Kazakhstan
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Kazakhstan, also spelled Kazakstan, (Kazakh: Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, IPA [qɑzɑqˈstɑn]; Russian: Казахстан, Kazakhstán, IPA [kəzʌxˈstan]), officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of northern and central Eurasia. Its territory of 2 717 300 km² (bigger than Western Europe) is partially located to the west of the Ural River in eastern-most Europe. It has borders with Russia, the People's Republic of China, and the Central Asian countries Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and has a coastline on the Caspian Sea.
Prior to full independence, Kazakhstan existed as the Kazakh SSR republic in the Soviet Union. It is now a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country in the world by area, but it is only the 62nd country in population with approximately 6 persons per km² (15 per sq. mi.). The population in 2006 is estimated at 15,300,000, down from 16,464,464 in 1989[2] due to the emigration of ethnic Russians and Volga Germans. Much of the country's land consists of semi-desert (steppe) terrain.
Қазақстан еспубликасы
Qazaqstan Respublïkası
еспублика Казахстан
Respublika Kazakhstan
Republic of Kazakhstan
Flag
Coat of arms
Capital Astana
51°10′N 71°30′E
Largest city Almaty
Official languages Kazakh (state language), Russian
Government Republic
- President Nursultan Nazarbayev
- Prime Minister Karim Masimov
Independence From the Soviet Union
- Declared December 16, 1991
- Finalized December 25, 1991
Area
- Total 2,724,900 km² (9th)
1,052,085 sq mi
- Water (%) 1.7
Population
- January 2006 estimate 15,217,700[1] (62nd)
- 1999 census 14,953,100
- Density 5.4/km² (215th)
14.0/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2005 estimate
- Total $125.5 billion (56th)
- Per capita $8,318 (70th)
HDI (2004) 0.774 (medium) (79th)
Currency Tenge (KZT)
Time zone (UTC+5 to +6)
Internet TLD .kz
Calling code +7
History
Main article: History of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan has been inhabited since the Stone Age, generally as nomads practising pastoralism, for which the region's climate and terrain are best suited. Historians believe the vast steppes of Kazakhstan were where humans first domesticated the horse. Following the Mongolian invasion in the early thirteenth century, administrative districts were established under the Mongol Empire, which eventually became the territories of the Kazakh Khanate (Ak Horde). The major medieval cities of Aulie-Ata and Turkestan were founded along the northern route of the Great Silk Road during this period.
Traditional nomadic life on the vast steppe and semi-desert lands was characterized by a constant search for new pasture to support the livestock-based economy. The Kazakhs emerged from a mixture of tribes living in the region in about the fifteenth century and by the middle of the sixteenth century had developed a common language, culture, and economy. In the early 1600s, the Kazakh Khanate separated into the Great, Middle and Little (or Small) Hordes (jüz) — confederations based on extended family networks. Political disunion, competition among the hordes, and a lack of an internal market weakened the Kazakh Khanate. The beginning of the eighteenth century marked the zenith of the Kazakh Khanate. The area was a bone of contention between the Kazak emirs and the Persian Kings for many centuries.
In the nineteenth century, the Russian Empire began to expand, and spread into Central Asia. The "Great Game" period is generally regarded as running from approximately 1813 to the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 a second less intensive phase followed. The tsars effectively ruled over most of the territory belonging to what is now the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The Russian Empire introduced a system of administration and built military garrisons and barracks in its effort to establish a presence in Central Asia in the so-called "Great Game" between it and the United Kingdom. Russia enforced the Russian language in all schools and governmental organizations. Russian efforts to impose its system aroused the resentment of the Kazakh people, and by the 1860s, most Kazakhs resisted Russia's annexation largely because of the disruption it wrought upon the traditional nomadic lifestyle and livestock-based economy. The Kazakh national movement, which began in the late 1800s, sought to preserve the Kazakh language and identity. From the 1890s onwards ever-larger numbers of Slavic settlers began colonising the territory of present-day Kazakhstan, in particular the province of Semirechye. The number of settlers rose still further once the Trans-Aral Railway from Orenburg to Tashkent was completed in 1906, and the movement was overseen and encouraged by a specially created Migration Department (Переселенческое Управление) in St. Petersburg. The competition for land and water which ensued between the Kazakhs and the incomers caused great resentment against colonial rule during the final years of tsarist Russia, with the most serious uprising, the Central Asian Revolt, occurring in 1916.
Although there was a brief period of autonomy during the tumultuous period following the collapse of the Russian Empire, the Kazakhs eventually succumbed to Soviet rule. In 1920, the area of present-day Kazakhstan became an autonomous republic within Russia and, in 1936, a Soviet republic.
