Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishevich (born July 6, 1940) – The First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbasy, Chairman of the Security Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Lifetime Member of the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Chairman of the Nur Otan Party, Chairman of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan.Among others, he has the following state awards: the Order “Altyn Kyran” of a special sample (“Golden Eagle”), the title “Halyk Kaһarmany” (“People’s Hero”), the distinction mark “Kazakhstan Enbek Ery”.
Biography
Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishevich was born on July 6, 1940 in the village Shamalgan (Chemolgan) of the Kaskelen (now Karasai) district of the Almaty region [1, p. 92-94].
He began his labour activity in 1960 in building management of trust “Kazmetallurgstroi” on building of future Karaganda metallurgist plant in Temirtau city. Having completed his studies at the Dneprodzerzhinsk Technical School (Ukraine), in 1965-1969 he worked as a cast iron, blast furnace forge, and dispatcher. In 1967 he graduated from the higher technical college in Temirtau after which he received the specialty of metallurgical engineer.
High professionalism, industriousness and responsibility, organizational and leadership qualities became the basis of his promotion to the social-political work; he headed the youth organization of his metallurgical plant, was elected the head of the Temirtau city Komsomol organization. He was at the party work, from 1973 till 1979 headed the party committee of the Karaganda metallurgical plant, he was elected the secretary of the Temirtau city party organization, worked as the second secretary of the Karaganda regional party committee while dealing with economic and industrial issues.
In 1979 he was also elected the secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan on questions of industrial development. In 1984 he headed the Government of Kazakhstan. In June 1989 at Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan he was elected the First Secretary.
A lot of research has been devoted to the life and work of Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev, the first President of independent Kazakhstan, the Leader of the nation. Conventionally, the research can be divided into three areas – a) the works and research of Kazakhstan scientists; b) monographs, articles and interviews published on the pages of the press of the CIS countries and especially Russia; c) research by foreign scientists including such major centers as the Carnegie Endowment (USA), the work of scientists from the USA, China and European countries.
The most substantive biography of N.A. Nazarbayev was engaged by a group of scientists who issued a list of fundamental monographs [2].
The historians of Institute of History of the State of the Ministry of Education and Science also actively worked, where N.A. Nazarbayev`s biographic data and his political activity was reflected in textbooks for secondary schools and higher educational institutions and in individual monographs. The scientists of the Institute published collective works completed jointly with scientists from Russia, Uzbekistan, Poland, Bulgaria and several other countries. The main attention of scientists of the Institute of History of the State is given to the reform activities of N.A. Nazarbayev as the founder of the modern state.
Works of scientists of the Institute for the study of the activities of N.A. Nazarbayev was included in the list of highly rated journals located in the bases of Web of Science, Scopus, etc…
Works of N.A. Nazarbayev have great importance for science themselves. They are valuable as a reliable source of global events of the second half of twentieth century, about collapse of the Soviet Union and the formation of independent states. As a head of higher state and political structures and the head of the republic,N.A. Nazarbayev was at the epicenter of these events. Moreover, in many cases, he himself was the initiator of huge political projects and cardinal in importance reforms that require a theoretical understanding of that fateful era, which continues to the present.
The great role for the change in historical consciousness were the works of N.A. Nazarbayev “Without Right and Left” (1991), “In the Stream of History” (2003), “Epicenter of the World” (2003), “Era of Independence” (2017), and also the articles “Looking to the Future: Modernization of Public Consciousness” (2017), “Seven Faces of the Great Steppe” (2018) and others.
Unlike foreign researchers Kazakhstani scientists found and put into scientific circulation archival documents, memoirs, and solid bank of statistics data. During work on this project, the author studied and entered into circulation the data of the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (F. 708), as well as documents of the Kazakhstan regional and Russian archives, statistical data and memoirs on the biography of N. A. Nazarbayev [3, p. 146; 4, p. 10-13; 5, p. 11-12; 6, p. 26-27; 7, p. 98-109; 8, p. 75; 9, p. 15; 10, p. 28].
