A whole year has passed since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine. But despite all the hardships and suffering, these 12 months showed that Ukrainians did not remain face to face with their grief. Humanitarian aid and all kinds of support are provided to our country from all corners of the globe.
International Expert Club and rating agency "EliteExpert” conducted a number of studies to identify common trends in how businessmen, public figures and politicians in different countries of the world help Ukraine. The specialists decided to start with the republics of the post-Soviet space - because until recently we were part of the same state and had a common history.
The first such rating is devoted to the Republic of Kazakhstan, one of the republics of the former USSR farthest from Ukraine.
Unlike our closest neighbors with common borders, for Kazakhs the war in Ukraine is something much more distant than, for example, for Moldova or Poland. All the more valuable is the help to our country from the people who live a peaceful life without shell bursts and air alarms, but at the same time managed to feel the pain that Ukraine faced.
Thousands of Ukrainian refugees have found shelter in Kazakhstan, the Kazakh people are sending food and clothing to Ukraine for people who have been left without a roof over their heads, and an inexhaustible flow of medicines is being sent. During the blackout, generators from local businesses arrived in our country, dozens of Kazakh doctors saved the lives of war victims, and "Yurts of Invincibility" are now standing all over Ukraine - from Bucha to Lviv.
The rating of 10 representatives of the business and political elite of Kazakhstan, who support our country, is based on the official information of the Embassy of Ukraine in Kazakhstan, which helped with logistics issues, on the data of the inter-parliamentary group "Ukraine-Kazakhstan", which is managed by People's Deputy Serhiy Nagornyak, as well as on information Ukrainian volunteer organizations involved in the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid and mass media.
The criteria for selecting candidates for the rating were as transparent as possible - places on the list from first to tenth were ranked depending on the amount of financial support that the participant (himself or with the help of funds) sent to the people of Ukraine, as well as the duration of this humanitarian aid. Among equals, priority was given to those who supported us from the first days of the war and continue to do so to this day.
On the first place experts placed one of the biggest Kazakh businessmen, a billionaire, in the rating Timur Turlov. The entrepreneur and financier from the Forbes list, the main owner of Freedom Holding Corp, which works in the field of finance and securities, donated $2,5 million to Ukraine as humanitarian aid. Our country received another 3 million dollars from his company Freedom Holding Corp. At the same time, it is interesting that Turlov himself is an ethnic Russian and recently received Kazakhstani citizenship, renouncing Russian.
The second line the list of Kazakhs who support Ukraine was taken by a major Kazakh investor, the chairman of the board of directors of the Seymar investment group Margulan Seisembaev. A shareholder of more than 100 companies and one of the country's most influential businessmen, he was known for his sympathy for Ukraine even before February 24, and as an investor, he met with Volodymyr Zelensky on several occasions.
Already ten days after the start of the full-scale war, the businessman created a charity fund, thanks to which funds managed to send 6 planes with humanitarian cargo to support the Ukrainians. The total amount of aid to Ukraine, according to preliminary estimates, is two million dollars.
The third position the only woman in the ranking took place — Kozhaly Togzhan, a well-known public figure and entrepreneur. Previously, she held management positions in large international companies, including Allianz SE, and in 2019 she founded the charitable foundation "HAQ" ("Honest Service to the People").
From the very first day of the full-scale invasion, her charitable foundation became involved in helping Ukraine and involved tens of thousands of residents of Kazakhstan.
In 2022, with the help of the fund, our country received 40 truckloads of humanitarian cargo with a total value of almost 2 million dollars. According to Togzhan Kozhala, such a large sum for humanitarian aid to another state was collected for the first time in the recent history of Kazakhstan, and it cannot fail to impress.
On the fourth place — Yerkin Tatishev, co-owner and chairman of the board of directors of the Kusto Group of companies. This is a huge business empire that has assets all over the world - from Canada to Ukraine. The main areas of its activity are agribusiness, oil and gas, real estate, building materials and retail trade.
During the full-scale war, the company and Tatishev personally handed over 41 high-power generators to our country, which ensured the full operation of hospitals and maternity homes in blackout conditions. The total cost of the generators was about $500; in addition, another 000 truckloads of humanitarian aid totaling $10 million arrived in Ukraine.
Daulet Nurzhanov sowing the fifth step in the list of Kazakhs who supported Ukraine in the hour of disaster. The businessman, who is a partner of Yerkin Tatishev and Kanat Kopbaev in the company Kusto Group, is notable for the fact that he is engaged in the agricultural sector, including the Ukrainian division of the holding. Kusto Agro has been conducting very successful activities in the Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr and Khmelnytskyi regions of Ukraine for many years, so the Russian invasion, in addition to the moral aspect, directly threatened the existence of the company's business assets.
It was Daulet Nurzhanov who became the main initiator of the installation and full provision of "Yurt Nezlamnosti" in the cities of Ukraine, which perform the function of a point of heating, power supply and recharging of gadgets.
The estimated cost of the project is about $1.
On the the sixth experts set a step Arman Shorayev, — businessman, public figure and media manager, former general director of JSC "Commercial Television Channel". From the first days of Russia's aggression, he and his colleagues announced the start of collecting humanitarian aid for Ukraine and within a week collected about 1 million dollars.
These funds were used to purchase essential goods for Ukrainians affected by the hostilities - from medicines and bandages to pasta and buckwheat. In total, Arman Shuraev and his associates managed to send about 20 transport planes with humanitarian aid to Ukraine for a total amount of 1 million dollars.
Seven position in the rating Aydina Rakhimbaeva — a great entrepreneur, chairman of the board of directors of the BI-Group holding and a philanthropist who is considered one of the most influential businessmen of Kazakhstan year after year.
He purchased eight high-power generators for Ukrainian children's hospitals with a total cost of about 250 dollars. Also, one Yurt of Invincibility was bought with his money, which will be installed in Mykolaiv.
Eighth place sowing Nurzhan Altayev, ex-deputy of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, former vice-minister of labor and social protection of the population, and now the leader of the opposition political party "El Tiregi".
From the first months of the war, he established contact with the leadership of the Vinnytsia region, with whom he had successfully cooperated before, and created a volunteer center that provides assistance to this particular region. The center was mainly engaged in the supply of food products to Ukraine and the organization of the lives of refugees who fled from the war-torn eastern regions to Vinnytsia. The total assistance amounted to at least 180 thousand US dollars.
Ninth line in list y Rahimbek Abdrakhmanov — economist and coordinator of the school of applied policy KSAP. Already on February 25, he organized a volunteer aid center in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, which works 24/7. In the first two months alone, 40 tons of cargo were sent to Ukraine: mainly medicines and products. In total, he managed to collect more than 120 thousand dollars to help Ukrainians.
And closes the top ten head of a large consulting company "Risk Assessment Group" (KRAG) Dosym Satpaev. From the first days of Russia's war against Ukraine, he organized a volunteer humanitarian aid collection point in Almaty, and in a fairly short time the volunteers managed to collect 120 dollars, for which about 140 tons of humanitarian aid were transferred to Ukraine.
