Photographs by Stephen M. Bland. Select a photograph to enlarge.
Shymkent
Soviet-era ceremonial spaceShymkent
Centrepiece in the Museum of Victims of Political Repression shows martyrs being restrained by a Soviet banner or decapitated by the Red Star of BattleTurkistan
On an obligatory field trip schoolgirls wear uniforms like milkmaids in mourningTurkistan
A murder of crows circle the Yasaui MausoleumAlmaty
Zelyoni (Green) Bazaar at dawnAlmaty
Zenkov CathedralAlmatyAlmaty
Replica of the Golden Man, part of the Monument to Independence, Republika AlangyAstanaAstanaAstanaAralsk
Main BazaarAralsk
President Nazarbayev photoshopped into a dream of the Aral SeaZhalanash
The ghosts of sailors haunt a ship cemetery on the former Aral seabedTastubek Bay
Boats lilting on the Small Aral SeaButokov Bay
Abandoned Barge rusting in the Small Aral SeaArtesian WellAkbasty
A compound on the main drag in the village of AkbastyKok Aral Dam
Saviour of the Small Aral SeaKarateren
