Kazakhstan Wikipedia

8/9/2019 Kazakhstan Wikipedia

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Kazakhstan

Qazaqstan Respblkasy

Respublika KazakhstanRepublic of Kazakhstan

Motto : none

Anthem : My Kazakhstan

CapitalAstana5110 N 7130 E

Largest city Almaty

Official language(s) Kazakh , Russian

Government PresidentPrime Minister

Republic Nursultan NazarbayevDaniyal Akhmetov

IndependenceDeclared

From the Soviet UnionDecember 16 , 1991

Area- Total

- Water (%)

2,717,300 km (9th)1,049,155 mi1.7%

Population- 2005 est.- Density

15,185,844 ( 61st )5.6/km ( 182nd )14.5/mi

GDP (PPP)- Total- Per capita

2005 estimate$132.7 billion ( 56th)$8,700 ( 92nd )

HDI (2003 ) 0.761 ( 80th) medium

Currency Tenge (KZT )
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Time zone- Summer ( DST)

(UTC +5 to +6)(UTC +6 to +7)

Internet TLD .kz

Calling code +7

The Republic of Kazakhstan or Kazakhstan (Kazakh : , Qazaqstan , IPA /q zq st n/ ; Russian : , Kazakhstn , IPA /k zx st n/), also spelledKazakstan , is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of northern and centralEurasia . A portion of its territory west of the Ural River is located in eastern-mostEurope . It has borders with Russia , the People's Republic of China , and the Central Asian countries Kyrgyzstan , Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan , and has a coastline on the Caspian Sea . Kazakhstan was a republic of the former Soviet Union and is now a member of theCommonwealth of Independent States . Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country in theworld by area, but its semi- deserts (steppe ) make it only the 57th country in population,with approximately 6 persons per sq km (15/mi). Population in 2005 was estimated at15,100,500 [1], down from 16,464,464 in 1989 [2].

Contents

1 History 2 Politics

o 2.1 Kazakh Intelligence Services 3 Provinces 4 Geography 5 Economy

o 5.1 Agricultureo 5.2 Natural resources

6 Foreign relations 7 Demographics

o 7.1 Kazakhs and Kazakhstanis (terminology) 8 Education 9 Culture

o 9.1 Public holidays 10 Miscellaneous topics

History

Main article: History of Kazakhstan

Humans have inhabited what is now known as Kazakhstan since the earliest Stone Age ,generally pursuing the nomadic movement pastoralism for which the region's climate and
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org/wiki/History_of_Kazakhstanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Agehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastoralism


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terrain are best suited. In fact, historians believe vast steppes of modern day Kazakhstanwas the place where the man first domesticated the horse. From the 4th century throughthe beginning of the 7th century , the territory of Kazakhstan was a part of and ruled bythe Persian Empire , and after the invasion of Persia by Arabs, ruled by a few nomadickingdoms [3]. Following the Mongolian invasion in the early 13th century, administrative

districts were established under the Mongol Empire , which eventually became theterritories of the Kazakh Khanate (Ak Horde). The major medieval cities of Aulie-Ata and Turkestan were founded along the northern route of the Great Silk Road during this

period.

Traditional nomadic life on the vast steppe and semi-desert lands was characterized by aconstant search for new pasture to support the livestock-based economy. The Kazakhsemerged from a mixture of tribes living in the region in about the 15th century and by themiddle of the 16th century had developed a common language, culture, and economy. Inthe early 1600s, the Kazakh Khanate separated into the Great, Middle and Little (or Small) Hordes (Dzhuz)confederations based on extended family networks. Political

disunion, competition among the hordes, and a lack of an internal market weakened theKazakh Khanate. The beginning of the 18th century marked the zenith of the KazakhKhanate. The area was a bone of contention between the Kazak emirs and the Persian Kings for many centuries.

