0:00:04 > 0:00:07What do all these very average-looking men have in common?
0:00:07 > 0:00:10That's right - they're all dictators.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12And that means they love power,
0:00:12 > 0:00:14they hate journalists like me
0:00:14 > 0:00:17and they are, quite frankly, ridiculous.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21I'm on a journey to three former Soviet Union countries
0:00:21 > 0:00:25to find out what makes some of the world's most powerful tyrants tick,
0:00:25 > 0:00:27and to see the good,
0:00:27 > 0:00:32the bad, and the completely mental about living under a dictatorship.
0:00:34 > 0:00:42This programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.
0:00:43 > 0:00:48This time, Kazakhstan - a massive country in Central Asia.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50I was starting my journey in icy Astana.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53Just arrived, it's seven o'clock in the morning,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56and it's about ten times colder than I imagined.
0:00:56 > 0:00:57It's minus 16 degrees.
0:00:57 > 0:00:58Everything around me is frozen,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01including my nose, which is quite an achievement,
0:01:01 > 0:01:02cos I have quite a large nose.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04Getting into these countries is hard,
0:01:04 > 0:01:08so we told the authorities we were making a travel programme,
0:01:08 > 0:01:09and none of the interviewees would know
0:01:09 > 0:01:12it was actually a series about dictatorships,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14for their safety and mine.
0:01:14 > 0:01:15APPLAUSE
0:01:15 > 0:01:20Nursultan Nazarbayev has been president of Kazakhstan since 1991.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24The funny thing about him is that almost everyone seems to like him,
0:01:24 > 0:01:28from the Queen to President Obama to Vladimir Putin of Russia.
0:01:29 > 0:01:30Tony Blair even worked for him.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34And as far as dictators go, he does look kind of cute.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41And yet his government doesn't seem to mind killing people too much.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44So how does he manage to be a popular dictator?
0:01:45 > 0:01:48I've come to Kazakhstan's capital city to find out.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52So I've actually been to Kazakhstan quite a few times,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54but I've never been to Astana.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57It was created about 20 years ago by the president himself.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00He decided he wanted a new capital so he just created this place.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02So, to see more of it, I'm going to take a tour bus -
0:02:02 > 0:02:04probably the world's coldest one.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08In 1997 Nazarbayev, or Naz to his mates,
0:02:08 > 0:02:10decided he wanted a glitzy capital -
0:02:10 > 0:02:12one that would fit his status
0:02:12 > 0:02:16as leader of the world's ninth biggest country.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Before Naz built the city here, there was nothing,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39just empty Kazakh grasslands.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Some impressive architecture, that's for sure.
0:02:42 > 0:02:43What's this?
0:02:45 > 0:02:48I feel a bit like I'm in the year 3000, being in Astana.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Why are the buildings so crazy, like this one?
0:02:59 > 0:03:02Kazakhstan has masses of oil and gas.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05It's helped to pay for this place and also explains why Nazarbayev
0:03:05 > 0:03:07is so popular.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09If the people are reasonably well off,
0:03:09 > 0:03:11they're much less likely to hate you.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29So the president and his policies are, in effect, an aphrodisiac?
0:03:35 > 0:03:37You heard it here first.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39If you're hoping to get lucky in the bedroom,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42ditch the oysters and strawberries and go for a little bit of Naz.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46To continue my tour of the city,
0:03:46 > 0:03:50I was heading up Kazakhstan's most iconic building, the Bayterek Tower.
0:03:52 > 0:03:53Wow, this is massive, this place.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55I am excited.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59- Nice to meet you. I'm Ben. - Nice to meet you, welcome.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01The height is 97 metres.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04It symbolises the year 1997
0:04:04 > 0:04:06when Astana became the new capital of Kazakhstan.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Yes, we have the hand print of our president.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16People put their hands into his hands, symbolically.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18What do I achieve if I do this?
0:04:18 > 0:04:19It's good luck.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23You look to the President's Palace, you say hello to the president.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25So it's kind of like high-fiving the president.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27Yeah.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29- Has he literally touched this himself?- Mm-hm.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31He was coming here.
0:04:31 > 0:04:32So it's quite a privilege.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35You make a wish and it will come true.
0:04:35 > 0:04:36All right.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40TRIUMPHANT MUSIC PLAYS
0:04:42 > 0:04:44Wow!
0:04:44 > 0:04:46That's incredible.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48No way!
0:04:48 > 0:04:50What is going on?
0:04:52 > 0:04:53Wow! MUSIC CONTINUES
0:04:53 > 0:04:55Oh, it doesn't stop. It won't stop.
0:04:58 > 0:04:59Wow.
0:04:59 > 0:05:00That was impressive.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02I feel like...