The first official historical and biographical study was prepared by a group of specialists led by a doctor of political sciences, Professor M. Kasymbekov. In this work the political biography of N.A. Nazarbayev is given in historical retrospective and includes the whole complex of basic information – place of birth, parents, studying in school, work in Temirtau and Karaganda. Main attention of scientists of the Institute of History of the State is given to the reform activities of N.A. Nazarbayev, as the founder of the modern state [2]. One of the first political portraits of N.A. Nazarbayev was written by B. Ayagan in Kazakh and Russian languages [11; 12].
Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev was born at feet of the majestic and beautiful mountains of Alatau. These places – the center of Semirechye – have been inhabited by ancestors of modern Kazakhs since ancient times: Saki, Uysuni, Kangly, Huns. Not far from the city of Almaty in the settlement of Yesik, was found the burial place of the world famous “Golden Warrior”. In the early Middle Ages, the Silk Road passed through the territory of the Turkic Kaganate, connecting the East with the West. At the beginning of the 13th century cities and valleys of these places became part of the Golden Horde. The formation of the Kazakh Khanate took place in these places, as a part of Mogulistan.
Father of Nursultan Nazarbayev – Abish was born in 1903, not far from the Kaskelen locality, in the family of Biy Nazarbay. According to reliable data (the document is attached) Nazarbay bi was a famous person in the district and was engaged in judicial activities [13].
In the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century many peasant migrants from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus migrated in Zhetysu (Semirechye). In 1939-1944 at the same places were displaced by people who were deported from the Caucasus and the Far East.
A long-awaited boy was born in the family of Abish and Alzhan Nazarbayev on July 6, 1940, on the Zhailau “Ushkonyr”, and parents called Nursultan. According to the legend, the name of the newborn was given by my grandmother, Myrzabala, who suggested: “Let my beloved grandson bear two names at once, Nur and Sultan, let him be Nursultan [14, p. 17].”
In 1948 N. Nazarbayev went to the first grade in Shamalgan where T.A. Ismailova became his first teacher, who taught him from 1st to 4th grades [2, p. 15]. According to the recollections of teachers and classmates he managed to study easily. He absorbed all the wealth of folk culture, and his passion for books broadened his outlook from his grandmother. Here he graduated from the Abai Kazakh School with a silver medal.
Graduate photo, 1958
Nursultan Nazarbayev: Founder of the Independent State (The Chronicles of a Leader). – Almaty: Rarity, 2010 – 200 p. – P. 15.
In March 1956 the CPSU Central Committee and the Council of Ministers of the USSR decided to build Karaganda Metallurgical Plant. After reading information on the all-Union construction in the newspaper “Leninsky Smena” he arrived to Temirtau.
In November 1958 N.A. Nazarbayev arrived to Ukrainian city Dneprodzerzhinsk in a team of young specialists. After returning from school N. Nazarbayev continued to work at the commissioned Karaganda metallurgical plant.
Metallurgist N. Nazarbayev, 1960
Nursultan Nazarbayev: Founder of the Independent State (The Chronicles of a Leader). – Almaty: Rarity, 2010 – 200 p. – P. 18.
The young metallurgist was actively involved in public work. Soon he was elected a delegate to the X Congress of the Leninist Young Communist League of Kazakhstan, as well as the XIV Congress of the All-Union Leninist Communist Youth League, and was then elected as a candidate member of the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Communist Youth League.
In 1962 N.A. Nazarbayev married Sarah Alpysovna Kunakaeva. The same year he entered the Metallurgical faculty of Temirtau branch of Karaganda Polytechnic Institute. By the time of graduation this faculty was transformed into a higher technical educational institution at the Karaganda Metallurgical Plant – Plant Higher Technical Educational Institution.
In March 1969 he was elected as a deputy of the Temirtau city Council of Deputies of the 12th convocation. December 20, 1969 at the plenum of Temirtau city committee of the Komsomol he was elected the First Secretary of Temirtau city committee of the Komsomol. In 1973 N. Nazarbayev was elected the secretary of the party committee of the Karmetkombinat. This was undoubtedly a political take-off, since this position was included in the nomenclature of the CPSU Central Committee. As mentioned above, after work in the Karaganda regional committee of the party, in December 1979 N.A. Nazarbayev was elected secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan.
