19 years ago Astana became capital city of Kazakhstan

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ASTANA. KAZINFORM 19 years ago Astana was declared the capital city of Kazakhstan.

On July 6, 1994, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan decided to move the capital from Almaty to Akmola.

On October 20, 1997, Head of  State Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a decree “On declaring Akmola the capital city of the Republic of Kazakhstan.”

On December 10, 1997, the capital was officially transferred to Akmola. In line with the Presidential Decree signed on May 6, 1998 Akmola was renamed into Astana. The new capital was unveiled internationally on June 10, 1998.

In 1999, Astana was awarded the title of the City of Peace by UNESCO. Since 2000, the capital city of Kazakhstan has been a member of the International Assembly of Capitals and Major Cities. 

The decision on shifting the capital city was taken for a variety of reasons.

In a documentary film released by the President’s TV and Radio Complex in 2011, the Head of State explains the reasons of moving the capital city from warm Almaty to cold provincial town of Akmola later renamed as Astana.

 “What was the idea of such a decision?  We established a new state with all the obstacles  and cataclysms of that time. We needed a new idea and a new promising goal to accomplish them and to demonstrate our potential to the world. The second reason is that any capital city must be located in the central part of the country. The third reason is that a new capital city must turn into the place which would provide a germ of economic growth, which would give a new impulse -  the place where Kazakhstan’s power would concentrate in. This city had to turn into the center of education, healthcare, culture and new technologies. A new generation of intelligentsia would grow here. It was important too, we needed to change the people’s psychology. The fourth, and, probably,  the main reason was to defend strategic interests of the country and to build the new capital at the crossroads of all transport corridors. Later I learnt that Astana is situated in a geographical centre of the Eurasian continent,” the President said.

The city has become one of the largest business centres in Kazakhstan. Entrepreneurship is rapidly developing in Astana. Today there are more than 128,000 small and medium enterprises in the city. The average monthly salary of the residents of Astana accounts for 154,000 tenge.

Astana is among the leading cities of the country in terms of the volume of construction. After the city became the capital of Kazakhstan, 10 million square metres of housing facilities have been built. Hundreds of companies from Kazakhstan and abroad took part in the construction of Astana.

The architectural concept of Astana was based on the idea of Nursultan Nazarbayev implying a special Eurasian style of Astana should harmoniously combine the cultural traditions of both the East and the West. A well-known Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa became the author of the general layout of the capital city.

Today Astana, located in the heart of Eurasia, is a venue for numerous international forums, congresses and large scale international events. The Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, the Astana Economic Forum and other forums are held regularly in the city. In December, 2010, the historical Summit of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe took place in the capital city of Kazakhstan, after which it hosted the anniversary summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. In early 2011, the city welcomed the participants and guests of the 7th Asian Winter Games. In 2017, Astana will host the international specialized exhibition EXPO-2017.

Within a few years, due to the political will of President Nursultan Nazarbayev Astana transformed into the Kazakhstani national idea and became a symbol of independence and global success of the young state.

In his keynote speech, dedicated to Astana’s 10th anniversary Nursultan Nazarbayev mentioned the significance of development of the new capital city:

«This is not simply the ancient earth of Saryarka, where the new capital was born. It is the cradle of the country’s future. The history of Astana and the future of the people of Kazakhstan are inseparable from each other. Astana embodies power, dynamical development and stability of our country. It has become a strong and prospering city that unites all residents of Kazakhstan and paves its path into the future. The capital city is the heart of our motherland, the symbol of people’s confidence in their own strength and great mission. Nowadays representatives of more than 100 nationalities live in Astana. Both Kazakhstan and its capital city are built on the basis of people’s friendship, mutual understanding and trust,” he concluded.

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