Kazakhstan’s Enemy Number One: Rahkat Aliyev

Vienna was an epicenter of the Cold War, a front-line 
city awash in spies, traitors, secret police andManaging KazMedImport gave Aliyev both managerial
defectors from behind the Iron Curtain. Eighteen yearsskills and a vision of the money to be made in the
after the collapse of the USSR, Vienna is once againworld of business, so he abandoned his government
at the forefront of an East-West struggle, aswork and founded the Trade and Finance Ltd.” as
Kazakhstan’s “enemy number one,” Rahkatwell as establishing his own food company, the Sugar
Aliyev, formerly Kazakhstan’s ambassador toCenter. As company president, using intimidation and
Austria and the OSCE, resides there. In May 2007,family connections, Aliyev crushed his competitors,
following the disappearance of two prominent Nurbankeventually establishing a monopoly estimated at 80%
executives, an institution controlled by Aliyev and anof Kazakhstan’s sugar market, estimated at
investigation which implicated him in their kidnapping,$300-400 million annually. Aliyev acquired other food
Kazakh President Nursultan NAzarbayev strippedindustries, including distilleries, using illegal raiding
Aliyev of his government posts and the Kazakhtechniques more suited to The Godfather movie than
government had Aliyev arrested in Vienna under anKazakhstan’s growing capitalist markets.
Interpol warrant. Austria however denied 
Kazakhstan’s request for his extradition, citing theBeginning in December 1996, Aliyev was handed a
lack of an appropriate treaty between the two nations,priceless government position from which to enrich
as well as concerns that Aliyev would not receive ahimself – a succession of jobs in the Ministry of
fair trial back home.Finance’s Main Tax Police Division, eventually rising
 to Chairman of the Tax Police Committee. Over the
From his Viennese eyrie Aliyev has since mounted anext two years he used the power of his office to
relentless public relations campaign, portraying himselfintimidate his business rivals into selling him their
as the innocent anti-corruption crusader beset by hisbusinesses at bargain prices; otherwise, they would be
political enemies at the behest of his formersubjected to the full range of governmental fiscal
father-in-law, President Nazarbayev. Four months agopressures, including audits.
Aliyev published The Godfather-in-Law, a lurid 
purported “tell all” volume about NazarbayevThe final government job allowing Aliyev to continue
and his administration, complete with documentation.his raiding activities was when in September 1999 he
The most prominent of Kazakh politicians in exile,became Almaty and Almaty district head of
former Prime Minister Akhezhan Kazhegeldin, himselfDepartment of the Committee on National Security,
no fan of Nazarbayev’s government, recentlyrising in May 2001 to become First Deputy Chairman of
described the volume during an interview with Radiothe Committee on National Security. Aliyev was now in
Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Kazakh-languagean unassailable position with the power he could bring
service, Radio Azzatyk, as containing “truth,on competitors, from the tax police to now the secret
half-truths and lies,” applying the last term topolice.
Aliyev’s descriptions of himself and his activities. 
 Such a situation could not last; in early October 2001,
The work has received a decidedly muted reception inwhile Aliyev was visiting the U.S.,
the West, despite appearing in German, Russian andMazhilis member Tolen Toktasynov directly criticized
more recently, English. While Aliyev boasts of theAlieyv’s behavior in an open letter to Nazarbayev,
book’s documentation, many of its moreto be followed by an open letter from business
sensationalist charges remain innuendo –magnates supporting Toktasynov’s charges. In
reproduced bank drafts purportedly destined forearly 2002 Nazarbayev exiled Aliyev to a diplomatic
Nazarbayev’s offshore accounts are in fact madeposting in Vienna.
out simply to “bearer,” not Nazarbayev himself, 
while claims of conversations about Nazarbayev’sAliyev continued to build up his business empire, which
personal wealth or his purported involvement in theeventually included the companies mentioned earlier
2006 murder of opposition politician Altynbekalong with nightclubs, casinos and a media empire
Sarsenbayev are unsupported by tape recordings orwhich included the “Khabar” news agency and
transcripts, despite the fact that Aliyev has repeatedly“Alma-Media” grouping, along with the TV
posted other such materials on his LiveJournal blog. Inchannels “Kazakhstan-1”, NTK and ORT-
the end, the reader faced with such an uneven workKazakhstan, radio stations
is left to himself to decide what to believe. The“Europa-Plus-Kazakhstan,”
Godfather-in-Law is Aliyev’s first attempt at writing“Hit-FM-Khabar,” “Retro-Karavan,”
political science, as his sole previous journalistic effort is“Russian Radio,” newspaper “New
a 2002 book co-authored with T.A. Akpaev, TheGeneration”.