Wherever N.A. Nazarbayev had to work, he was distinguished by a deep knowledge of the case, erudition, excellent organization. After a short work in the Karaganda regional committee of the party, in December 1979 N. Nazarbayev was elected as the secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan.
Later N.A. Nazarbayev recalled: “Temirtau is a cradle for me. The history of Magnitka, the history of Temirtau, the fate of people is inseparable from my fate. If in my life there were no Magnitogorsk and Temirtau, I would have never become the president. ”
Archival documents found in the funds have preserved a lot of information about activities of the First President of Kazakhstan in the cities of Temirtau and Karaganda. They include speeches at plenums of the city party committee, certificates on the consideration of personal files, reports, information on the implementation of plans, control documents, etc. The originals of admission orders, transfers and appointments are stored here [15].
At the age of 43 years N.A. Nazarbayev was appointed the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR, thereby becoming the young Prime Minister of the Union Republic. This appointment occurred on March 22, 1984. The work in the party organizations, and importantly – the close acquaintance with the reality of the economy as prime minister, allowed N.A. Nazarbayev to deeply learn the laws of functioning of the economy of the USSR.
The economy of the Soviet country seemed superficially prosperous at a superficial glance. But in fact the economy, the social life of the Soviet state was experiencing a permanent crisis, and occurred in a grave condition. For years social problems have not been resolved; the deficit was both consumer goods and food. Failures in the economy were hidden from the population; statistics did not show the real situation [16, p. 64-82; 17, p. 10-13; 18, p. 11-12].
M.S. Gorbachev, who became the head of the state in March 1985 at the April plenary session of the CPSU Central Committee, spoke about the need for perestroika and acceleration. But in order to carry out deep and large-scale reforms, were needed employees that had a new way of thinking and a deep understanding of the intricacies of the economy and political structure.
Undoubtedly, one of those who supported the renewal course was the current Chairman of the Government of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev [2, p. 84]. N.A. Nazarbayev wrote in his book “Without Right and Left”: “Over the past three decades we simply did not have any planned economy or planned market.” This was the conclusion of a man who was one of the leaders of the largest republic, who knew the state of affairs well. Further he indicates the cumbersomeness and inefficiency of the political superstructure, indicating that “the first secretary of the Central Committee has completed all things” [19, p. 110-120].
It was a huge one-sided overgrown economy that grew in the USSR, completely subordinate to the ramified and numerous Soviet bureaucracy instead of market entrepreneurship. And even millions of victims in the Stalin period could not make the country rich and prosperous. Management of the agricultural sector based on administrative management was not able to feed the country and factories could not provide people with clothes. There was a constant shortage of clothing and food. In one word, the “Soviet” model failed to solve the fundamental problems of the economy.
The country loudly preached the program of building a “communist society”, which was later replaced by the concept of a “developed socialist society.” At the same time huge sacrifices made by Soviet people in the name of building a “bright future” were hidden from the public. Such topics as Stalinist repression, deportations and the destruction of innocent citizens were closed under the cover of secrecy. Even the theme of the terrible famine that occurred in Kazakhstan in the 30s of the XX century was under the strictest confidence. During the most emotional discussions which were held on the 16th Congress of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, where one of the delegate was N.A. Nazarbayev.
The half-heartedness of the reforms begun by M.S. Gorbachev manifested itself in an unexpected removal from the post of the I-st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan D.A. Kunaev and the appointment to this position G.V. Kolbin. Voluntarism, violation of the proclaimed ideas of democratization and publicity led to the most powerful protests of December 1986.
N. Nazarbayev was at the very epicenter of these events. He repeatedly returns to the problem of the causes of December (1986) events and their consequences in his speeches and memoirs. Moreover, in a resolution of the CPSU Central Committee on July 1st, 1987, the events of December 1986 were described as “a manifestation of Kazakh nationalism” [20].
