“I was twenty-two when I opened a new page for myself titled “Kazakhstan”. Then I thought, “What can I get from Kazakhstan?” and “What can I learn?” Now, when I am 34 years old, I ask myself, "What can I give to Kazakhstan?”

An Italian couple adopted Louis Azamat Albertini in 1991 at the age of three from an orphanage in Voronezh, Russia and took him away across the ocean. Having spent almost all his life in the US state of Michigan, he got interested in Kazakhstan in his last year of college and visited Almaty for two weeks.  With a thought “I will go there and explore", he travelled to Almaty for an internship under a special program, then he opened his own business and lived there for almost four years. Despite the fact that Louis Azamat is now in America, his connection with Kazakhstan is still strong, which is why we could interview him.

- Kazakhs adopted by Americans in the 2000s were born and spent their early childhood in Kazakhstan. However, I was surprised to hear that you were adopted from Voronezh, Russia. Were you born there in Voronezh, or did you move there with your parents from Kazakhstan?

- That is a good question. I am 34 years old. Thirty-four years ago, foreigners rarely could adopt Kazakh children. Even in Russia, there were few cases. They allowed adopting only two or three children a year. Now, obviously, everything is different. Figuratively speaking, I am part of a Kazakh village in America (laughs). As you have already said, many people in America were adopted as children in the 2000s. I helped and supported them. I am a mentor. The oldest is probably twenty-five; the youngest is twenty-three. I have not met anyone over the age of thirty. My biological parents are citizens of Kazakhstan. Both are Kazakhs. What is the name of the document issued at the birth of a child, which indicates the ethnicity of your parents? I always forget. The cover is green.

 

- Birth certificate.

 

- Yes, my birth certificate indicates that they are both Kazakhs. If I am not mistaken, my biological father is from Pavlodar, and my biological mother was born and raised in the South Kazakhstan region. After my mom met my father, she went with him to Pavlodar to start a family there. Then, in search of a better life, they decided to move to Russia. In the 90s, many Kazakhs went to Russia in search of work. Thus, in order to earn money, they stopped in the city of Voronezh. I was born there. However, due to financial issues they decided to transfer me to an orphanage because they could not take care of me. An Italian couple who lived in New York adopted me when I was three years old. They also decided to take my sister Jeanne under their wing. She is also an ethnic Kazakh. However, she was born in St. Petersburg. I grew up in Michigan, USA. I received a good school education. Since I wore glasses in high school, there were those who wanted to spoil my mood, hinting at my Asian features. Nevertheless, I cannot say that I have faced bullying. After graduating from high school, I entered the University of Michigan, where I studied economics and history of Central Asian countries.

 

- Did you find out that you are Kazakh by that birth certificate?

 

- No. As a pupil, I did not even think about it. In addition, my parents never had a conversation with me like in the movies, “Son, you are adopted.” They never told me that I was adopted. However, as I grew up, I realized that I was different from them. Until the last year of college, I did not think about the Kazakh ethnicity, about the country of Kazakhstan. Born in Russia, I thought I was Russian (laughs). Later I realized the difference between Russian nationality and ethnicity (laughs). I was naïve. I did not know anything. In the summer months, I traveled to Moscow and St. Petersburg, received an education under the exchange program. I studied the language, economics and history. Those who were there did not consider me an American. I was considered as a person from Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan. Then I started thinking about Kazakhstan. In those years, I met Azamat, who studied at the University of Michigan under the Bolashak program and became my friend. I recently attended his wedding. After completing his summer studies in Moscow in 2012, Azamat told me that we needed to go from Moscow to Almaty and visit our historical homeland. We have to explore the World. Therefore, I went to Almaty and plunged into a different world. I saw people like me, I felt comfortable. In America, looking at us, people think that we are Koreans, Japanese or Chinese. No one says I am Kazakh. The first thing that came to my mind when I stepped into the streets of Almaty full of Kazakhs was, “I am Kazakh”. No one comes up and tells you: “Are you from Uzbekistan?”, “Are you from Tajikistan?”.

