Surprise Kazakh

BORAT SAGDIYEV, a character created by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for HBO's ''Da Ali G Show," is Kazakhstan's ''No. 2 TOP Television Reproter" (sic), according to his website. But earlier this month, when the mustachioed Borat hosted the MTV Europe Music awards in Lisbon-where he arrived in a rickety Air Kazakh plane with a one-eyed, vodka-swigging pilot-he became Public Enemy No. 1.

While interviewing people on his travels across America, Borat often lets slip racist and misogynist remarks like, ''We say in Kazakhstan, 'Letting a woman in politics is like letting a monkey drive a plane.' Yes, watch it. Bang!" But Kazakh officials never complained-until Cohen made fun of their national airline. After the MTV awards on Nov. 4, Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Yerzhan Ashykbayev threatened legal action. Last Sunday, however, the lawsuit evaporated. ''We understand that [Cohen's act] is satire and it appears his target is not the Kazakh people but foreigners stupid enough to believe all this rubbish about our country," an official at Kazakhstan's British embassy told London's Daily Star. Apparently, Cohen's provocations have boosted tourism: ''More people are applying for visas to Kazakhstan than ever... ," said the official. ''It seems that many are intrigued by [Borat] and he's introduced them to the country."

Last Wednesday, Cohen upped the ante. Appearing as Borat in an online video titled ''I innocent of accusings of the Kazakhstan government!!!" he encouraged Westerners to travel to the central Asian state, where, he boasted, human rights have improved: ''Women can now travel on inside of bus, homosexuals no longer have to wear blue hats, and age of consent has been raised to 8 years old."

Joshua Glenn is the associate editor of Ideas. E-mail jglenn@globe.com.