Yann Mingard - Kazakhstan's Oil Rush

Kazakhstan is undergoing an extraordinary transformation fuelled by a 21st century oil rush. The discovery in 2000 of a massive oil field under the Caspian sea, the largest deposit found anywhere in the world for thirty years, has changed the face of the country and remodelled the geopolitical map of Central Asia. Kazakhstan, which only became independent in 1991 at the break-up of the former Soviet Union, is now courted by the United States, Europe and China, eager for gas, influence and a share in the riches. His confidence buoyed by this newfound wealth, Kazakhstan's autocratic president Nursultan Nazarbayev has embarked on a zealous construction programme, spending at least $15 billion on the new capital city of Astana. His ambitious plan is to place the country at the political as well as the geographical heart of the Eurasian continent.

Yann Mingard's exploration of the new Kazakhstan took him from west to east, starting in the oil fields of the Caspian and then crossing the steppe to the gleaming capital.