KAZAKHSTAN. Republic of Kazakhstan
A state in the center of Eurasia. Area - 2,724.9 thousand km². Capital - Astana (528 thousand), founded in 1830, has city status since 1832; previous names - Akmolinsk (1832—1961), Tselinograd (1961-92), Akmolа (1992-97). Declared the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan in December 1997. The previous capital of the country was Almaty. The city of Astana (translated into Russian as "capital") is located in the geographical center of the republic. Almaty, being one of the largest cities in Kazakhstan, has retained its significance as the main financial, economic, social, and cultural center of the country.
Major cities: Karaganda, Shymkent, Pavlodar, Taraz, Ust-Kamenogorsk. In administrative-territorial terms, the republic is divided into 14 regions. Population - 15.1 million (2004). Ethnic composition: Kazakhs (50.6%), Russians (32.2%), Ukrainians (4.5%), Germans (1.9%), Uzbeks, Tatars, Uighurs, Belarusians, Azerbaijanis, Turks, Koreans, Chechens, and others. In total, over 100 nationalities live in the republic. The state language is Kazakh. In state organizations and local government bodies, Russian is officially used alongside Kazakh. Religion: the majority of believers profess Sunni Islam and Orthodoxy, with Protestant and Catholic denominations also present. The currency is the tenge (equal to 100 tiyn) (as of early 2005, 1 USD = 129.7 tenge).
Diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation were established on December 22, 1992.
National holiday - December 16 - Independence Day (1991).
According to the constitution of the republic, adopted in 1995, Kazakhstan is a democratic, secular, legal, and social state with a presidential form of government. The head of state is the president, who ensures the coordinated functioning of all branches of state power. In the general direct elections in December 1991, N. A. Nazarbayev was elected president of Kazakhstan for a term of 5 years. In a referendum on April 29, 1995, his term was extended until 2000; on January 10, 1999, in early presidential elections, Nazarbayev was re-elected as head of state for a 7-year term. On December 4, 2005, he was re-elected president of Kazakhstan for another 7 years.
The highest representative body exercising legislative functions is the bicameral parliament, consisting of the lower house - the Mazhilis (77 deputies) and the upper house - the Senate (39 deputies), which operate on a permanent basis.
The executive power is exercised by the government, headed by the prime minister (since June 2003 - D. K. Akhmetov).
There are officially 11 political parties in the republic. The largest of them are: the Republican Party "Otan," the Civil Party, the Agrarian Party, and the Republican Party "Asar." There are several Russian (Slavic) political and cultural associations: "Association of Russian, Slavic, and Cossack Associations of Kazakhstan," "Russian Community," "Lad," "Russian Center," "Union of Cossacks of the Steppe Region," and others.
Class society on the territory of present-day Kazakhstan emerged in the 2nd-1st centuries BC. In the late 15th century, the Kazakh Khanate was formed, which was divided into 3 zhuz. The process of its fragmentation soon began, reaching its peak in the early 18th century, when in 1731 the Younger zhuz, and in 1740 the Middle zhuz voluntarily joined Russia. During this period, the penetration of Yaik Cossacks into the territory of present-day Kazakhstan began, and the so-called linear Cossacks settled in the area from Omsk to Orenburg along the chain of bitter-salty lakes ("bitter line"). In 1819, the tsarist government abolished the khan's power in both zhuz and introduced a new system of administrative management. By the mid-19th century, the entire territory of the Senior zhuz was annexed to Russia. In 1867, the "Temporary Regulations on Administration in the Steppe Regions" were adopted. Simultaneously, in the 1880s-90s, the process of actively involving the region in the all-Russian economy began. The tsarist government took measures for large-scale resettlement of settled peasants from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and other regions to the Kazakh steppes.
On August 26, 1920, the Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed within the RSFSR, later renamed (on April 19, 1925) the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Since December 5, 1936, Kazakhstan has become a union republic. In the 1930s, active industrial construction was carried out here. In the late 1950s, the development of virgin and fallow lands began. Kazakhstan became one of the leading industrial and agricultural regions of the USSR.
On December 25, 1991, the sovereignty of the republic was proclaimed. On December 16, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR adopted the Law "On the State Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan."
Kazakhstan has established diplomatic relations with over 120 countries around the world. It is a member of the UN (since 1992) and its leading specialized agencies, as well as other international organizations. Kazakhstan is a participant in the CIS, a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Economic Community, the Central Asia Cooperation Organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and is involved in the formation of a Single Economic Space of the CIS. Kazakhstan is the initiator of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia.
