Bela Kudaybergenova (Бэла Кудайбергенова) is a co-producer at Headline Pictures in London, England, UK and a former Kazakh TV journalist. Kudaybergenova is known for her bold move in quitting her job as a journalist in defiance of the suppression of the media from the Kazakh government. She speaks English and Russian fluently.

Kudaybergenova, an ethnic Kazakh, was born in the Astrakhan region in Russia. She grew up in Moscow, Russia, and grew up travelling often.

Kudaybergenova went to Moscow High School in Moscow, Idaho, United States, and she obtained a Ph.D. with distinction in Sociology in 2000 at Lomonosov of Moscow State University in Moscow, Russia. Then, she obtained an M.B.A. at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, United States.

Kudaybergenova started her career in Russian television as a TV journalist in the channel called ORT, which was the leading program in the country.

She then worked for three years as the head of the Moscow office of the Hong Kong television channel, Phoenix Hong Kong Channel.

In 2003, Kudaybergenova started working for the Kazakhstan’s leading state television station, Khabar, and its online affiliate, 24.kz. She then moved to London after being assigned as a London correspondent and head of the British office for Khabar and 24.kz in 2009. She has told Society Magazine in 2015 that she covered the relations between Kazakhstan and Great Britain regarding politics, economy, culture, sports, and other subjects on 24.kz.

In 2015, when Marie Claire Kazakhstan asked Kudaybergenova about her most unforgettable shooting experience during her years at Khabar and 24.kz, she replied that it was her experience shooting in Antarctica where she alone had to take on the roles of a journalist, producer and coordinator. She found it difficult to manage her responsibilities all while withstanding the terribly cold and low pressure weather conditions in Antarctica. When asked about her brightest shooting moments, she replied that she can call almost every one of her shooting a bright experience because she loves her work so much and her work brings her satisfaction. She said she prepared about ten thousand news stories since her career began and until 2015.

On December 3, 2015, Kudaybergenova announced on her social media page that she is leaving her job as a London-based correspondent for Khabar because she could was “tired of lying”.

She told IBTimes.com UK that she refused to be forced to write stories that would praise the Kazakh government. The majority of the people that Kudaybergenova and other journalists interviewed were commissioned by the government and were people who have their financial, business or other interests in Kazakhstan. She told Society Magazine, “Suddenly, I realized that I could not lie anymore. If I continued, I would destroy myself and lose all semblance of self-love. I know what is really happening in this country, and that is not what we are trying to show. I refuse to be part of this machine.”

Kudaybergenova had initially planned to announce her resignation after the New Year's holidays in January 2016, but her decision was hastened after receiving a particularly disagreeable assignment. On December 2, 2015, she attended a reception organized by the Embassy of Kazakhstan, London after being asked to cover the event. She told RadioFreeEurope that she was expected to report the gathering at a luxury hotel as proof that the Kazakhs were “a happy nation” and “Kazakhstan is a great country respected by Britain and the international community” in the lead up to Kazakhstan’s December 16 Independence Day. She was recommended people for her to interview by the Kazakh Embassy prior to the event. Regarding this assignment, Kudaybergenova said, “That was it, I felt that enough was enough, and I could not do it anymore.”

During her interview with RadioFreeEurope, Kudaybergenova accused Khabar of wide-scaled and deep systematic disinformation to the Kazakh people.

She told Society Magazine that censorship is one of the basic rules of broadcasting and journalism in Kazakhstan and that they are forbidden to criticize the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev or his family. The journalists at Khabar were to find “experts” who would say only what they “want them to say”, and when they would say something different, the journalists would have to “just get rid of it”. [11] Kudaybergenova said that there is no alternative media or opposition in Kazakhstan, and all media are controlled by the government and its family.

Kudaybergenova elaborated to RadioFreeEurope that the disinformation was not only regarding the Kazakhstan’s domestic situation, but the situation abroad as well.

During interviews with IBTimes UK and Society Magazine, Kudaybergenova explained that her “job was to show Britain in as bad a light as possible” and how Britain was “stagnating”, “corrupt and unhealthy”, while saying that “Kazakhstan is perfect” and “doing really well”.

They, the journalists at Khabar, “were just like sheep who were ready to accept anything.”

She said, “I love my country and its people.

I believe we deserve a better life.

We want a real democratic parliament with real MPs who are not ‘zombies’.”

The Kazakh social media lit up after Kudaybergenova’s announcement of her departure from Khabar television.

