Strong alcoholic drink is an "imported" culture from Russia , and it is almost as much appreciated here as in Russia proper. Since alcohol is particularly cheap, it's easy for one's health to suffer.
Kazakhstan, officially known as the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a Eurasian country located in Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
Until the 1950s Astana (Aqmola), was a tiny mining town. Then Nikita Khruschev announced his Virgin Lands scheme to turn 250,000 sq km of Kazakhstan steppe into wheat fields.