KAZAKHSTAN

Republic of Kazakhstan

Kazakstan Respublikasy

CAPITAL: Astana (formerly Akmola, Tselinograd)

FLAG: Light blue with a yellow sun and soaring eagle in the center and a yellow vertical ornamentation in the hoist.

ANTHEM: National Anthem of Kazakstan.

MONETARY UNIT: The tenge (t), issued in 15 November 1993, is the national currency, replacing the ruble (r). There is a coin, the tyin. One hundred tyin equal one tenge. t1 = $0.00749 (or $1 = t133.44; as of 2005), but exchange rates fluctuate widely.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is in force.

HOLIDAYS: New Year, 31 December–1 January; International Women's Day, 8 March; Nauryz (Kazak New Year), 28 March; Solidarity Day, 1 May; Victory Day, 9 May; Independence Day, 25 October.

TIME: 5 pm = noon GMT.

LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT

Kazakhstan is located in southern Asia between Russia and Uzbekistan, bordering on the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea, with a total area of 2,717,300 sq km (1,049,155 sq mi). Kazakhstan shares boundaries with Russia on the n and w, China on the e, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan on the s, and the Caspian Sea on the w. Kazakhstan's boundary length totals 12,012 km (7,464 mi). Its capital city, Astana, is located in the north-central part of the country.

TOPOGRAPHY

The topography of Kazakhstan is varied. There are three mountain regions, the Altay Shan in the northeast, the Tian Shan in the southeast, and the Ural Mountains in the northwest. In the center of the country are vast stretches of desert and steppe (arid grassy plains). Most of the country is desert, semidesert, or steppe.

The highest point in the country is Khan Tangiri Shyngy, a peak at 6,398 m (20,991 ft) in the Tian Shan. The lowest point is Vpadina Kaundy, which is located in the southwest region known as the Karagiye Depression and dips to 132 m (433 ft) below sea level. Severe earthquakes are periodically experienced in the seismically active region along the Tian Shan.

The Irtysh River, near the northeast border, is the longest river to pass through Kazakhstan. It has a length of 4,441 km (2,760 m). Two of the world's largest lakes are shared by Kazakhstan: The Caspian Sea (the world's largest lake) and the Aral Sea (the fourthlargest in the world). The largest inland lake completely within the borders of the country is Lake Balkhash, with an area of 18,200 sq km (7,300 sq mi). It is the fifteenth-largest in the world.

CLIMATE

The country has an arid continental climate. In January, the mean temperature is -5°c (23°f). Rainfall averages between 25 cm (9.8 in) and 38 cm (15 in). Because of the wide ranges in elevation in the country, there are wide variations in temperature and rainfall.

FLORA AND FAUNA

The sparse plant covering in the desert consists of saltworts, wormwoods, alhagi, and a haloxylon typical of the southern desert. Forests, particularly in the mountain regions, include cedar, larch, spruce, and juniper. Animals native to the country include the antelope, snow leopard, ibex, sand cat, and jerboa. As of 2002, there were at least 178 species of mammals, 379 species of birds, and over 6,000 species of plants throughout the country.

ENVIRONMENT

Kazakhstan faces several important environmental issues. As the site of the former Soviet Union's nuclear testing programs, areas of the nation have been exposed to high levels of nuclear radiation, and there is significant radioactive pollution. The nation also has 30 uranium mines, which add to the problem of uncontrolled release of radioactivity. Kazakhstan has sought international support to convince China to stop testing atomic bombs near its territory, because of the dangerous fallout.

Mismanagement of irrigation projects has caused the level of the Aral Sea to drop by 13 m, decreasing its size by 50%. The change in size has changed the climate in the area and revealed three million hectares of land that are now subject to erosion.

Air pollution in Kazakhstan is another significant environmental problem. Acid rain damages the environment within the country and also affects neighboring countries. In 1992 Kazakhstan had the world's 14th highest level of industrial carbon dioxide emissions, which totaled 297.9 million metric tons, a per capita level of 17.48 metric tons. In 1996, the total had dropped to 173.8 million metric tons. In 2000, the total of carbon dioxide emissions was at 121.3 million metric tons. Pollution from industrial and agricultural sources has also damaged the nation's water supply. United Nations (UN) sources have reported that, in some cases, contamination of rivers by industrial metals was 160 to 800 times beyond acceptable levels. Pollution of the Caspian Sea is also a problem.

Kazakhstan's wildlife is in danger of extinction due to the overall level of pollution. According to current estimates, some areas of the nation will not be able to sustain any form of wildlife by the year 2015. In the areas where pollution is the most severe, 11 species of mammals and 19 species of birds and insects are already extinct. According to a 2006 report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), threatened species included 15 types of mammals, 23 species of birds, 2 types of reptiles, 1 species of amphibian, 7 species of fish, 4 species of invertebrates, and 1 species of plants. Th reatened species included the cheetah, the black vulture, the swan goose, the spotted eagle, the asp, the Siberian crane, and the great snipe.

POPULATION

The population of Kazakhstan in 2005 was estimated by the United Nations (UN) at 15,079,000, which placed it at number 62 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2005, approximately 8% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 27% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 92 males for every 100 females in the country. According to the UN, the annual population rate of change for 2005–10 was expected to be 0.6%, a rate the government viewed as too low. The population began declining in the 1990s due to emigration, declining fertility rates, and lower life expectancy, especially among men. The projected population for the year 2025 was 15,927,000. The population density was 5 per sq km (14 per sq mi), with most people living in the east and north.

The UN estimated that 57% of the population lived in urban areas in 2005, but that the population in urban areas was declining at an annual rate of -0.03%. The capital city, Astana (formerly Akmola, Tselinograd), had a population of 332,000 in that year. The former capital, Almaty, is the largest city, with a population of 1,103,000. Other major metropolitan areas and their estimated populations include Karaganda, 437,000; Semey, 400,000; Chimkent, 360,000; Pavlodar, 349,000; and Oskemen, 334,000.

MIGRATION

Kazakhs abroad (in China, Mongolia, and other newly independent republics of the former USSR) are encouraged to return. Th ose who fled in Stalin's time automatically received citizenship; others must apply.

In 1996, there was an organized return of 70,000 Kazakhs from Mongolia, Iran, and Turkey. During 1991–95, some 82,000 Ukrainians and 16,000 Belarussians repatriated. Between 1991–96, 614,000 Russians repatriated and 70,000 Kazakhs repatriated. During 1992–96, 480,000 ethnic Germans returned to Germany. These Germans were forcibly deported to Central Asia during World War II as from the Volga region.

As of 1996, 42,000 Kazakhs had been displaced internally or had left for other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries as a result of the ecological problems of the Aral Sea, which had lost three-fourths its volume of water. There were also 160,000 displaced persons as a result of Semey, an above-ground nuclear testing site in northern Kazakhstan.

