Kazakhstan

Greetings

Man greeting Man – A handshake is the norm usually with both hands (the hand sandwich) and a warm smile.

Woman greeting Woman - A handshake usually with both hands or a slight nod of acknowledgment will do. Sometimes women will kiss each other on the cheek if they know someone well. Light hugs are common for good friends and family.

Man greeting Woman - A handshake will do. It's best to let the woman initiate. Sometimes people will kiss each other on the cheek if they know someone well. Light hugs are common for good friends and family.

Note: It is taboo for religiously observant men to touch women and vice-versa.

Communication Style

• An indirect style of communication tends to be more effective than being overly direct, although Soviet influenced bluntness still remains strong—your weight and level of attractiveness tend to be fair game for comments.
• Good topics of conversation when establishing a personal relationship include art, food, drink, and sports. Avoid politics, religion, and ethnicity if possible.
• Kazakh suggestions and imperatives don’t translate well, and you may find someone giving you dog commands (Sit! Speak! Eat!) or mistake the difference between a command and a suggestion. It’s usually best to ask follow-up questions when you think someone might want you to do something.

Personal Space & Touch

• People will stand closer the better they know you (or if they’re flirting), but it’s not significantly different from North American distance—except in lines and on buses. An arms length while speaking is the norm.
• You will likely have limited to no personal space on a bus whatsoever. People are a bit more likely to touch strangers when they need to move around them.
• Women will often take their husbands’/boyfriends’/other women’s arms or hold hands when walking. Men and boys don’t so much.
• Touching during conversations isn’t considered taboo, but wait for the Kazakhstani to initiate, since it does depend on how close you are.
• Touching is best to be avoided between the sexes in formal situations.

Eye Contact

• Direct eye contact tends to be the norm to the degree that the eye contact is not deemed challenging or a "stare down."
• Avoiding one's eyes is usually reserved for when you are expected to be ashamed of yourself.

Views of Time

• It is rude to be late, but everyone tends to be late, sometimes hours late. It’s a guessing game. The key is to find someone who is part of the grapevine who can alert you when it’s time to arrive. When in doubt, show up on time and bring a book.
• Appointments are rarely made; people tend to just show up during business hours. This includes doctors, dentists, etc.
• Trains usually run on time. Buses usually don’t. Planes don’t tend to leave on time, but you still have to check in on time.
• People are always happy to host—even if it puts a lot of pressure on them. Most Kazakhstanis will just show up to a friend's house without alerting them beforehand.

Gender Roles

• The Kazakhstani emphasis on radical equality means that women do have positions of authority and are assertive.
• If a woman has a role she is respected by the role and not seen as inferior to a male.
• Many, even in the youngest generations, still consider women to be unfit for certain types of work.
• Traditional Kazakh values place seniority first, then men over women. Elderly women have the right to order anyone around or say or do anything. So do elderly men.
• Women are expected to cook, clean, do laundry, and take care of children. Men are expected to not cook, clean, or do laundry. If you are a man and want to do these things, be prepared to put up a fight.
• There is a stereotype of Western women that they are 1) not capable of doing housework and 2) not nurturing. This can work to your advantage if you don’t want to do housework.
• If you wear ‘mannish’ clothes (like hiking boots or large shirts), you will most likely get funny looks.
• Women who smoke tend to be looked down-upon.
• Men usually ask women out. Sometimes people go out in groups.

Taboos

• Putting your thumb in between your middle and index finger while making a fist is an obscene gesture.
• Hooking two fingers together is an obscene gesture as well.
  

Law & Order

• The legal drinking and smoking age is not enforced. Most men drink and smoke excessively. This can be a problem for men who want to socialize but don’t want to get drunk or smoke.
• Many people feel strongly that young kids who smoke and drink are hooligans. Either activity may get a child kicked out of a good school.
• Persons violating ’s laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested or imprisoned.
• Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines.

Dress

• For Men: Conservative suits or tie and jacket in the cities and when dealing with government officials.
• For Women: Stylish, yet somewhat conservative business suits or dresses and blouses are appropriate.
• Shoes are very important. Kazakh men tend to wear pointy, dandy-ish shoes. Women wear heels, often stilettos. Whatever shoes you wear, it is best to make sure they’re clean and polished.

Titles & Business Cards

• It is best to address people with their first names and patronymics (the father’s name), so you would address a principal as Anna Nikoloyeva (Russian) or a businessman Kengis Konys-uli (Kazakh).
• Using Mr., Mrs., or Miss is quite common as well.
• It is best to spend a little time reading a counterparts business card before putting it away and be sure to include your title on the card.
  

Meetings

• Be on time for meeting even though you may be kept waiting.
• The more senior person or the one who has something another wants will usually get right to the point and begin with "how can I help you?

Negotiations

• It's best to not show a lot of emotion. Reasoning is the norm.
• Decisions are not likely after just one meeting; they tend to take a long time.
• Avoid the take it or leave it option. Go with the idea of the long term benefits in working together.
• Leadership and decisions making tends to be more authoritarian than democratic.

Gift Giving

• If you are invited to a Kazakh household, bringing flowers, quality alcohol, or chocolates are good choices. You’ll likely go home with something too.

In the Classroom

• Classes at most universities tend to run from late August to mid May.
• Grades are usually given on a 1-5 scale with 5 being the highest. Some schools use the A-F scale, with A being the highest.
• As in the West, university students tend to dress stylishly but casually and show more skin than other groups. I’ve seen many college girls in spaghetti straps and mini skirts.
• The most common form of teaching is lecturing. Students may be called on to recite memorized passages and facts.

Other Observations

• Drinking socially has merits and not just one quick drink. It's best to spend time getting to know the person.
• Kazakh society was dominated by Soviet Union for many years and the bureaucracy and rules of a dogma dominated society is still in evidence.
• It’s always nice to bring a hostess gift, such as chocolates, when invited over. You’ll likely go home with something, too.
• The best part of traveling in is being a guest in a family home. Don’t miss an opportunity.

• Suspicion of the west still in evidence.
• Loyalty to a region/area over the country tends to be a stronger uniting influence.
• Kazakh society was dominated by Soviet Union for many years and the bureaucracy and rules of a dogma dominated society is still in evidence