As a Soviet Studies major in college (yes, it was that long ago when it was still the USSR), I was excited to visit Kazakhstan and spend time in its largest city, Almaty.

Observed at 20:00, Thursday 13 February BBC Weather in association with MeteoGroup, external All times are West Kazakhstan Time (Asia/Almaty, GMT+5) unless otherwise stated.

Almaty, Kazakhstan: The endangered Persian Leopard ... It is considered "endangered", according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species ...

Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest and most developed city, captivates for its dramatic contrast between a modern skyline and the scenic Trans-Ili Alatau mountains. It’s this rare symbiotic relationship ...