In the 19th century , the Russian Empire began to expand, and spread into Central Asia .The " Great Game " period is generally regarded as running from approximately 1813 tothe Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 asecond less intensive phase followed. The tsars effectively ruled over most of the territory

belonging to what is now the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The Russian Empire introduced a system of administration and built military garrisonsand barracks in its effort to establish a presence in Central Asia in the so-called " Great Game " between it and Great Britain . Russia enforced the Russian language in all schoolsand governmental organizations. Russian efforts to impose its system aroused theresentment of the Kazakh people , and by the 1860s, most Kazakhs resisted Russia'sannexation largely because of the disruption it wrought upon the traditional nomadiclifestyle and livestock-based economy. The Kazakh national movement, which began inthe late 1800s, sought to preserve the Kazakh language and identity. From the 1890sonwards ever-larger numbers of Slavic settlers began colonising the territory of present-day Kazakhstan, in particular the province of Semirechie . The number of settlers rose stillfurther once the Trans-Aral Railway from Orenburg to Tashkent was completed in 1906,and the movement was overseen and encouraged by a specially created MigrationDepartment ( ) in St. Petersburg. The competition for landand water which ensued between the Kazakhs and the incomers caused great resentmentagainst colonial rule during the final years of tsarist Russia, with the most seriousuprising, the Central Asian Revolt, occurring in 1916.

Although there was a brief period of autonomy during the tumultuous period followingthe collapse of the Russian Empire, the Kazakhs eventually succumbed to Soviet rule. In
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1920, the area of present-day Kazakhstan became an autonomous republic within Russiaand, in 1936, a Soviet republic .

Soviet repression of the traditional elites, along with forced collectivization in late 1920s-1930s, brought about mass hunger and led to unrest. Soviet rule, however, took hold, and

a communist apparatus steadily worked to fully integrate Kazakhstan into the Sovietsystem. Kazakhstan experienced population inflows of thousands exiled from other partsof the Soviet Union during the 1930s and later became home for hundreds of thousandsevacuated from the Second World War battlefields. The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) contributed five national divisions to the Soviet Union's World War II effort.

The period of the Second World War marked an increase in industrialization andincreased mineral extraction in support of the war effort. At the time of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin' s death, however, Kazakhstan still had an overwhelmingly agricultural-

based economy. In 1953 , Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev initiated the ambitious " Virgin

Lands " program to turn the traditional pasturelands of Kazakhstan into a major grain- producing region for the Soviet Union. The Virgin Lands policy, along with later modernizations under Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev , sped up the development of theagricultural sector, which to this day remains the source of livelihood for a large

percentage of Kazakhstan's population.

Growing tensions within Soviet society led to a demand for political and economicreforms, which came to a head in the 1980s. In December 1986, mass demonstrations byyoung ethnic Kazakhs took place in Almaty to protest the methods of the communist system . Soviet troops suppressed the unrest, and dozens of demonstrators were jailed or killed. In the waning days of Soviet rule, discontent continued to grow and find

expression under Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev 's policy of glasnost . Caught up in thegroundswell of Soviet republics seeking greater autonomy , Kazakhstan declared itssovereignty as a republic within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in October 1990 .Following the August 1991 abortive coup attempt in Moscow and the subsequentdissolution of the Soviet Union , Kazakhstan declared independence on December 16 ,1991 .

The years following independence have been marked by significant reforms to the Sovietcommand-economy and political monopoly on power. Under Nursultan Nazarbayev, whoinitially came to power in 1989 as the head of the Kazakh Communist Party and waseventually elected President in 1991, Kazakhstan has made significant progress towarddeveloping a market economy and a fledgling democracy. The country has enjoyedsignificant economic growth since 2000, partly due to its large oil, gas, and mineralreserves.

More recently, Almaty , Kazakhstan's largest city and former capital, has emerged as acandidate to host the 2014 Winter Olympics . If Almaty wins, this will be the firstOlympics to be held in Kazakhstan.
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Politics

Main article: Politics of Kazakhstan

Nursultan Nazarbayev

Kazakhstan is a constitutional republic with a strong presidency. The president is thehead of state . The president also is the commander in chief of the armed forces and mayveto legislation that has been passed by the Parliament. President Nursultan Nazarbayev ,who has been in office since Kazakhstan became independent, won a new 7-year term inthe 1999 election that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said fellshort of international standards. The prime minister, who serves at the pleasure of the

president, chairs the Cabinet of Ministers and serves as Kazakhstan's head of government.There are three deputy prime ministers and 16 ministers in the Cabinet. Daniyal K. Akhmetov became the Prime Minister in June 2003 .

