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When cosmonauts and astronauts now return from a long-duration space mission on board the International Space Station, they are always coming home on a Soyuz capsule, landing in northern Kazakhstan. The Kazakh Steppe is known for its bitter winters (I just checked the local weather in Ayagoz, Kazakhstan and there is currently a blizzard going on with heavy snow, high winds and a current temperature of -26 C [-15 F] ) More »
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The Chu Valley between Kyrgyzstan and Kazkhstan is the home to an extremely hardy type of marijuana that resisted Soviet-era efforts to stamp it out. Law-breaking marijuana farmers in the region harvest the crop normally, but they also procure their stick-icky using a tried and true method that's been around for centuries: nude equestrianism. More »
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BIG Architects recently unveiled their unusual design for a new library to be built in Astana, Kazakhstan: a twisting infinite loop designed to maximize natural lighting for the library and shading for the interior corridor. More »
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It's amazing how sleek and old-school the Soyuz rocket looks, preparing to blast off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome to the International Space Station. Especially surrounded by Soviet-looking guards. More Cosmodrome porn is below. More »
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Perhaps in an attempt to shake off the backward, cousin-marrying, antisemitic image it got from Sacha Baron Cohen's film Borat, Kazakhstan has hired British architects Foster and Partners to build a futuristic Pyramid Of Peace And Reconciliation. Built in just two years at a cost of 35 million pounds, the building is meant to house the triennal Congress Of World And Traditional Religions. (Including Jews.) "This place is like a TARDIS," enthuses one blogger, talking about the spacious insides. Click through for more pyramid pictures. More »
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Black smoke belches out of a grinding old engine as it hauls Russia's latest Soyuz space capsule across a Kazakh wasteland, while armed guards keep watch. This mixture of high and low technology is probably the future of space exploration, as resources get scarcer and more small governments and independent operators get into the space game. More images of Soyuz in the wasteland, and its launch to the International Space Station, below. More »
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Astana, Kazakhstan, has a new entertainment center that looks like a transparent pyramid-shaped alien ship. Designed by British architecture firm Foster and Partners, the structure arises from a 220 yard elliptical base and provides an indoor park, shopping venues, shelter from extreme weather conditions, and—perhaps most importantly—a dramatic image change from Borat's horse-drawn car and prostitute sister. Foster and Partners More »
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