Instead of thrusting himself into the job market after graduating from Brandeis, Michael Burtov '03 set his sights on a less local and far less lucrative goal: volunteering for the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan.
"I wanted to help people who are not as lucky as I have had the privilege to be," Burtov wrote in an e-mail from the former Soviet member state. "I have had a very good education, a great family, and I live in the most powerful country in the world. I figured that I should give something back to the world from which I came. After all, I'll have the rest of my life to be greedy."Kazakhstan, a country which gained its independence from the Soviet Union only 12 years ago, is now a republic with a constitution and efforts underway towards a more market-based economy. The country is comprised of mostly Muslims and members of the Russian Orthodox Church. Thus it might be considered dangerous for a Jewish American to venture to Kazakhstan for an extended period of time in today's political climate of heightened anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism.

Burtov was undeterred by these risks, though he did indicate that he has been the butt of some of these bitter sentiments.

"Yeah, (I have experienced) a little (anti-Semitism); it's mostly curiosity, though, and stereotypes. It is important to realize that this is very mild prejudice not discrimination (I can, for instance, shop in any store that I want and eat at any cafe)."

In fact, his religion and nationality seem to have played such a small role in his experience that his decision to date a Russian Orthodox Kazakhstani girl is regarded as rather uncontroversial by both of them. Burtov met Erina just as any couple might meet in the United States, at a night club, both of them very drunk, he mentioned. The only difference is that they must speak to each other in Russian. "She speaks Russian and I speak Russian. She actually speaks English as well. She studied to be a Russian-English interpreter," he wrote. The religious difference does not seem to be a source of contention either. "We're not (religious). She does, although, go to church on the big holidays," Burtov continued.

Although arranged marriages are still common in predominantly Muslim countries, he indicated that this is a rare occurrence in Kazakhstan.
"Mostly nowadays it's something that the parents say to the kids to threaten them into behaving well."

Another misconception that Burtov was quick to dispel was the assumption that women need male chaperones in public, as is the case in other heavily Muslim nations.

"This is not Afghanistan, or parts of Jerusalem," he responded to a question about females being allowed to be alone in public.

Although Burtov described Kazakhstan as a relatively progressive and accepting nation in terms of religious acceptance and social practices, adding that he feels safe there, he indicated that living conditions are still sub-par. Indeed, this entire interview had to be conducted by e-mail over a long period of time given his limited access to any form of long-distance communication.

"Most Muslim countries, perhaps (with the exception of) some parts of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan are actually quite 'Western' in a lot of respects -i.e. (they have) a lot of the pop culture, music, TV, clothes, entertainment, etc. that we see in the States, sexual habits, sex out of wedlock, and religion -- a good proportion of the people are secular," Burtov wrote.

Yet his living conditions tell a different story. "I live in an apartment, which is more or less in the center of the city that currently has no heat and no hot water," he wrote. "There is electricity, and I have a propane stove. It's not that bad compared to how some volunteers live."
Burtov's circumstances are similar to those of most Kazahkstanis. "(They live) more or less as I do; although a bit better off then I am," he wrote. "My living allowance, it's like a salary, is about $100 a month, which is not really enough for one who lives in the city. The average male worker in the city, just as in the U.S. men earn more money then women, earns about $150 to $250, in a family unit there is also typically the additional income of the female which is about $60 to $120 a month."

Burtov holds that the main differences between the cultures of the United States and Kazakhstan lie in "tradition, geography, and money." By his request, probably fed by a motivation to dispel some misconceptions about Kazakhstan, the following section of his e-mail, dealing with these differences, will be included in its entirety. (Please refer to sidebar).

As a member of the Peace Corps, Burtov teaches English at a university and a public school and participates in public health projects. "I spend about 18 hours a week teaching and another five to 10 on various other activities," he wrote. "This in practice means that I am out of the house from 9 a.m. to about 6 p.m., with some dead time in between; after I am off work I hang out with my girlfriend. The problem is that Saturday school and university are in session so I only get one weekend (day)."
While we may praise his conviction, Burtov sees his duties as a Peace Corps volunteer as very simple: "Basically they are to do my job, to be a good and professional person, and to not disgrace my country.