On May 25, 1992, a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance was signed between the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan. On July 6, 1998, Russia and Kazakhstan signed a Declaration of Eternal Friendship and Alliance for the 21st Century, and on December 12, 1998 - a Treaty on Economic Cooperation for 1998-2007 and a Program for Economic Cooperation for 1998-2007. The leased Baikonur space complex operates in Kazakhstan (lease term - until 2050).
Kazakhstan is rich in natural resources. Of the 105 elements of the periodic table, 99 have been identified in the country's subsoil, reserves of 70 have been explored, and more than 60 elements are involved in production. The republic ranks among the leading countries in the world in reserves of zinc, tungsten, barite, silver, lead, chromites, copper, molybdenum, and gold.
In the western regions of the country, there are large oil and natural gas fields (explored extractable reserves of oil and condensate - 2.8 billion tons, gas - 1.9 trillion m³). Their active development is underway (oil production increased from 20 million tons in 1995 to nearly 40 million tons in 2000; by 2014, the production level is planned to reach 120-170 million tons).
The leading industries are mining (more than 60% of the total industrial output), non-ferrous and ferrous metallurgy, machine engineering, oil refining and petrochemistry, and the production of building materials.
Agriculture accounts for about 9% of GDP. The agricultural sector is most developed in the northern regions of the republic, where grain farming predominates (grain production - about 16 million tons) and livestock breeding. Kazakhstan is among the top ten grain exporters in the world (average annual export - about 3.8 million tons). In the southern part of the country, irrigated agriculture, viticulture, and karakul sheep breeding are relatively developed.
The length of railways is 14.5 thousand km, and roads - 83.3 thousand km. Maritime shipping is carried out on the Caspian Sea (main ports - Aktau and Bautino). Air transport is represented by the National Joint-Stock Company "Air Kazakhstan" and several other airlines.
In the 1990s, large-scale economic reforms were implemented in the country. Privatization was carried out. At the beginning of 2004, the share of private ownership was about 80%. The largest industrial enterprises were transferred to trust management by foreign companies. Since 1993, more than 30 billion USD of direct foreign investments have been attracted to the economy of Kazakhstan, mainly in the oil and gas sector, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy. As of mid-2004, about 6,000 enterprises with foreign capital were registered in the country, including more than 1,100 with Russian capital (the volume of Russian investments amounted to about 2 billion USD in 2003).
In recent years, Kazakhstan has demonstrated high rates of economic growth. From 1999 to 2004, the weighted average GDP growth was about 10% per year (the absolute GDP volume in 2003 was 28.9 billion USD). GDP per capita increased from 700 USD in 1993 to 2,500 USD. The inflation rate was 6.9% in 2004, and unemployment was 8.6%.
Privatization of agricultural land is underway. Currently, there are about 150 thousand agricultural enterprises, of which more than 140 thousand are farms (peasant farms).
Since 2003, Kazakhstan has been implementing the Strategy for Industrial-Innovative Development for 2003-2015, aimed at diversifying the economy and developing high-tech industries.
Kazakhstan maintains trade relations with more than 120 countries. The main types of exported products are ferrous and non-ferrous metals, ore raw materials, fuel, oil, and petroleum products. The structure of imports is dominated by machinery, equipment, vehicles, and consumer goods. The main export partners are Russia, Switzerland, China, France, and Iran; for imports - Russia, Germany, China, Ukraine, and the USA. The trade turnover between Russia and Kazakhstan amounted to 8.1 billion USD in 2004 (an increase of 41.2% compared to 2003), with Russian exports amounting to 4.6 billion USD and imports from Kazakhstan - about 3.5 billion USD.
Kazakhstan has more than 170 higher educational institutions. The largest among them are: Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Abai Almaty State University, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian University, Kazakh National Technical University.
More than 1,800 printed and electronic media outlets are registered. The largest newspapers are "Egemen Kazakhstan," "Kazakhstanskaya Pravda," "Panorama," "Delovaya Nedelya," and magazines - "Kontinent," "Mir Evrazii."
The state information agency is "Kazinform." The leading television and radio company is "Khabar." Popular television channels include "Khabar," "El Arna," "Tan," and "Channel 31." Television and radio broadcasting is conducted in Kazakh, Russian, German, Korean, Uighur, and several other languages.