June 22, 1989 – the organizational question was considered at the XV plenary session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Almaty. Kolbin G.V. was released from the duties of the first secretary and a member of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan in connection with the election on post of the Chairman of the Committee of National Control at the Congress of People’s Deputies of the USSR.
Member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee V. Chebrikov who spoke at the plenary session, proposed “to elect comrade Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishevich as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan.” After discussing the candidacy was held a private (secret) ballot. The Chairman of the Counting Commission U. Baigeldiev read out the protocol No. 2 of the meeting of the Counting Commission of the 15th plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. The resolution was adopted: “To elect comrade Nazarbayev N.A. the first (as in the text – by the author B.G. Ayagan) secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan” [21, L. 3-4; 22, L. 16].
First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev thanked the members of the Central Committee for “high confidence” and emphasized that “we will continue to work in a coordinated manner.” He further emphasized that “the Party began re-built, the party leads the new build” and thanked the “Central Committee of the CPSU, its Political Bureau for their trust.” In continuation of his speech N.A. Nazarbayev said: “We are confident that restructure will fill the sovereignty of the republic with legal and practical meaning, will help to boost the economy, create conditions for the revival of ancient history, culture of the Kazakh people, and ensure the full-fledged life of its language, of course, without prejudice to the rights of all other languages.
It seems that everyone understands that the economy and culture of Kazakhstan are an integral part of the wealth and values of our great country as a whole [23, L. 15-17].”
From the two possible political directions – democratic and conservative, a leader of democratical views came to power in Kazakhstan. Unlike many functionaries N.A. Nazarbayev possessed extensive knowledge not only on the history of mankind; he also deeply delved into the laws of market development, the functioning of political systems.
For decades the dictate of the center that existed in the USSR led to ugly imbalances in the development of the economy, which turned Kazakhstan into a purely raw material region with extremely underdeveloped processing industries. The “stagnant” period in Kazakhstan has quite certain economic parameters. So during the period from 1975 to 1985 there was a steady process of deterioration in the state of economic and social sphere. Agriculture was especially affected, undermined by the task of annually delivering one billion pounds of grain to the state. The deficiencies in capital construction increased. In constant shortage were many types of products – meat, milk; there was an acute shortage of housing.
Throughout the entire historical path, Soviet Kazakhstan remained a predominantly raw-material republic, dominated by the mining and agricultural industries with low labor efficiency, focused on backward technologies. This inequality was especially noticeable in comparison with the Baltic republics of the USSR and its European part. The produced national income in Kazakhstan, for example, in 1981-1985 was 1.3%, while in Belarus these figures were 5, 6%, in Latvia – 3, 7%, in Lithuania – 4,7%, etc. [24, p. 605].
The same ratio of indicators was characteristic of other indicators. As a result, the real per capital incomes lagged behind. At the same time were not taken into account such negative facts as the ecological disadvantage of Kazakhstan as a rule especially characteristic for the regions adjacent to the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site and the Aral Sea; hidden unemployment in the cities of Karaganda, Ust-Kamenogorsk and Zhezkazgan, the quality of housing is suffered, the health care system was lame. The state of society became unstable and crisis phenomena grew more and more [23, L.15-17].
Negative phenomena in public life took on such an obvious character that after many years of silence they began to be recognized even at the highest party forums, in particular, at the 27th CPSU Congress. But the leadership of CPSU with the advent of a new leader in power carried out only resuscitation measures to revive the “sick body” instead of a radical review and critical analysis of the whole concept of “building a communist society”, the search for alternative ways of developing the country. This pattern was noted by many researchers.
The foregoing does not deny that over the years of Soviet power in Kazakhstan have been major qualitative changes in the economy, in the areas of social security and education. By 1979 the population of the republic grew up to 17 million people, new cities and towns were erected, large industrial centers were created, and new highway, railway communications, etc. were laid.
