Kazakhstan may rename its capital again

Lawmakers argue that the city should be given back its old name, Astana

Kazakhstan lawmakers have proposed to once again rename the nation’s capital, arguing that its people have refused to accept the new name of ‘Nur-Sultan’ which was given to the city in 2019.

During a parliamentary address on Friday, co-chairman of the deputy group “Zhana Kazakhstan” Edil Zhanbyrshin stated that it would be “historically fair” to restore the former name of the capital, Astana, which had initially been proposed by the country’s first president Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The city was renamed Nur-Sultan three years ago at the request of current Kazakhstan president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who offered the name change to honor Nazarbayev, who served the country for 30 years, from its independence in 1991 until his formal resignation in 2019.

“We consider it wrong when a city is named after a person during his life. The people have also not accepted the new name of the capital,” Zhanbyrshin told the Kazakhstan parliament. The politician argued that the decision to restore Astana as the name of the capital would “reflect the contribution of the First President to the formation and development of the main city of the country, and will also meet the needs and expectations of citizens.”

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Kazakhstan’s capital has seen multiple name changes in the past century. It was known as Akmolinsk in imperial Russia, was renamed to Tselinograd during Soviet times, then to Akmola when Kazakhstan got its independence in the 1990s, and was finally named Astana in 1997.

Zhanbyrshin’s statement came as President Tokayev called for early elections in the country and has introduced a number of new initiatives and constitutional reforms, including a review of presidential terms. The new proposal would limit the presidency to a single seven-year term, with re-election being disallowed.

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