0:05:02 > 0:05:05I made a wish that I could one day also be the president of Kazakhstan.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12I needed to be careful what I said.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15I'd suddenly noticed someone keeping an eye on me.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21OK, so I'm pointing out the window right now to make sure that the guy
0:05:21 > 0:05:24behind me with the blue suit doesn't think I'm talking about him.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27He's a government minder and he's just shown up
0:05:27 > 0:05:29out of the blue, to basically check on what were doing.
0:05:29 > 0:05:30He hasn't stopped us yet,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33but that's cos we're not doing anything too controversial, yet.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35But it is a bit unsettling.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41I had to be careful, as Nazarbayev has made it illegal to criticise him
0:05:41 > 0:05:43under threat of five years in jail.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45One of the biggest criticisms has been
0:05:45 > 0:05:48the extent to which he's enriched himself at Kazakhstan's expense.
0:05:49 > 0:05:50A few years ago,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53when a newspaper claimed he'd stolen the country's oil money,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57journalists found a decapitated dog outside their offices,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00with a warning that this was their last chance.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03All right. So I'm getting on an overnight train to Almaty,
0:06:03 > 0:06:05which is the biggest city in Kazakhstan.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08It used to be the capital before Astana.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11It's about ten hours away.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14I'm going to see how the real people live,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16if I can get there.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Spasibo.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23This is the world's longest train, this.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25Looks pretty nice, to be honest.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Oh, they check your passport as you go in.
0:06:27 > 0:06:28- OK, hello.- Good evening.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Hello. You have very nice eyes.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35- So I have to go left?- Yes, yes. - All right, thank you very much.
0:06:40 > 0:06:41And we're off.
0:06:49 > 0:06:5211 hours and a rough sleep later and I arrived.
0:06:53 > 0:06:54Let's see Almaty.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56No, thank you, my friend.
0:06:56 > 0:06:57I'm walking.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00With a population of almost two million,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Almaty is far and away Kazakhstan's biggest city.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07I wanted to see if I could find some signs of opposition
0:07:07 > 0:07:08to Nazarbayev's rule.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14I knew it existed, thanks to an incident five years ago
0:07:14 > 0:07:17in Zhanaozen, in the far west of the country.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23State oil workers had spent months striking for better pay.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28Tensions rose on Independence Day,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31and culminated in 16 workers being gunned down
0:07:31 > 0:07:33and killed by the police.
0:07:46 > 0:07:47Dozens more were injured.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59I was in Almaty for the 25th anniversary of independence,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02which was also the fifth anniversary of the Zhanaozen massacre.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06I'm told Independence Day is a pretty big day here,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09but it's also a day that quite a lot of dissent happens.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12It's one of the rare moments that people actually take to the streets
0:08:12 > 0:08:14to protest the government, and good old Naz himself.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16So I was hoping to stick around and see some of it.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18But it turns out the local authorities have found out
0:08:18 > 0:08:21we are in town, and they have very different plans.
0:08:21 > 0:08:22They're literally forcing me out of here.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25They've booked me a minibus to go on a really random trip -
0:08:25 > 0:08:28to a ski resort, to see the mountains,
0:08:28 > 0:08:30which I don't necessarily want to do but I really have no choice
0:08:30 > 0:08:32in the matter whatsoever.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34The bus was waiting for me,
0:08:34 > 0:08:36ready to escort me to the mountains.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39How long is the trip?
0:08:39 > 0:08:41- 30, 40 minutes.- 30, 40... OK, that's not too bad.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Take a little cheeky nap.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45My abduction had begun.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48First stop was an ice rink called Medeu.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50Someone from the Almaty mayor's office had turned up
0:08:50 > 0:08:53to tell me just how great it was.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56So I will just name a few facts about Medeu.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59- You know, like, interesting facts. - Go for it. Hit me with the facts.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03OK. So Medeu is the world's highest ice-skating rink.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07Each year around 350,000 people come to skate in Medeu.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10And Medeu has the world's fastest ice.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12This was a new form of dictator torture -
0:09:12 > 0:09:14death by a thousand facts.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18So now we are about to experience
0:09:18 > 0:09:22the longest distance between two stands
0:09:22 > 0:09:24- for a cable car.- Really?
0:09:24 > 0:09:26We headed further up the mountain,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28and further away from the protest and dissent
0:09:28 > 0:09:30I'd been hoping to see in Almaty.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33So, yeah, the day of randomness continues.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35I'm now heading up to the top of the mountain.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40In the cable car behind me is a big group of Almaty's finest,
0:09:40 > 0:09:41most successful youngsters,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43who've also been forced to spend a day here
0:09:43 > 0:09:45to try and sell the idea of Kazakhstan to me.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50How did you end up with us today?
