Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, 1991 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed
Kazakhstan was the last constituent republic of the Soviet Union to declare independence in 1991 during its dissolution. The capital is Astana, and the country's largest city and principal cultural and economic center is Almaty, which served as the capital until 1997. Kazakhstan is the world's ninth-largest country by land area and the largest landlocked country. Kazakhstan has a population of 20.6 million and one of the lowest population densities in the world, with fewer than 8 people per square kilometre.
Seat of power: Astana
Rulers
Nūrsūltan Nazarbaev
President of Kazakhstan, 1990–2019
Nazarbayev served as the first president of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019. Nazarbayev played a key role in navigating Kazakhstan through the dissolution of the Soviet Union, leading to the country's independence in 1991. In March 2019, Nazarbayev announced his resignation, handing over power to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Portrait of Nūrsūltan Nazarbaev: Official website of the President of Russia, CC BY 4.0, file
_3_(cropped).jpg){kind=link}
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
President of Kazakhstan, 2019 to today
In March 2019, Tokayev became acting president following the resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev. In January 2022, large-scale protests over fuel prices escalated into violent unrest, prompting Tokayev to declare a state of emergency and request peacekeeping assistance from the CSTO. In 2022, Tokayev was re-elected in a snap presidential election, winning 81% of the vote in the first round.
Portrait of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev: Masato Kanda, CC BY 4.0, file
.jpg){kind=link}
Culture
- Kazakhstan has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era.
- Turkic nomads entered the region from the sixth century. In the 13th century, the area was subjugated by the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan.
- In 2019, the city adopted the name Nur-Sultan in honor of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, but it reverted to the name Astana in 2022.
Picture
Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan, and it lies on the banks of the Ishim river in the north of Kazakhstan.
Image: Dauren Nabijan, CC0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.