A political officer at the US embassy in Astana used the secrecy of a 2008 classified cable to reflect on his hosts' proclivities, wholly unaware they would be splashed across the Internet two years later as part of the largest US government document leak ever.

The country's leaders, diplomat Steven Fagin apparently wrote in the cable, "are able to indulge in their hobbies on a grand scale, whether flying Elton John to Kazakhstan for a concert or trading domestic property for a palace in the United Arab Emirates."

John was apparently flown into Almaty to perform at a private birthday party for President Nursultan Nazarbayev's son-in-law Timur Kulibayev, according to the cable posted by WikiLeaks as part of the whistleblower website's huge data dump of 250,000 documents.

Many reveal embarrassingly frank assessments by US diplomats of foreign leaders, but few have taken the recreational pulse of their targets like Fagin's cable.

It described Nazarbayev as having a "strong affinity for horses," and detailed a US embassy official's visit to the presidential horse farm, where security guards protect a lavish facility including indoor and outdoor riding areas and some 40 horses.

It said Nazarbayev was fond of escaping the weather of the Central Asian steppes in favor of hot and dry United Arab Emirates, where he has acquired a "palace" in exchange for property in the mountainous Kazakh region of Borovoe that Nazarbayev traded.

While Nazarbayev pursued his equestrian thrills, his Prime Minister Karim Masimov was tripping the light fantastic in Astana, according to the cable, which detailed a night out at trendy Chocolat nightclub.

"Although the club offers a VIP area, Masimov chose to sit at a table in full view of all of the club's patrons," the cable said, citing a US embassy official who spotted the entourage.

"Masimov himself chose to dance on an empty stage above the dance floor. His companions quickly tired but Masimov remained, dancing alone and animatedly on the stage for another 15-20 minutes."

But the harshest observations were reserved for Defense Minister Daniyal Akhmetov, described by the cable's author as a Kazakh in the "tried and true 'homo sovieticus' style -- i.e., drinking oneself into a stupor" in front of a visiting senior Pentagon official.

"Akhmetov explained to this very senior guest that he had just been at a cadet graduation reception, 'toasting Kazakhstan's newly-commissioned officers,'" the cable read. "Who was toasted more -- the defense minister or the cadets -- is a matter of pure speculation."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered regrets Monday for any and all confidential information leaked from the thousands of secret cables.

But she might have some face-to-face explaining to do to the Kazakhs; she arrives in Astana Tuesday on a regional tour.

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