In the late 80s – early 90s the political processes taking place in society have gained a staggering pace. The wave of restructing pushes to the leading edge Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has innate talent, the front line intelligence, intuition, strong character, great perseverance. Nursultan Nazarbayev, using the words of Charles de Gaulle, decisively becomes a “master of actions.” As revealed by analysis of the events of the 1990s, there were two directions that had become clearly visible during the collapse of the USSR. The leaders of some republics chose the “conservative” path, in which the dogmas of Soviet society dominated – the preservation of a one-party system, the lack of a full-fledged market, etc. N.A. Nazarbayev chose the path of reform with the development of a multi-party system, respect for individual rights, the development of the market. These measures allowed the republic to carry out large-scale and profound changes in the economy and solve such crucial tasks as saturation of the market with products and other consumer goods.
The monopoly power of the CPSU was broken, and real parliamentarism began to work in Kazakhstan. Independent media have gained freedom.
Profound changes have occurred in education and culture. People got the opportunity to study in alternative education centers: private schools, higher education institutions, private medicine began to function.
At the initiative of the President of Kazakhstan, the state program “Bolashak” was created in 1993, according to which thousands of young Kazakhstan citizens got the opportunity to study at elite universities in the world.
Illegally convicted and repressed politicians and cultural representatives were rehabilitated. The cities and streets were named after prominent figures.
The state programs for the socio-economic development of Kazakhstani society were adopted:
The Unified Business Support and Development Program “Business Roadmap 2020”;
Employment Roadmap 2020;
Regional Development Program until 2020;
The state program of infrastructural development “Nurly Zhol” for 2015 – 2019;
The state program of housing construction “Nurly Zher”;
The state program of industrial-innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2015 – 2019;
The state program “Information Kazakhstan – 2020”;
The state program in combating religious extremism and terrorism;
The state program for the development and functioning of languages in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
There was made a decision to transit to the Latin script in 2017.
Merits
The revival of ancient statehood on the territory of modern Kazakhstan which began at the end of the 20th century was the result of a combination of various socio-political, socio-economic, ideological factors of an objective and subjective nature.The newest history of Kazakhstan, dating back a quarter of a century, has convincingly proved to the people of Kazakhstan and to the entire world community, that thanks to the leadership qualities of the First President, among other factors, the Republic of Kazakhstan has become an established sovereign state, taking its rightful place in the world community.
The results of such a short-term historical breakthrough without bloody clashes within the country, without crushing economic crises, without deep political and social upheaval are clear evidence of the implementation of a sensible policy by the First President of Kazakhstan.
The recognition of leadership of N.A. Nazarbayev on the scale of Kazakhstan began in the Soviet period, when he was elected the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan in 1989 and held this position until 1991. According to unspoken laws of the party charter of that time, according to norms of the Constitution of the USSR and the Kazakh SSR, he became the de facto the head Union Republic. From February to April 1990 he was elected the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR. Combining this position with the post of the first secretary of the Central Committee of Communist Party of Kazakhstan and skillfully using this dual status, N.A. Nazarbayev posed the issues of expanding the independence of Kazakhstan in resolving economic issues on its territory to the Union Center. He justified the need for a radical renewal of the collapsing Soviet Union by concluding a new union treaty.
A new stage in the life of a political leader begins. In 1990 N.A. Nazarbayev was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Council as the President of the Kazakh SSR on the basis of the Law “On the establishment of the post of President of the Kazakh SSR and amendments and additions to the Constitution (Basic Law) of the Kazakh SSR” of April 24 [2, p. 111]. Although during this period he still remained the first leader of the Communist Party of the republic, inside the country and in the international arena N.A. Nazarbayev acted as the legitimately elected President of the Kazakh SSR. This circumstance significantly strengthened his leadership position, since he was given the opportunity to rule the country legally.
N.A. Nazarbayev taking oath as the President of the Kazakh SSR,
December 10, 1991
Nursultan Nazarbayev: Founder of the Independent State (The Chronicles of a Leader). – Almaty: Rarity, 2010 – 200 p. – P. 58
Nationwide election of N.A. Nazarbayev as the President in 1991 and the subsequent abdication of the powers of the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan clearly indicated N.A. Nazarbayev towards modern and effective forms of governance. Evidence of this are the results of the popular election of the President, when 98.7% of voters who participated in the elections voted for the N.A. Nazarbayev [2, p. 128].
