History UsefulNotes / Kazakhstan

[[AC: Film]]

Ultimately, Kazakhstan was the last Soviet Republic to secede from the Union on December 16, 1991. Until 2022, it was led by Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose internal [[SlidingScaleOfLibertarianismAndAuthoritarianism authoritarian policies]], tolerance of widespread [[CorruptPolitician corruption]] and rampant [[VoteEarlyVoteOften election fraud]] in every election ever held, made him resemble a less AxCrazy [[UsefulNotes/{{Turkmenistan}} Saparmurat Niyazov]]. Unlike the [[HiddenElfVillage isolationist]] Niyazov, Nazarbayev was at least smart enough to maintain good relations with the United States and Russia, and he did not indulge in any of Niyazov's attention-grabbing, crazy antics like building a golden statue of himself, renaming the months of the calendar, or banning opera and video games. Though he stepped down as President in 2019, he remained the chairman of the Security Council, [[TheManBehindTheMan seen to be the real power behind the country]], and the capital city, Astana, [[{{Egopolis}} was also renamed after him]]. However, the president Nazarbayev handpicked to succeed him, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has been steadily accumulating power and undermining his predecessor's authority. This culminated in 2022, when Tokayev sacked Nazarbayev from his position amidst very violent protests[[note]]The protestors burned down the former Presidential Palace in Almaty, now converted into the regional Governor's office, among other things[[/note]] over fuel price hikes, thus ending the longest ''de facto'' reign of any post-Soviet autocrat. Not that his position was secured; these very same protests basically forced his hand into a half-hearted democratization, starting with a hastily-organized referendum on constitutional reform.

** Prime Minister: Roman Sklyar (acting)

* '''Area:''' 2,724,900 km
(1,052,100 sq mi) (9th)

** Prime Minister: Alihan Smaiylov

After UsefulNotes/RedOctober, Alash-Orda, a secular [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies nationalist]] party, tried to organize a national government, but they were opposed both by local Bolshevik sympathizers and Russian monarchists, most of whom were Cossacks. Eventually Kazakhstan became part of [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Russia]], and later, in 1936, a Soviet republic. Major events in Kazakhstan during UsefulNotes/JosefStalin's rule included collectivization, which resulted in a massive [[TheFamine famine]] around the same time as Ukraine's UsefulNotes/TheHolodomor, construction of major [[TheGulag gulag camps]], as well as the evacuation of many people and factories from European Russia to Kazakhstan during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Some of these factories remained, contributing to the industrialization of this formerly agricultural country. Also, around the middle of The20thCentury huge deposits of fossil fuels, metals and other mineral resources were discovered in the country. From then on Kazakhs boast that their land contains all the elements of the periodic table (and no, [[Film/{{Borat}} not just potassium]]).

* ''[[VideoGame/GhostRecon Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike]]'' takes place in Kazakhstan where the Ghosts must stop terrorists from taking control of the country.
** ''Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars'' is also set there, as is the first mission of the Raven Strike DLC of ''Ghost Recon: Future Soldier'', "Secure Dawn".

After UsefulNotes/RedOctober, Alash-Orda, a secular [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies nationalist]] party, tried to organize a national government, but they were opposed both by local Bolshevik sympathizers and Russian monarchists, most of whom were Cossacks. Eventually Kazakhstan became part of [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Russia]], and later, in 1936, a Soviet republic. Major events in Kazakhstan during UsefulNotes/JosefStalin's rule included collectivization, which resulted in a massive [[TheFamine famine]] around the same time as Ukraine's UsefulNotes/{{Holodomor}}, construction of major [[TheGulag gulag camps]], as well as the evacuation of many people and factories from European Russia to Kazakhstan during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Some of these factories remained, contributing to the industrialization of this formerly agricultural country. Also, around the middle of The20thCentury huge deposits of fossil fuels, metals and other mineral resources were discovered in the country. From then on Kazakhs boast that their land contains all the elements of the periodic table (and no, [[Film/{{Borat}} not just potassium]]).