Russian-Kazakh-English dictionary of sporting 
terminology. Football.The final rupture occurred in May 2007 over
 Aliyev’s purported role in the kidnapping and murder
For Western audiences and governments theof two Nurbank officials, an fiscal institution where
fundamental question about Aliyev is whether hisAliyev had a controlling share. Aliyev asserts that it
self-portrayal is accurate or, in Kazhegeldin’soccurred because he announced his intention to run for
words, “lies.”  His background and career paththe presidency in 2012, but civil and military trials in early
strongly indicate that the truth is far closer to2008 found him and a number of his associate guilty,
Kazhegeldin’s tart observations than Aliyev’swith Aliyev receiving sentences totaling 40 years along
self-serving and sophisticated public relations campaign.with the confiscation of his property.
While both Aliyev and Astana have vested interests in 
the struggle for Alieyv’s image, a recounting ofAliyev now asserts that he supported democratic
Aliyev’s career and actions can only raise seriousvalues all along, even though his previous actions
questions in the reader’s mind.indicate otherwise. Similarly, his declarations that he has
 “many, many supporters” in Kazakhstan is
Rakhat Mukhtarovich Aliev was born on 10 Decembersuspect, given the fact that he has never held elected
1962 to a prominent Kazakh surgeon, Muhtarposition, but instead used the positions he was
Mukhtarovich Aliyev, who would eventually serve asappointed to through his family connections to enrich
the Kazakh SSR’s Minister of Health from 1982 tohimself. Aliyev’s efforts to reach out to the
1987. As a member of the privileged Soviet “goldenlegitimate Kazakh opposition in exile have been
youth,” Aliyev’s career should he wish to followrebuffed and last month one of his closest cronies,
in his father’s footsteps was pre-ordained,former KNB chief Alnur Musayev broke with him, and
graduating in 1986 from Almaty State Medical Instituteclaimed that Aliyev was involved in the Nurbank
and subsequently pursuing postgraduate studies at 2ndexecutives’ disappearance, as well as kidnapping
Moscow Medical Institut.eattempts in Vienna.
  
What would most strongly mark Alieyv’s futureWhile the Nazarbayev administration has made its fair
career was not his medical studies however, but hisshare of mistakes, it can point with pride to many
marriage in 1983 to Dariga Nursultanova Nazarbaeya,accomplishments, not least of which is the
whose father at the time was Chairman of the Councilimprovement of living standards and a lessening of the
of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR. Nazarbayev’scountry’s poverty rate, as shown by data from
and Aliyev’s fates would be subsequentlyinternational agencies such as the United Nations,
inextricably intertwined, until Nazarbayev could noWorld Bank and international Monetary Fund.
longer overlook his behavior.Aliyev’s public relations campaign notwithstanding,
 his legacy largely seems to be one of betrayal of his
At the time of the collapse of the USSR Aliyev wasfamily and country in pursuit of enriching himself. In
working as a medical researcher in the KazakhFebruary 2007 Aliyev casually mentioned during an
Research Institute of Surgery. In 1993 Nazarbayevinterview with Reuters that he owned 10% of the
appointed Aliyev Deputy Chief of the Office ofFrench international sugar trading company Sucden
Foreign Economic Relations, Ministry of Health ofand stated that “it would be difficult to spend all the
Kazakhstan  and as General Manager of Ministry ofmoney I have,” raising the question of how he
Foreign Economic Relations KazMedImport  jointacquired such wealth. To an objective observer, these
venture foreign trading company, responsible forseem less the words of a patriot than a selfish
importing medicines and equipment into Kazakhstan,individual obsessed with acquiring a business empire, by
where he worked until 1995.fair means or foul.