Kazakhstan has a bicameral Parliament, comprised of the lower house (the Majilis ) andupper house (the Senate ). Single mandate districts popularly elect 67 seats in the Majilis;there also are 10 members elected by party-list vote rather than by single mandatedistricts. The Senate has 39 members. Two senators are selected by each of the electedassemblies ( Maslikhats ) of Kazakhstan's 16 principal administrative divisions (14regions, or oblasts, plus the cities of Astana and Almaty). The president appoints theremaining seven senators. Majilis deputies and the government both have the right of legislative initiative, though the government proposes most legislation considered by theParliament.

Elections to the Majilis in September 2004 yielded a lower house dominated by the pro-government Otan party , headed by President Nazarbayev. Two other parties consideredsympathetic to the president, including the agrarian-industrial bloc AIST and the Asar

party , founded by President Nazarbayevs daughter, won most of the remaining seats.
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Opposition parties, which were officially registered and competed in the elections, won asingle seat during elections that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europesaid fell short of international standards.

In 1999, Kazakhstan applied for observer status at the Council of Europe Parliamentary

Assembly . The official response of the Assembly was that Kazakhstan could apply for full membership, because it is partially located in Europe, but that they would not begranted any status whatsoever at the Council until their democracy and human rights records improved.

On December 4 , 2005 , Nursultan Nazarbayev was reelected in a land-slide victory. Theelectoral commission announced that he had won over 90 % of the vote. TheOrganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) concluded the election didnot meet international standards despite some improvements in the administration of theelection. Xinhua News Agency reported that Chinese observers, responsible inoverseeing 25 polling stations in Astana, found that voting in those polls was conducted

in a "transparent and fair" manner. [4]

Kazakh Intelligence Services

Kazakhstan's National Security Committee (KNB) was established June 13 , 1992 . Itincludes the Service of Internal Security, Military Counterintelligence, Border Guard,several Commandos units, and Foreign Intelligence (Barlau). The latter is considered bymany as the most important part of KNB. Its director is Major General Omirtai Bitimov .

Provinces

Main article: Provinces of Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is divided into 14 provinces (oblystar) and the two municipal districts of Almaty and Astana. Each is headed by an Akim (provincial governor) appointed by the

president. Municipal Akims are appointed by oblast Akims. The Government of Kazakhstan transferred its capital from Almaty to Astana on December 10 , 1997 .

Kazakhstan is divided into 14 oblys and 3 cities ( qala )*:

Taldy-Korgan , Almaty *, Aqmola (Astana ), Aqtbe , Astana *, Atyrau , Batys Qazaqstan (Oral ), Bayqongyr *, Mangghystau (Aqtau ; formerly Shevchenko), Ongtustik Qazaqstan

(Shymkent ), Pavlodar, Qaraghandy , Qostanay , Qyzylorda , Shyghys Qazaqstan (Oskemen ; formerly Ust'-Kamenogorsk), Soltustik Qazaqstan (Petropavl ), Zhambyl (Taraz ; known as Dzhambul in the Soviet period, but before that as Aulie-Ata )

note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers(exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses); in 1995 theGovernments of Kazakhstan and Russia entered into an agreement whereby Russia wouldlease for a period of 20 years an area of 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 sq. mi); enclosing
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the Bayqongyr (Baykonur) space launch facilities and the city of Bayqongyr (formerlyLeninsk ). Just recently, the lease of Bayqongyr facilities was extended through 2050.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Kazakhstan , List of cities in Kazakhstan

With an area of 2.7 million square kilometers (1.05 million sq. mi), Kazakhstan is theninth-largest nation in the world. It is equivalent to the size of Western Europe . It shares

borders of 6,846 kilometers (4,254 mi) with Russia , 2,203 kilometers (1,369 mi) withUzbekistan , 1,533 kilometers (953 mi) with China , 1,051 kilometers (653 mi) withKyrgyzstan, and 379 kilometers (235 mi) with Turkmenistan . Major cities include,Astana (capital since December 1997 ), Almaty (former capital of Alma-Ata), Karaganda ,Shymkent (Chimkent), Semey (Semipalatinsk) and Turkestan .