After UsefulNotes/RedOctober, Alash-Orda, a secular [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies nationalist]] party, tried to organize a national government, but they were opposed both by local Bolshevik sympathizers and Russian monarchists, most of whom were Cossacks. Eventually Kazakhstan became part of [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Russia]], and later, in 1936, a Soviet republic. Major events in Kazakhstan during UsefulNotes/JosefStalin's rule included collectivization, which resulted in a massive [[TheFamine famine]] around the same time as Ukraine's Holodomor, construction of major [[TheGulag gulag camps]], as well as the evacuation of many people and factories from European Russia to Kazakhstan during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Some of these factories remained, contributing to the industrialization of this formerly agricultural country. Also, around the middle of The20thCentury huge deposits of fossil fuels, metals and other mineral resources were discovered in the country. From then on Kazakhs boast that their land contains all the elements of the periodic table (and no, [[Film/{{Borat}} not just potassium]]).

After UsefulNotes/RedOctober, Alash-Orda, a secular [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies nationalist]] party, tried to organize a national government, but they were opposed both by local Bolshevik sympathizers and Russian monarchists, most of whom were Cossacks. Eventually Kazakhstan became part of [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Russia]], and later, in 1936, a Soviet republic. Major events in Kazakhstan during UsefulNotes/JosefStalin's rule included collectivization, which resulted in a massive [[TheFamine famine]] around the same time as Ukraine's Holodomor, construction of major [[TheGulag gulag camps]], as well as the evacuation of many people and factories from European Russia to Kazakhstan during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Some of these factories remained, contributing to the industrialization of this formerly agricultural country. Also, around the middle of the [[TheTwentiethCentury 20th century]] huge deposits of fossil fuels, metals and other mineral resources were discovered in the country. From then on Kazakhs boast that their land contains all the elements of the periodic table (and no, [[Film/{{Borat}} not just potassium]]).

* The Dead Coast DLC Kobin mission of ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Blacklist'' takes place in Kyzylorda, where Sam is tasked with taking down a Kazakh extremist cell who have gotten materials for a dirty bomb.

* Case 18 of ''VideoGame/CriminalCase'''s third season ''World Edition'' takes place in the Baikonur Cosmodrome and Nur-Sultan.

* '''Capital:''' Nur-Sultan

Ultimately, Kazakhstan was the last Soviet Republic to secede from the Union on December 16, 1991. Until 2022, it was led by Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose internal [[SlidingScaleOfLibertarianismAndAuthoritarianism authoritarian policies]], tolerance of widespread [[CorruptPolitician corruption]] and rampant [[VoteEarlyVoteOften election fraud]] in every election ever held, made him resemble a less AxCrazy [[UsefulNotes/{{Turkmenistan}} Saparmurat Niyazov]]. Unlike the [[HiddenElfVillage isolationist]] Niyazov, Nazarbayev was at least smart enough to maintain good relations with the United States and Russia, and he did not indulge in any of Niyazov's attention-grabbing, crazy antics like building a golden statue of himself, renaming the months of the calendar, or banning opera and video games. Though he stepped down as President in 2019, he remained the chairman of the Security Council, [[TheManBehindTheMan seen to be the real power behind the country]], and the capital city, Astana, [[{{Egopolis}} was also renamed after him]]. However, the president Nazarbayev handpicked to succeed him, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has been steadily accumulating power and undermining his predecessor's authority. This culminated in 2022, when Tokayev sacked Nazarbayev from his position amidst protests over fuel price hikes, thus ending the longest ''de facto'' reign of any post-Soviet autocrat.

