Kazakhstan

a nation that most people had never heard of before a certain mr. cohen came along. now it's on the tip of everybody's tounge. Borat was indeed a masterpiece of oddball comedy, but Kazakhstan isn't exactly how it's portrayed in the movie. Kazakhstan, like most of the exotic and unknown 'Stan countires,' was made up of autonomous tribes until the Russians took over in the 1800s. when the Soviet Union was formed, it became part of that nation. kazakhstan is rich in natural resources, so a very large number of ethnic Russians entered the region for mining and manufacturing. after the 1991 collapse of the Soviets, Kazakhstan became indepedendent. today, kazakhstan is a huge, mostly barren coutnry with about 15 million people. it is ruled by a certain mr. nazyerbayev, an old Soviet leader who wins faux elections to constantly be 'elected' president. the country actually has tremendous natural resources, but it doesn't have the funds to do anything with them.