Kazakhstan’s Gem: The Central State Museum
By Elaine Pasquini
Photos by Phil Pasquini
Almaty: Established in 1931 in the former Almaty Cathedral, the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan is the largest museum in Almaty and one of the largest museums in Central Asia. In 1985, a modern building was constructed under the architectural direction of Yu.G. Ratusnyi, in coordination with Z. Mustifina and B. Rzgjaliev, among others. The 7,557 square meter structure incorporating stylistic techniques of Kazakh architecture is considered one of the best examples of contemporary architecture and is a major landmark in Kazakhstan’s largest city.
The collection spread throughout the building’s three floors comprises some 200,000 unique items of jewelry, carpets, knives, swords, gold-embroidered caftans and items of a spiritual nature, including Qur’an holders. Many of the pieces on display are reproductions, including the famous Golden Man statue which stands majestically in the building’s entrance hall.
During excavations outside Almaty in 1969, Kemal Akishev, the founder of Kazakh archaeology, uncovered the remains of 17 or 18-year-old Altyn Adam, a third or fourth century BCE Scythian warrior, covered in gold pieces, thus earning him the name “Golden Man,” who became the national symbol of Kazakhstan.
The museum’s exhibits present Kazakhstan’s rich historic and cultural heritage from Bronze Age burials and nomadic culture through World War II and the telecommunications age, along with the transfer of the capital to Astana in 1997.
From 1929 to 1936, Almaty – then known as Alma Alta (father of apples) – was the capital of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. It was the capital of independent Kazakhstan from 1991 to 1997 at which time President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who led the country for three decades under the Soviet Union and after it gained independence in 1991, relocated the capital to Astana located in the northern steppes of Kazakhstan.
Horses have been central to Kazakh culture and lifestyle for centuries as providers of transportation, labor and companionship. Reproductions of stallions, along with their gear, are on display throughout the museum and in the expansive courtyard.
In the 10th through the 14th centuries CE, settlements in the Almaty area were major trade, craft and agricultural centers, in addition to possessing an official mint, along the celebrated Silk Road, the extensive 4,000-mile network of trading passages connecting the East to the West during that time.
In 2005, the museum was officially recognized as a research organization, providing an opportunity for conducting historical expeditions and expanding the scope of its activities. The museum has participated in the international “Night of Museums” event since 2006, a cultural celebration in which museums stay open late into the night to attract potential new supporters.
(Elaine Pasquini is a freelance journalist. Her reports appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and Nuze.Ink.)