As of 2004, there were 74,144 refugees and asylum seekers in Kazakhstan. Of these, 13,684 were from Russia. In addition, there were 58,291 persons of concern to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), all ethnic Kazakh who are stateless persons. The majority of the refugee population is located in the former capital Almaty and the southern part of the country.

In 2000 the net migration rate was -12.2 migrants per 1,000 population, amounting to a loss of 200,000 people. By 2005, the net migration rate had declined to an estimated -3.34 migrants per 1,000 population. The government viewed the emigration level as too high.

ETHNIC GROUPS

About 54% of the population are Kazakhs, 30% are Russians, and 3.7% are Ukrainians. The remaining population consists of Uzbeks (2.5%), Germans (2.4%), Tartars (1.7%), Uighurs (1.4%), and other groups.

LANGUAGES

The constitution declares Kazakh to be the state language and requires the president to be a Kazakh speaker. Kazakh is a Turkic language written in Cyrillic script with many special letters (but in Roman script in China since 1960). Modern Kazakh utilizes many words of foreign origin from Russian, Arabic, Persian, Mongol, Chinese, Tatar, and Uzbek. Only about 64% of all Kazakhs can speak the language effectively. Almost everyone can speak Russian (95%), which has special status as the "language of interethnic communication" and is widely used in the realm of official business.

RELIGIONS

About 47% of the population are Muslim. The Kazakhs, a distinct ethnic group originating with Turkic and Mongol settlers who arrived there in late antiquity (first century bc), are the dominant group in the population and are primarily Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi school. Islam had been adopted by the Kazakhs as early as 1043, but many of its popular religious practices did not become common until the late 18th century. The Uzbeks, Uighurs, and Tatars (which together make up less than 10% of the population) are also primarily Sunni Muslim. Other schools represented are Shafit Sunni, Shiite, Sufi, and Akhmadi.

About 33% of the population are Eastern Orthodox. There are several Protestant congregations, including Lutherans, Jehovah's Witnesses, Pentecostals, and Seventh-Day Adventists. There is also a small Jewish community. About 2% of the population are Roman Catholic.

The constitution provides for freedom of religion, but there are some restrictions placed on nontraditional religious groups. All groups must register with the government to obtain legal status and conduct business transactions. Some groups, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, have been denied this legal status.

TRANSPORTATION

About 13,700 km (8,521 mi) of broad gauge railroad tracks traversed Kazakhstan, as of 2004. Highways totaled 82,980 km (51,614 mi) in 2002, of which about 77,918 km (48,465 mi) were paved. In 1994, General Motors Corp. signed an agreement to distribute North American-built vehicles in Kazakhstan. The primary port is Guryev (Atyrau), on the Caspian Sea. There are 3,900 km (2,423 mi) of inland waterways on the Syrdariya and Ertis Irtysh rivers. Much of the infrastructure connects Kazakhstan with Russia rather than points within Kazakhstan. Although landlocked in the center of Eurasia and dependent on its transport connections through neighboring countries to deliver its goods to world markets, Kazakhstan as of 2005, had three merchant ships of 1,000 GRT or more. In 2004 there were an estimated 314 airports. As of 2005, a total of 66 had paved runways, and there were also 4 heliports. In 2003, about 1.010 million passengers were carried on scheduled domestic and international flights.

HISTORY

There is evidence of human habitation in present-day Kazakhstan from the earliest Stone Age, more than 300,000 years ago. The steppe characteristics of most of the region are best suited for nomadic pastoralism, which an ever-shifting pattern of peoples have pursued in this territory. Achaemenid documents give the name Sacae to the first such group to be historically recorded. In the 3rd and 2nd centuries bc they were displaced by the Usun in the east, the Kangiui in the south central region, and the Alani in the west.

The first well-established state was that of the Turkic Kaganate, in the 6th century ad, replaced in the early 8th century by the Turgesh state. In 766, the Karluks established dominance in what now is eastern Kazakhstan. Some of the southern portions of the region fell under Arab influence in the 8th–9th centuries, and Islam was introduced. Western Kazakhstan was under Oghuz control in 9th to the 11th centuries; at roughly the same time the Kimak and Kipchak tribes, of Turkic origin, controlled the east. The large central desert of Kazakhstan is still called "Dashti-Kipchak," or the Kipchak Steppe.

The Karluk state was destroyed by invading Iagmas in the late 9th and early 10th centuries. They formed the Karakhanid state, which controlled extensive lands into what is now China. The Karakhanids were in a constant state of war with the Seljuks, to the south, and control of parts of what is now Kazakhstan passed back and forth between them. The Karakhanids collapsed in the 1130s when they were invaded by Khitans, who established the Karakitai state. In the mid-12th century, Khwarazm split off from the weakening Karakitais, but the bulk of the state survived until the invasion of Genghiz Khan from 1219–1221.

Kazakhstan was part of Batu's Golden Horde, which in the 14th century broke up into the White Horde and Mogulistan. By the early 15th century, the White Horde had split into several large khanates, including the Nogai Horde and the Uzbek Khanate.

The present-day Kazakhs formed in the mid-15th century when clan leaders Janibek and Girei broke away from Abul Khair, leader of the Uzbeks, to seek their own territory in Semirechie, between the Chu and Talas rivers. First to unite the Kazakhs into one people was Khan Kasym (1511–23). When the Nogai Horde and Siberian Khanates broke up in the mid 16th century, tribes from both joined the Kazakhs. The clans separated into three Hordes: the Great Horde, which controlled Semirechie; the Middle Horde, which had central Kazakhstan, and the Lesser Horde, which had western Kazakhstan.

Russian traders and soldiers began to appear on the northwestern edge of Kazakh territory in the 17th century, when Cossacks founded the forts which became the cities of Uralsk and Gurev. The Kazakh khanate was in disarray at the time, badly pressed by Kalmyk invaders who had begun to move in from the east. Pushed west in what the Kazakhs call their "Great Retreat," the Kazakh position deteriorated until, in 1726, Lesser Horde khan Abul'khair requested Russian assistance. From that point on the Lesser Horde was under Russian control. The Middle Horde was conquered by 1798. The Great Horde remained independent until the 1820s, when pressure from both the Kokand Khanate and Russia forced them to choose what they regarded as the lesser of evils, the Russians.

There was, however, considerable resistance, led by Khan Kenen (Kenisary Kasimov), of the Middle Horde, whose followers fought the Russians 1836–47. Khan Kenen is now regarded as a Kazakh national hero. Russian attempts to quell this resistance led to establishment of a number of forts and settlements in Kazakh territory, which made Kazakh nomadism impossible and destroyed the Kazakh economy.

In 1863, Russia promulgated a policy in the Gorchakov Circular which asserted the right to annex "troublesome" border areas. It was on this basis that Russian troops began the conquest of Central Asia. Most of Kazakhstan was made part of the Steppe district of the Russian empire; the rest was in Turkestan.

Beginning in the 1890s, Russian settlers were aggressively moved into fertile lands in northern and eastern Kazakhstan, further displacing the nomadic Kazakhs. Between 1906 and 1912 more than a half-million Russian farms were started as part of the Stolypin reforms. By the time of the 1916 uprising the Kazakhs were broken and starving. Despite a strong effort against the Russians, they were savagely repressed.

