NUR-SULTAN: Authorities in Kazakhstan on Tuesday supported a proposal to restore the capital’s previous name Astana, in a new sign of a break with the legacy of the country s ex-president.
The skyscraper-filled capital of the Central Asian country was renamed Nur-sultan in March 2019, in honour of outgoing president Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Authoritarian leader Nazarbayev ruled the ex-Soviet republic from 1991, building a personality cult around himself, before a surprise resignation in 2019 when loyalist Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took over.
Tokayev gradually distanced himself from his mentor by launching reforms and sidelining the former president s influential clan.
Presidential spokesman Ruslan Zheldibay said Tuesday that an amendment to reinstate the capital s previous name was included in a draft law by lawmakers “with the president s approval”.
“At the same time, the president sees Nursultan Nazarbayev s decisive role in strengthening the modern statehood of Kazakhstan and the establishment of the capital as a historical fact,” Zheldibay wrote on Facebook.
“Therefore, other landmarks named after the first president will keep their names,” he said. –Agencies