Soviet repression of the traditional elite, along with forced collectivization in late 1920s–1930s, brought mass hunger and led to unrest. Soviet rule, however, took hold, and a communist apparatus steadily worked to fully integrate Kazakhstan into the Soviet system. Kazakhstan experienced population inflows of thousands exiled from other parts of the Soviet Union during the 1930s and later became home for hundreds of thousands evacuated from the Second World War battlefields. Some of these evacuees were deported to Siberia or Kazakhstan merely due to their ethnic heritage or beliefs, and were in many cases interned in some of the biggest Soviet labor camps. The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) contributed five national divisions to the Soviet Union's World War II effort. In 1947, two years after the end of the war, the Semipalatinsk Test Site, the USSR's main nuclear weapon test site was founded near the city of Semey.
The period of World War II marked an increase in industrialization and increased mineral extraction in support of the war effort. At the time of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's death, however, Kazakhstan still had an overwhelmingly agricultural-based economy. In 1953, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev initiated the ambitious "Virgin Lands" program to turn the traditional pasturelands of Kazakhstan into a major grain-producing region for the Soviet Union. The Virgin Lands policy, along with later modernizations under Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, sped up the development of the agricultural sector, which to this day remains the source of livelihood for a large percentage of Kazakhstan's population.
Growing tensions within Soviet society led to a demand for political and economic reforms, which came to a head in the 1980s. In December 1986, mass demonstrations by young ethnic Kazakhs took place in Almaty to protest the methods of the communist system. Soviet troops suppressed the unrest, and dozens of demonstrators were jailed or killed. In the waning days of Soviet rule, discontent continued to grow and find expression under Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of glasnost. Caught up in the groundswell of Soviet republics seeking greater autonomy, Kazakhstan declared its sovereignty as a republic within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in October 1990. Following the August 1991 abortive coup attempt in Moscow and the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan declared independence on December 16, 1991.
The years following independence have been marked by significant reforms to the Soviet command-economy and political monopoly on power. Under Nursultan Nazarbayev, who initially came to power in 1989 as the head of the Kazakh Communist Party and was eventually elected President in 1991, Kazakhstan has made significant progress toward developing market economy. The country has enjoyed significant economic growth since 2000, partly due to its large oil, gas, and mineral reserves.
But, democracy has not improved much since 1991. "In July 2000, Kazakhstan's parliament passed a law granting President Nursultan Nazarbayev lifetime powers and privileges, including access to future presidents, immunity from criminal prosecution, and influence over domestic and foreign policy. Critics say he has become a de facto "president for life."[3][4] Over the course of his ten years in power, Nazarbayev has repeatedly censored the press through arbitrary use of "slander" laws[5], blocked access to opposition web sites (9 November 1999), banned the Wahhabi religious sect (5 September 1998), drawn criticism from Amnesty International for excessive executions following specious trials (March 21, 1996) and harsh prison conditions (13 August 1996), and refused demands that the governors of Kazakhstan's 14 oblasts be elected, rather than appointed by the president (April 7, 2000)."
Politics
Political system
Kazakhstan is a constitutional republic with a strong presidency. The president is the head of state. The president also is the commander in chief of the armed forces and may veto legislation that has been passed by the Parliament. President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has been in office since Kazakhstan became independent, won a new 7-year term in the 1999 election that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said fell short of international standards. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Ministers and serves as Kazakhstan's head of government. There are three deputy prime ministers and 16 ministers in the Cabinet. Daniyal K. Akhmetov became the Prime Minister in June 2003 but resigned 8 January 2007.
Kazakhstan has a bicameral Parliament, made up of the lower house (the Majilis) and upper house (the Senate). Single mandate districts popularly elect 67 seats in the Majilis; there also are ten members elected by party-list vote rather than by single mandate districts. The Senate has 39 members. Two senators are selected by each of the elected assemblies (Maslikhats) of Kazakhstan's 16 principal administrative divisions (14 regions, or oblasts, plus the cities of Astana and Almaty). The president appoints the remaining seven senators. Majilis deputies and the government both have the right of legislative initiative, though the government proposes most legislation considered by the Parliament.
Elections
Elections to the Majilis in September 2004 yielded a lower house dominated by the pro-government Otan party, headed by President Nazarbayev. Two other parties considered sympathetic to the president, including the agrarian-industrial bloc AIST and the Asar party, founded by President Nazarbayev’s daughter, won most of the remaining seats. Opposition parties, which were officially registered and competed in the elections, won a single seat during elections that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said fell short of international standards.
In 1999, Kazakhstan applied for observer status at the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. The official response of the Assembly was that Kazakhstan could apply for full membership, because it is partially located in Europe, but that they would not be granted any status whatsoever at the Council until their democracy and human rights records improved.
