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Iraq and Kazakhstan

Prashant Rao meets the people named after Saddam Hussein, the former ruler of Iraq. And, Abdujalil Abdurasulov finds out why the Kazakh government want to rename Kazakhstan.

Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq between 1979 and 2003. Yet years after his death, many others are still called Saddam Hussein - some named after the dictator. Prashant Rao meets some of them, and finds out how the name continues to affect their lives.
The Kazakh government has expressed a desire to change the country's name - to stop being 'one of the stans'. Abdujalil Abdurasulov has been finding out that the state's obsession with image extends far beyond this.

(Photo: Portrait of Kazakh President Nazarbayev greeted by a troupe of global leaders, which hangs in the presidential palace in Astana. Credit: Abdujalil Abdurasulov)

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11 minutes

Last on

Wed 26 Feb 2014 02:50GMT

Broadcast

  • Wed 26 Feb 2014 02:50GMT