The capital of Kazakhstan has been renamed: Bye Nur-Sultan, Hello Astana

Renaming the Kazakh capital back to Astana may seem ironic, but it marks another break with former ruler Nazarbayev. The tenure of the President has also been changed.

The capital of authoritarian Kazakhstan is now again called Astana. According to the presidential administration, President Kassym-Jomart Togayev signed the constitutional amendment passed by parliament on Friday.

Thus the old name was repeated. Astana became Nur-Sultan in March 2019 – in honor of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stepped down after nearly three decades in power.

Departure from Nazarbayev

Even after his resignation, Nazarbayev retained important positions and great influence in the Central Asian country between Russia and China. After serious unrest in January, Togayev announced far-reaching reforms and removed Nazarbayev from his remaining posts. The protests were fueled by high fuel prices but also reflected widespread dissatisfaction with the country’s politics, which has been dominated by Nazarbayev and his party for nearly 30 years.

One more installment

Another constitutional change concerns the term of office of the head of state. It has been extended from five to seven years, but it is ruled out that a president can apply for a second term at the same time.

Togayev, 69, is expected to run again after the constitutional amendment, as the new law will not be applied retroactively, but only with the next election.

The future in the Kazakh steppe

Astana, the Kazakh capital, was declared the 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. Now more than 1.1 million people live there. Nazarbayev erected many futuristic edifices during his tenure – the richest states in the Persian Gulf were said to be his model.