* ''Film/{{Borat}}: Cultural learnings of America for make benefit great nation of Kazakhstan'', though this has very little to do with the real country. The numbers of Western tourists visiting Kazakhstan predictably skyrocketed; it must be said that the majority of these ''didn't'' believe the film to be an accurate portrayal but it inspired them to go and discover what Kazakhstan is really like. When England recently played the country in a football match, fans were told that wearing a mankini would get them arrested. (And we're all very grateful that we didn't have to break out the BrainBleach.)

The official languages of the country are Kazakh and Russian, the latter being used more during Soviet times due to the Virgin Lands campaign, though awareness of the former language is slowly being made in recent years. Kazakh is a member of the Kipchak subgroup of the Turkic languages and is closely related to the other "northerly" Turkic languages like Kyrgyz, Volga Tatar, and Bashkir. If there is one thing that ''Borat'' got right, it is the fact that Kazakh is currently written in the UsefulNotes/CyrillicAlphabet (but not of the [[FauxCyrillic faux]] type); it was additionally written in the Arabic script during pre-Russian times (and still is in China), and Latin during the Russian Civil War-era. Kazakhstan is officially planning to return the language to Latin letters in the 2020s. [[note]]Current Kazakh Cyrillc may suit the language well, but has too much keys for a computer keyboard, especially one of a notebook with no numpad, while the new script will presumably use basic Latin with some acute accent marks and two digraphs.[[/note]] By the way, if you are curious how real-life Kazakhs look like, [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Kazakh_woman_at_the_Caspian_Sea.JPG they]] [[https://ryanphotodotcom.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/kazakhs-2-587-copy1.jpg are]] [[https://kazakhnomad.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/pc040086.jpg mostly]] [[https://www.ntk.kz/Files/Images/Q-Pop/ziruza/unnamed%20%282%29.jpg Mongoloid]]/[[https://kazakhnomad.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/p3180099.jpg East Asian]]-looking, which might be a surprise to people unaware of the East Asian origins of the Turkic peoples.

* '''Country calling code:''' 7 (unified with Russia; zone codes 6xx and 7xx assigned to Kazakhstan)

** Chairman of the Mazhilis: Nurlan Nigmatulin

** Prime Minister: Alihan Smaiylov (acting)

Ultimately, Kazakhstan was the last Soviet Republic to secede from the Union on December 16, 1991. Until 2021, it was led by Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose internal [[SlidingScaleOfLibertarianismAndAuthoritarianism authoritarian policies]], tolerance of widespread [[CorruptPolitician corruption]] and rampant [[VoteEarlyVoteOften election fraud]] in every election ever held, made him resemble a less AxCrazy [[UsefulNotes/{{Turkmenistan}} Saparmurat Niyazov]]. Unlike the [[HiddenElfVillage isolationist]] Niyazov, Nazarbayev was at least smart enough to maintain good relations with the United States and Russia, and he did not indulge in any of Niyazov's attention-grabbing, crazy antics like building a golden statue of himself, renaming the months of the calendar, or banning opera and video games. Though he stepped down as President in 2019, he remained the chairman of the Security Council, [[TheManBehindTheMan seen to be the real power behind the country]], and the capital city, Astana, [[{{Egopolis}} was also renamed after him]]. However, the president Nazarbayev handpicked to succeed him, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has been steadily accumulating power and undermining his predecessor's authority. This culminated in 2022, when Tokayev sacked Nazarbayev from his position amidst protests over fuel price hikes, thus ending the longest ''de facto'' reign of any post-Soviet autocrat.

