Kazakhstan

Olga Broderick

Programme 2: 13 January 2008
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Bob Kelly returns to the remote steppes of Kazakhstan to meet the family of Olga Broderick, a woman of Bulgarian descent, who is married to an Irish man and living and working in Newbridge.

Bob Kelly first meets Olga Broderick at the National Museum and then at her home in Newbridge. Olga is quick to dispell any negative impressions of her home country created by the infamous Borat, particularly about the treatment of her fellow country women. Olga is involved in bringing investment to her home country, which has been neglected by the west.

Four flights later, Bob ends up on the wild steppes of Kazakhstan, where Olga's Bulgarian Grandparents first settled. He gets a real sense of the country's history on these desolate plains before meeting up with Olga's parents, grandmother and extended family. Bob gets an exuberant welcome from Olga's parents, is treated to a tasty meal and hears insights into the meaning of home. Olga's father muses, "It is okay to choose to leave home, but it is a very different thing when you have to leave", referring to his own parent's migration to Kazakhstan.

 

Factfile on Kazakhstan

Population:

15.2 million

People:

53.4% Kazakh, 30% Russian, 3.7% Ukrainian, 2.4% German, 2.5% Uzbek, 2.5% Tartar, 5.5% other

Language:

Kazakh and Russian

Geography:

Kazakhstan is a vast country and the second largest (after Russia) of the former Soviet Republics. It is geographically diverse, comprising extensive grassland, semi-desert and mountainous areas.

Main exports:

Metals, oil, gas, agriculture

Religions:

Muslim 57%, Russian Orthodox 31%, Protestant 2%, Other 7