Some people almost from birth have everything, but always strive to get even more. Some of them end up in solitary confinement in an Austrian prison. Yes, it looks like the plot of a soap opera, but sometimes life breaks off and not such “knees”. An ideal confirmation is Rakhat Aliyev, the former son-in-law of Kazakh President Nazarbayev. He lived an amazing life. However, even his death left many questions, many of which are still unanswered. Until now, many in Kazakhstan itself believe that it was the murder of Rakhat Aliyev.
How did it happen that the candidate for the post of president of the former republic of the USSR suddenly turned into a loner, languishing in a prison cell? Can we extract any enlightening information from the history of its rise and subsequent fall? I guess, yes. Rakhat Aliyev, who was found hanged in his cell, in many ways came to this end himself. But many features of his character were formed in those conditions that are characteristicexclusively for the Central Asian republics, formerly part of the Soviet Union.
Kazakhs themselves have an unequivocal attitude towards Aliyev's personality. Those who are interested in politics remember very well the fate of the members of the Nurbank management, the rest can recall the fact that it was the president's son-in-law who actually ruined the entire Kazakh football. The time that he spent as chairman of the football association is described there as "the era of bribes." Money from the budget allocated for the development of the national team disappeared without a trace, equipment was not purchased, sports facilities were not built or repaired.
Unflattering features
Kazakhstan is the first former Soviet republic in terms of income. It has a developed oil and gas industry and a very high GDP per capita. It is not surprising that foreign investments are flowing into the state like a river. Investors are also very interested in the development of the banking industry, which allows you to get huge profits. One of the key figures in his time was Zholdas Timraliev. He served as chief deputy president of Nurbank.
This institution was given to his son-in-law by his “godfather-in-law”. Rakhat Aliyev, as the Kazakh investigation now claims, shamelessly robbed a bank, withdrawing huge amounts of money offshore. By doing this, he caused serious damage not only to the economy of his country, but also to the reputation of the bank, which, due to the unscrupulous actions of its management, has seriously diminished foreign investors. Even the patronage of Nazarbayev himself did not help.
This was not a secret even before: in Kazakhstan, this institution was not knownonly as the largest state bank, but also as a financial "pocket" owned by Rakhat Aliyev. But only foreigners could afford to openly joke about this, since the Kazakhs themselves fully imagined the consequences. Zholdas Timraliev also knew about it. In 2006, he was "on horseback" and could count on a cloudless future, but the circumstances were different. Rumor has it that Zholdas at one time wanted to escape from his native country … He did not have time.
In 2007, he was guilty of a major offense to his boss. The details of that story are unknown, and there is simply no one to know them better. For the first time, Timraliyev was lucky, because he came alive from the presidential son-in-law. As he later told his wife and the investigation, Aliyev personally tied him to a sports simulator. And then he beat him. Also personally. The second meeting was much less successful. It is not clear what exactly Rakhat Aliyev wanted, but Zholdas' career ended there. He has never been seen alive since that visit.
Mysterious deaths, gruesome murders…
The investigators found out that the main requirement was the re-registration of all the property of Zholdas in the name of Rakhat. Tellingly, as a result of torture or threats, he did this, further enriching Aliyev. But this did not save Zholdas' life: until the end of 2011, the police had no idea where his body was buried. The main defendant in the case at that time lived comfortably in Austria, and therefore they could only reveal the secret by accident. At the end of the year, the neighborhood of Alma-Ata was shocked by a horrific find: two barrels in which they swamterribly mutilated fragments of two bodies. It turned out that it was Zholdas Timraliev himself and Aibar Khasenov, the supply manager of the ill-fated Nurbank. He went missing at the same time.
The investigation immediately reminded Aliyev that in the recent past it was he who was suspected of direct involvement in the murder of journalist Anastasia Novikova. Aliev's former mistress was simply thrown from the ninth floor directly onto the rebars sticking out of the ground. Already after that monstrous murder, many Kazakhs did not doubt the "authorship" of the customer, but preferred to keep quiet. Initially, they tried to make the case look like a suicide, but there were several unpleasant oddities.
Firstly, Nastya was shaved bald. Secondly, traces of cruel torture were found on her body. Thirdly, in the blood of the murdered woman (and there was no doubt about this before) they found a huge dose of psychotropic drugs, to which ordinary mortals simply have no access.
The beginning of the fall
A chain reaction was launched, which led to the loud fall of the president's son-in-law. Armangul Kapasheva, the wife of the tragically deceased Timraliev, loved her husband. She turned away in every possible way from those "well-wishers" who generally advised to forget about the person who existed in her life and "live on." It is not clear how the woman herself did not disappear, but she managed to achieve her goal. Despite the frank slippage of the investigation, the investigation into the disappearance of Timraliyev was nevertheless taken up in earnest.
