Political scientist Arsen Sarsekov accused the creators of the "Zamandas" podcast of being financed by oligarchs of "Old Kazakhstan".
The statements came after the scandal surrounding the "roast" involving Kanat Beisekeyev, where jokes about tragic events were used — the January events of 2022 and the December events of 1986. The blogger denies systematic sponsorship of the project, but acknowledges working with large companies on an advertising and one-off commission basis.
According to Centralmedia24, political scientist Arsen Sarsekov stated that the creators of the "Zamandas" podcast receive funding from businessmen linked to "Old Kazakhstan". According to him, money is being channelled into the project by Bulat Utemuratov ("Utemuratov Foundation", JSC "Forte bank"), Akhmetzhan Yessimov's son-in-law - Galimzhan Yessenov (CF "Courage to be First"), entrepreneur Kairat Mazhibayev (LLP "RG Brands Kazakhstan") and Nurlan Smagulov (LLP "Hyundai Auto Kazakhstan").
Sarsekov noted that the project's hosts, Kanat Beisekeyev and Yerzhan Aldabergenov, have established themselves as critics of the "New Kazakhstan" regime, constantly trying to draw criticism of the authorities out of their guests. However, in the political scientist's view, the bloggers' position is not so uncompromising, since the podcast creators themselves are financed by the oligarchs of "Old Kazakhstan".
This allows them to actively promote the podcast online, including expensive targeted advertising, and advertise it widely on LED screens in major cities.
"Zamandas" is not "the voice of a generation, but a well-thought-out and generously funded political project," Sarsekov believes.
The political scientist also indicated that after the January 2022 events, the oligarchs of "Old Kazakhstan" were "pushed away from the trough", and they are now trying to regain influence by funding "independent" influencers.
In a comment to a Centralmedia24 correspondent, Kanat Beisekeyev refuted the accusations of systematic funding of the project by oligarchs, calling them a "leak". At the same time, he acknowledged working with all the mentioned businessmen and their organisations.
"That my podcast is specifically funded — of course, I deny it. But some private orders that their organisations make, like Forte Bank — they ordered advertising on 'Zamandas'," the blogger stated.
Beisekeyev explained that 'Zamandas' features advertising for Forte Bank, he filmed a documentary about the Almaty Marathon for the organisation headed by Yessenov, worked with Utemuratov on a film about autism, and made the podcast with Smagulov on his own initiative.
The participants of "Zamandas" do not directly disclose their sources of funding, citing that the programme is author-driven. This implies the creator's personal responsibility for the financial side, but the sources could be anything.
A wave of criticism fell on the project after the release of a video "roast" featuring jokes about tragic events in Kazakhstan's history. Many Kazakhs found the jokes about the January 2022 events and the December 1986 events to be sacrilegious. Beisekeyev himself explains the criticism as an attack by bots.
At the end of October, a four-hour podcast with Nurlan Smagulov was released on "Zamandas" — one of the longest episodes in the channel's five-year history. On social media, users speculated that there were no tough questions due to a possible agreement between the bloggers and the businessman.
The editorial team of Centralmedia24 sent inquiries to all the mentioned businessmen. The Corporate Fund "Courage to be First" replied that it has no connection to the "Zamandas" project and provides the creators with no financial support.
At the same time, the fund confirmed its collaboration with director Kanat Beisekeyev on socially significant communication projects. No responses had been received from the other addressees by the time of publication.
Kanat Beisekeyev is confident that the project is not under threat:
"I think Kazakhstan needs 'Zamandas'."
He compares the current situation to the criticism of other popular shows and hopes that "they've criticised and hated on it for now, then the people will love it again".