Dubai and Astana

I was surprised to read this NYT article about the growth and success of Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan in Central Asia. There are many parallels between Dubai and Astana, both being cities developed in seemingly remote locations by dedicated visionary rulers. While Astana's growth plans and construction may not be quite as extreme as here in Dubai, the comparison is interesting as another example of the developing world using branding to communicate its relevance to the larger global community.