At the time of the revolution a group of secular nationalists called the Alash Orda attempted to create a Kazakh government, but it lasted less than two years (1918–20) before surrendering to the Bolsheviks.

The Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was declared in 1920 and elevated to full republic status in 1936. In the period 1929–34, when Stalin was abolishing private agriculture and establishing huge collective farms, Kazakhstan suffered repeated famines which killed at least 1.5 million Kazakhs, as well as destroying 80% of the republic's livestock.

In World War II much Russian industry was evacuated to Kazakhstan; this was followed in 1953–65 by the so-called Virgin Lands campaign, which converted huge tracts of Kazakh grazing land to wheat and other cereal production. Th is campaign brought thousands more Russians and other non-Kazakhs to Kazakhstan; as a result Kazakhstan became the only Soviet republic in which the eponymous people were not a majority of the population. Because Russians and other Europeans nearly equal the number of Kazakhs in the republic, virtually every public act requires a delicate balancing of differing interests.

On 16 December 1986, Mikhail Gorbachev replaced Kazakhstan's longtime leader Dinmukhamed Kunayev, a Kazakh, with a Russian from outside the republic. This set off three days of rioting, the first public nationalist protest in the Soviet Union. In June 1989, more civil disturbances hastened the appointment of Nursultan Nazarbayev as republic leader. A metallurgist and a Kazakh, Nazarbayev became prominent in the last Soviet years as a spokesman both for greater republic sovereignty and for the formation of a confederation of former Soviet republics. He was elected president by the Kazakhstan parliament in 1990, which was reaffi rmed by public vote in an uncontested election in December 1991. Not a party to the dissolution of the Soviet Union announced in early December 1991, Nazarbayev prevailed in arguments that Kazakhstan and other Central Asian states must join the new Commonwealth of Independent States.

Nazarbayev arranged a call by an extra-constitutional quasi-legislative 327-member People's Assembly composed of various cultural and ethnic leaders for an 29 April 1995 referendum on extending his rule until the year 2000. The extension was approved by over 93% of voters.

In October 1998, the Kazakh legislature approved constitutional amendments that enabled Nazarbayev to call for an early presidential race for 10 January 1999. The US State Department in November 1998 criticized a decision of the Kazakh Central Electoral Commission (CEC) and the Supreme Court that major opposition figure Akezhen Kazhegeldin was ineligible to run in the presidential race because of his participation in an "unauthorized" democracy meeting. Three candidates were registered besides Nazarbayev, but only one ran as a true opposition candidate. Onerous registration requirements included a $30,000 deposit (forfeited by the losers) and 170,000 signatures gathered in at least 11 of 16 regions. Nazarbayev's candidacy was extensively covered by state-owned media. The Kazakh Central Electoral Commission reported that Nazarbayev had won with 79.8% of about seven million votes cast. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) sent only token monitors, and declared on 11 January 1999, that "the electoral process…was far removed" from OSCE standards which Kazakhstan had pledged to follow. At his 20 January inauguration, Nazarbayev pledged to work to create a "democratic society with a market economy," to raise the standard of living, and to uphold existing foreign and ethnic policies. In December 1998 the government moved from Almaty to Astana.

Nazarbayev stated that the geographic location of Kazakhstan and its ethnic makeup dictate its "multipolar orientation toward both West and East." He pursued close ties with Turkey, trade ties with Iran, and better relations with China, which many Kazakhs traditionally viewed with concern as a security threat. Kazakhstan has extensive trade ties with China's Xinjiang Province, where many ethnic Kazakhs and Uighurs reside.

While seeking to protect Kazakh independence, Nazarbayev also pursued close relations with Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) members for economic and security reasons. During Nazarbayev's July 1998 visit to Moscow, he and Yeltsin signed a Declaration of Eternal Friendship and Alliance Cooperation, in which both sides pledged to assist each other in the case of threats against each other, including by providing military support. In early 1999, Kazakhstan reaffirmed a CIS collective security agreement pledging the parties to provide military assistance in case of aggression against any one of them. In 1995, Kazakhstan joined the customs union formed by Russia and Belarus, which was reaffi rmed in an accord on "deeper integration" signed in 1996 (Kyrgyzstan also signed and Tajikistan joined in 1998). Nazarbayev has been highly critical of the feeble union. Another customs union, formed in 1994 between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan (joined by Tajikistan in 1998), was set back by the repercussions of the 1998 Russian and Asian financial crises.

Kazakhstan is the most economically developed of the former Soviet Central Asian republics. Kazakhstan's economic prospects are promising because of its vast energy and mineral resources, low foreign debts, and well-trained work force. There is more Western private investment in Kazakhstan than elsewhere in Central Asia because of Kazakhstan's oil resources and efforts to attract investment. Second to Russia, Kazakhstan has the largest oil and gas reserves of the Caspian Sea regional states, holding promise of large export revenues. On 18 November 1999, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and Kazakhstan signed the "Istanbul Protocol" on constructing a trans-Caucasus oil pipeline from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Russia's pipelines, the major means for exporting Kazakh oil, were supplemented in 2001 with the opening of a 1,580-km (930-mi) oil pipeline from Kazakhstan to Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk. Kazakhstan has also been involved in an oil swap arrangement with Iran, whereby Kazakhstan sends oil by tanker to northern Iran, and Iran in exchange exports some oil from its Persian Gulf ports. The GDP averaged over 9% 2000–05 and the unemployment rate for 2005 was a fairly low 8%. The country's economy heavily depends on oil exports, however, the government slowly diversified the economy to include light industry in 2005.

Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Kazakhstan offered the use of its military bases, as well as air space for military and humanitarian purposes during the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime and al-Qaeda forces. Since 11 September, all radical Islamic groups in the Central Asian nations have been linked with international terrorism. Both the Hizb-ut-Tahrir ("Freedom Party") and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), two radical Islamic organizations looking to establish an Islamic state in Central Asia, have operations in the country, but the major units of the IMU have been destroyed by the US-led coalition.

On 18 November 2001, a new political movement, the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DCK) was established, however, Nazarbayev cracked down increasingly on the group throughout 2002 into 2005. In what appeared to be politically motivated cases, two of the DCK's cofounders, Mukhtar Abliyazov and Galymzhan Zhakiyanov, were arrested, convicted of abuse of power and corruption during their tenure in government, and sentenced to prison. Abliyazov was freed from prison in 2003 after receiving an amnesty from Nazarbayev. Zhakiyanov was transferred from prison to a minimum security settlement colony in August 2004.

Of international interest was the scandal dubbed "Kazakhgate" in which Western oil companies allegedly paid millions of dollars to top Kazakh officials, including Nazarbayev, in exchange for lucrative contracts. The media within Kazakhstan was strongly encouraged not to report on the scandal.

