Kazakhstan’s population has reached 20 million, but how should this news be evaluated in light of the growing domestic violence in the country? Renowned political analyst Dosym Satpaev expressed his thoughts on this issue:

«In Kazakhstan, the 20 millionth resident has already been born or will be born soon. Of course, as Victor Hugo said: ‘The greatness of a nation is not measured by its numbers, just as the greatness of a person is not measured by their height, as the only measure is their mental development and moral level.’

However, in the case of Kazakhstan, both the quantitative growth of the population and the simultaneous improvement of the quality of life, education, and cultural level of Kazakhs are important. In the end, the cruel and tragic 20th century, with its wars, repression, genocide, and the famine of the 20s and 30s, not only brought the Kazakh nation to the brink of destruction but also dealt a serious blow to cultural and spiritual heritage, destroying many carriers of nomadic culture, including many family values.

Now, we are slowly restoring the demographic resource that we once lost. But the horror of today’s situation is that in modern Kazakhstan, without wars and famine, every year, as a result of domestic violence, our citizens, women, and children, die or suffer physical and psychological trauma.

And often, they perish at the hands of those they trusted and loved. Perhaps I am reasoning in an old-fashioned way, but I have always believed and still believe that one of the important duties (though not the only one) of a real man, inherent in him by nature, is to protect his family, ensure the safety of each member in that family, and provide support through wise words, right actions, warmth, and love.

Those who act otherwise, by killing those who could trust and love them, are not only criminals from a moral and legal standpoint but also enemies of the state. If we were to count the number of victims of domestic violence in Kazakhstan over the decades, we might have crossed this 20 million mark a long time ago.

But even having crossed this threshold, those born might face a harsh reality. After all, a crisis in family values can kill the future of any country as much as a massive famine or epidemic.»