Panty Protests In Russia And Kazakhstan Sparked By Lace Lingerie Ban

A trade ban on lacy lingerie has Russian consumers and their neighbors with their knickers in a twist. The ban will outlaw any underwear containing less than 6 percent cotton from being imported, made, or sold in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. And it has struck a chord in societies where La Perla and Victoria's Secret are panty paradises compared to Soviet-era cotton underwear, which was often about as flattering and shapely as drapery.

On Sunday, 30 women protesters in Kazakhstan were arrested and thrown into police vans while wearing lace underwear on their heads and shouting "Freedom to panties!" The ban in those three countries was first outlined in 2010 by the Eurasian Economic Commission, which regulates the customs union, and it won't go into effect until July 1. But a consumer outcry against it already is reaching a fever pitch.

Huffington Post

Borat's version of Kazakh anthem played at Kuwait medal ceremony

Kazakhstan's shooting team was taken by surprise when a spoof national anthem from the film Borat was used at a medal ceremony in Kuwait. The team demanded an apology after Maria Dmitrienko was played the obscene song, which features lyrics about prostitutes and potassium exports, as she received her gold medal.

A video posted on YouTube shows Dmitrienko on the podium, her hand on her heart, looking perplexed as the song begins to play. She appears to see the funny side and is smiling by the end. The blunder apparently occurred after the event's organisers downloaded the parody from the internet by mistake. They also got the Serbian anthem wrong. An apology was issued and the ceremony staged again.

The Guardian

State of emergency after Kazakhstan clashes

The Kazakh president has declared a state of emergency and curfew in western oil city of Zhanaozen. Violence erupted on Friday as hundreds of angry oil workers went on the rampage and clashed with police in Zhanaozen, a town in the Mangistau region of west Kazakhstan, where a ceremony was being held to mark the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence.

The presidential decree bans strikes and public protests, restricts freedom of movement around Zhanaozen and limits access to and from the city for 20 days. Reuters reported.

An independent source in Astana put the death count as high as 70, with more than 500 wounded, when police fired on protesters. The violence is a setback for Nursultan Nazarbayev, the authoritarian president of Kazakhstan, who hosted lavish independence day celebrations in Astana this week to burnish his country’s image as a global oil power and safe destination for foreign investment. Analysts said the unrest was likely to bring a security crackdown in Kazakhstan which is preparing to hold a parliamentary election next month.

FT.com