GOVERNMENT

In March 1995, the Kazakh Constitutional Court ruled that the March 1994 legislative election was invalid because it violated the principle of "one person, one vote." Constituencies had not been drawn up representing approximately equal populations, and confused voting procedures resulted in electors voting for several candidates, it declared. On 11 March, Nazarbayev announced that the decision was in accordance with the constitution and dissolved the legislature. Some of the dismissed deputies tried to set up an alternative parliament, but the rebel movement soon fell apart. Nazarbayev announced that he would rule by decree pending new elections and called for a new constitution to be drafted, using France's parliamentary system as a model. On 30 August 1995, a referendum on a new constitution that widened presidential powers was passed with 89% of the vote. According to the US State Department, proposals by democracy and human rights advocates during the discussion phase were not incorporated into the final constitutional draft submitted to the referendum, and the turnout and results were "exaggerated."

Compared to an earlier 1993 constitution, the 1995 constitution increases the president's powers and reduces those of the legislature, and places less emphasis on protecting human rights. As fleshed out by a presidential edict, the legislature does not control the budget or its agenda, cannot initiate changes to the constitution, or exercise oversight over the executive branch. The president's nominees for premier and state bank head are ratified by the Majlis, the lower house of parliament, but he appoints the rest of the cabinet. If the legislature fails within 30 days to pass an "urgent" bill brought by the president, he may issue it by decree. About 10% or less of bills are initiated by deputies, but they debate and have forced minor changes in bills initiated by the presidency. While the president has broad powers to dissolve the legislature, it may only remove him for disability or high treason.

In October 1998, without any public debate, the legislature quickly rubber-stamped 19 constitutional amendments and announced an early presidential election. The changes included increasing the presidential term from five to seven years, lifting the 65-year age limit on governmental service, creating party list representation in the Majlis, extending the term of office from four to five years for the lower legislative chamber (the Majlis) and from four to six years for the upper legislative chamber (the Senate). The Majlis consists of 77 seats, 10 of which are elected from the winning party's lists. The Senate has 39 seats (previously 47). Seven senators are appointed by the president; other members are popularly elected, 2 from each of the 14 oblasts, the capital of Astana, and the city of Almaty.

On 10 January 1999, Nazarbayev won reelection as president for a seven-year term in an election that fell far short of international standards. He won 81.7% of the votes cast; three other contenders shared the rest. Nazarbayev's most serious challenger, former prime minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin, was excluded from running on a technicality. In the December 2005 election, Nazarbayev was reelected once again, winning over 90% of the votes. The next election was scheduled for 2012.

Kazakhstan held indirect elections 17 September 1999; regional legislatures elected 32 members of a 39-seat upper legislative chamber, the Senate (On 29 November 1999, the remaining seven Senators were constitutionally appointed by Nazarbayev). The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reported that Kazakh Central Electoral Commission (CEC) officials had improperly blocked some monitoring, and cited reports that other officials had threatened local legislators not to vote for oppositionists.

Elections to Kazakhstan's lower legislative chamber, the Majlis, took place on 10 October 1999, with 595 candidates and nine parties competing for 77 seats. Ten seats were reserved for a party list vote. Runoffs on 24 October were required for over two-thirds of constituency seats where no one candidate received over 50%. Ten seats were elected by party lists based on the percentage of votes parties received nationally (with a minimum vote threshold for representation of 7%), and the other 67 by single constituency voting. The Kazakh Communist Party (KPK), Otan, the Civic Party, and the Agrarian Party won seats under party list voting. No candidate nominated by a noncommunist opposition party gained a party list or single constituency seat. About one-half of the winning deputies ran as independents, though many of them were former government officials who were presumably pro-government. OSCE monitors concluded that the race was "a tentative step" in democratization, but decried interference in the race by officials, biased local electoral commissions, manipulation of results, unfair campaign practices by pro-government parties, and harassment of opposition candidates. Members of the KPK, Republican Party, and Azamat joined in a "Forum of Democratic Forces" that on 27 October stated that the Senate and Majlis elections were rigged by the government and were invalid.

The DCK, which was formally registered as a political party in May 2004, formed an electoral bloc with the Communist Party in July 2004 in hopes of gaining more seats in the Majlis. The 2004 Majilis election resulted in Otan capturing 42 of 77 total seats, while independent candidates, The Agrarian Party–Civic Party Bloc (AIST) secured 11 seats, followed by Asar with 4 seats, and the DCK with 1 seat. The only opposition candidate to win a seat, Alikhan Baymenov, announced that he refused to take up his seat in protest over what he considered electoral inconsistencies and fraud.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) again criticized the election for failing to meet international standards for democratic elections. Among the problems noted were electoral ballet stuffi ng, media bias in favor of propresidential candidates and the exclusion of certain candidates for politically motivated reasons among others. None of the opposition parties recognized the outcome of the elections.

POLITICAL PARTIES

The constitution permits the formation of registered political parties, but in practice it is diffi cult to get the necessary legal permissions. Most parties are small, ephemeral, based on personalities, and lack detailed programs. Nine parties and groups participated in the party list part of the October 1999 lower-chamber legislative races, and four passed a 7% vote hurdle to win seats (the Republican People's Party withdrew from the party list vote after its leader, Akezhen Kazhegeldin, was not registered as a candidate). The nine were Otan (Fatherland), Azamat (Citizen), Alash (Patriot), the People's Congress, the Civic Party, the Communist Party, the Agrarian Party, the Labor Party, and the Revival Party. The progovernment Otan party bloc won the most seats in the party vote. Others included the Civic Party, Agrarian Party, and the Communist Party (KPK). Otan was formed in early 1999 from several prominent pro-Nazarbayev parties. The Civic Party, formed in 1998, represents state-industrial interests and hails Nazarbayev as its "spiritual father." Azamat was formed in 1999. Deputy Chair of the party Petr Svoik has called it the "constructive opposition." The Kazakh Communist Party (KPK), reregistered in July 1994, has advocated some economic recentralization and anti-Western policies. The People's Congress, or Social-Democratic Party, has both Kazakh and Russian members and is headed by the Kazakh poet Olzhas Suleymenov. Originally pro-Nazarbayev, the party became increasingly critical of the government after 1993. The nationalist Alash Party has refused to register because of legal requirements that it submit personal information about members to the government. Members of unregistered parties may run for elected office as individuals, but not as party members.

Twelve parties were registered and participated in the 2004 elections. The most important addition was the the DCK, formally registered as a political party in May 2004, which formed an electoral bloc with the Communist Party in July 2004. The 12 were Otan (Fatherland), Azamat (Citizen), AIST (Agrarian Party-Civic Party Bloc), Ak Zhol Party (Bright Path), ASAR (All Together), AUL (Village), Civic Party, Communist Party (KPK), Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan, Democratic Choice Party of Kazakhstan, Democratic Party of Kazakhstan and Alash (Patriots' Party).

A 2002 law raised from 3,000 to 50,000 the number of members that a party must have to register, making it more diffi cult for political pressure groups to form actual opposition parties.

