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Kazakhstan’s President Kassim Jomart Tokayev has agreed to restore the country’s capital’s old name, which he renamed three years later in honor of his predecessor, his spokesman said.
After Nursultan Nazarbayev stepped down, Tokayev’s first step in taking office in 2019 was to call for the renaming of Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, as Nursultan.
Mr. Nazarbayev led the country under Soviet rule for 30 years and moved the capital from Almaty to Astana in 1997 after gaining independence in 1991.
The move has been widely questioned because of the city’s relative isolation in the northern grasslands and winter temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius.
He has turned the city into a showcase of ornate architecture, including an observation tower where visitors can lay their hands on Mr. Nazarbayev’s prints.
After his ouster, Mr. Nazarbayev retained enormous clout as head of the county’s ruling party and the Security Council, but Mr. Tokayev removed him from those posts following deadly riots in January The removal was due in part to dissatisfaction with the power Mr Nazarbayev still wields.
Mr. Tokayev’s spokesman, Ruslan Zeliban, said the president agreed to the name change at the initiative of a group of parliament members.
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