Kazakhstanis are celebrating Astana Day. Exactly 28 years ago, the city was granted capital status. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
History of Astana
The issue of moving the capital from the south to the center began to be raised three years after independence. But at that time, neither deputies nor officials supported this initiative, reluctant to part with Almaty. They even considered it a "senseless act." Because the country's situation was difficult, salaries and pensions were not paid on time. Even if the Supreme Council deputies had supported the idea of moving the capital, they thought this decision would be implemented only after 40-50 years.
Thus, on July 6, the birthday of Nazarbayev, a resolution was adopted to move the capital from Almaty to Akmola as a "gift" to the birthday person. And three years later, they had to move to the new capital by train.
Renaming of Akmola
On October 20, 1997, ex-President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a decree on moving the capital. And on May 6 of the following year, Akmola was renamed Astana. On June 10, 1998, a ceremony for the international presentation of the new capital of Kazakhstan took place. Large-scale festive events were organized at the stadium named after Kazhymukan Munaitpasov. City Day was also set on that date. But in 2016, the holiday was moved to July 6 and included in the list of state holidays. Because it was on that day that the Supreme Council and government adopted the resolution to move the capital from Almaty to Akmola.
Astana – Nur-Sultan – Astana
Today, the capital of Kazakhstan holds a Guinness World Record for the number of name changes. Its name has been changed five times: Akmolinsk (until 1961); Tselinograd (until 1992); Akmola (until 1998); Astana (until 2019); Nur-Sultan (until 2022); Astana (since September 2022). Among them, the name Nur-Sultan lasted the shortest time. In 2022, a group of deputies from "New Kazakhstan" demanded the return of the city's former name. Because "it is not right to give a city the name of a person during his lifetime." Thus, after three years, the capital's name was restored.
Expanded to six districts
Today, the population of Astana is growing day by day. In 1998, the city had only two districts – Almaty and Saryarka, but now the city consists of six districts: Almaty, Saryarka, Baikonur, Yesil, Nura, and Saraishyk. Today, the population of Astana has exceeded 1.6 million people. And by 2035, according to forecasts, the number of city residents will reach 2.5 million. In this regard, in the next ten years, it is necessary to build 120 schools, 170 kindergartens, and more than 50 healthcare facilities. It is worth noting that Astana ranks second in population after Almaty. There are 2.2 million people there.
Celebrating Astana Day with LRT
This year, the long-awaited LRT construction was completed. On May 16, passenger transportation officially began. Since then, 3 million people have been transported by driverless vehicles. Currently, the name of the LRT has been officially changed to "Tarlan Astana." Also, work has begun on the implementation of the second phase towards Kosshy.
Three days off for Astana Day
This month, there are three days off in connection with Astana Day. Thanks to this, those working a five-day work week rest for three consecutive days – July 4, 5, and 6. For a six-day work week, there will be two consecutive days off. There are no other additional days off. It is worth noting that more than 200 events are planned in the city for Astana Day. The location and time can be viewed here.