Ultimately, Kazakhstan was the last Soviet Republic to secede from the Union on December 16, 1991. Since then it has been led by Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose internal [[SlidingScaleOfLibertarianismAndAuthoritarianism authoritarian policies]], tolerance of widespread [[CorruptPolitician corruption]] and rampant [[VoteEarlyVoteOften election fraud]] in every election ever held, make him resemble a less AxCrazy [[UsefulNotes/{{Turkmenistan}} Saparmurat Niyazov]]. Unlike the [[HiddenElfVillage isolationist]] Niyazov, Nazarbayev was at least smart enough to maintain good relations with the United States and Russia, and he has not indulged in any of Niyazov's attention-grabbing, crazy antics like building a golden statue of himself, renaming the months of the calendar, or banning opera and video games. Even after he stepped down as President in 2019, he is expected to hold power behind-the-scenes as head of the ruling party and chair of the powerful Security Council (to the point even the capital, Astana, was renamed after him shortly afterwards). Despite the administrative inefficiency, corruption and usual social issues that accompanied the post-Soviet period ([[PovertyTropes poverty]] and the like), Kazakhstan's economy has grown more or less steadily since, largely due to its natural reserves and oil exports. The economy took a big hit from the 2008-2009 global economic unpleasantness. The government has also taken successful steps towards restoring its side of the Aral Sea, unlike Uzbekistan.

** Prime Minister: Askar Mamin
** Leader of the Security Council: Nursultan Nazarbayev

* The first stage of ''VideoGame/StriderArcade'' is set in a futuristic ([[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp but still communist]]) Kazakhstan, complete with Soviet robots doing ThatRussianSquatDance.

Kazakhstan ('''Kazakh:''' ''Қазақстан, Qazaqstan''; '''Russian:''' ''Казахстан, Kazakhstan''), officially known as the '''Republic of Kazakhstan''' ('''Kazakh:''' ''Қазақстан Республикасы, Qazaqstan Respýblıkasy''; '''Russian:''' ''Республика Казахстан, Respublika Kazakhstan''), is a huge Eastern European and Central Asian country -- bigger than all of Western Europe put together, and the ninth largest country in the world overall. It is pretty sparsely populated, though, with an average density of less than 15 people per square mile. This is because the country is mostly located in the Great Eurasian Steppe, a region excellent for pastoralism but poor for farming.

After the [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp breakup of the Soviet Union]], Kazakhstan found itself as one of the world's largest [[UsefulNotes/TheRestOfTheNuclearClub nuclear powers]] by way of its missile stockpile. They quickly boxed them up and sent them back to UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}. However, as part of the agreement by which Russia would still be allowed to use Baikonur (at a rent cost disputed to this day), the Kazakhs were given their Buran space shuttles -- which were promptly left to rust away. Despite the massive environmental impact of Baikonur, the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site and the Aral Sea, as well as the social impact of the population transfers, several major gulag camps, destruction of the traditional nomadic lifestyle, and the pervasive neglect of Kazakh-language education in Soviet times, most Kazakhs hold no grudges against the Russians and [[NostalgiaFilter have a neutral-to-positive view of their Soviet past]]. This is due in part to the pivotal Soviet role in the formation of a national entity which was based along the Kazakh ethnic group, along with the region's first literacy and industrialization programs (mirroring those that appeared elsewhere in Soviet Central Asia), alongside the promotion of the first ethnically-Kazakh politicians to the highest seats of government since the region's annexation by the Romanov Monarchy, like Saktagan Baishev (before the Soviet period, all leaders were ethnic Slavs appointed by the Imperial court).

Ultimately, Kazakhstan was the last Soviet Republic to secede from the Union on December 16, 1991. Since then it has been led by Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose internal [[SlidingScaleOfLibertarianismAndAuthoritarianism authoritarian policies]], tolerance of widespread [[CorruptPolitician corruption]] and rampant [[VoteEarlyVoteOften election fraud]] in every election ever held, make him resemble a less AxCrazy [[UsefulNotes/{{Turkmenistan}} Saparmurat Niyazov]]. Unlike the [[HiddenElfVillage isolationist]] Niyazov, Nazarbayev was at least smart enough to maintain good relations with the United States and Russia, and he has not indulged in any of Niyazov's attention-grabbing, crazy antics like building a golden statue of himself, renaming the months of the calendar, or banning opera and video games. Even after he stepped down as President in 2019, he is expected to hold power behind-the-scenes as head of the ruling party and chair of the powerful Security Council (to the point even the capital, Astana, was renamed after him shortly afterwards). Despite the administrative inefficiency, corruption and usual social issues that accompanied TheGreatPoliticsMessUp ([[PovertyTropes poverty]] and the like), Kazakhstan's economy has grown more or less steadily since, largely due to its natural reserves and oil exports. The economy took a big hit from the 2008-2009 global economic unpleasantness. The government has also taken successful steps towards restoring its side of the Aral Sea, unlike Uzbekistan.

