Ray William Johnson: True Story Podcast
This Politician Killed His Wife - The Kuandyk Bishimbayev story
01 Feb 2025
Kuandyk Bishimbayev is the former Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan. He murdered wife with one night in a local restaurant.
Full Episode
So one day, this guy's lurking around on the internet, and he's looking for an astrologer to give him a reading, because I guess he's into that kind of stuff. And finally, he runs across one, and he sees her, and he's like, damn, she's kind of fine. I'd like to get a reading from her. So he reaches out to her, and he tries to book a session.
But unfortunately for him, this astrologer only books sessions with women, because I guess when she books sessions with men, they always try and creep on her. But this guy, he's not going to give up. He really wants this woman's attention. So he gets a female friend of his to book a session with her.
And that female friend books a session, meets up with the astrologer, and she's like, look, I'll be honest, I'm really only here because my friend asked me to come. He's a really good guy. He really wants to get to know you. And so the astrologer's like, ugh, fine, okay, I'll meet your friend. And so finally, they meet up in person.
Now the guy, his name is Bishumbive, but we're just going to call him Bish. And the astrologer, her name's Saltanat. And so Bish and Saltanat meet, and they actually hit it off. And she ends up kind of liking him, and eventually they start dating. And within months of meeting, the two decide to get married. And so far, everything seems to be going great.
until here's the thing all of this is taking place in kazakhstan and in kazakhstan bish ain't no regular dude he's actually kind of a big deal there he's worked in several high-level government positions he was the minister of national economy so basically he was in charge of kazakhstan's economy but then he got convicted for taking bribes and sentenced to 10 years in prison
But I guess he was friends with the president of Kazakhstan at the time, so after two and a half years in prison, the president pardons him and he gets out. My point is, Bish is a very well-connected guy. He's also a very controlling guy. And so anyway, Bish and Sultanat get married, and almost immediately his controlling side starts to come out.
Like he's super jealous, he makes her quit her astrology fortune teller job she loves, and he forbids her from working any other jobs. He starts isolating her from her friends and family. And to make it worse, Bish also starts getting physically abusive with her. Like he gets violent, often and a lot.
And her family knows, and her friends know, and Sultanat sometimes even sends her brother photos of all the bruises Bish puts on her, and she tells him that Bish is responsible. And if you're wondering, okay, so everyone knows he's beating her up, why doesn't anyone report him to the police?
Well, just keep in mind that domestic violence in Kazakhstan at this time is not only viewed very differently than other places in the world, but minor domestic violence is decriminalized here. So, smacking your wife around? Not a crime. Not to mention, Bish is a well-connected guy. And in theory, if she tries to get him in trouble, he could make things difficult for her and her family.
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