As of: 09/17/2022 6:31 p.m
Renaming the Kazakh capital back to Astana may sound like a farce, but it represents another break with ex-ruler Nazarbayev. The president’s term of office has also been changed.
The capital of authoritarian Kazakhstan is now called Astana again. According to the presidential administration, head of state Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a constitutional amendment passed by parliament on Friday.
The old name was thus restored. Astana became Nur-Sultan in March 2019 – in honor of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had stepped down from power after around three decades.
Departure from Nazarbayev
Even after his resignation, Nazarbayev retained important posts and great influence in the Central Asian country between Russia and China. After serious unrest in January, Tokayev announced far-reaching reforms and removed Nazarbayev from his remaining posts. The protests were sparked by higher fuel prices, but at the same time reflected widespread dissatisfaction with the country’s politics, which had been dominated by Nazarbayev and his party for around 30 years.
Just one more term
Another constitutional change concerns the term of office of the head of state. It is extended from five to seven years, but at the same time it is ruled out that a president can apply for a second term.
It is expected that the 69-year-old Tokayev will run again after the constitutional amendment, because the new law will not apply retrospectively, but only with the next election.
Futurism in the Kazakh steppe
Astana, Kazakh for capital, was declared a capital in 1997. Nazarbayev had decided to move them there from Almaty.
Astana is located in the northern part of the country in the middle of the Kazakh steppe. More than 1.1 million people now live there. Nazarbayev had many futuristic buildings erected during his tenure – the rich states on the Persian Gulf are said to have been his model.