The well-known journalist’s decision sparked controversy as some questioned if her decision was prompted by Khabar’s plans to shut down its London-based bureau while the majority wholeheartedly supported her decision.

On December 16, 2015, IBTimes UK reported more than 12,000 likes for her social media post announcing her decision.

Caravan Weekly, which is affiliated with the Khabar television channel, criticized Kudaybergenova’s move in an editorial in December 2015.

They reported that she was “noisily [shutting] the door” after learning that she would be let go soon.

The editorial expressed regret that “some journalists do not respect their own profession.”

Kudaybergenova dismissed these editorial comments as “nonsense”.

The editorial writer admitted that although the content broadcast by Khabar may be “overly optimistic – optimism and lying are not the same things.”

Caravan Weekly further elaborated that some media deal with negative stories, while others “tend to show more positive stories about their country.”

In response, Kudaybergenova said, “Everyone is simply scared, we have no alternative media at all.

All our opposition media is published from abroad.”

Similarly, some journalists at 365info.kz and Serke.org assume only one reason for Kudaybergenova’s departure from Khabar in 2015 as they question her motives for the sudden departure after staying at Khabar for twelve years.

They think that Kudaybergenova “slammed the door” on Khabar only because of Khabar’s decisions to reduce Kudaybergenova’s salary as a London correspondent and to ask her to return to her previous position in Moscow.

They say that news companies were in financial turmoil due to the reduction of funds and this affected the salaries of employees.

They described Kudaybergenova’s move as unethical and that she “spat into the well from which she drank for twelve years.”

When Kudaybergenova was asked by Society Magazine for why she had stayed at Khabar if she rejected Khabar’s censorship, she replied that she had been fighting non-stop with her boss for all those years.

She “was the black sheep of the company.”

People around her wondered why she kept working, but she was hoping she could change something.

She had realized after twelve years of constant fighting that change was not possible so she left.

After her resignation, Kudaybergenova has boldly spoken about the censorship of media in Kazakhstan in many interviews with several global media companies and through her personal social media posts.

Due to these actions, she has told Society Magazine in December 2015 that she does feel threatened and afraid for herself and her family.

She informed the London police to protect them.

Her friends, acquaintances and colleagues had been contacted through various methods to cut off all contact with her.

She knows she will never be able to return or work in Kazakhstan.

However, she says that she received a lot of support through her social media and letters from people offering her financial help and other support.

She had mentioned in her interview with Marie Claire Kazakhstan in 2015 that she dreams of making sitcoms or funny short films about the adventures of Kazakhs in foreign countries, and about the relationship between the Kazakhs and other populations, especially the British people.

She particularly wants to explore this relationship because this theme has not been covered much in cinema or television.

She thinks that there has not been much interaction between the Kazakhs and the British.

From her experiences with her British boyfriend, she describes that they have very little in common, are victims to stereotypes and know little about each other.

She believes that to most of Europeans, Kazakhstan does not mean anything to them and the only exposure that the Europeans may have had to Kazakhstan was possibly through the movie, Borat (2006). She sees work in this area as a great opportunity for self-reflection and more exposure of the Kazakhs to the world.

After Kudaybergenova’s resignation, she joined News Corp as a journalist in its headquarters in London. She is currently a videographer and editor in Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, England since June 2016 and a co-producer at Headline Pictures in London, England since December 2016.

As a television journalist, Kudaybergenova told Marie Claire Kazakhstan in 2015 that she hardly has any free time.

When she has free time, she likes to play sports, read or lie in bed with the TV turned on silent.

She is a member of several clubs, such as Toastmasters, cycling, yachting and sailing clubs. She also likes ballet and flamenco dancing, running and stretching. She enjoys visiting new places, interesting interlocutors and good books. She says she is inspired by beauty, harmony and enthusiastic people for her creativity and work, and motivated by her children, boyfriend, and her work responsibilities. She likes to rely on diet, sports and meditation as her method of getting rid of stress. She likes to drink coffee and tea. She enjoys sweet desserts, sushi, fruits and full Russian breakfasts, and smokes occasionally.

According to her social media profile, her favourite quote is “Чем тише омут, тем профессиональнее в нем черти”, which translates to “The quieter the whirpool, the better the demons can work”.

In 2010, Kudaybergenova served as the chair of the organization committee for the 2011 Asian Winter Games, which was a multi sporting event that was held in Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan. ^[1]