In Uralsk (Western Kazakhstan) and Petropavlovsk (Northern Kazakhstan) there are Cossack obshchinas, or communities, agitating for autonomous status. Denied registry by Kazakhstan, many are active in Cossack obshchinas across the border in Russia, where Cossacks have the right to maintain military organizations and carry weapons.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Kazakhstan is divided into 14 oblasts (provinces); the cities of Almaty, Astana, and Bayqongyr have special administrative status equivalent to that of oblasts. The 14 oblasts are in turn divided into rayons (districts). As of 1999, there were 84 cities, 159 rayons, 241 settlements, and 2,049 auls (villages). Each oblast, rayon, and settlement has its own elective assembly, charged with drawing up a budget and supervising local taxation. Cities have local assemblies as well; if large enough, cities are also divided into rayons, each with its own assembly. These assemblies are also elected for five-year terms. The number of oblasts was reduced from 19 to 14 in 1997 under the government's consolidation program.

The oblast and rayon assemblies do not choose the local executives. According to the 1995 constitution, the local executives, known as glavs or akims, are appointed by the president, upon recommendation by the prime minister. The akims serve at the pleasure of the president, and he has the power to annul their decisions. The akim appoints the members of his staff, who become the local department heads. There is some discussion of shifting to local election of the regional akims.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

A new constitution was adopted by referendum in 1995, placing the judiciary under the control of the president and the executive branch. There are local and oblast (regional) level courts, and a national-level Supreme Court and Constitutional Council. A special arbitration court hears disputes between state enterprises. There is also a military court system. Local level courts serve as courts of first instance for less serious crimes such as theft and vandalism. Oblast level courts hear more serious criminal cases and also hear cases in rural areas where no local courts have been established. A judgment by a local court may be appealed to the oblast level. The Supreme Court hears appeals from the oblast courts. The constitution establishes a seven member Constitutional Council to determine the constitutionality of laws adopted by the legislature. It also rules on challenges to elections and referendums and interprets the constitution. The president appoints three of its members, including the chair.

Under constitutional amendments of 1998, the president appoints a chairperson of a Supreme Judicial Council, which nominates judges for the Supreme Court. The Council consists of the chairperson of the Constitutional Council, the chairperson of the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General, the Minister of Justice, senators, judges, and other persons appointed by the president. The president recommends and the senate (upper legislative chamber) approves these nominees for the Supreme Court. Oblast judges (nominated by the Supreme Judicial Council) are appointed by the president. Lower level judges are appointed by the president from a list presented by the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry receives the list from a Qualification Collegium of Justice, composed of deputies from the Majlis (lower legislative chamber), judges, prosecutors, and others appointed by the president). Under legislation approved in 1996, judges serve for life.

The constitution calls for public trials where the defendant has the right to be present, the right to counsel, and the right to call witnesses. There is the presumption of innocence of the accused, and the defendant has the right of appeal. In practice, trials of political oppositionists have been closed, and there is widespread corruption among poorly paid judicial personnel. It is a criminal offense to offend the honor and dignity of the president.

Nazarbayev has stated that "the path from totalitarianism to democracy lies through enlightened authoritarianism" but has nonetheless allowed some degree of pluralism. The US State Department concluded in its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001 that the Kazakh government respected the human rights of its citizens in some areas, but serious problems remained in others. The government infringed on citizens' right to change their government. Members of the security forces often beat or otherwise abuse detainees, and there were allegations of arbitrary arrest and detention of political opponents. The government infringed on citizens' rights to privacy by conducting unlawful monitoring of correspondence and searches of premises. The government increasingly moved against independent media, harassing and monitoring them, and as a consequence, many journalists practiced self-censorship.

Despite constitutional guarantees, freedom of assembly and association is limited although it is legal to form and join trade unions, and unions are able to engage in strikes. In December 2003, Nazarbayev introduced a moratorium on the death penalty and introduced life imprisonment as an alternative. Prison conditions remained harsh and life-threatening; the government agreed to improve conditions in 2005.

Traditional customs limit the opportunities available to women, and women's rights organizations claim that the penalties regarding domestic violence and sexual harassment are extraordinarily lenient. Traffi cking of women and children is another serious problem which has not seemed to lessen. Amnesty International reports that Kazakhstan is both the origin and transfer point for women being trafficked from South and Southeast Asia to the Middle East and Europe.

Kazakhstan is a member of many international organizations including the United Nations and is an observer at the World Trade organization.

ARMED FORCES

As of 2005, Kazakhstan's armed forces had 65,800 active personnel, of which the Army accounted for 46,800 personnel. Its equipment included 930 main battle tanks, 140 reconnaissance vehicles, 573 armored infantry fighting vehicles, 770 armored personnel carriers, and 986 artillery pieces. The Air Force had 19,000 active personnel (including air defense). Air Force equipment included 164 combat capable aircraft, of which there were 124 fighters and 40 fighter ground attack aircraft. The service's air defense arm operated more than 147 surface-to-air missle batteries. Kazakhstan has no navy. Paramilitary forces included 2,000 presidential guards, an estimated 20,000 internal security troops, and an estimated 12,000 border guards. The defense budget in 2005 was $419 million.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Kazakhstan was admitted to the United Nations (UN) on 2 March 1992; it is a member of ESCAP and several nonregional specialized agencies, including the FAO, IAEA, IFC, IMF, the World Bank, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, and the WHO. Kazakhstan is a member of the Asian Development Bank, the Commonwealth of Independent Nations, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and the OSCE.

The country has observer status in the WTO and the OAS. In 2000, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan established the Eurasian Economic Community. In June 2001, leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan met in China to launch the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and signed an agreement to fight terrorism and ethnic and religious militancy while promoting trade.

Kazakhstan is part of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (London Group) and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. In environmental cooperation, Kazakhstan is part of Conventions on Biological Diversity and Air Pollution, CITES, the Montréal Protocol, MARPOL, and the UN Conventions on Climate Change and Desertification.

ECONOMY

The Kazakhstan economy is extremely well-endowed with large tracts of arable land and rich reserves of coal, oil, and rare metals. Animal herding was the mainstay of the nomadic Kazakh population before their incorporation into the Soviet Union; wool production remained an important agricultural product, along with grains and meat.

