December 19. Kazinform's timeline of major events

ASTANA. KAZINFORM Kazinform's Timeline is the one-stop shop where you can learn about historical events for the 19th of December. See what notable events happened throughout Kazakhstan's history on December 19.

EVENTS

In 1931, the Karaganda Corrective Labor Camp (KarLag, one of the Gulag labor camps) was founded in the village of Dolinka, 45 km of Karaganda. Within the entire period, there were over 1 million prisoners. The camp existed until 1959 as it was closed down that year.

In 1991, the Cabinet of Ministers signed the Executive Order of "On the State Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan". According to Clause 1, "The State Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan shall be recognized as the successor of the Union- Republic body of the USSR KGB in the Republic". It was the first step in the establishment of the sovereign state's security agency.

The first Congress of Judges of Kazakhstan was held in 1996. The Congress attendees discussed urgent issues of organization and functioning of the judiciary. They founded the Union of Judges of Kazakhstan and adopted the Code of Judicial Ethics.

In 2008, a monument dedicated to the great Kadirgali Zhalairi was unveiled in Taldykorgan. The Kazakh scientist, diplomat, and politician created a valuable historical work Collection of Chronicles about the events in Kazakhstan and Central Asia in the 13th-15th centuries, which is an important source on the history of the country.

In 2009, at an informal meeting in Almaty, the Heads of the Customs Union Member States adopted the decision to approve the Action Plan for the Establishment of the Common Economic Space (CES) of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia. On 1st January 2012, the set of 17 CES-forming frame agreements entered into effect.

In 2011, fine art restorers and decorators of the Kasteyev State Museum of Arts, the Presidential Culture Center, and Kazrestavratsiya Restoration Workshop underwent training in Turkey for two weeks. It was organized by the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TÜRKSOY) together with the General Directorate of Monuments and Museums of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey, as well as the Union of Turkic World Municipalities.

The same day Head of State Nursultan Nazarbayev arrived in Moscow on a working visit. There, during a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, the heads of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan signed the Convention on the Eurasian Economic Community Privileges and Immunities (eliminating gaps in the legal regulation of immunities and privileges of staff members of the Permanent Establishments of the Member States, as well as the officials of the EEC) and a new procedure for the development and implementation of EEC interstate target programs so that to considerably simplify the process of target programs preparation. Besides, within the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Russia, and Belarus signed documents regarding the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

In 2012, Kazakhstan started co-chairing the Central Asian Initiative of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In addition to Kazakhstan, the member states of the regional initiative include Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

The same day the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United States of America marked the 20th Anniversary of the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program, better known as the Nunn-Lugar Act. The CTR Program was established in 1992 by the special legislation adopted upon the initiative of US Senators Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar. It aimed to reduce weapons of mass destruction in the countries of the former USSR and assist in the peaceful employment of former weapons scientists.

As part of the Community Technology Access (CTA) program, the Kazakhstan Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) jointly with the International Association for Social Projects (MASP) opened a computer center for all refugees and asylum seekers living in Kazakhstan in Almaty that day.

Also, that day, 19th December 2012, the first Kazakh school in the US was opened. It was created by the efforts of our compatriots living in Houston (Texas) with the active support of the Kazakh Embassy in the United States.

The Kazakh Embassy in the Arab Republic of Egypt organized a workshop dedicated to the 550th Anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate and the presentation of Nomads, a historical novel by Ilyas Yesenberlin translated into Arabic, at the National Translation Center in Cairo in 2015.

In 2016, Saryarka Short Film Festival was held for the first time in Astana. The program of the film festival included 23 films and 5 out-of-competition works. There, Darkhan Tulegenov won the Grand Prix for making the film Marshrut.