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Kazakhstan, republic in Central Asia, bounded on the north by Russia; on the east by China; on the south by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan; and on the west by the Caspian Sea and Russia. Almost all of Kazakhstan is located in the west central portion of the Asian continent; however, a small part of the republic lies west of the Ural River on the European continent. Astana (formerly Aqmola), located in northern Kazakhstan, replaced Almaty as the republic's capital in 1997.
In Kazakh, the official state language, Kazakhstan is called Qazaqstan Respublikasy. Kazakhs are the largest ethnic group in the republic, but they do not constitute a majority of the population. Kazakhstan was part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922 until December 1991, when it became independent. The republic has maintained a presidential system of government since independence. In 1995 Kazakhstan adopted a new constitution that granted extensive powers to the president.
LAND AND RESOURCES Kazakhstan covers an area of 2,717,300 sq km (1,049,155 sq mi), making it by far the largest country in Central Asia. It was the second largest republic of the former Soviet Union, after Russia. Although high mountain ranges fringe the republic's eastern and southeastern borders, the terrain of Kazakhstan consists mostly of deserts, steppes (vast, semiarid grassy plains), and hilly upland areas. Deserts and semideserts (such as stone, salt, and sand wastelands) cover more than two-thirds of Kazakhstan's surface area. The most expansive deserts in the republic are the sandy, barren Qyzylqum, which also occupies part of Uzbekistan, and the clay-crusted Betpak-Dala; both are located in the southern portion of the republic. Kazakhstan contains extreme variations in elevation. The Tien Shan mountains contain the country's highest point, Hantengri (6398 m/20,991 ft), which lies in the extreme southeast where the borders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and China meet. The Altay Mountains along the country's eastern border also contain high peaks. Kazakhstan's lowest elevation is found in the extreme southwest, just east of the Caspian Sea, where the Karagiye Depression lies 132 m (433 ft) below sea level. The area north of the Caspian, in northwestern Kazakhstan, is occupied by the Caspian Depression, which also extends into Russia.

In 1997 Kazakhstan had an estimated population of 16,881,793, giving it an average population density of 6 persons per sq km (16 per sq mi). Some 60 percent of the population lives in urban areas, making Kazakhstan the most urbanized of the Central Asian republics. The republic's larger cities include Almaty, the former capital; Qaraghandy (also spelled Karaganda); Shymkent (Chimkent); Semey; and Pavlodar. Astana, which became the capital in late 1997, is a relatively small city located in the north.
Languages The official language of Kazakhstan is Kazakh, which belongs to the Kipchak (or Western Turkic) branch of the Turkic languages. The Kazakh language developed originally in the Arabic script, but in 1928 the Soviet government mandated a switch to the Latin (or Roman) alphabet. Then in 1940 the Soviet authorities imposed a modified Cyrillic alphabet (the script of the Russian language). The Kazakh government is considering reverting back to the Latin script. Russian is the most widely spoken language in Kazakhstan and the primary language of interethnic communication. Most Russians do not know the Kazakh language, while many Kazakhs have a working knowledge of Russian. During the Soviet period, Russian was the primary language of instruction in most schools, and knowledge of Russian was necessary to acquire skilled jobs. Beginning in the late 1980s it became more important for residents to learn and speak Kazakh. In 1989 the Supreme Soviet (legislature) of Kazakhstan adopted legislation making Kazakh the official language of the republic, and the constitution of 1993 ratified this designation. Government officials may use Russian for administrative purposes.
Education Education is compulsory in Kazakhstan until age 18. Primary education begins at age 7, and secondary education begins at age 11 and lasts for a seven-year period. Primary and secondary schools provide education free of charge. Kazakhstan's literacy rate is nearly 100 percent for ages 15 and older. Illiteracy was high before the Soviet period but was nearly eliminated under the Soviet system of free and universal education. State funding for schools has been reduced since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Institutes of higher education in Kazakhstan include the Kazakh Al-Farabi State National University, located in Almaty, and the Qaraghandy State University, located in Qaraghandy. The republic also has numerous institutes that offer specialized courses of study in fields such as economics, civil engineering, and medicine.
Currency In 1993 Kazakhstan issued its own currency, the tenge (67.30 tenge equal U.S.$1; 1996). The tenge is allowed to be freely exchanged with the currencies of other countries. The previous official currency, the Kazakh ruble, was a parallel currency to the Russian ruble and was printed in Russia.