On December 4, 2005, Nursultan Nazarbayev was reelected in a landslide victory. The electoral commission announced that he had won over 90% of the vote. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) concluded the election did not meet international standards despite some improvements in the administration of the election. Xinhua News Agency reported that Chinese observers, responsible in overseeing 25 polling stations in Astana, found that voting in those polls was conducted in a "transparent and fair" manner. [3] Furthermore, Western governments were muted in their criticism of the election.
Kazakh Intelligence Services
Kazakhstan's National Security Committee (KNB) was established on 13 June 1992. It includes the Service of Internal Security, Military Counterintelligence, Border Guard, several Commando units, and Foreign Intelligence (Barlau). The latter is considered by many as the most important part of KNB. Its director is Major General Omirtai Bitimov.
Administrative divisions
Main article: Provinces of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is divided into fourteen provinces (oblys) and three municipal districts (qala)*: Taldy-Korgan, Almaty*, Aqmola (Astana), Aqtöbe, Astana*, Atyrau, Batys Qazaqstan (Oral), Bayqongyr*, Mangghystau (Aqtau; formerly Shevchenko), Ongtustik Qazaqstan (Shymkent), Pavlodar, Qaraghandy, Qostanay, Qyzylorda, Shyghys Qazaqstan (Oskemen; formerly Ust'-Kamenogorsk), Soltustik Qazaqstan (Petropavl), Zhambyl (Taraz; known as Dzhambul in the Soviet period, but before that as Aulie-Ata).
Note: Administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses); in 1995 the Governments of Kazakhstan and Russia entered into an agreement whereby Russia would lease for a period of 20 years an area of 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 sq. mi); enclosing the Bayqongyr (Baykonur) space launch facilities and the city of Bayqongyr (formerly Leninsk). Just recently, the lease of Bayqongyr facilities was extended through 2050.
Each is headed by an Akim (provincial governor) appointed by the president. Municipal Akims are appointed by oblast Akims. The Government of Kazakhstan transferred its capital from Almaty to Astana on December 10, 1997.
Geography
With an area of 2.7 million square kilometers (1.05 million sq. mi), Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest nation in the world. It is equivalent to the size of Western Europe. It shares borders of 6,846 kilometers (4,254 mi) with Russia, 2,203 kilometers (1,369 mi) with Uzbekistan, 1,533 kilometers (953 mi) with the People's Republic of China, 1,051 kilometers (653 mi) with Kyrgyzstan, and 379 kilometers (235 mi) with Turkmenistan. Major cities include Astana (capital since December 1997), Almaty (the former capital), Karaganda, Shymkent (Chimkent), Semey (Semipalatinsk) and Turkestan.
Syrdarya river in Kyzylorda province
Syrdarya river in Kyzylorda province
The terrain extends west to east from the Caspian Sea to the Altay Mountains and north to south from the plains of Western Siberia to the oases and deserts of Central Asia. The Kazakh Steppe, with an area of around 804,500 square kilometres (310,600 sq. mi), occupies one-third of the country and is the world's largest dry steppe region. The steppe is characterized by large areas of grasslands and sandy regions. Important rivers and lakes include: the Aral Sea, Ili River, Irtysh River, Ishim River, Ural River, Lake Balkhash, and Lake Zaysan
The climate is continental, with hot summers and colder winters. Precipitation varies between arid and semi-arid conditions.
Economy
General situation
The government of Kazakhstan plans to double its Gross domestic product (GDP) by 2008 and triple by 2015 compared to 2000. The GDP growth was stable in the last five years, and was higher than 9%. GDP growth in 2005 was 9.2%, and 9.4% in 2004. Kazakhstan's economy grew by 9.2% in 2003, buoyed by high world crude oil prices. GDP grew 9.5% in 2002; it grew 13.2% in 2001, up from 9.8% in 2000.
External opinion generally considers Kazakhstan's monetary policy to be well-managed. Its principal challenges in 2002 were to manage strong foreign currency inflows without sparking inflation. In 2003 inflation did not remain under control, registering at 6.8% instead of the forecast level of 5.3%-6.0%. In 2002 inflation was 6.6%, compared to 6.4% in 2001. Because of its strong macroeconomic performance and financial health, in 2000 Kazakhstan became the first former Soviet republic to repay all of its debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), 7 years ahead of schedule. In March 2002, the U.S. Department of Commerce graduated Kazakhstan to market economy status under U.S. trade law. The change in status recognized substantive market economy reforms in the areas of currency convertibility, wage rate determination, openness to foreign investment, and government control over the means of production and allocation of resources.
In September 2002, Kazakhstan became the first country in the CIS to receive an investment-grade credit rating from a major international credit rating agency. As of late December 2003, Kazakhstan's gross foreign debt was about $22.9 billion. Total governmental debt was $4.2 billion. This amounts to 14% of the GDP. There has been a noticeable reduction in the ratio of debt to GDP observed in past years; the ratio of total governmental debt to GDP in 2000 was 21.7%, in 2001 it was 17.5%, and in 2002 it was 15.4%.
