16 When There Is No Money Left

Когда денег больше нет

Almaty |

Kazakhstan

Russian

Behind the scenes

This text was inspired by encounters in the 1990s, when I saw highly educated individuals suddenly fall into poverty after the collapse of the Soviet Union. I remember in particular the story of a former Kazakh doctor, once respected, who had lost everything and found himself facing hunger.
When hunger takes hold, thoughts begin to shift in strange ways. The text follows this inner movement – a blend of lucidity, cultural memory, and absurdity.

Within this mental drift emerge fragments of Russian culture: verses by Pushkin and Lermontov, pillars of Russian poetry, and later the voice of Vladimir Vyssotski, a singer and poet whose songs marked an entire generation.

But even the most beautiful verses, the finest songs, and the noblest feelings cannot fill an empty stomach.

Echoes of the world

Because of Kazakhstan’s Soviet history, Russian remains widely used in daily life alongside Kazakh, the official language belonging to the Turkic language family. This linguistic coexistence reflects the complex history of Central Asia, a crossroads of peoples and influences. In Almaty, at the foot of the Alatau mountains, several languages often intertwine within the same conversation.

In this text, the Russian language carries fragments of cultural memory. The phrase « На берегу пустынных волн стоял я » (Na bye-rye-GOO pus-TIN-nikh voln sta-YAL ya) refers to The Bronze Horseman by Pushkin, one of the founding poets of Russian literature. Further on appears « Белеет парус одинокий » (Bye-LYE-yet PA-rus a-di-NO-kiy) – “A lonely sail turns white” – a famous line by Lermontov, symbolizing solitude and inner quest.
These words surface like memories in the mind of a starving man.

Listen to an audio excerpt of the text