Kazakhstan likes to point out its tolerance for all peoples and religions. In the “Kazakhstan Unveiled” video that Roman Vassilenko recently put on YouTube, a note briefly appears informing the viewer that Kazakhstan is “Host of the Global Interfaith Religious Conference and a contributor to the dialogue of civilizations.”
A video of the destruction of Hare Krishna cottages that recently showed up on Google Video tells a different story.
KZ Blog recently wrote about the destruction of the community’s homes and today has much more, including the video I posted above as well as a video of coverage on local television news.
The following two videos also show the Krishna community in Kazakhstan.
These present a very different image of Kazakhstan than does the latest promotional video at YouTube.
Photos of the destruction of the homes can be found here, and much more can be found at Palace of the Soul.
This post was written by...
Nathan Hamm – author of 2039 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan founded Registan.net in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural factors shape risks and opportunities. Follow him on Twitter or drop him a line.
{ 4 comments }
Jesus, that’s some video.
I’d never seen the Krishna cottages, but I heard that they were the only ones in that part of the mountains that didn’t have massive walls around them and that they were the most well-kept and trash free.
I doubt this is a specific attack on the religion. It is more likely a land grab, which apparently trumps freedom of religion.
… which underscores that protecting human rights requires active, not passive, measures.
I actually spent a few afternoons at the Krishna community where this video was taken. Being a vegetarian in Almaty, I became friends with several Hare Krishnas.
Seeing this video is heart breaking. I know how hard people worked to improve these homes, and how much effort went into the adjacent farm to make it a source of sustainable agriculture.
As Borat would say, it was not a sexy time for Krishna followers. http://www.borat2008.com
But fortunately, I do not think it was a case of sectarian violence in Kazakstan. Krishna cottages were built illegally on someone’s private territory, that’s the story I heard.