The terrain extends east to west from the Caspian Sea to the Altay Mountains and north

to south from the plains of Western Siberia to the oasis and desert of Central Asia . TheKazakh Steppe around 804,500 square kilometres (310,600 sq. mi), one-third of thecountry and the world's largest dry steppe region. The steppe is characterized by largeareas of grasslands and sandy regions. Important rivers and lakes include: the Aral Sea ,Ili River , Irtysh River , Ishim River , Lake Balkhash , and Lake Zaysan

The climate is continental , with cold summers and colder winters. Precipitation varies between arid and semi-arid conditions.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Kazakhstan

The government of Kazakhstan plans to double its Gross domestic product (GDP) by2008 and triple by 2015 compared to 2000 . The GDP growth was stable in last five years,and was higher than 9% (the second fastest growing economy in the world in real terms).Analysts estimate a 9.3% growth rate for 2005. The GDP growth in 2004 was 9.4%.Kazakhstan's economy grew by 9.2% in 2003 , buoyed by high world crude oil prices.GDP grew 9.5% in 2002 ; it grew 13.2% in 2001 , up from 9.8% in 2000.

Kazakhstan's monetary policy has been well managed. Its principal challenges in 2002were to manage strong foreign currency inflows without sparking inflation . In 2003

inflation did not remain under control, registering at 6.8% instead of the forecast level of 5.3%-6.0%. In 2002 inflation was 6.6%, compared to 6.4% in 2001. Because of its strongmacroeconomic performance and financial health, in 2000 Kazakhstan became the firstformer Soviet republic to repay all of its debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF),7 years ahead of schedule. In March 2002, the U.S. Department of Commerce graduatedKazakhstan to market economy status under U.S. trade law . The change in statusrecognized substantive market economy reforms in the areas of currency convertibility,
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wage rate determination, openness to foreign investment, and government control over the means of production and allocation of resources.

In September 2002, Kazakhstan became the first country in the former Soviet Union toreceive an investment-grade credit rating from a major international credit rating agency.

As of late December 2003, Kazakhstan's gross foreign debt was about $22.9 billion. Totalgovernmental debt was $4.2 billion. This amounts to 14% of the GDP. There has been anoticeable reduction in the ratio of debt to GDP observed in past years; the ratio of totalgovernmental debt to GDP in 2000 was 21.7%, in 2001 it was 17.5%, and in 2002 it was15.4%.

The upturn in economic growth , combined with the results of earlier tax and financialsector reforms, dramatically improved government finances from the 1999 budget deficit level of 3.5% of GDP to a deficit of 1.2% of GDP in 2003. Government revenues grewfrom 19.8% of GDP in 1999 to 22.6% of GDP in 2001, but decreased to 16.2% of GDPin 2003. In 2000, Kazakhstan adopted a new tax code in an effort to consolidate these

gains. On November 29, 2003 the Law on Changes to Tax Code was adopted, whichreduced tax rates . The value added tax fell from 16% to 15%, the social tax from 21% to20%, and the personal income tax from 30% to 20%. Kazakhstan furthered its reforms byadopting a new land code on June 20, 2003 and a customs code on April 5, 2003.

Energy is the leading economic sector. Production of crude oil and natural gas condensatein Kazakhstan amounted to 51.2 million tons in 2003, which was 8.6% more than in2002. Kazakhstan raised oil and gas condensate exports to 44.3 million tons in 2003, 13%higher than in 2002. Gas production in Kazakhstan in 2003 amounted to 13.9 billioncubic meters (491 billion cu. ft), up 22.7% compared to 2002, including natural gas

production of 7.3 billion cubic meters (258 billion cu. ft); Kazakhstan holds about 4

billion tons of proven recoverable oil reserves and 2,000 cubic kilometers (480 cu mi ) of gas. Industry analysts believe that planned expansion of oil production, coupled with thedevelopment of new fields , will enable the country to produce as much as 3 million

barrels (477,000 m) per day by 2015 , lifting Kazakhstan into the ranks of the world's top10 oil-producing nations. Kazakhstan's 2003 oil exports were valued at more than $7

billion, representing 65% of overall exports and 24% of the GDP. Major oil and gasfields and their recoverable oil reserves are Tengiz with 7 billion barrels (1.1 km);Karachaganak with 8 billion barrels (1.3 km) and 1,350 km of natural gas); andKashagan with 7 to 9 billion barrels (1.1 to 1.4 km).