 

 

We were extremely excited when Kazakhs adopted by Americans, arriving in Kazakhstan for the first time, ask the question, “why does everyone around me look like me?”

 

- Yes. It is an amazing feeling. I was glad too. Everything was cool. Everything was clear. Moreover, the name Azamat is one of the most common names in the country. I liked everything. Since I have liked meat dishes for a long time, I was happy to try manti, roast and Kazakh meat. I liked the taste of horsemeat. At that time, I was going to Kazakhstan for only two weeks. Then I returned to America and worked in Chicago for several years. Then in 2015, I decided to try myself in Kazakhstan not as a tourist, but to work a little and live there. If you go as a tourist, you miss a lot. That is why I wanted to investigate everything in more details. After applying for the Princeton in Asia program, I finally got an internship at KIMEP University in Almaty for a year. After working there for a year, I focused on the IT cooperation between Kazakhstan and the USA and started working with new technologies. I lived in Almaty for almost three more years.

 

 

- What prompted you to return to America?

 

- In 2019, I returned to America to be with my parents. However, I visit Kazakhstan twice a year. I have my own profession there. I have projects on consulting and building bridges between Silicon Valley and Kazakhstan. I started this work in 2017, when there was no demand for IT exports. At that time there were almost no qualified specialists. Later, more specialists trained in Kazakhstan started working in large companies. I am glad that such progress has taken place in a short time.

- What did you like the most during your four years of living in Kazakhstan?

- Hospitality. People are helpful and welcome me with open arms. For example, if you ask your American friends to meet you at the airport at four o'clock in the morning, no one will agree. However, when I arrived in Kazakhstan, I messaged only to one friend, and I was surprised when ten people contacted each other and showed up at the airport. This is an indicator of a strong friendship. It's important to me.

 

- We often say that “hospitality is in our DNA”.

 

- I completely agree with that. In Kazakhstan, families or a group of friends gather in the same house, eat meat, drink soups, tea, talk for four to five hours and enjoy the rest. I liked this tradition. We talked a lot and met with Kazakh friends. In Almaty, we visited friends' houses, country cottages, talked a lot and spent wonderful evenings. It was unusual. At the same time, you notice that family values and continuity between generations is above all. I also went to the wedding in Shymkent at the invitation of a friend. On the way to the wedding, I got confused and accidentally entered another event. Inside the other wedding, everyone was also hospitable, I thought I came to a friend, but I got to the wrong address (laughs). Then, when I contacted a friend, he said that it turns out I had to enter the opposite door. Then I noticed that several different weddings can take place at once in several houses built side by side on the same street. And even the next day a wedding is held. Weddings are held every day. Kazakh weddings are very interesting and fun. Toastmaster, games, dancers, national cuisine, all this inspired me so much.

 

 

- Nevertheless, were there times when you thought, “It's funny and different there”?

 

- Yes, of course. In America, the workflow management system is different. Everything is different in Kazakhstan. While working at KIMEP, I learned that all decisions are reviewed by the CEO. You can't even argue with them. Especially in large companies there is a whole board of directors. Sometimes you don't even know who the main director is. I'm not saying it's bad, it's just different than in America. For example, what a specialist in Google says - is law. They are the number one person. They will have neither a deputy nor an adviser. And in Kazakhstan, even the middle management has no power. While in America, they are specialists responsible for everything and have power. I also don't like the stereotype that “Kazakhs are lazy”. I haven't seen anyone lazy in all these years. I only saw the lack of flame in the eyes of strong specialists. Sometimes there is no motivation. In America, if you work in the same company there is a great opportunity to climb the career ladder. First you will work as an analyst, then as a manager, then as a senior manager. Your path is clear. In Kazakhstan, this is different. Someone who has a “Bake” or “Sake”, can stop specialists from climbing this “ladder. It could be someone with family connections to appoint a completely different specialist. So why has this specialist been working tirelessly for so many years? Obviously, they also want to grow and occupy positions corresponding to the accumulated experience. Some scientists over the age of 40, brought up in Soviet times, did not know about critical thinking and cannot work with new facts. And this is an invaluable ability for those who work in the field of innovation. But in general, young people are smart and attentive.