Rakhat Aliyev himself, whose biography is discussed on the pages of this article, thenavoided trouble. But 17 people from his inner circle were promptly sent to the bunk. Aliyev (who by that time had managed to become ambassador to Austria) took the standard step in such cases: he loudly announced to the whole world that he “suffered for democratic values” and asked to be saved from “political persecution.” Other events were reflected in the press of those times. Nazarbayeva Dariga, who was Aliev's wife, immediately divorced him. In 2008, the Alma-Ata District Court sentenced the ex-head of Nurbank not only to confiscation of all property, but also to twenty years in a strict regime colony.
At this moment, the former president's son-in-law's sweet life ended: he instantly lost all his money, his accounts were frozen, and his "friends" instantly turned away from their former comrade. Since 2009, he was officially known under the name Rakhat Shoraz, since Aliyev took the name of his second wife.
Features of Austrian justice
How could a man like Rakhat Aliyev end up in prison? His biography was not too joyful: a new country and a new family did not bring him happiness. In 2014, the Kazakh authorities filed a petition for his extradition from Austria. Rightfully fearing a not too warm welcome at home, he himself surrendered to the Austrians, wishing for a "democratic trial" and serving time in a comfortable cell in a Vienna prison… He hardly hoped for such an end, but after a couple of months, the former presidential son-in-law is found in a noose.
However, it would hardly have occurred to Aliyev himself to accuse the Austrians of at least something. Since the beginning of that epic, the governmentKazakhstan persistently "bombed" Austria with demands for the extradition of the fugitive diplomat and murderer. But the government of a European "democratic" country constantly found reasons to refuse. Everyone attributed it to the lack of that same “democratic” nature: allegedly, Kazakhstan would not be able to “impartially” deal with the Aliyev case. The tolerant Austrians preferred not to remember that he was involved in the terrible death of several people.
Even the “godfather-in-law” himself could not save the situation. Rakhat Aliyev continued to give malicious interviews about his "fight for the ideals of democracy", not forgetting to "rinse" Nazarbayev himself. The role of a political martyr in the modern world is highly valued!
Book as a weapon
Back in 2009, the book "Godfather" by Rakhat Aliyev was published. In it, Aliyev, who by that time had received recognition as the “head of the Kazakh opposition,” revealed many facts that, in fact, were the state secret of the country. In particular, on its pages you can find fragments of secret telephone conversations and business correspondence. The author paid a lot of attention to Nursultan Nazarbayev himself, presenting him in an extremely unfavorable light. It is not surprising that the book was immediately banned in the country.
Many politicians have no doubt that the publication of this material is one of the links in the events that took place after the removal of the American Manas base from Kyrgyzstan and the attempted coup d'état there. The fact is that Nazarbayev then officially spoke in defense of the President of Kyrgyzstan in responseto the attacks of the "democratic" states of Europe and the USA. It was very profitable for someone to create compromising evidence against him … It was a kind of “self-levitation” of Rakhat Aliyev, when a dishonest diplomat tried to “fly” again, whitening himself at the expense of his political rivals and even his father-in-law, to whom he owed everything. Some might say that Aliyev had reasons to attack him…
Judge not and you will not be judged
Of course, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev is not an angel with a halo over his head. In general, like all people. Almost all domestic and foreign political scientists agree on one thing: Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation are very lucky that after the collapse of the USSR, the former republic was headed by this particular person. He did not send his country to "sail" through the turbulent waters of the civil war, as happened in Tajikistan, did not massacre dissidents and foreigners, as happened in Uzbekistan. Actually, even spiteful critics agree that he is far from the personality cult of "Turkmenbashi".
All other countries of the Central Asian region (with rare exceptions) have turned into total dictatorships with a bias towards medieval feudalism. Nazarbayev managed to prevent this. Kazakhstan is one of the few countries in the region that has a well-to-do middle class, where political rivals are not sent to rot in prison forever, they are not given forest “excursions” with a one-way ticket. They act in a civilized way, beating them in the political arena. It is not surprising that those forces that advocate total destabilization of the geopolitical situation in the world, by thisvery dissatisfied with the circumstance.
How it all began
But the beginning of Aliyev's life did not foreshadow the metamorphosis that happened to him. He was born in December 1962. His father was Mukhtar Aliyev, an excellent physician, academician and honored citizen of the Kazakh Republic. The boy received an excellent education, grew up curious and seriously prepared for the career of a professional doctor, deciding to continue his father's work. Even skeptics admit that Rakhat Aliyev and Dariga Nazarbayeva at one time really came together for love and their marriage was real.