Kazakhstan instituted an ambitious pension reform program in 1998. As of January 1,2005 the pension assets were about $4.1 billion. There are 16 saving pension funds in therepublic. The State Accumulating Pension Fund, the only state-owned fund, could be

privatized as early as 2005. The country's unified financial regulatory agency overseesand regulates the pension funds. The pension funds' growing demand for qualityinvestment outlets triggered rapid development of the debt securities market. Pensionfund capital is being invested almost exclusively in corporate and government bonds ,including Government of Kazakhstan Eurobonds. The Kazakhstani banking system isdeveloping rapidly. The banking system's capitalization now exceeds $1 billion. The
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National Bank has introduced deposit insurance in its campaign to strengthen the bankingsector. Several major foreign banks have branches in Kazakhstan, including ABN AMRO , Citibank , and HSBC .

Agriculture

Agriculture accounted for 13.6% of Kazakhstan's GDP in 2003. Grain (Kazakhstan is thesixth-largest producer in the world) and livestock are the most important agriculturalcommodities. Agricultural land occupies more than 846,000 square kilometres(32,700 sq. mi). The available agricultural land consists of 205,000 square kilometres(79,000 sq. mi) of arable land and 611,000 square kilometres (236,000 sq. mi) of pasture and hay land. Chief livestock products are dairy products, leather , meat , and wool . Thecountry's major crops include wheat , barley , cotton , and rice. Wheat exports , a major source of hard currency , rank among the leading commodities in Kazakhstan's exporttrade. In 2003 Kazakhstan harvested 17.6 million tons of grain in gross, 2.8% higher compared to 2002.

Natural resources

Natural Resources are very abundant in Kazakhstan, not only by the quantity of specificresources, such as petroleum , but also in the different elements found. Out of 110chemical elements 99 are present, and 60 are being extracted. The deposits of oil, gas,titanium , magnesium , tin, uranium , and gold are some of the biggest in the world.Significant deposits of coal , iron , copper , zinc are also present. Kazakhstan holds 300gold deposits and is the 6th largest supplier of gold in the world. It is also an exporter of diamonds . Large deposits of chemicals are also present. Petroleum , natural gas , andmineral exports have attracted most of the over $40 billion in foreign investment in

Kazakhstan since 1993.In total, there are 160 deposits with over or 2.7 billion tons of petroleum. Oil explorationshave shown that the deposits on the Caspian shore are only a small part of a huge oildeposit. It is said that 3.5 billion tons of oil and 2.5 trillion cubic meters of gas could befound in that area. Overall the estimate of Kazakhstan's oil deposits is 6.1 billion tons.However, there are only 3 refineries within the country, situated in Atirau , Pavlodar, andShymkent . These are not capable of processing all of the produced crude oil, so most of itis exported to Russia.

Foreign relations
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Kazakhstan has good relations with its neighbours

Kazakhstan has stable relationships with all of its neighbors and is a member of theUnited Nations , Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe , Euro-AtlanticPartnership Council and Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) . It also is anactive participant in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) Partnership for Peace program. Kazakhstan is also a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States , Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization along with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan established the Eurasian Economic Community in 2000 to re-energize earlier efforts at harmonizing trade tariffs and thecreation of a free trade zone under a customs union.

Since independence in 1991, Kazakhstan has pursued what is known as themultidimensional foreign policy ( ), seeking equallygood relations with two large neighbors, Russia and China, and the United States and theWest generally. The policy has yielded results in the oil and gas sector, where companiesfrom the U.S., Russia, China, and Europe are present at all major fields, and in themultidimensional directions of oil export pipelines out of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan possesses the Soviet equivalent to the United States' Cape Canaveral , wherethe Soviet Union launched its version of the space shuttle and the well-known spacestation Mir. Russia currently leases approximately 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 sq. mi)of territory enclosing the Baikonur Cosmodrome space launch site in south centralKazakhstan.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Kazakhstan

The majority of modern Kazakhstanis are currently either ethnic Kazakhs (58%) or Russians (27%), with smaller Ukrainian , Uzbek , German , Uyghur and other minorities(15%). Main religious groupings are Muslim , Russian Orthodox , Roman Catholic andUkrainian Orthodox .
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Kazakhstan is a bilingual country: the Kazakh language, spoken by 64.4% of the population, has the status of the "state" language, while Russian is declared the "official"language, and is used routinely in business.

