Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has agreed to rename the capital city Nur-Sultan back to Astana just three years after the change, according to The Guardian.
On September 13, Mr. Ruslan Zheliban, the spokesperson for Tokayev, announced that the decision was made based on an initiative from a group of the country’s parliament members.
Previously, after taking office as President of Kazakhstan in 2019, one of Tokayev’s first decisions was to rename the capital from Astana to Nur-Sultan in honor of his predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had led Kazakhstan for nearly 30 years.
Nazarbayev was the one who “moved the capital” from Almaty to Astana in 1997. This decision was controversial as Astana is relatively isolated in the northern steppe of the country, where winter temperatures can drop below -51 degrees Celsius.
Astana has been the capital of Kazakhstan since 1997. (Photo: AP).
After stepping down from the presidency in 2019, Nazarbayev maintained considerable influence in Kazakhstan as the chairman of the Security Council and the ruling party. However, following violent protests earlier this year, he was forced to resign from both positions.
In June, the people of Kazakhstan also voted in favor of constitutional changes that abolished Nazarbayev’s title of lifetime leader.
Nonetheless, on September 13, Mr. Zheliban also confirmed that other structures named after the former president would remain unchanged to honor the politician. The main airport serving the city of Astana was renamed Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport in 2017, while a university in the city has also been named after Nazarbayev since 2010.
