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Saturday 17 October 2015

Kazakhstan

KAZAKHSTAN HISTORY

Kazakh means “wanderer,” “free spirit” or “independent man.” (The official translation says "free independent nomad".) The word "Kazakh"and Stan is an ancient Persian word meaning “land” or “place of” Therefore, the name Kazakhstan translates as “Land of the independent wanderer.”

The Russians began advancing into the Kazakh steppe in the 18th century, and by the mid-19th century all of Kazakhstan was part of the Russian Empire.

Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, the territory of Kazakhstan was reorganized several times before becoming the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic in 1936, an integral part of the Soviet Union.

On December 16, 1991 Kazakhstan became the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The current flag of Kazakhstan was adopted on June 4, 1992. It replaced the flag of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, which was used during the period when Kazakhstan was a Soviet republic. consists of a light blue background with a golden sun in the center, which is a symbol of abundance, wealth, and life. Below the sun, there is an eagle flying against the wind, representing freedom, independence, and the future of Kazakhstan. 


Kazakhstan inherited from the Soviet Union the world's fourth largest stockpile of nuclear weapons. Within four years of independence, Kazakhstan possessed zero nuclear weapons.

Kazakhstan was the first former Soviet republic to repay all of its debt to the IMF. It paid it in 2000, seven years before it was due.

Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had been the first and only President of Kazakhstan since the country gained independence in 1991, resigned from his position on March 19, 2019, after a 29-year tenure. Nazarbayev had played a significant role in the development and modernization of Kazakhstan, overseeing its transition from a Soviet republic to an independent nation with a market-based economy. His resignation sparked a period of political uncertainty in the country, as a new president was elected in June 2019.

Nursultan Nazarbayev By Kremlin

FUN KAZAKHSTAN FACTS

Nursultan Nazarbayev has been the president of Kazakhstan since 1991. In April 2015, Nazarbayev was re-elected with almost 98% of the vote.

Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. Almaty was the capital before 1998.

The first ever apple trees in the world were cultivated around Almaty. (The name Almaty means “a place of apples.”) Many wild apple trees still grow in parts of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan produces 41 per cent of the uranium used for nuclear power around the world.


Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country by land area and the ninth largest country in the world; its territory of 1,052,100 square miles  (2,724,900 sq kms)  is larger than Western Europe.

Despite being landlocked, Kazakhstan still has a navy, which is based on the similarly landlocked Caspian Sea.

Kazakhstan is located in both Europe and Asia. The Ural River, which forms the traditional boundary between these continents, cuts through Kazakhstan in the west.

The longest continuous land border on this planet  is the 4,254 miles between Russia and Kazakhstan.


The first manned space flight took place in 1961 from the Baykonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, by Yuryi Gagarin, a Russian cosmonaut. (Russia leases the land for the Baykonur Cosmodrome from Kazakhstan.)

In the film Borat, British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen plays fictional Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev. After its tourism sector boomed, Kazakhstan's foreign minister thanked Sacha Baron Cohen for the release of Borat after the country saw a 10 fold increase in issued visas.

Almaty was the close runner up for hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics. It was beaten out by Beijing by only 4 votes (44 to 40).

Source Randomhistory.com/kazakhstan-facts.html

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