Kazakhstan in popular culture

• Kazakhstan was the home base of the Russian ultra-nationalist radicals who hijacked the US President's airplane en route from Moscow in the 1997 action movie Air Force One.

• The controversial character Borat, created by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, often featured on Cohen's Da Ali G Show, is from Kazakhstan. In 2005, Cohen ran afoul of the Kazah Foreign Ministry's Yerzhan Ashykbayev, who stated that the character's strange behaviour is not consistent with that of the Kazakh people, and that his government reserves the right to any legal action against Cohen. Cohen responded to Ashykbayev in character, stating, "In response to Mr. Ashykbayev's comments, I'd like to state that I have no connection with Mr. Cohen, and fully support my government's decision to sue this Jew". The Kazakh government responded by placing a 4-page ad in The New York Times, containing information about Kazakh life, education, government, and infrastructure. Borat responded by issuing a "press release", containing random Cyrillic characters.