Like other countries of the former USSR, Kazakhstan faced serious economic dislocation after 1991, resulting from the disruption of trade with other post-Soviet republics, an end to the flow of official revenues from the Soviet central government, the decline in state production orders, and the need for sudden currency adjustments. Estimated GDP fell by 8.5% in 1991, 14% in 1992, 15.3% in 1993, and 25% in 1994. Overall output was estimated to have shrunk by one-third between 1990–93. Positive if weak growth returned in 1996, when real GDP increased 1.1%, followed by an increase of 1.7% in 1997. Recovery was then arrested briefly by the effects of the Russian financial crisis, as real GDP declined 1.9% in 1998, but growth resumed in 1999 with a rise in real GDP of 2.7%. Economic and fiscal reforms in 1999 and a rise in world energy prices helped spur growth to 9.6% in 2000, and to an estimated 12.6% in 2001. Meanwhile significant progress was made in bringing inflation under control. After independence, inflation reached a staggering 2,000% in 1993, declining to 35% in 1994 and 1995, and to 28.6% in 1996. In 1998, in the recession accompanying the Russian financial crisis, inflation fell to 1.9%. With growth in 1999, inflation grew to 8.3% and 13.2% in 2000. However, prudent monetary policies instituted in 1999 helped reduce inflation to an estimated 6.6% in 2001. Fiscal reforms helped to transform a general government deficit equal to 5% of GDP in 1999 to a surplus equal to 2.9% of GDP in 2001. Registered unemployment was only 3.3% in 2001, although according to US State Department and CIA estimates, actual unemployment ranged between 10% and 30%.

A revitalized energy sector supported by substantial foreign investment has been the main factor in the economy's strong performance, but economic reforms and good harvests have also been important elements. Privatization legislation adopted since 1992 has promoted the rapid transfer of small shops and services to the private sector, although large-scale privatization has gone much slower. In 1996, the government concluded an agreement for the 1,580-km (990-mi) Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline to run from the western Tengiz oil field to the Black Sea. The CPC was officially opened on 27 November 2001. Foreign investment in Kazakhstan's oil industry has helped boost production, with prospects of the country becoming one the world's largest producers at 3.5 million barrels per day by 2015. Such optimistic predictions rest largely on three major oil and gas fields—Tengiz, Karachaganak, and Kashagan—the last of which was hailed by analysts as the world's largest oil discovery in 30 years. An oil pipeline between Kazakhstan and China was being built in the mid-2000s, with the second of three segments completed in December 2004. The pipeline was expected to reach from the Caspian oilfields to the Chinese border, and was expected to be completed around 2010. In January 2001, the president decreed the establishment of the National Fund for the purpose of protecting the economy from the effects of swings in the price of oil and other commodities. In February 2002, the president decreed the formation of a new national energy company, KazMunaiGaz, formed through the merger of Kazakoil, the state oil company, and TransNefteGaz, the state oil and gas transport company. The main purposes of KazMunaiGaz are to ensure a single state policy on energy issues, and to better compete with foreign energy companies.

Kazakhstan enjoyed strong economic growth in 2005, benefiting from record export prices for its energy, minerals, and agricultural exports. The real GDP growth rate stood at 9% in 2005, following a 9.2% expansion in 2004 and 9.5% growth in 2003, but continued growth in imports in 2006–07 was forecast to lessen the rate of economic expansion. Nevertheless, the growth rate was expected to average just over 8% in 2006, potentially rising to 8.4% in 2007. High producer price inflation and sustained inflows of hard currency were expected to keep annual average consumer price inflation close to 7% in 2006, although it was projected to ease in 2007 as producer costs rose less steeply following lower energy prices. In 2005, agriculture accounted for 7.8% of GDP, with industry contributing 40.4% and services 51.8%. Oil now accounts for more than half of industrial output. The agricultural sector is inefficient and labor-intensive: it is the largest single employer in the country but an increasingly irrelevant exporter. In 2002, agriculture provided 35% of total employment. Due to the growth of the oil sector and the likely real appreciation of the currency, in the long term the agricultural sector will need to be subsidized if it is to survive.

INCOME

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2005 Kazakhstan's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $132.7 billion. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange based on current dollars. The per capita GDP was estimated at $8,700. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at 9%. The average inflation rate in 2005 was 7.4%. It was estimated that agriculture accounted for 7.8% of GDP; industry, 40.4%; and services, 51.8%.

According to the World Bank, in 2003 remittances from citizens working abroad totaled $147 million or about $10 per capita and accounted for approximately 0.5% of GDP. Foreign aid receipts amounted to $268 million or about $18 per capita and accounted for approximately 1.0% of the gross national income (GNI).

The World Bank reports that in 2003 household consumption in Kazakhstan totaled $16.83 billion or about $1,129 per capita based on a GDP of $30.8 billion, measured in current dollars rather than PPP. Household consumption includes expenditures of individuals, households, and nongovernmental organizations on goods and services, excluding purchases of dwellings. It was estimated that for the period 1990 to 2003 household consumption grew at an average annual rate of -4.3%. In 2001 it was estimated that approximately 37% of household consumption was spent on food, 20% on fuel, 9% on health care, and 6% on education. It was estimated that in 2004 about 19% of the population had incomes below the poverty line.

LABOR

Kazakhstan's labor force in 2005 was estimated at 7.85 million persons. In 2002 it was estimated that the services sector engaged 50% of the workforce, while agriculture accounted for 20%, and industry the remaining 30%. The unemployment rate in 2005 was estimated at 7.6%.

Although workers are entitled to join or form unions, registration generally is a lengthy and difficult process. The Confederation of Free Trade Unions claimed about 300,000 members in 2002, but that number is considered to be high. Some workers who have joined independent unions are subjected to various forms of harassment, indicating hostility by local authorities and state-sponsored trade unions. Workers are entitled to strike after all conciliation procedures have been exhausted. Employers must be notified 15 days prior to a strike.

The minimum age for employment is 14 but only for part-time work. Children under 18 have legal protections from hazardous work, and those between 14 and 16 years of age may only work with parental permission. As of 2002, the minimum wage was about $24 per month, which falls below the minimum subsistence amount. The legal maximum workweek is 48 hours, although most enterprises maintain a 40-hour workweek.

AGRICULTURE

In 2003, Kazakhstan had an estimated 22.7 million hectares (56 million acres) of arable land, representing 8.4% of the total land area. Most cropland is found in the northern steppes, where the failed Virgin and Idle Land Project of the 1950s occurred. Small-scale privatization resulted in the formation of 31,055 private farms by 1995, up from 3,333 in 1991. By 2003, there were 149,986 private farms, accounting for 94% of agricultural holdings. The average farm size in 2003 was about 110 hectares (270 acres). Between 1990 and 2000, annual agricultural output fell an average of 7.9%. However, during 2002–04, output was up almost 15% from 1999–2001.

Potatoes, fruits, and vegetables are other significant food crops. Less than 2% of agricultural land is used to cultivate commercial crops such as cotton, sugar beets, sunflowers, and flax. Kazakhstan is the only former Soviet republic that exports grain. Wheat accounts for about one-third of all sown acreage. Wheat production declined from 18,285,000 tons in 1992 to 9,900,000 tons in 2004. Similarly, barley production fell from 8,511,000 tons to 1,534,000 tons during that time. Rice is produced in irrigated stretches along the Syrdar'ya near Qyzlorda and around Taldyqorghan in the east. Production amounted to 277,000 tons in 2004.

