its population density is very low for such an immense territory, making it also one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world.
On paper, nothing seems to predispose this vast and relatively unpeopled territory to becoming the international political player it is. But in spite of its low population, Kazakhstan is the most developed nation in Central Asia, and generates about 60% of the region’s GDP.
The Kazakh territory is located in the heart of the Eurasian continental area. Due to its remoteness from the sea, rainfall here is very low. Consequently, it is extremely arid and covered by dry steppe plains for 2,200 km across its center, making it the largest steppe region on Earth. The steppe has few trees, and instead consists of great windswept grasslands and vast sandy areas.
Also due to its geographic location, Kazakhstan is without a shadow of a doubt one of the great crossroads of human cultures, religions, and a melting pot of ethnicities. The early settlers of the country belonged mainly to the religion of Tengrism, later converting to Christianity. Islam was introduced when Islamic missionaries arrived in Central Asia, and it is now the predominant religion in Kazakhstan with 69% of the inhabitants being Muslim. 17% today are Christian (mostly Orthodox), and 13% are non-religious. Kazakhstan photography portraits
The Tatars and Kazakhs, who bear Asian-looking physical features and speak Turkic languages are a people of mixed origin, and have both Caucasian and Mongolian blood. Throughout the Tsarist and Soviet eras, the Kazakh population changed under migration policies that aimed to make Kazakhstan resemble a “Little USSR” by introducing Russian people. Consequently the country today has a divided demographic composition. Until 1989, the Kazakh ethnic population was under 40% of the total population, while Russian was close to 38%. By 2008, however, ethnic Kazakhs constituted 59% of the total, and Russians 25%, or about 4 million people. Kazakhstan photography portraits
The people of Kazakhstan place great value on hospitality and are very attached to their land, customs, and culture. Peace, tolerance and respect for others are their most important principles. They were very welcoming to me during my visit to their country, and at every opportunity they graciously put aside their modesty to cheerfully pose for my camera. I never thought I would visit Kazakhstan, and I admit it was quite a surprising discovery for me. I hope I will be lucky enough to visit it again.
Pablo Munini © , Milano , August 2023
Kazakhstan photography portraits
Trip to Almaty (I) video on Pablo Munini Youtube channel
Trip to Almaty (II) video on Pablo Munini Youtube channel
Green Bazaar, video on Pablo Munini Youtube channel
Kurmangazy Conservatory , video on Pablo Munini Youtube channel