N.A. Nazarbayev`s commitment to the values of democracy and good governance made it possible for Kazakhstani society to take a step from totalitarianism to democracy. The President of Kazakhstan said on this occasion: “In the early years, when we achieved independence, there was an acute question of creating the foundations of statehood and governing the country, which, in the wake of unconscious democracy, was seriously shaken, and we objectively moved towards centralization. Subsequently, the main task was to achieve stability, primarily economic, which also required increased centralization, primarily in the financial and personnel functions of the state [25, p.1].” On November 15, 1993 was introduced the national currency, tenge.
A significant contribution to such support for the population of N.A. Nazarbayev initiatives was introduced by the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan.
The idea of creating the Assembly was initially proclaimed by N.A. Nazarbayev in 1992 at the First Forum of the Peoples of Kazakhstan. On March 1, 1995, by Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Assembly was recognized as an advisory body under the Head of State [26, p.168]. It is a public institution, endowed with extensive rights, opportunities that have become a powerful tool for rallying ethnic groups living in the republic.
Since independence Kazakhstan has become a full and authoritative member of the world community: a member of the UN, OSCE and other international organizations. In a number of cases Kazakhstan has acted as a peacemaker between the conflicting parties. Great achievements were the delimitation and demarcation of the borders of Kazakhstan. The Republic is one of the rare countries in the world that in a short period solved all border problems. The armed forces of Kazakhstan were created; the border service and customs were organized.In January 1992, the development of a concept formilitary strategy began,and on February 11, 1992, a military doctrine was adopted. As a result of the measures taken, the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan were created that meet modern requirements.
N.A. Nazarbayev unconditionally supported the policy of exporting nuclear arsenals from Kazakhstan. Leaders of major powers praised Kazakhstan’s non-proliferation and nuclear safety measures [27, p.16-20]. The US President Barack Obama emphasized that President Nazarbayev is one of the model leaders in the world in matters of non-proliferation and nuclear safety [27, p. 16].
Citizens of Kazakhstan flew into space.
With President of the USA B. Obama
Nursultan Nazarbayev: Founder of the Independent State (The Chronicles of a Leader). – Almaty: Rarity, 2010 – 200 p. – P. 159
The 90s of the twentieth century were also notable for the fact that the world, especially developed countries, were moving to a completely new state. Revolutions in technological development have inexorably changed both economic relations and political institutions.
The whole basis of economic and political relations, as a rule, is laid down in the Basic Law of the country – the Constitution. The old text of the Constitution and all the changes introduced in the early years contained a number of signs and attributes of the Soviet system which made it unsuitable as a legislative basis. At the initiative of N.A. Nazarbayev began the work on the adoption of the new Basic Law of the country. A Constitutional Commission was formed, which included prominent jurists, state and public figures.
N.A. Nazarbayev as the Chairman of the Commission and as the Head of State signed the Decree “On holding a republican referendum on August 30, 1995.” The adoption of the new fundamental law was preceded by a large-scale discussion of its draft by citizens of Kazakhstan. In total, 33 thousand collective discussions took place, in which more than three million people took part. The result of the discussions was the introduction of more than 30 thousand proposals and comments. More than 1,100 amendments and additions were made to 55 articles. The turnout was impressive – 90.6% of voters. An absolute majority of 90% of voters adopted the Constitution. Since then, this day has become a public holiday – the Constitution Day of the Republic of Kazakhstan. New fundamental law opened up scope for further political and economic reforms in the country.
In 1994 the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev made a speech to the academic teaching staff of Lomonosov Moscow State University with the initiative to create the Eurasian Economic Union. The foreign policy of the country was focused on the development of cooperation and good neighborliness with the international community. “To Kazakhstan, located in the center of the life-giving arteries of Eurasia, fate itself intended to pursue a so-called multi-vector policy,” emphasizes the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, K.-Zh.K. Tokaev [28, p., 196].