During the Soviet period, groundwater resources and chemical fertilizers were overused, resulting in depleted soils, decreasing yields, and environmental pollution.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

About 70% of Kazakhstan's total land area is permanent pastureland. In 2005, the livestock population included 25.4 million chickens, 11.3 million sheep, 1.3 million pigs, 1.1 million horses, and about 2.1 million goats. Total meat production in 2005 amounted to 762,000 tons, of which 45% was beef, 14% mutton and lamb, 27% pork, 6% chicken, and 8% other meat.

Wool and skins are important animal products; in 2005, 27,000 tons of greasy wool and 41,800 tons of cattle hides were produced. That year, cow milk production totaled 4,695,800 tons, and 139,100 tons of eggs were laid.

FISHING

Fisheries are concentrated around the Caspian Sea, and are of some importance to the local economy. The total catch in 2003 was 23,885 tons, all from inland fishing. Freshwater bream and Azov sea sprat were the principal species.

FORESTRY

Only 4.5% of Kazakhstan is covered by forests and woodlands; forestry is of little commercial importance. Imports of forestry products amounted to nearly $158.8 million in 2004.

MINING

The leading industries in Kazakhstan in 2002 were, in order, oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, and sulfur. In 2000, Kazakhstan was the eighth-largest producer of manganese ore in gross weight and ninth in manganese content of ore. Kazakhstan was the CIS's leading producer in chromite, lead, and zinc. The country was also a major producer of beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, chromium, ferroalloys, magnesium, rhenium, titanium, and uranium, and produced significant amounts of arsenic, barite (75% of the former Soviet Union's output), molybdenum, natural gas, phosphate rock, and tungsten. Among other minerals, Kazakhstan produced cobalt, magnesium, nickel, vanadium, and all grades of asbestos, as well as the industrial minerals boron, cement, and kaolin. Kazakhstan had commercial reserves of 3 ferrous metals, 29 nonferrous metals, 2 precious metals, 84 types of industrial minerals, and coal, natural gas, and petroleum. The eastern region of Kazakhstan was rich in alumina, arsenic, bauxite, beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, chrome, copper, gold, iron ore, lead-zinc, manganese, molybdenum, rhenium, silver, titanium, and tungsten.

In 2002, Kazakhstan's exports totaled nearly $10 billion, with 89% of that total accounted for by mineral and other mineral-related products. Crude oil alone accounted for more than 50% of the nation's exports in that year.

Output of metals in 2002 included: marketable iron ore (gross weight), 15.423 million metric tons, up from 14.14 million metric tons in 2001; manganese ore (gross weight), 1,792,200 metric tons, up from 1,386,500 metric tons in 2001; chromite, 2,369,400 metric tons, up from 1.19 in 1996; lead, 39,300; mined zinc, 322,100, up from 159,400 in 1996; mined copper, 430,200, up from 2,045,700 metric tons in 2001; bauxite, 4,376,600 metric tons; mined gold, 22,404 kg, down from 25,010 kg in 2001; silver, 892,100 kg down from 981,900 kg in 2001; and alumina, 1.386 million tons.

Copper mining began to recover after foreign companies acquired management rights to the nation's copper producers, most notably the Zhezqazgan complex, which also included concentration, smelting, and refining facilities. Kazakhstan had supplied more than 95% of chromite production for the former USSR through the Donskoy mining and beneficiation complex at Khromtau. Iron ore found near Rudnyy supplied the iron and steel plants in the Russian Urals region as well as plants at Karaganda and Temirtau.

ENERGY AND POWER

Kazakhstan has significant reserves of oil and natural gas, and is thus, important to the world's energy market. Specifically, the country possesses the largest recoverable crude oil reserves in the Caspian Sea region. Kazakhstan also has significant recoverable reserves of coal.

As of 1 January 2005, Kazakhstan had proven oil reserves estimated at 9 to 29 billion barrels. In 2004, oil production was estimated at 1,221.3 million barrels per day, of which crude oil accounted for 83% of output. Domestic demand in that same year came to an estimated 156,700s barrels per day. Kazakhstan's fields include: the Tengiz, with estimated recoverable crude oil reserves of 6 to 9 billion barrels; the Karachaganak field, with recoverable reserves of 2.4 billion barrels of oil; the Kashagan field with recoverable reserves estimated at 7 to 9 billion barrels; and the Kurmangazy with reserves of 7.33 billion barrels.

Kazakhstan also has sizeable reserves of natural gas. As of 1 January 2005, the country's proven natural gas reserves were put at 65 to 70 trillion cu ft. In 2003, natural gas output was estimated at 500 billion cu ft and at 560 billion cu ft in 2004. In 2003, domestic demand for natural gas totaled an estimated 558 billion cu ft and an estimated 550 billion cu ft in 2004.

Kazakhstan also has the largest recoverable reserves of coal in Central Asia. These reserves in 2003 were estimated at 34,479.2 million short tons, most of which was hard coal (anthracite and bituminous). In 2003, production of coal was estimated at 86.45 million short tons, with consumption that year placed at an estimated 58.5 million short tons.

Coal-fired plants make up the bulk of Kazakhstan's electric power capacity. Of the nation's 71 power plants, 80% are coal fired, while hydropower facilities account for 12% of capacity. Installed capacity, was estimated in 2003 to be 17.2 GW. In 2003, electric power output was estimated at 60.4 billion kWh, of which 85% came from coal-fired plants. In that same year, demand for electricity was estimated at 52.6 billion kWh.

INDUSTRY

Before its independence, Kazakhstan's designated manufactures included phosphate fertilizer, rolled metal, radio cables, aircraft wires, train bearings, tractors, and bulldozers. The country also had a well-developed network of factories that produced about 11% of the Soviet Union's military goods. Overwhelmingly dominated by state-owned enterprises under the centrally planned economy, independent Kazakhstan's economy has been substantially, if incompletely, privatized and reoriented to the market economy. Government plans originally called for an almost complete privatization by 2000 through a combination of auctions, the distribution of investment coupons to the public, and caseby-case negotiations for larger enterprises. As of 2001, 71% of the total number of organizations with state participation had been privatized, including 23,170 state-owned enterprises and state stock holdings and state shares in 3,495 organizations.

The process of restructuring its industry has been wrenching, however. Industrial production declined by 13.8% in 1992, by 14.8% in 1993 and by 28.5% in 1994. Decline continued in 1995, but at the single digit rate of 8%. The first positive growth in industrial production after independence was a weak 0.3% improvement in 1996. Privatization moved ahead quickly in that year and into the summer of 1997, a year in which real GDP increased 4%. However, industrial production declined again in 1998—by 2%—due primarily to the combined effects of the Russian financial crisis and a fall in world oil prices. The president, citing the low fuel prices, decreed a halt to further privatization in the country's vital oil and gas sector, and slowed the negotiations on privatization of the remaining large state enterprises called the "Blue Chips." Subsequently, industrial growth resumed at a moderate 3% in 1999, but then at robust double-digit rates of 16% in 2000 and 14% in 2001. For 2002, the estimated growth rate was 9.8%, slightly ahead of overall GDP performance. The share of industrial production fell from 25.9% of GDP in 1994 to 21.8% of GDP in 1995, but had risen to 30% by 2001. In 2005, industry accounted for 40.4% of GDP, and the industrial production growth rate stood at 10.7%.

