Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a decree to introduce the amendments to the country’s Constitution regarding the renaming of the Kazakh capital to Nur-Sultan, the presidential press service said.
“The head of state has signed a decree of the Republic of Kazakhstan ‘On the introduction of amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan,'” according to a statement dubbed “On the renaming of the city of Astana, the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to the city of Nur-Sultan, the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan” posted on the presidential website on March 23.
On March 19, Kazakh leader Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a decree resigning as president of Kazakhstan as of March 20. In accordance with the Constitution, Kazakh Senate Speaker Kassym-Jomart Tokayev assumed the authority of president of Kazakhstan on March 20. Tokayev has assumed the office of Kazakh president until the next election, which is due in April 2020.
On March 20, the new Kazakh President Tokayev came up with an initiative to rename Astana to Nur-Sultan in honor of the country’s First President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The same day, both chambers of the Kazakh parliament passed a bill in two readings amending the Constitution to change the name of Astana to Nur-Sultan.
Meanwhile, on March 21-22, spontaneous rallies opposing the change of the capital’s name took place in Astana and Almaty. According to witnesses, about 60 people were detained in Astana and some 20 in Almaty. The police departments of the cities have not commented on reports of detentions.
The city, which was founded in 1830 as a Cossack settlement, was initially called Almolinsk. In 1961, it was renamed Tselinograd. In 1992-1998, the city was called Akmola. In December 1997, the capital was transferred from Almaty to Akmola on Nursultan Nazarbayev’s initiative and the city was renamed Astana (which translates from Kazakh as “the capital”) in May 1998.
Politicians and public activists have repeatedly suggested renaming the capital after Nazarbayev. The last time Kazakh deputies suggested renaming the city Nursultan or Nazarbayev was in November 2016, but the president spoke against it.
