Anara Toktarova
Anara Toktarova (born 1956) is the wife of Governor Erlan Toktarov of the Irad Special Economic Zone (ISEZ). She is the mother of his five sons, Ruslan, Alikhan, Timur, Adil and Bekzat, and of his daughter, Zara. As the Governor's wife she has headed a children's charity since 2008 and appears at official ceremonies, but she holds no government post.[1]
Early life and family
According to her official biography, she was born in Talas and trained as a primary-school teacher at the pedagogical faculty of Talas State University. She married Toktarov, then a newly commissioned lieutenant, in 1977. Their eldest son, Ruslan, was born in Talas in June 1978. During her husband's tours in Afghanistan and his later postings in the Belorussian Military District, she lived mostly in Talas with the children and worked as a teacher. The family settled in Kobozev (now Nurzhan) in 1989.[1]
Public role
In 2008 she founded the Anara Toktarova Children's Fund, which supports state orphanages in Talas and Nurzhan and equips rural health posts and maternity wards in the ISEZ districts. IradOne regularly covers her visits to orphanages and her Irad Day receptions for war widows and the families of soldiers killed in the civil wars.[2] Opposition outlets have questioned the fund's finances, saying that much of its money comes from companies dependent on government contracts and that it publishes no audited accounts. The fund says it is financed by private donations.[3]
She rarely gives interviews and has made few public statements on politics. Since early 2023 her public appearances have become infrequent. Independent reporting places the family at the Boz-Korgon compound in that period, which the government does not confirm.[3]
References
- ^ Department of Public Information (2019). Official Biographies of the Governor and His Family. Talas.
- ^ Talas Herald (12 March 2016). "Governor's wife hosts Irad Day reception for war widows."
- ^ Central Asian Geopolitical Review (2024). "Technocracy and Succession in the Talas Basin." Academic Press, pp. 88–104.