Founded in 1999 at the initiative of the President Otan party was renamed into the People’s Democratic Party Nur Otan in 2006, and in 2013 it was renamed into the Nur Otan party. It has a parliamentary majority in the Parliament of Kazakhstan. In 1999, 39 members of Nur Otan became deputies of the Parliament, 12 of them were deputies of the Senate, 27 – of the Mazhilis.
The Otan party nominated N.A. Nazarbayev as a candidate for President of Kazakhstan and initiated the creation of the election block “People’s coalition of Kazakhstan in support of presidential candidate Nursultan Nazarbayev” in 2005.
Considering these and other circumstances, the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan on June 14, 2010 amended the Constitutional Law “On the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan” dated July 20, 2000, according to which President N.A. Nazarbayev is recognized as the Leader of the nation. Thus, the legitimate institutionalization of N.A. Nazarbayev as a nationwide Leader was raised to a new level. On August 30, 1995, a new Constitution which reflected the fundamental principles of a modern democratic, secular and social state was adopted.
In the late 80s – early 90s of the XX century on the historical arena appears a leader who mobilizes the population to solve problems born of the crisis of the socialist economy and political system.
N.A. Nazarbayev acts as a leader that is able to respond to new challenges and adapt the system to new conditions.
Under his leadership Kazakhstan managed to avoid the disintegration and destabilization of society, reduce the severity of contradictions in society, stabilize and integrate Kazakhstan into the world community of democratic states.
The policy of the First President – Elbasy allowed to hold the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana, where the most crucial issues of our time were resolved. Kazakhstan from the site from which rockets went to the sky, itself became a space power.
In this short period of 30 years huge, global changes have occurred. A market economy, new political system was built. Systematically and thoroughly, these events were covered in the monograph of Elbasy’s “Era of Independence”. According to N.A. Nazarbayev this was a search for a new model. “We were looking for our own way -“Kazakhstan’s way,” he emphasized.
The spiritual life has been renewed. Such state programs as “Medeni Mura” (Cultural Heritage) (2004-2011), “People in the Stream of History” (2014-2016), “Rukhani Zhangyru” (2017) and “Seven Faces of the Great Steppe” (2018) became global trends and its implementation in life completely changed the attitude of Kazakhstan people. The return and digitization of materials found in the world archives of the USA, China, Russia, Germany, Turkey, Iran and other states have expanded the horizons of national history. The community of social scientists is grateful to Elbasy for these projects.
The solemn celebration was held of the 550th anniversary of the formation of the Kazakh Khanate, as well as 100 textbooks of world social thought are translated into Kazakh. Over 80 books were published in 2018.
From 1989 to 2019 huge demographic changes have occurred. The population of the republic amounted to more than 18 million people. In modern times N.A. Nazarbayev became the founder of an independent, secular and democratic Kazakhstan.
Historians like comparisons. They calculated that from 1917 to 1947, i.e. other words for 30 years, under the pretext of modernization of the Soviet country, about 50 million human lives were killed, of which more than 28 million died during the Great Patriotic War. The country went through famine, the Gulag system, the persecution of dissent.
Over the same 30 years, Kazakhstan, without bloodshed and hunger, made a deep modernization and created a spectacular and capable state.
All these achievements became possible thanks to the balanced policy of the First President of Kazakhstan – Elbasy and his associates.
Memory
Independence is harder to maintain than to gain. Taking such a big responsibility, it is unrealistic to please everyone. The words of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the First President of Kazakhstan: “I have no other destiny than the fate of serving the people,” and the affairs consonant with his words are the highest proof of his unlimited service to all of Kazakhstan.
On March 19, 2019 the first President of Kazakhstan – Elbasy N.A. Nazarbayev voluntarily resigned, declaring in a special televised address: “Today’s appeal is special. I made a difficult decision for myself – to resign as the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan [29].” At the same time N.A. Nazarbayev remained the Chairman of the Security Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Life Member of the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Chairman of the Nur Otan Party, and the Chairman of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan.
References:
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3. Arhiv Prezidenta Respubliki Kazahstan. – F. 708. – Op. 139. – D. 2463.
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Author: Ayagan B.G., Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor