KAZAKHSTAN

Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country and former Soviet republic, extends from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Altai Mountains at its eastern border with China and Russia. Its largest metropolis, Almaty, is a long-standing trading hub whose landmarks include Ascension Cathedral, a tsarist-era Russian Orthodox church, and the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan, displaying thousands of Kazakh artifacts.

Unsurprisingly, Kazakhstan is associated with oil and ‘the black gold’ takes the number one spot in the list. Kazakhstan produces approximately 81 million tons of oil per year. The runner-up in the top ten of Kazakhstani brands is Baikonur, the first and the largest space launch complex in the world.

Hinduism in Kazakhstan is represented mainly by the ISKCON followers and by expatriate Hindus from India. The Census in Kazhakhstan doesn’t recognize Hinduism. According to an estimate, there are about 500 Hare Krishna devotees in Kazakhstan. There were about 801 Hindus in Kazakhstan in 2010 according to ARDA.And like those game animals, horse meat is a healthy source of protein. Kazakhs credit it with a slew of benefits that verge on shapeshifting. It’s said to make men virile into their nineties.