The upturn in economic growth, combined with the results of earlier tax and financial sector reforms, dramatically improved government finances from the 1999 budget deficit level of 3.5% of GDP to a deficit of 1.2% of GDP in 2003. Government revenues grew from 19.8% of GDP in 1999 to 22.6% of GDP in 2001, but decreased to 16.2% of GDP in 2003. In 2000, Kazakhstan adopted a new tax code in an effort to consolidate these gains. On November 29, 2003 the Law on Changes to Tax Code was adopted, which reduced tax rates. The value added tax fell from 16% to 15%, the social tax from 21% to 20%, and the personal income tax from 30% to 20%. Kazakhstan furthered its reforms by adopting a new land code on June 20, 2003, and a customs code on April 5, 2003.
Main square in the new capital of Astana (built in 1998)
The Tenge, Kazakhstan's currency
Energy is the leading economic sector. Production of crude oil and natural gas condensate in Kazakhstan amounted to 51.2 million tons in 2003, which was 8.6% more than in 2002. Kazakhstan raised oil and gas condensate exports to 44.3 million tons in 2003, 13% higher than in 2002. Gas production in Kazakhstan in 2003 amounted to 13.9 billion cubic meters (491 billion cu. ft), up 22.7% compared to 2002, including natural gas production of 7.3 billion cubic meters (258 billion cu. ft); Kazakhstan holds about 4 billion tons of proven recoverable oil reserves and 2,000 cubic kilometers (480 cu mi) of gas. Industry analysts believe that planned expansion of oil production, coupled with the development of new fields, will enable the country to produce as much as 3 million barrels (477,000 m³) per day by 2015, lifting Kazakhstan into the ranks of the world's top 10 oil-producing nations. Kazakhstan's 2003 oil exports were valued at more than $7 billion, representing 65% of overall exports and 24% of the GDP. Major oil and gas fields and their recoverable oil reserves are Tengiz with 7 billion barrels (1.1 km³); Karachaganak with 8 billion barrels (1.3 km³) and 1,350 km³ of natural gas); and Kashagan with 7 to 9 billion barrels (1.1 to 1.4 km³).
Kazakhstan instituted an ambitious pension reform program in 1998. As of January 1, 2005, the pension assets were about $4.1 billion. There are 16 saving pension funds in the republic. The State Accumulating Pension Fund, the only state-owned fund, could be privatized as early as 2006. The country's unified financial regulatory agency oversees and regulates the pension funds. The pension funds' growing demand for quality investment outlets triggered rapid development of the debt securities market. Pension fund capital is being invested almost exclusively in corporate and government bonds, including Government of Kazakhstan Eurobonds. The Kazakhstani banking system is developing rapidly. The banking system's capitalization now exceeds $1 billion. The National Bank has introduced deposit insurance in its campaign to strengthen the banking sector. Several major foreign banks have branches in Kazakhstan, including ABN AMRO, Citibank, and HSBC.
Agriculture
Agriculture accounted for 13.6% of Kazakhstan's GDP in 2003. Grain (Kazakhstan is the sixth-largest producer in the world) and livestock are the most important agricultural commodities. Agricultural land occupies more than 846,000 square kilometres (327,000 sq. mi). The available agricultural land consists of 205,000 square kilometres (79,000 sq. mi) of arable land and 611,000 square kilometres (236,000 sq. mi) of pasture and hay land. Chief livestock products are dairy products, leather, meat, and wool. The country's major crops include wheat, barley, cotton, and rice. Wheat exports, a major source of hard currency, rank among the leading commodities in Kazakhstan's export trade. In 2003 Kazakhstan harvested 17.6 million tons of grain in gross, 2.8% higher compared to 2002. Kazakh agriculture still has many environmental problems from mismanagement during its years in the Soviet Union.
Natural resources
Kazakhstan has an abundant supply of accessible mineral and fossil fuel resources. Development of petroleum, natural gas, and mineral extraction has attracted most of the over $40 billion in foreign investment in Kazakhstan since 1993 and accounts for some 57% of the nation's industrial output. According to some estimates[6], Kazakhstan has the second largest uranium, chromium, lead, and zinc reserves, the third largest manganese reserves, the fifth largest copper reserves, and ranks in the top ten for coal, iron, and gold. It is also an exporter of diamonds.
In total, there are 160 deposits with over 2.7 billion tons of petroleum. Oil explorations have shown that the deposits on the Caspian shore are only a small part of a much larger deposit. It is said that 3.5 billion tons of oil and 2.5 trillion cubic meters of gas could be found in that area. Overall the estimate of Kazakhstan's oil deposits is 6.1 billion tons. However, there are only 3 refineries within the country, situated in Atirau, Pavlodar, and Shymkent. These are not capable of processing the crude output. Instead, much of it is exported to Russia.