Ultimately, Kazakhstan was the last Soviet Republic to secede from the Union on December 16, 1991. Since then it has been led by Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose internal [[SlidingScaleOfLibertarianismAndAuthoritarianism authoritarian policies]], tolerance of widespread [[CorruptPolitician corruption]] and rampant [[VoteEarlyVoteOften election fraud]] in every election ever held, make him resemble a less AxCrazy [[UsefulNotes/{{Turkmenistan}} Saparmurat Niyazov]]. Unlike the [[HiddenElfVillage isolationist]] Niyazov, Nazarbayev was at least smart enough to maintain good relations with the United States and Russia, and he has not indulged in any of Niyazov's attention-grabbing, crazy antics like building a golden statue of himself, renaming the months of the calendar, or banning opera and video games. Even after he stepped down as President in 2019, he is expected to hold power behind-the-scenes as head of the ruling party and chair of the powerful Security Council (to the point even the capital, Astana, became named after him shortly afterwards). Despite the administrative inefficiency, corruption and usual social issues that accompanied TheGreatPoliticsMessUp ([[PovertyTropes poverty]] and the like), Kazakhstan's economy has grown more or less steadily since, largely due to its natural reserves and oil exports. The economy took a big hit from the 2008-2009 global economic unpleasantness. The government has also taken successful steps towards restoring its side of the Aral Sea, unlike Uzbekistan.

Ultimately, Kazakhstan was the last Soviet Republic to secede from the Union on December 16, 1991. Since then it has been led by Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose internal [[SlidingScaleOfLibertarianismAndAuthoritarianism authoritarian policies]], tolerance of widespread [[CorruptPolitician corruption]] and rampant [[VoteEarlyVoteOften election fraud]] in every election ever held, make him resemble a less AxCrazy [[UsefulNotes/{{Turkmenistan}} Saparmurat Niyazov]]. Unlike the [[HiddenElfVillage isolationist]] Niyazov, Nazarbayev was at least smart enough to maintain good relations with the United States and Russia, and he has not indulged in any of Niyazov's attention-grabbing, crazy antics like building a golden statue of himself, renaming the months of the calendar, or banning opera and video games. Even after he stepped down as President in 2019, he is expected to hold power behind-the-scenes as head of the ruling party and chair of the powerful Security Council. Despite the administrative inefficiency, corruption and usual social issues that accompanied TheGreatPoliticsMessUp ([[PovertyTropes poverty]] and the like), Kazakhstan's economy has grown more or less steadily since, largely due to its natural reserves and oil exports. The economy took a big hit from the 2008-2009 global economic unpleasantness. The government has also taken successful steps towards restoring its side of the Aral Sea, unlike Uzbekistan.

* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' KZ

* ''Film/{{Borat}}: Cultural learnings of America for make benefit great nation of Kazakhstan'', though this has very little to do with the real country. The numbers of Western tourists visiting Kazakhstan predictably skyrocketed; it must be said that the majority of these ''didn't'' believe the film to be an accurate portrayal but it inspired them to go and discover what Kazakhstan is really like.
** When England recently played the country in a football match, fans were told that wearing a mankini would get them arrested. (And we're all very grateful that we hadn't to break out the BrainBleach.)

* The prologue of ''Film/AirForceOne'' takes place in Kazakhstan; the GreaterScopeVillain is a general who became the self-proclaimed dictator of the country.