Kazakhstan: President’s Birthday is Now a National Holiday

Today Kazakhstan’s President, Nursultan Nazarbaev, signed a law entitled, “On Introducing Additions to Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan «On Holidays in the Republic of Kazakhstan”», according to the President’s press service.

An amendment to the law was added to establish a new national holiday, “Capital’s Day”, to be celebrated on July 6. In the Senate, the upper chamber of the Parliament, the Commission on Socio-Cultural Development concluded that this holiday will “be of great historical and cultural importance for Kazakhstani citizens”.

“The implemented holiday is aimed to symbolize the achievements of our people in the modern history of Kazakhstan, which includes gaining national independence and transferring the new capital to the geographic center of the state.”

Not by accident, July 6 coincides with President Nursultan Nazarbaev’s birthday. Earlier, Capital’s Day was celebrated on June 10 in Astana, but as a municipal holiday. Afterwards, the holiday was moved to July 6, which happened to be the President’s birthday. It was President Nazarbaev who initiated moving the capital from Almaty (aka Alma-Ata) to Astana, noted Lenta.ru.

Kazakh parliamentarians chose the President’s birthday as Captial’s Day only after Nazarbaev rejected their earlier plan to rename Astana to Nursultan.

Nursultan Nazabraev has been ruling Kazakhstan since 1989. In 2007, the Parliament of Kazakhstan passed amendments to the Constitution to allow Nazarbaev the right to be elected President an unlimited number of times.

Source: Ferghana.ru

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