These days I work in Eurasia more as a journalist and writer. But I used to also be a Russian translator – until the spread of AI, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, changed the ways that I use the language.
Some of my best projects were for a well known writer from Kazakhstan, Bayangali Alimzhanov. After translating his great novel Skaz stoletnego stepnyaka (‘A Hundred Years on the Steppe’, set throughout the 20th century in rural Kazakhstan), I also put his series of children’s books, Dobrozhelatelnyi Askar (Kind Askar) into English. I even had a go at translating a couple of his poems.
In November 2025 Kazakhstan’s national TV channel, Khabar, made a programme about Bayangali Alimzhanov’s life for its Omir Ornegi (Өмір өрнегі, ‘Life’s Path’) series, and asked me to speak about our collaborations.
Watch the programme is here, with my spot – in Russian, with Kazakh dubbing – beginning at around 43:05.
It was my second time on Kazakh TV. In 2024 I did an interview in Astana for Mir24 (here) while reporting from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit. I also spoke at the 2024 CAMCA Forum in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
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Jonathan Campion is a writer, journalist, editor and linguist, working in the Eurasia region. Read about his work here, and contact him here.
LIFE IN CENTRAL ASIA 