Education is universal and mandatory through the secondary level, and the literacy rate is

98.8%. The 1990s were marked by the emigration of much of the country's Europeans, a process that began in the 1970s; this was a major factor in giving the autochthonousKazakhs a majority along with higher Kazakh birthrates and ethnic Kazakh immigrationfrom China , Mongolia and Russia . In the early 21st century, Kazakhstan has become oneof the leading nations in international adoptions.

The main ethnic groups in Kazakhstan are: Kazakhs (Qazaq ) 58%, Russians 27%,Ukrainians 3.0%, Germans 1.5%, Uzbeks 2.9%, Uyghur 1.6%, other 6.0% (1999). Thereis also a small but visible Jewish community. Before 1991, one million Volga Germans lived in Kazakhstan; much of this community emigrated to Germany following the

breakup of the Soviet Union .

Kazakhs and Kazakhstanis (terminology)

For many years, Russians often outnumbered the Kazakhs in many parts of the areaknown today as Kazakhstan. Even now, Russians and people of other ethnic origins playan important role in the economy, government, etc. At the same time, many non-Kazakhsstill commonly refer to Kazakhstan as the homeland of the Kazakhs, and consider countries such as Russia or Germany their true "homeland" (interestingly, many Russiansand other ethnic groups have been living in the region for several generations). Manynon-Kazakhs, however, consider the country their home, and some resent their role as"outsiders" since the fall of the Soviet Union. A term was coined in Russian to describe

any citizens of Kazakhstan including non-Kazakhs (), which in English isusually rendered "Kazakhstani". In its correct usage, the word "Kazakh" should only refer to people of actual Kazakh descent (including those living in China, Afghanistan, andother Central Asian countries). A term that better grasps the people in the country as awhole, as well as their collective culture and land is "Kazakhstani". The name Kazakh,

both for the people and for the nation itself, is derived from the Turkic word "qazak"which means "free, free roaming". It is the result of Kazakhs' nomadic horseback cultureand is related to the term "cossack", which stands for the Russian frontier warriors.

Education

Primary education lasts for four years preceded by one year of pre-school education.Secondary education consists in three main educational phases: primary education (forms1-4), basic general education (forms 5-9) and senior level education (forms 10-11 or 12)divided into continued general education and professional education. These three levelsof education can be followed in one institution or in different ones (e.g. primary school,then secondary school). Recently, several secondary schools, specialized schools, magnetschools, gymnasiums, lyceums, linguistic and technical gymnasiums, have been founded.
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Secondary professional education is offered in special professional or technical schools,lyceums or colleges and vocational schools.

At present, there are universities, academies, and institutes, conservatories, higher schools and higher colleges. There are three main levels: basic higher education that

provides the fundamentals of the chosen field of study and leads to the award of theBachelor degree; specialized higher education after which students are awarded theSpecialist's Diploma; and scientific-pedagogical higher education which leads to theMaster's Degree. Postgraduate education leads to the Kandidat Nauk (Candidate of Sciences) and the Doctor of Sciences. With the adoption of the Laws on Education andon Higher Education, a private sector has been established and several private institutionshave been licensed.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Kazakhstan

Abai Kunanbaev Islam in Kazakhstan Khoja Ahmad Yasavi Music of Kazakhstan

Public holidays

Date English Name Local Name(Russian) Remarks

January 1st New Year's Day ~

January 7th Russian OrthodoxChristmas ~

Floating date,marked on last

day of Hajj toMecca)

Qurban Ait (Eid al-Adha, or Islamic

Feast of theSacrifice)

~

March 8th InternationalWomens Day ~
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March 22nd Nauryz Meyrami(Traditional SpringHoliday)

Traditionally this Holidaymeans beginning of a NewYear, and usually in past wascelebrated almost till 21st of

April. From the Orthodoxcalendar.

May 1st KazakhstanPeoples Unity Day ~ ~

May 9th World War IIVictory Day ~

August 31st Constitution Day (Russian Def.) ~

October 25th Republic Day ~

December 16th(and 17th) Independence Day

National holiday

Kazakhstan Country Guide - Public Holidays

Miscellaneous topics

Communications in Kazakhstan Foreign relations of Kazakhstan Kipchaks List of Kazakh historical figures Media in Kazakhstan Military of Kazakhstan Organization of the Scout Movement of Kazakhstan Transportation in Kazakhstan Postage stamps and postal history of Kazakhstan Sports in Kazakhstan Environmental issues in Kazakhstan
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Documents

Kazakhstan Wikipedia