0:09:50 > 0:09:54When people asked me I said, of course, yes,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57I want to share my gratitude to the country.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59How would you sell Kazakhstan to me?
0:09:59 > 0:10:04We are in the middle of Central Asia, with beautiful landscape.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06I'm the only person up here who's not got skis,
0:10:06 > 0:10:08which adds to the pointlessness of it all.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12We are really lucky that we have such a president.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19It's easy to be sceptical about all the Naz-love,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21but at the last election
0:10:21 > 0:10:24the president got a whopping 97.7% of the vote.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27That might seem like a bit of dictator vote-rigging,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30but independent polling's confirmed his overwhelming support,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32thanks, partly, to his repression of the opposition
0:10:32 > 0:10:34and control of the media.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38So, while I've been stuck here all day with these guys,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41exactly what I thought was going to happen has happened,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44and that's that there was a reasonably big military parade
0:10:44 > 0:10:46that's happened in the centre of Almaty,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48because it's the 25th year of independence.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51And there's reports online of dissidents having police cars
0:10:51 > 0:10:52parked outside of their houses
0:10:52 > 0:10:54to make sure they don't cause any trouble.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56We were experiencing more interference
0:10:56 > 0:10:59from the authorities in Kazakhstan than I'd expected.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02But, despite their best efforts to keep an eye on me,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05back in Almaty I managed to sneak off.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07I'm on my way right now to a dissidents' meeting.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10We're being told that it's probably being watched by the secret service.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11Could even be bugged.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19It's the world's smallest room but it seems pretty busy.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24The meeting was being held to raise awareness about two dissidents
0:11:24 > 0:11:27who were recently sent to jail for five years for organising protests.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42But in amongst the dissidents were a couple of people
0:11:42 > 0:11:44who seemed out of place.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46These two guys, down the end of the corridor,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48I'm pretty sure are members of the secret service.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51Once we walked near to them they just walked away,
0:11:51 > 0:11:52walked down the corridor.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55And they were making a lot of phone calls and taking a lot of pictures.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12So there clearly is an opposition movement here.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14One of the main guys who organised that has agreed to meet me now,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17to tell me a bit more about life in Kazakhstan
0:12:17 > 0:12:19when you're not so pro-Nazarbayev.
0:12:22 > 0:12:23- Hey, nice to meet you.- Hello.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26- Nice to meet you too. - I'm Ben.- Zhanbolat.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29Zhanbolat Mamay runs one of the few remaining independent newspapers
0:12:29 > 0:12:30in Kazakhstan.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35He's been sued three times by pro-government organisations
0:12:35 > 0:12:39in an effort to shut down his paper, and he's also spent time in prison.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Despite the government's efforts to silence him,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44he'd agreed to talk openly with me.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46At your event today I was pretty certain
0:12:46 > 0:12:49that I saw two guys from the secret service.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51Is that something that you're used to now?
0:12:51 > 0:12:53- Is that a kind of daily part your life?- Yes, of course.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Every political activist in Kazakhstan is living under threat,
0:12:56 > 0:12:59because you do not know when you will be jailed,
0:12:59 > 0:13:04because you do not know when you will be convicted of some crime
0:13:04 > 0:13:06that you didn't commit.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09Give me a sense of the kind of personal freedom
0:13:09 > 0:13:10you have here to protest.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13If I was to go outside the Presidential Palace
0:13:13 > 0:13:16with a sign saying "Down with Nazarbayev"...
0:13:16 > 0:13:19You will be jailed for maybe three or four years, I think.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23Why do you think they don't just kill you to shut you up?
0:13:23 > 0:13:25They can kill.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29The regime can kill everybody if they think that the person
0:13:29 > 0:13:32is dangerous for their safety.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35For example, two prominent politicians were killed
0:13:35 > 0:13:38and some prominent journalists were killed.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41The regime denies involvement in the killings,
0:13:41 > 0:13:42but they can't deny the fact
0:13:42 > 0:13:47that five years ago the striking oil workers were shot in Zhanaozen.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50I'd heard the city was no longer very keen on Nazarbayev.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54So would you say then that Zhanaozen is a good place to go
0:13:54 > 0:13:56to get a sense of this anti-establishment,
0:13:56 > 0:13:58anti-Nazarbayev feeling?
0:13:58 > 0:13:59Yes. Yes, I think so.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03There is a strong anti-establishment mood there, in this city.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07But you must be ready that you will be,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10that there will be secret service agents that will go after you.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13- Really?- But it is very important, I think, to visit this city.
0:14:13 > 0:14:14It is very important.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Seems like a good place to go next, then.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19- Yes.- Thanks for talking to me.- Thank you very much.- I appreciate it.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24Zhanaozen is in the far west of the country,
0:14:24 > 0:14:29near the Caspian Sea, almost 2,000 miles away from Almaty and Astana.