 

- To be honest, when I invited you for an interview, I didn't think that you had projects in Kazakhstan. We just wanted to know why you left Kazakhstan and to hear your story.

 

- “I was twenty-two when I opened a new page for myself titled “Kazakhstan”. Then I thought, “What can I get from Kazakhstan?” and “What can I learn?” Now, when I am 34 years old, I ask myself, "What can I give to Kazakhstan?” I know that my accumulated knowledge, experience and research will come in handy. To do this, I am running a project in Kazakhstan. There are a lot of smart people and new opportunities in Kazakhstan. Foreign investors are interested in Kazakhstan and in the Central Asian region. There are many opportunities to invite them to Kazakhstan. It is much more profitable to invite investors here and work together than to send Kazakhs who are proficient in IT. It is also clear that the government is working well. Nevertheless, there are many people among us who think that Almaty, Astana or Shymkent cannot be Silicon Valley. Believe it or not, there are strong specialists who are interested in Kazakhstan. Those who come to Kazakhstan admire nature, are interested in the quality of life in cities, notice the potential and opportunities of the country, as we have already said. When I lived in Almaty, I invited many foreign friends. They thought Almaty was one of the most unique cities in the world, admiring the mountains and the Big Almaty Lake. The infrastructure also pleased me. Even with a lot of traffic jams, it was clear that there are many opportunities. They want to work with locals, not with Americans or Europeans living in Almaty. Again, you can establish a connection many hubs. In general, there is an opportunity to raise the profile of Kazakhstan. We should invite foreigners not only to “admire the mountains and nature”, but also to let them know that this is a future potential international business center, similar to Singapore or Dubai. If you attract foreigners, find investors, the economy will also grow.With strong skills and growing local market,  the wages will also increase.

 

 

- We are glad that the connection with your historical homeland will never be severed, even if you are currently in America.

 

- I am closely connected with Kazakhstan. I like Kazakhstan. A lot of my friends live there. I have a lot of interesting projects. Kazakhs living abroad do not get tired of talking about Kazakhstan. Among them are those who return to Kazakhstan and contribute to the development of the country. As I said, we have a lot of smart kids. It is gratifying that these children want to facilitate the development of the country. When I first came to Kazakhstan in 2012, there were no quality banks or carsharing. Even the Internet connection was weak. There were also few good restaurants with a variety of dishes. And now everything has changed. I am surprised that in ten years Kazakhstan developed so much. Almaty is a very modern city. In addition to Almaty and Astana, I visited the cities of Karagandy, Taraz, Shymkent, Kokshetau and Taldykorgan. Every city has its own feature. Everyone has their own peculiarities. I really liked it.

 

- You don't have to answer my next question, but have you ever thought about finding your biological parents?

 

- No. I have wonderful parents who took care of me. Having a baby is easy, unlike raising and educating it. My adoptive parents gave me education and opportunities. They invested in me. They made sure that I grew up disciplined. My mother also came here when I lived in Kazakhstan. She really liked it. When I told them that I wanted to visit my historical homeland, they said that “this is an opportunity that is given only once in a lifetime. Go and see.” The mother of my friend Azamat, who opened Kazakhstan to me, is my Kazakh mother and the closest soul in Kazakhstan. She always invited me to eat at her place and was there every family holiday. I'm part of her family. Therefore, I believe that I have a family in Kazakhstan.

- Thanks for the story! Good luck!

 

 Interviewer

Aliya TLEUZHANOVNA