Foreign relations
Kazakhstan has stable relationships with all of its neighbors and is a member of the United Nations, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). It is an active participant in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) Partnership for Peace program. Kazakhstan is also a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization along with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan established the Eurasian Economic Community in 2000 to re-energize earlier efforts at harmonizing trade tariffs and the creation of a free trade zone under a customs union.
Since independence in 1991, Kazakhstan has pursued what is known as the multidimensional foreign policy (многовекторная внешняя политика), seeking equally good relations with two large neighbors, Russia and China, and the United States and the West generally. The policy has yielded results in the oil and gas sector, where companies from the U.S., Russia, China, and Europe are present at all major fields, and in the multidimensional directions of oil export pipelines out of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan possesses the Soviet equivalent to the United States' Cape Canaveral, where the Soviet Union launched its version of the space shuttle and the well-known space station Mir. Russia currently leases approximately 6,000 km² (2,300 mi²) of territory enclosing the Baikonur Cosmodrome space launch site in south central Kazakhstan.
On June 18, 2006, Kazakhstan joined the club of the world's space powers in its own right when it launched its first commercial satellite, KazSat 1, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on a Russian built booster rocket. [4]
In September 2006, the government announced that it is funding distribution of a multi million dollar movie called "Nomad" about the history of the nation. The movie started in 2003, and has been plagued with multiple development problems, though it is now 'on track' for a North American release in 2006-2007. News reports erroneously suggested the government was sponsoring this movie as an effort to combat negative international publicity, including the comedy character Borat.[7]
In September 2006, President Nursultan Nazarbayev visited the United States, where he met with President George W. Bush at the Oval Office, several key members of the U.S. Administration and Congress. While in Washington, President Nazarbayev unveiled the Monument of Independence of Kazakhstan and addressed a large gathering of the political and business elite on Kazakhstan's approach to nuclear nonproliferation.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Kazakhstan
Population
The population is estimated to be 63% ethnic Kazakhs and 23% ethnic Russians, with an amazingly rich array of other groups represented, including Ukrainians, Uzbeks, Germans, Chechens, and Uyghurs. Many minorities such as Russian Germans, Poles, Romanians, Ukrainians and Russian political opponents of the regime had been deported to Kazakhstan in the 1930s and 1940s by Stalin. One of the biggest Soviet labor camps existed in Kazakhstan. There is also a small but active Jewish community. Before 1991 there were one million Volga Germans in Kazakhstan; most of them emigrated to Germany following the breakup of the Soviet Union. The main religious groups are Sunni Islam, Russian Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism.
Kazakhstan is a bilingual country: the Kazakh language, spoken by 64.4% of the population, has the status of the "state" language, while Russian is declared the "official" language, and is used routinely in business.
The 1990s were marked by the emigration of many of the country's Europeans, a process that began in the 1970s; this was a major factor in giving the autochthonous Kazakhs a majority along with higher Kazakh birthrates and ethnic Kazakh immigration from the People's Republic of China, Mongolia, and Russia. In the early twenty first century, Kazakhstan has become one of the leading nations in international adoptions.
Kazakhs and Kazakhstanis (terminology)
For many years, Russians often outnumbered the Kazakhs in many parts of the area known today as Kazakhstan. Even now, Russians and people of other ethnic origins play an important role in the economy and government and consider the country their home.
The Russian term казахстанец (Kazakhstani) was coined to describe all inhabitants of Kazakhstan, including non-Kazakhs. The word "Kazakh" is generally used to refer to people of actual Kazakh descent (including those living in China, Afghanistan, and other Central Asian countries).
Ethnicon Kazakh is derived from an ancient Turkic word "independent, a free spirit" and fully reflects the nature of the Kazakh people, who have been in all times aspiring to an independent, autonomous existence. It is the result of Kazakhs' nomadic horseback culture and is related to the term "cossack". The Avestan/Old Persian (See Indo-European languages) word "stan" means "land" or "place of".
Education
Main article: Education in Kazakhstan
Education is universal and mandatory through to the secondary level and the adult literacy rate is 99.5%. Education consists in three main educational phases: primary education (forms 1–4), basic general education (forms 5–9) and senior level education (forms 10–11 or 12) divided into continued general education and professional education. (Primary education is preceded by one year of pre-school education.) These three levels of education can be followed in one institution or in different ones (e.g. primary school, then secondary school). Recently, several secondary schools, specialized schools, magnet schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, linguistic and technical gymnasiums, have been founded. Secondary professional education is offered in special professional or technical schools, lyceums or colleges and vocational schools.
