Kazakhstan's Orda.kz newspaper ceases operations

The Kazakh publication Orda.kz has announced that it will cease operations starting September 1, 2026. According to the editorial office's official statement, along with the main information resource, all of its social media pages, including its YouTube channel, will be closed. This decision was made by Maksat Ganiyev, the founder of Ordamedia.kz LLC.

The statement said that there was no ulterior motive behind this decision, but the main factor was the editorial office's insufficient income to cover its expenses. It was noted that there were no other reasons. The editorial office announced that it would do everything possible to fully fulfill all its obligations.

At the same time, the editorial office asked its colleagues in the Kazakh and foreign media to rely only on its official statements.

At the end of August, an Almaty court sentenced former editor-in-chief of Orda.kz Gulnara Bajkenova to 8 years in prison. She was charged under three articles of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan: knowingly spreading false information (Article 274), embezzlement or misappropriation of entrusted property (Article 189), and illegal entrepreneurial activity (Article 214).

**The case with Orda**

On September 4, 2025, Orda.kz, citing its sources, reported that the then Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Murat Nurtleu, had been arrested. The Kazakh Foreign Ministry and official agencies immediately denied this information. Although Orda and Gulnara Bajkenova initially insisted that their information was accurate, a few days later Nurtleu appeared in public and called the news of her arrest “false and absurd.”

Three weeks after these reports, on September 26, Nurtleu did indeed resign from her post as Foreign Minister. However, she was not arrested; instead, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appointed her as an assistant to the president for international investment and trade cooperation.

This led to a major scandal surrounding Bajkenova and Orda at the time. The Almaty prosecutor’s office also warned Bajkenova of the possibility of criminal liability after the Nurtleu report.

However, the Almaty court found Bajkenova guilty of eight counts of knowingly spreading false information. The open court materials list KazMunayGaz, Kazakhstan Railways, the deputy prosecutor of Almaty, and other individuals and organizations as victims under Article 274. Nurtleu is not listed in these eight episodes.