Kazakhstan celebrates Day of First President

The holiday, established in recognition of Nursultan Nazarbayev’s achievements, has been commemorated annually since 2012. The day marks the date in 1991 when he was elected by popular vote in the country’s first-ever presidential election.

Despite his resignation in 2019, Nazarbayev continues to play a significant role in the country’s political and economic life. He travels throughout the world representing the nation and maintains contact with foreign leaders.

Currently he holds the positions of the Chairman of the Security Council and Chairman of the ruling party “Nur Otan” (lit. Radiant Fatherland), Chairman of the assembly of People of Kazakhstan, as well as other honorary posts in the academia and social establishments.

Under the leadership of Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan has carried out successful political and socio-economic reforms.

Kazakhstan has become a modern, democratic, and developed state, one of the 50 most competitive countries in the world.

On the Day of Kazakhstan’s First President political analysts, historians and just people with long memories, who remember what Kazakhstan has been through in the last 50 years – they all ponder on the phenomenon of Nursultan Nazarbayev. How has this man been able to gain the respect of everyone, including bitter opponents, standing on opposing sides of the modern world’s many barricades?

You can find out the answers to these questions in Dmitry Babich's article, who is a Moscow-based journalist with 30 years of experience of covering global politics, a frequent guest on BBC, Al Jazeera and RT.