At present, there are universities, academies, and institutes, conservatories, higher schools and higher colleges. There are three main levels: basic higher education that provides the fundamentals of the chosen field of study and leads to the award of the Bachelor degree; specialized higher education after which students are awarded the Specialist's Diploma; and scientific-pedagogical higher education which leads to the Master's Degree. Postgraduate education leads to the Kandidat Nauk (Candidate of Sciences) and the Doctor of Sciences. With the adoption of the Laws on Education and on Higher Education, a private sector has been established and several private institutions have been licensed.
Culture of Kazakhstan
Kazakh food preparation began to develop in the 13th century. Kazakh culture is largely influenced by a Turkic nomadic lifestyle and Islam. Kazakhs are typically Sunni Muslims.
Kazakh food preparation began to develop in the 13th century. Kazakh culture is largely influenced by a Turkic nomadic lifestyle and Islam. Kazakhs are typically Sunni Muslims.
Before the Russian conquest, the Kazaks had a well-articulated culture based on their nomadic pastoral economy. Although Islam was introduced to most of the Kazaks in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the religion was not fully assimilated until much later. As a result, it coexisted with earlier elements of Tengriism. Traditional Kazak belief held that separate spirits inhabited and animated the earth, sky, water, and fire, as well as domestic animals. To this day, particularly honored guests in rural settings are treated to a feast of freshly killed lamb. Such guests are sometimes asked to bless the lamb and to ask its spirit for permission to partake of its flesh. Besides lamb, many other traditional foods retain symbolic value in Kazak culture.
Kazakh food preparation began to develop in the 13th century. Kazakh culture is largely influenced by a Turkic nomadic lifestyle and Islam. Kazakhs are typically Sunni Muslims.
Because animal husbandry was central to the Kazaks' traditional lifestyle, most of their nomadic practices and customs relate in some way to livestock. Traditional curses and blessings invoked disease or fecundity among animals, and good manners required that a person ask first about the health of a man's livestock when greeting him and only afterward inquire about the human aspects of his life.
The traditional Kazak dwelling is the yurt, a tent consisting of a flexible framework of willow wood covered with varying thicknesses of felt. The open top permits smoke from the central hearth to escape; temperature and draft can be controlled by a flap that increases or decreases the size of the opening. A properly constructed yurt can be cooled in summer and warmed in winter, and it can be disassembled or set up in less than an hour. The interior of the yurt has ritual significance; the right side generally is reserved for men and the left for women.
Although yurts are less used for their original purpose than they once were, they remain a potent symbol of "Kazakness." During demonstrations against Nazarbayev in the spring of 1992, demonstrators and hunger strikers erected yurts in front of the government building in Almaty. Yurts are also frequently used as a decorative motif in restaurants and other public buildings.
Literature
Kazak literary tradition is rich in oral histories. These histories were memorized and recited by the akyn, the elder responsible for remembering the legends and histories, and by jyrau, lyric poets who traveled with the high-placed khans. Most of the legends concern the activities of a batir , or hero-warrior. Among the tales that have survived are Koblandy-batir (fifteenth or sixteenth century), Er Sain (sixteenth century), and Er Targyn (sixteenth century), all of which concern the struggle against the Kalmyks; Kozy Korpesh and Bain sulu, both epics; and the love lyric Kyz-Zhibek. Usually these tales were recited in a song-like chant, frequently to the accompaniment of such traditional instruments as drums and the dombra, a mandolin-like string instrument.
Kazakh writers and poets: Akhmet Baitursynov, Bakhytzhan Kanapyanov, Mirzhaqyp Dulatov, Bukhar-zhirau Kalmakanov, Abay Qunanbayuli, Makhambet Utemisov, Mukhtar Auezov, Gabit Musrepov, Abdilda Tazhibaev, Durnyam Mashurova and many others.
The Russian conquest wreaked havoc on Kazak traditional culture by making impossible the nomadic pastoralism upon which the culture was based. However, many individual elements survived the loss of the lifestyle as a whole. Many practices that lost their original meanings are assuming value as symbols of post-Soviet national identity.
For the most part, preindependence cultural life in Kazakstan was indistinguishable from that elsewhere in the Soviet Union. It featured the same plays, films, music, books, paintings, museums, and other cultural appurtenances common in every other corner of the Soviet empire. That Russified cultural establishment nevertheless produced many of the most important figures of the early stages of Kazak nationalist self-assertion, including novelist Anuar Alimzhanov, who became president of the last Soviet Congress of People's Deputies, and poets Mukhtar Shakhanov and Olzhas Suleymenov, who were copresidents of the political party Popular Congress of Kazakstan. Shakhanov also chaired the commission that investigated the events surrounding the riots of December 1986 (Zheltoksan).
