BOOK COLLECTIONS OF THE LIBRARY OF ELBASSY. «OFFICIAL RESIDENCES AROUND THE WORLD»

The book collection of the Library of the Elbassy was replenished with a book about official residences around the world. It is an English language publication. Its author is the Ph. D. researcher Abby Clous-Radigan. The book, published with the support of the White House Historical Association, is the first of its kind. It provides information about more than 50 official residences around the world.

A story about residences in Europe, America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa - from Buckingham Palace to the Arg Presidential Palace in Afghanistan. Today, these are national attractions that represent almost a thousand years of construction and reconstruction, starting with the Prague Castle of the XII century. The thirteenth-century marked the beginnings of Austria’s Hofburg, Monaco’s Prince’s Palace, Morocco’s Royal Palace, and the Moscow Kremlin’s stone walls. In the fourteenth-century work began on Latvia’s Riga Castle while the fifteenth- century brought the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. Bute House in Edinburgh and 10 Downing Street in London, date to the seventeenth-century while Buckingham House (now Buckingham Palace) was built in the eighteenth century. Many more residences date to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and building continues in the twenty-first century.

Over the centuries, many of these edifices have endured the ravages of fire, war, and mother nature, and some have been rebuilt, expanded, and repaired more than once. "The White House is unique in that it serves as a residence for the First Family, an office, a museum of American history, a symbolic house of the people," says Stuart MacLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, "This book opens the doors to the houses of heads of state and government, revealing cultural similarities and differences between similar objects in the world, reflecting the stylistic heritage of each country."

By comparing the design and architecture of various residences around the world, Abby Clous-Radigan gives an idea of the history and culture of these countries. Among the buildings it describes is the official residence of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Akorda. It provides not only information about the timing of the start and completion of its construction, but also provides an explanation of the etymology of the word "Akorda" for the English-speaking audience. In addition, the writer shares the history of the formation and development of the Kazakh capital.