Kazakhs

But these were people, most of these people were just veterans from Afghanistan who came in there.

There were a lot of Kazakhs and others that came in, but they weren't Russian military.

Sure, there were Russian advisors.

That's not, you won't deny that.

So you were saying that this particular event kind of got you interested in dumplings, right? But that's not where the book or like the stories in the book are unfolding, right? So how did you switch from Russia to Central Asia?

Well, I think of it more as from Tatarstan to Kazakhstan.

Those are closely connected cultures.

How did I get from Tatarstan to Kazakhstan? Well, first of all, I got married and then I started going through a divorce and I had a one-year-old baby.

And one of the only things that brought me joy, besides, I mean, my baby is now 17 and is fantastic, but I was very much alone and eating dumplings was something I just... put my face into the dumpling pile.

And I couldn't go back to Russia, actually, after my book was published.

I mean, yeah, it's not something I've tested, because there are things, the Tatarstan book, there are things I read about Putin in there that could be dangerous, so I went to Kazakhstan.

Well, I was really interested in the dumplings.

And we have launched our direct-to-sale services about a month ago in Kazakhstan.

And what we are observing is one out of four Kazakhs during a period of 30 days a month, they are outside of coverage of terrestrial networks.

And I think, you know, that's so important to have 100% connectivity everywhere, whether it's the steppe or a desert or a mountain.

And I think, you know, that's a big advantage for people.

and also how it speaks to the U.S. market versus international markets.

Look, every market has its own dynamics, and I respect the comments by the CEO of Verizon.

But in our markets, which is Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Pakistan, Bangladesh, our partnership with Starlink actually relies on our license, on our capabilities in terms of spectrum ownership and our own core networks.

which allows us to deliver our responsibilities against the governments and this public in the countries that we operate in.

Over to one championship, where the roster keeps growing.

One signed unbeaten Kazakh featherweight Adlan Umarov this week.

23 years old, 4-0, three of those wins by rear naked choke, and the promotion is already talking up his wrestling entries and top pressure.

No debut date yet, but that's a name to file away.

And you think, how can that be that Kazakhstan is a long way from Western Europe? If there's trade going on there, and presumably there is, Which way is it going? Because when you think in a Eurocentric way, you would think, well, some European has gone to Kazakhstan with his liar, and that's where it's been deposited.

But, of course, from a Kazakh point of view, it could be quite the opposite.

And we just don't know.

Kazakhstan, and in fact the site where it was found, is on the Silk Road.

So anything is possible.

It could be that they're neither Kazakhs nor West European, but Chinese.

I mean, there are such gaps in our knowledge that we haven't quite, we're not quite in the position to say yet, but you have to keep an open mind.

But certainly there are these very Long distance connections emerging.

I mean, they'd certainly expect to be doing better than they are, but maybe not as badly as that would let on.

Yeah, they're sort of interested in the following on from what we've just been talking about in a way, because we know it would be a big club at this level, but they've taken over by, is he like a Kazakh billionaire? Is he Kazakh? Have I got that right?

They've had a couple of wealthy owners since the last few years.

Yeah, exactly.

But, you know, We are allowed to score goals as well.

So maybe there's a chance we'll do that.

Wickham's owner, Mikhail Lomtadze, is Kazakh, but he's also Georgian.

He's Georgian-Kazakhstani, apparently.