An even more powerful figure than Shakhanov, Suleymenov in 1975 became a pan-Central Asian hero by publishing a book, Az i Ia, examining the Lay of Igor's Campaign, a medieval tale vital to the Russian national culture, from the perspective of the Turkic Pechenegs whom Igor defeated. Soviet authorities subjected the book to a blistering attack. Later Suleymenov used his prestige to give authority to the Nevada-Semipalatinsk anti-nuclear movement, which performed the very real service of ending nuclear testing in Kazakstan. He and Shakhanov originally organized their People's Congress Party as a pro-Nazarbayev movement, but Suleymenov eventually steered the party into an opposition role. In the short-lived parliament of 1994-95, Suleymenov was leader of the Respublika opposition coalition, and he was frequently mentioned as a possible presidential candidate.
Sports
Cultivated a strong interest in sports, physical education and extra-curricular activities. Kazakhstan has achieved some success in international competitions in weightlifting, ice hockey, and boxing. Kazakhstan won 8 medals in the 2004 Summer Olympics - the largest tally for any nation in Western Asia.
Riders in traditional dress demonstrate Kazakhstan's equestrian culture by playing a kissing game, Kuuz Kuu ("Catch the Girl"), one of a number of traditional games played on horseback
Capital : Astana
Astana (Kazakh: Астана; former names include Akmola, Tselinograd, and Aqmola), estimated population of 600,000 (2004), is the second largest city and the capital of Kazakhstan since 1997. The name "Astana", which in Kazakh language means "Capital city", was allegedly chosen because it is easily pronounced in many languages[citation needed]. However, in Kazakh, it is pronounced "As-ta-na", while in English and many other international languages, the common pronunciation is "As-ta-na". It is within Aqmola Province, though politically separate from the rest of the province, which has its own capital.
The current mayor of Astana is Askar Mamin, formerly Minister for Transportation. He was appointed mayor on 25 September 2006.
Population (estimated)
- City 600,000
Time zone BTT (UTC+6)
History
Early history
A unit of Siberian cossacks from Omsk founded a huge fortress on the upper Ishim in 1824, which later became the town of "Akmola". During the early 20th Century, the town became a major railway junction, causing a major economic boom that lasted until the Russian Civil War.
In 1961, it was renamed "Tselinograd" and made capital of the Soviet Virgin Lands Territory (Tselinny Krai). The city was at the centre of the Virgin Lands Campaign led by Nikita Khrushchev in the 1950s, in order to turn the state into a second grain producer for the Soviet Union. The high portion of Russian immigrants in this area, which later led to ethnic tension, can be traced to the influx of agricultural workers at this time. Additionally, many Russian-Germans were resettled here after being deported under Joseph Stalin for alleged Nazi ties during the World War II.
After Kazakhstan gained its independence in 1991, the city and the region were renamed "Aqmola". The name was often translated as "White Tombstone," but actually means "Holy Place". The "White Tombstone" literal translation was too appropriate for many visitors to escape notice in almost all guide books and travel accounts.
As Kazakhstan's new capital
In 1994, the city was designated as the future capital of the newly-independent country, and again renamed to the present "Astana" after the capital was officially moved from Almaty in 1997. Despite the isolated location of the new capital in the centre of the Kazakh Steppe and the forbidding climate in winter, Kazakhstan simply needed a more central location than its former location of Almaty, which lies on the southeast border with Kyrgyzstan. Some speculate[citation needed] that it was a move to impose more control over the Russian-dominated north of the country. Other reasons[citation needed] include the belief that the new city project is a strategic move to position the capital further from the borders with China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, or that Almaty was limited in its development by mountains (which is objectively not the case), or that President Nursultan Nazarbayev created a "Potemkin village", either to present a contrived image of a modern, clean Kazakhstan to entice foreign investment.[citation needed]
To some Kazakhstanis, the move remains controversial.[citation needed] Critics resent the massive expenditure of public funds to build the new government complexes, as well as the continuing cost of airfare and hotel expenses for the many government workers who still live in Almaty.[citation needed] The lucrative development contracts handed out to companies owned by President Nazarbayev's family members also remain highly suspect.
Geography
The city is located in central Kazakhstan on the Ishim River in a very flat, semi-desert steppe region which covers most of the country's territory. The elevation of Astana is at 347 meters above sea level. Astana is in a spacious steppe landscape, in the transient area between the north of Kazakhstan and the extremely thinly settled national center, because of the river Ishim. The older boroughs lie north of the river, whilst the new boroughs were located south of the Ishim.
Astana From Space
Climate
Climatically Astana is one of the coldest capitals in the world, with temperatures of -35 to -40 degrees common in the late autumn. The new city is also known to regularly freeze for around six months every year. Overall however, Astana can be seen as enjoying a continental climate, with exceptionally cold winters and moderately hot summers, arid and semiarid.
The average annual temperature in Astana is 1 degree Celsius. January is the coldest month with an average temperature of -16 degrees Celsius. July is the hottest month with an average temperature of 20 degrees Celsius.