Recent Developments After Kazakhstan became independent, former Communist officials continued to dominate the government and the legislature, which was renamed the Supreme Kenges. In 1993 Kazakhstan ratified its first post-Soviet constitution, and in March 1994 the republic held its first free multiparty legislative elections since independence. President Nazarbayev's supporters emerged as the strongest force in the new 177-member legislature. The People's Unity Party (PUP), a centrist party led by Nazarbayev, won 33 seats, and individual candidates nominated by Nazarbayev won 42 seats. Independent candidates, who were overwhelmingly supporters of Nazarbayev, won 59 seats. International observers monitoring the election reported a number of irregularities, as a number of candidates were allegedly prevented from registering. Tensions between Nazarbayev and the legislature flared in early 1995. The legislature refused to adopt a new draft budget prepared by the executive branch of government, although Nazarbayev expressed his support for the budget proposals. In February the Constitutional Court proclaimed the previous legislative elections illegitimate, and in March Nazarbayev used this ruling to dissolve the legislature. More than 100 legislators refused to disband and asked for an international inquiry. Nazarbayev effectively began ruling the country by decree until new elections could be held. In a referendum held in April, voters approved the extension of Nazarbayev's term, which was set to expire in 1996, to the year 2000. Meanwhile, Nazarbayev ordered the drafting of a new constitution. In August the government held a referendum in which voters approved the new constitution, which reconfigured the legislature into two chambers with fewer members. Elections to the new legislature were held in December, with runoff elections in early 1996. Nazarbayev's supporters again won the dominant share of seats. Kazakhstan's new constitution also granted extensive powers to the president, including the right to rule by decree and to dissolve the legislature. As president, Nazarbayev has generally allowed free speech and assembly for all groups in Kazakhstan, with the exception of radical Russian and Kazakh nationalists. These exceptions include Russian Cossacks who have called for Russia's annexation of northern Kazakhstan and Kazakh extremists who have called for the expulsion of all non-Muslims from Kazakhstan. Nazarbayev has tolerated criticism of his programs in the popular press but has outlawed activities that might foment ethnic tensions, such as demonstrations organized by nationalist groups. Sporadic unrest among some Russian communities in Kazakhstan has occurred, mainly in response to the arrests of Russian nationalists accused of fueling interethnic hostilities. The country has also witnessed a number of strikes in the late 1980s, organized by miners, factory workers, teachers, and pensioners. The purpose of the strikes has been to demand payment of salaries by the government, which has been chronically late in paying wages to public-sector workers. In November 1997 the government of Kazakhstan officially moved from Almaty to new headquarters in Aqmola (now Astana), a small city in northern Kazakhstan. The transfer of the capital from Almaty to Astana had been approved by the legislature in July 1994. Almaty's vulnerability to earthquakes and Astana's better transportation links were cited as reasons, although international observers speculated that the move also was designed to allow for more government influence in the Russian-dominated north. President Nazarbayev has established a close economic, military, and political relationship between Kazakhstan and Russia, despite opposition by Kazakh nationalists. In April 1995 Kazakhstan, which had held a portion of the nuclear arsenal of the former USSR, completed the transfer of its nuclear weapons to Russia. In March 1996 Nazarbayev and Russian officials agreed to cooperate in the fields of energy and railroad transportation. That same month the Duma (lower chamber of the Russian parliament) ratified a 20-year Russian lease of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in south central Kazakhstan. A new space station, built in Russia with funding from the United States, is set to launch from the cosmodrome in 1998. Foreign analysts agree that the development of Kazakhstan's large oil reserves is crucial to the country's economic recovery. An important issue is how to export oil from the landlocked nation. In 1996 Nazarbayev and Russian president Boris Yeltsin reached a preliminary agreement on redistributing the shares of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which plans to build a $2-billion pipeline to export oil and gas from Kazakhstan through Russia to the Black Sea shipping lanes. Russia was given a 24-percent share; Kazakhstan, 19 percent; Oman, 7 percent; the other 50 percent was divided among eight oil companies. The pipeline is crucial to future development of the oil reserves in the giant Tengiz field in western Kazakhstan.


"Kazakhstan," Microsoft� Encarta� Encyclopedia 99. � 1993-1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.