She herself recalled that she first met her future husband before the most important exam. Rakhat then came to the next room with his friends. Dariga did not expect anyone, and therefore she went to the door disheveled, her eyes swollen and reddened from sleepless nights. And at that moment I saw a young green-eyed man. She admitted that at that moment she firmly understood: "Something will definitely happen." Indeed, soon the son of Rakhat Aliyev, Nurali, appeared from their union.
It happened in the mid-80s in Moscow. Like many in the post-Soviet space, Rakhat decided to quit medicine in the midst of the difficult 90s and go into business. At that time, no one spoke badly about him. At that time, he had not yet turned into a person who was feared to death in Kazakhstan. At that time, Rakhat Aliyev and Dariga Nazarbayeva were a loving couple, life was hard, but everyone looked to the future with hope.
What caused the "rebirth"?
What provokedsuch a sad outcome? Most likely, the matter lies not only in the personal qualities of this person, which were hidden for the time being. They developed for the simple reason that all the necessary conditions were created for them.
Peculiarities of Central Asian politics
The fact is that modern Kazakhstan is a country in which much depends on the first person of the state. In fact, there is one really effective political "institution" here - the president. And this is quite expected, based on the mentality of the peoples who live in the state. The same circumstance automatically places the President at the center of the situation, when there is always a huge amount of intrigue around him. Surely Rakhat Aliyev, whose photo is in the article, was far from the first of those close to whom he spoke badly. How to figure out who is really to blame, and who is only being slandered? This is very difficult, if not impossible to do.
This situation inevitably leads to the fact that the ruling elite relies on their own family and people close to it. If even such people cannot be trusted, then who can you rely on in this world!? In a word, everything turned out to be expected corny. If the only significant capital in the country is the complete trust of the leadership, on whom could Nursultan Nazarbayev lay the burden of responsibility? Rakhat Aliyev was not only a devoted son-in-law, but also a man with a good past and from a good family … Unfortunately, this did not help him resist numerousthe temptations that this position gave him.
Why did the security services react so late
It has long been known that money that comes easily and is not earned by one's own labor easily corrupts people. Presidential trust and authority became the straw that broke the camel's back in this case. The further, the stronger the Kazakh business felt what kind of person Rakhat Aliyev was. Whether he was killed in an Austrian prison or hanged himself does not change matters: many companies in the neighboring country breathed much more freely after his flight from Kazakhstan.
Why did his antics go unnoticed by Nazarbayev for so long? Where were the special services that were simply obliged to report to the first person of the state about the dark deeds that his son-in-law is engaged in? In many ways, the answer lies in the fact that not everyone can say something bad about those people whom Nazarbayev considers part of his family. But the reason is not only this. It would be naive to believe that Aliyev did not do serious work in the power structures in his time, placing his proteges in all responsible posts. They easily shelved any facts obtained by their subordinates. We revealed one more circumstance above - almost every day, leading personalities are told something unpleasant about their close associates. Far from any information in this case can be trusted.
It was the combination of all these factors that led to the appearance of Aliyev in the form in which his enemies and opponents in the open spaces of Kazakhstan were mortally afraid of him. As a man he died, and here's howthe phenomenon, unfortunately, lives on. By the way, about his death. What arguments suggest that Rakhat Aliyev hanged himself not without outside help?
Oddities in an Austrian prison
Firstly, immediately after getting into the Austrian prison, which many domestic liberals would probably consider to be something like a branch of heaven on earth, the fugitive diplomat encountered unpleasant features of local life. He immediately began to apply for a transfer to solitary confinement, citing beatings and pressure from cellmates. Aliyev claimed that they “shaken” three thousand euros from him, of which he, through his lawyer, transferred one thousand.
The inmates themselves subsequently claimed that prisoner Aliev voluntarily handed over this money to them for "help" in communicating with the leadership and guards. Allegedly, Rakhat did not know English well, and therefore could not express himself. Everything seems to be correct: a native of Kazakhstan really could not know English at the proper level, that's just … He was the plenipotentiary ambassador of Kazakhstan to Austria, constantly attended meetings and briefings in the OSCE and other organizations, and calmly communicated while traveling around foreign countries. And this person does not know English to communicate with the prison administration? It's hard to believe it.
So who killed Rakhat Aliyev? Are the Austrian prison “concepts” really to blame here, or was he simply “gotten” by those to whom he caused so many problems while at large? Alas, we are unlikely to know the answer to this question, since everyonethe parties to this mysterious case are (understandably) not too interested in a detailed investigation of this incident.