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Yearly average
Avg Temperature [°C] -16 -16 -10 3 12 18 20 17 11 2 -7 -14 1
Precipitation (mm) 22 14 19 21 31 40 50 37 26 27 20 22 32.7
Economy
Politics and government are the main economic activity in the capital, which also forms a Special Economic Zone. Since the move, Astana has seen one of the world's greatest building projects, as oil money has been spent on government buildings, a massive home for the president, a mosque, and numerous parks and monuments. The project is designed to not just make the town the centre of Kazakhstan, but of all Central Asia.
People and culture
Town planning
Astana can be divided largely into a few different areas. North of the railway line, which crosses Astana in an east-west direction, are industrial and poorer residential areas. Between the railway line and the river Ishim is the city center, where at present intense building activity is occurring. To the west and east are more elevated residential areas with parks and the new area of government administration to the south of the Ishim. Here many large building projects are underway; for example, the construction of a diplomat quarter, and a variety of different government buildings. By 2030, these quarters are to be completed. Astana's chief planner, Vladimir Laptev, wants to build a Berlin in a Eurasian style. He has stated that a purely administrative capital such as Canberra is not one of his goals.
Architecture
The architectural quality of the new buildings is, by the standards of almost all critics, quite high — ethno-postmodernism in an Albert Speer pattern dominates.
In December 2006, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev unveiled plans to build Khan Shatyry, a "giant, transparent tent", over an area of the city. The tent will be 150 metres high, and was designed by British architect Norman Foster.[2] It is expected to take around a year to build. [3]
Sightseeing
Today there are many construction works under way, such as embassy buildings, representative riversides along the Ishim River, and some infrastructure for transportation and communication. In the centre of town, the Avenue of the Republic acts as the main hub of activity. It is bordered by many stores, coffee houses, restaurants, discotheques and even some casinos. Worth a visit are the:
* Modern governmental quarter
* Ishim banks
* "Oceanarium"
* Astana Central National Mosque
* Islamic Center
* Roman Catholic Cathedral
* Market hall
* Bayterek Tower
Sports
Astana is home to FC Astana, a football team in the Kazakhstan Super League, which won the national championship in 2000, 2001 and 2006. The city is also home to the Astana-Tigers basketball team who successfully took the 2004/2005 season title, as well as Barys Astana of the Kazakh Ice Hockey League. In addition, Team Astana is a professional cycling team that competes on the UCI ProTour.Club Sport Founded League Venue
FC Astana Soccer 1964 Kazakhstan Super League Kazhimukan Munaitpasov Stadium
Astana-Tigers Basketball – Kazakh Basketball League -
Barys Astana Ice hockey 1999 Kazakh Ice Hockey League
Transportation
Astana International Airport was designed by the famed Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa
Almaty
Almaty (Алматы; formerly known as Alma-Ata, also Vernyj, Vyernyi (Верный) in Imperial Russia) is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of 1,185,900 (2004) (8% of the population of Kazakhstan) citizens.
The name "Almaty" means "appled"; the older version of its name, Alma-Ata, literally means "father-apple". In the surrounding region, there is an unrivalled genetic diversity among the wild apples.[citation needed]
A troop of Siberian Cossacks from Omsk founded the fort Zailiysky in 1854 at the foot of the Tian Shan mountain range, and renamed it one year later to Vernyj, a name that remained until 1921. In 1921, the name Alma-Ata ("father-apple") was created by the Bolsheviks. In a devastating earthquake in 1911, almost the only large building that remained standing was the Russian Orthodox cathedral. In the 1920s, after the completion of the Turkestan-Siberia Railway, Alma-Ata, as it was then known, became a major stopping point along the track. In 1929, Almaty became the capital of the Kazakh SSR.
In late 1991, Almaty became the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a designation it kept until 1998, when the capital was moved to Astana. Almaty, however, remains the largest city in Kazakhstan and the country's major commercial center. In 2005, the city launched a failed bid to host the XXII Olympic Winter Games in the year 2014, but was successful in its bid to host the 2011 Winter Asian Games.
The world's largest apple is located in Almaty[citation needed]. A short bus ride into the Tian Shan Mountains brings one to Medeo, a popular tourist destination, with several hotels and an Olympic-size skating rink.
On 21 December 1991, the Charter that ended the Soviet Union creating the Commonwealth of Independent States was signed there.
Universities of Almaty
* Kazakh-British Technical University
* Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazUU)
* Suleyman Demirel University (SDU)
* Kazakh Economic University (KazEU)
* International Academy of Business (IAB)
* University of International Business(UIB)
* Kimep (Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics, and Strategic Research)
* Kazakh-American University (KAU)
* Kazakh Academy of Sciences
Orthodox church
Mosque
