“I Want to Be Nazarbayev”: How Academician Yespolov’s Grandson Joined the Elbasy Clan

At just 30 years old, Nursain Yespolov is an enigmatic figure in Kazakhstan’s business and political circles. Tied to the Nazarbayev dynasty by unusual family connections,  he skillfully switches surnames and business ventures, dabbling in agriculture, then investing in luxury clothing.

More on his business partners and ties to Bolat Nazarbayev’s daughter in this Orda.kz article.

Nursain, also known by the surnames Nazarbayev and Tlektes, is a curious character.

His aunt, Assel Issabayeva, married Nursultan Nazarbayev in a Muslim ceremony, bringing two long-awaited sons to Elbasy. Somehow, Nursain also “married” into the clan and adopted its name.

Nursain’s father, Aidos Yespolov, is equally complex. The eldest son of academician Tlektes Yespolov and brother to Assel Issabayeva. Aidos also has a brother, Bektenbay, who held high posts in the presidential administration and Samruq-Qazyna. 

Aidos holds a PhD in economics and has led corporate development at KazMunayGas, served as commercial director at Atyrau refinery, and as aide in the Senate. In 2006, he briefly served as Deputy Akim of Aqtobe.

Aidos is implicated in a major embezzlement scandal tied to EXPO‑2017. The prime convicted, Marat Omarov, alleged Aidos was the true recipient of contractor payoffs, not the former EXPO chief Talgat Yermegiyayev.

Omarov even claimed Nazarbayev told Yermegiyayev to stay away from Yespolov’s dealings. Yet Aidos was never formally charged or questioned — he was reportedly abroad during the trial and even omitted from the proceedings, despite Omarov’s testimony.

His lawyers argue his role was deliberately scrubbed from the case.

Aidos’s father, Tlektes Yspolov, is also an interesting figure. He is an academician of the National Academy of Sciences and currently serves as the head of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences.

He is also a part of Kazakhstan’s Rectors' Union and the Union of Agriculture Veterans.

One of his partners is Valikhan Bishimbayev, father of Kuandyk Bishimbayev, now imprisoned for killing Saltanat Nukenova. Notably, the politician Mukhtar Taizhan once urged that Bishimbayev Sr. be stripped of honours — an appeal that was ignored.

Today, the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences has had its accounts frozen due to a debt of just 1,500 tenge.

Meanwhile, his grandson Nursain was learning very different lessons from the Nazarbayevs — how to set up businesses and register them under other names. The same was seen with his relative, Gulmira Nazarbayeva —

Orda.kz has published two reports on her ventures. 

Together with Gulmira, Nursain co-founded “NAZ‑G.B” LLP  in 2016. The management included the elusive Madina Auezkyzy, later replaced by Ultusyn Barkhinova, who, as Almaty-region election commission chair, barred journalist Duman Mukhammedkarim from running in parliamentary elections.

Nursain also set up “KAZGP” LLP, a purely agricultural company—guided by Akerke Bekturganova, a KazNU alum whose grandfather was rector, and Raikhan Sisekenova, then the Jetisu regional children’s ombudsman.

The company was formed in 2015 when Nursain was barely 20. That venture has since been liquidated.

This wasn't the first time the self-styled Nazarbayev ventured into the business world. Back in 2014, at just 19, he founded KAINAR007 LLP. Initially, the company was headed by Zhastlek Seilkhanov, who later stepped down and joined the list of co-founders.

The leadership changed hands twice more before, in 2020, Nursain became both the head and sole founder.

Not long after, the company was dissolved.

That same year, Yespolov surfaced as a co-founder of Savile Row, a clothing company. He replaced Berik Dikhanbayev as one of the listed founders, joining Shokan Kussainov and Aigerim Aldyngarova, the original founder.

Aldyngarova, featured in Forbes Kazakhstan’s 2021 “30 Under 30: Leaders of the Future” list, told the outlet she studied at Florence’s Polimoda Institute and stumbled into fashion after working on a film set.

Inspired by that experience, she returned home to build a bespoke tailoring culture modeled on London’s famed Savile Row.

In 2015, she launched a studio in Almaty with the help of an unnamed investor (at the time, Nursain had not yet joined the company). Early clients included young entrepreneurs and the Astana football club. Eventually, her team began designing stagewear for the Turetsky Choir.

Another company tied to Nursain is STROYSERVISPLYUS LLP, which focuses on residential construction. It was founded in 2006, when Nursain was just 11 years old. In 2021, he became the founder, now using the last name of his grandfather, a respected academic.

The company has seen frequent leadership changes, with names like Sergey Oleksyuk, Nikolay Chirko, Meruyert Dosumbekova, and Askhat Tyulegenov among its former managers. In 2023, Abitay Akzhol took over. Today, the company’s founders are listed as Tlektes Nursain and Dulat Shakerov. 

The firm is still active, although one of its managers is currently under a travel ban due to a lawsuit from businessman Roman Zharikhin, to whom the company owes over 2.7 million tenge.

In 2023, Nursain also established SKWAD GROUP LLP, a wholesale trade company led by his peer Vitaly Ni. The company has no notable contracts, and its tax records are not publicly available.

Another venture, Noorway, was registered in Almaty on June 19, 2020, to engage in food wholesale. The paperwork listed Nurbolat Aidosuly Yespol as the director and Nursain Aidosovich Tlektes as the founder.

This raised questions: Is Nurbolat his brother? Or simply another alias? The editorial team couldn’t determine the purpose of this suspicious maneuver.

For a brief period, Sergey Oleksyuk — possibly a legal consultant from Kokshetau — was listed as Noorway’s director as well.

Original Author: Artyom Volkov