0:14:30 > 0:14:31I was travelling with Asel,
0:14:31 > 0:14:35a lawyer representing some of the families seeking justice
0:14:35 > 0:14:37and compensation for the massacre.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40So am I right in thinking that this is probably the last place
0:14:40 > 0:14:42in the country that the government want me to go?
0:15:02 > 0:15:05You've increased my nervousness levels by about 1,000,000%.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11In Zhanaozen we headed for the central square,
0:15:11 > 0:15:13where the strikers were based five years ago,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16before their protest turned into a massacre.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Can't even imagine protesting in this, day in, day out.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22It's absolutely freezing cold.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25Asel had found a couple of young men from me talk to,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28who were in Zhanaozen on the day of the massacre.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30One of them was shot when he says he turned up at the square
0:15:30 > 0:15:31to see what was happening.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06What about yourself? What happened to you on that day?
0:16:21 > 0:16:24You were actually arrested and, what, sent to jail,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27even though you weren't even near here?
0:16:56 > 0:16:59You actually served time in jail for this?
0:17:03 > 0:17:07There are allegations that dozens of young men were rounded up
0:17:07 > 0:17:09and tortured in the days after the massacre,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11as the government tried to root out troublemakers.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Nazarbayev fired some people he held responsible,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21but no police have ever been charged for the killings.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23And, five years after the massacre,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25the town is still under heavy surveillance.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34So a police car has just arrived with a big van full of soldiers.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38These guys supposedly come here to this day to monitor the city,
0:17:38 > 0:17:40to make sure that nothing is happening.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43It shows you just how sensitive it still is, five years on.
0:17:45 > 0:17:46And also a little bit scary,
0:17:46 > 0:17:48cos they definitely don't want us to be here,
0:17:48 > 0:17:49as I've already said, so...
0:17:49 > 0:17:52have to make sure that we don't get caught.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54The police had pulled up just behind our van,
0:17:54 > 0:17:56so we had to walk directly towards them.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Freaking Kazakhstan, always making us nervous.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04Oh, my God, they've got police dogs.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07This was a bad choice.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09They're definitely going to see us.
0:18:09 > 0:18:10There you go.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13Let's go, Olly. Get in, get in, get in, get in...
0:18:15 > 0:18:17We headed back to our hotel.
0:18:17 > 0:18:18But we'd been spotted.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25So, we finished filming about an hour ago.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27I'm currently in the hotel room,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30just jumped out of the shower and got this message from Maria,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33the producer - probably the most terrifying message
0:18:33 > 0:18:35I've received in a long time, saying
0:18:35 > 0:18:39"Olly and Ben, go to your room and stay there.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41"The police are here looking for foreigners."
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Which can only be us.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46And it just shows you how serious this is.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48I can't... I don't know what they'll do if they'll find us,
0:18:48 > 0:18:50and I can't believe that they're here.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53But we're now all cowering in the hotel room.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55The night is most definitely ruined.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58Hopefully nothing else comes from it.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00But we are trapped.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09After a sleepless night, we left town early,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11before the police came back for us.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Yeah, let's hope for the best.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18So it seems like we have, hopefully, made it out now.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20But I honestly can't believe that five years on...
0:19:21 > 0:19:25..we'd still get that much attention from the police, just doing a story.
0:19:25 > 0:19:26You do this all the time.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30I mean, you must have had that on a whole different scale.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54When you say that they were getting into your private life,
0:19:54 > 0:19:55what were they actually doing?
0:20:14 > 0:20:18They actually hired somebody just to start a relationship with you...
0:20:19 > 0:20:21..just to get a video to put online?
0:20:31 > 0:20:34I couldn't imagine living in a country where your own government
0:20:34 > 0:20:36would film you having sex and then put it online
0:20:36 > 0:20:37in order to silence you.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41We're now on our way to the airport,
0:20:41 > 0:20:43which we're all extremely happy about.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45This has been my third trip to Kazakhstan.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47The first two times were honestly quite nice.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49It's a very beautiful country.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51It's full of very nice people.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54This time, though, it's been a very different experience.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56It's clear that there's a line here
0:20:56 > 0:20:57that if you stay on the right side of
0:20:57 > 0:20:59you can have a very nice life.
0:20:59 > 0:21:00But if you cross it,
0:21:00 > 0:21:03the lengths that the government are prepared to go
0:21:03 > 0:21:05to shut you up are quite terrifying.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08And the fact that there's only one man in charge here and, basically,
0:21:08 > 0:21:12no opposition whatsoever means that if you do find yourself in trouble,
0:21:12 > 0:21:13you are on your own.