Karaganda-born · Astana-based

ElmiraIssakhanova

CommunicatorMotivatorTV hostPRAuthor-to-be

Twenty years live on air taught me to find the story in every moment. Now I'm a writer, and I've moved from the microphone to the page. I write about the small details we scroll past, the words we're afraid to say out loud, and the courage it takes to simply try. My first book is coming out soon.

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Elmira smiling in a grey coat, a selfie from 2019 — Elmira Issakhanova Head of Press Service · Eurasia Invest LTD

LIVE

20+ years in live TVFormer journalist & documentary maker6 national & regional awardsMinistry of Culture and Information letter of gratitude, 20248,537 people follow the blogFirst book in progressKazakhstan now has 5.1 million horses

Story · read it like a prompter

Three, two, one.
You're live.

I'm Elmira. For more than twenty years my working day began with a countdown. I started as a correspondent in Karaganda in 2004 and became the face of news, talk shows and documentaries. Later I moved to the other side of the microphone, into press services and PR. Today I run the press service of an agricultural company, where the stories smell of hay and the main characters are horses. One thing has never changed: everything comes down to communication. It decides how much people trust you, how far your voice reaches, and what result you get.

21⁺years of work, most of them live on air

9newsrooms, studios and press offices

6awards and official thanks for journalism

8.5^Kpeople reading my personal blog

Career · the programme guide

Switch the channel

Every stage of my career is a channel. Press a number on the set or pick a line in the guide.

KARAGANDA · PAL

From my tape archive

The TV projects I wrote, hosted and produced at the Karaganda branch of Qazaqstan TV and Radio Corporation, 2010–2018. Hover a tape to play it.

Memory Diary

«Дневник памяти»

Documentary films about veterans of the Great Patriotic War, recorded while their voices could still be heard.

Let's Discuss

«Обсудим»

A talk show where the region argued, listened and sometimes agreed.

Path to Truth

«Путь к истине»

A programme about terrorism and extremism. 1st place in the regional contest for coverage of religion and counter-radicalisation, 2017.

Live Broadcast

«Прямой эфир»

Social issues, live. Named best TV project of a national anti-corruption media contest in 2015.

100 Steps

«100 шагов»

An analytical programme on the national "100 Concrete Steps" reform plan. Prize-winner in 2016 and 2017.

Awards · the trophy shelf

Recognised on air

Along with honorary diplomas and thanks from the city, the region, the regional youth policy office and the Karaganda branch of Qazaqstan TV.

1st

2015 · National

Best TV project

"Live Broadcast", in a national contest by the Agency for Civil Service Affairs and Anti-Corruption with zannews.kz.

2nd

2016 · National

"100 Steps"

Second place in the national contest for coverage of the "100 Concrete Steps" programme, run by Qazaqstan TV and Radio Corporation.

★

2017 · Karaganda region

Akim's Prize

Award of the Akim of Karaganda Region, Y. Koshanov, for the best coverage of social issues.

3rd

2017 · National

Best TV project

"100 Steps", third place in the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs contest.

1st

2017 · Regional

"Path to Truth"

First place for coverage of religion and anti-radical outreach.

✦

2024 · Republic of Kazakhstan

Алғыс хат

Letter of gratitude from the Minister of Culture and Information, A. Balayeva, for a special contribution to Kazakh journalism.

Elmira with fellow journalists at a reunion in a wooden lodge — Some of the best journalists I know. Not the whole team.

Behind the microphone

Sometimes I catch myself missing the profession. The live shows, the newsroom rush, the stories you hand in at the last minute. That feeling when you hold a microphone and a story is waiting to be told.

There isn't much of the journalist left in me now: other tasks, another rhythm, another life. But whenever I meet my colleagues, it all comes back. Even for a moment, I'm there again, in the profession I gave more than twenty years to.

Chapter now · Eurasia Invest LTD

From the newsroom to the steppe

My newsroom today has no walls. It's the Osakarovka district of Karaganda region: fields, a smart dairy farm, a stud farm, and horses that have been part of Kazakh life for centuries. I film it, write it and tell it, in Kazakh and Russian.

Ат баптау — атадан қалған асыл мұра.Training horses is a precious heritage left to us by our ancestors.

5,100,000

horses in Kazakhstan as of 1 May 2026, up 7.1% in a year. That's more than China. One of my favourite numbers to report.

A black horse in a halter under a blue sky

A herd of horses running across the steppe with two riders

Aerial view of the steppe with wind turbines and the caption beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Close-up of a ripe sunflower head, seeds hardened

Off the record · life is made of details

The little things

We think only the big events count: a promotion, a big purchase, an important meeting. But life is built from small things we barely notice, like LEGO. These are a few of mine. Pick them up and move them around.

DRAG THE PHOTOS

The book · in progress

My first book is on its way

Not long ago I simply wanted to write books. Then I loaded my mind with that idea and cleared out what didn't help. Now I'm doing it. The brain can be programmed, and this book is about exactly that.

How often do you tell yourself "I can't"? A refusal is survived in a day. What you never did drags on for years.

In my own words · from the blog

Things I believe

I'll always stand up for well-built communication. You can have deep knowledge and huge experience, but without precise, respectful, professional speech it all loses its power.

On my profession

My mom always told me I was a different kind of child, one who sees beauty in everything. I'm grateful I haven't lost that vision in the rush of everyday life.

On seeing

Listen to the voice of your heart, my mother used to say. And I always listened: to her, and to my heart.

«Kalbinin sesini dinle»

Written in Turkish

Yesterday is already history. If someone copies yesterday's me, that's respect for my story. Nobody gets to know the future me.

On being copied

When was the last time you chose yourself: your desires and the things that truly make you happy?

A question for you

Life is a series of performances, and only you choose which one to buy a ticket for. Everything has its price.

On choices

Education is one of the few investments that never loses its value. Every book you read and every skill you build brings you one step closer.

On learning

I want to remember myself like this: happy, loved, loving, light.

2019, looking back

Off air · quick facts

When the red light goes off

Studied: Journalism, Buketov Karaganda State University, class of 2003
Speaks: Kazakh and Russian, English that keeps growing, and the occasional post in Turkish
Shoots: On a phone. I took a mobile photography course and edit my own videos in CapCut
Notices: Coffee foam, a ripe sunflower, winter light through a car window
Collects: Views from plane windows: Ararat above the clouds, Dubai Marina from the water
Known for: Analytical mind, unconventional decisions, discipline, and a very high sense of responsibility