To stimulate recovery, increasingly liberal foreign investment incentives were offered 1991–97. In 1995 Kazakhstan's largest pre-independence operation, the Karaganda Steel Mill (Karmet) was acquired by a London-based company. Pre-independence, Karmet was one of the largest integrated metallurgical complexes in the world, producing coke and chemical products in addition to pig iron, steel, and a wide variety of steel products. In 1995, it was operating at less than half its capacity, workers' wages were often months in arrears, and its installations were being degraded for lack of maintenance. By 2002, about $800 million had been invested in the renamed Ispat Karmet, and output had risen from 2.1 million tons of rolled steel in 1995 to 3.63 million tons in 2001 (still nearly 40% below pre-independence levels).

Most of Kazakhstan's manufacturing, refining, and metallurgy plants are concentrated in the north and northeast, in Semey, Petropavl, and Aktobe. In south-central Kazakhstan, Shymkent is an important center for chemicals, light manufactures, metallurgy, and food processing; Almaty is important for light industry, machine building, and food processing.

The mining industry accounts for over a third of industrial production, three-fourths of which by value is the production of crude oil and associated gas. Fuel production's share in industrial value-added rose from 11% in 1995 to more than 25% in 2000. By contrast, coal and lignite, 96% of which is produced in Pavlodar and Karaganda oblasts, and iron ore mining, have experienced steady declines since 1991, and each currently accounts for less than 2% of industrial production.

By value the biggest manufacturing category is the processing of agricultural products, accounting for almost 17% of industrial production. Second is the production of nonferrous metals, at about 13% of the total. Textiles and leather manufacturing is served by inputs of wool and other material from the country's own livestock as well as imports of cotton from other parts of the former USSR. Textiles and related products make up an estimated 8% of total industrial output.

Almost 7% of industrial output (14% of manufactures) is accounted for by ferrous metallurgy. Production includes bulldozers, excavators, and metal-cutting equipment.

Kazakhstan has the Caspian Sea region's largest recoverable crude oil reserves—from between 9 and 29 billion barrels. The petroleum industry accounts for roughly 30% of government revenue and about half of export revenue, which has driven economic growth in the early- and mid-2000s. Kazakhstan's total oil refining capacity in 2002, was about 427,000 barrels per day. There are three refineries: one in the north (at Pavlodar), one in the west (at Atyrau), and one in the south (at Shymkent). In 2006, the refineries were working at about 51% capacity, averaging about 345,093 barrels per day.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences, founded in 1946 in Almaty, has departments of physical and mathematical sciences, earth sciences, chemical-technological sciences, and biological sciences. Kazakhstan in 1996 had 47 research institutes concerned with agriculture and veterinary science, medicine, natural sciences, and technology. There is a botanical garden in Almaty. Scientific training is available at 2 universities and 25 higher educational institutes.

In 1987–97, science and engineering students accounted for 20% of college and university enrollments. In 2002, Kazakhstan had 630 researchers and 92 technicians actively engaged in research and development (R&D) per million people. In 2001, (the latest year for which the following data was available) R&D spending totaled $174.890 million or 0.22% of GDP. Of that amount, business spending accounted for the majority at 58.1%, with government at 38.3%. Foreign sources accounted for 2.8%, and private nonprofit institutions accounted for 0.9%. High technology exports in 2002 totaled $157 million, or 10% of manufactured exports.

DOMESTIC TRADE

The wholesale and retail sector, previously dominated by state-controlled distribution channels, has seen the dynamic growth of independent small shops and traders. Price controls have been lifted for 90% of consumer and 80% of wholesale prices, although basic goods and services such as bread, flour, baby food, medicines, fodder, housing rents, utilities, and public transportation have been excluded from liberalization. A 15% value added tax applies to most goods and services; it was lowered from 16% in 2004.

The country sponsors a number of trade exhibitions through the year, including the Kazakhstan Oil and Gas Exhibition, held in Almaty every October, and a Consumer Expo in April.

FOREIGN TRADE

In 1990, about 89% of Kazakhstan's exports and 88% of its imports represented trade with other former Soviet republics (at foreign trade prices). A serious disruption in the country's trading patterns occurred as the input procurement system within the Soviet centrally planned economy disintegrated, the uses of hard currency and world market-determined transaction prices were adopted by former USSR republics, and export demand from Eastern European

countries shrank in the early 1990s. To facilitate adjustment to these hard new realities, the government decreed key trade liberalization measures in early 1992, ending export license requirements. With liberalization, exports and imports increased substantially throughout the 1990s.

Exports are dominated by petroleum products, followed by nonferrous and ferrous metals—a pattern that was likely to continue. Kazakhstan's largest imports are machinery and oil and gas products. In percentage terms, in 2004 Kazakhstan's major exports were: oil and gas condensate (56.8% of total exports); base metals (5.2%); refined copper (5%); and ferroalloys (4.1%). The primary imports in 2004 were: machinery and equipment (26.8% of total imports); light vehicles (4.3%); oil products (4%); and base metal pipes (3.8%).

Kazakhstan's leading markets in 2004 were: Switzerland (18.7% of all exports); Italy (15.5%); Russia (14.1%); and China (9.8%). The leading suppliers were: Russia (37.7% of all imports); Germany (8.2%); China (5.9%); and Ukraine (5.7%).

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

Strong exports of oil and minerals created trade surpluses in the early 2000s. Large amounts of foreign direct investment have also aided the country's balance of payments situation. Kazakhstan floated its currency, the tenge, in 1999, resulting in a devaluation. Subsequently, exports recovered and there was a fall in imports, and the currency stabilized against the dollar.

In 2004, total exports on a customs basis were worth $20 billion, and imports were worth $12.8 billion. In 2005, the current account had a balance of $3.343 billion, and was forecast to remain in surplus over the 2006–07 period, although it was predicted to narrow as oil prices were projected to fall over that period.

BANKING AND SECURITIES

In December 1990, the Almaty branch of Gosbank (the former Soviet State Bank) was made into the Independent Kazakh (National Bank of Kazakhstan-NBK). In the next year the existence of private and public financial institutions were legalized. In 1993, the parliament approved a new banking law that separated the National Bank of Kazakhstan from the government, and gave the

central bank the power to conduct monetary and credit policies and regulate the commercial banking sector. Before November 1993, monetary and credit policy was under the control of two central banks, the Russian Central Bank (RCB), which also acted as the ruble zone's central bank, and the NBK. Until November 1993, the currency unit in the country was the ruble. On 15 November 1993, Kazakhstan established its own currency, the tenge.

In 1995 the NBK continued the tight monetary stance it adopted in 1994, becoming increasingly sophisticated in its monetary operations.

The NBK admits that corporate governance and management in banks is weak: Kazakhstan's banks tend to be very small, concentrated in Almaty, and more interested in dealing in treasury bills than in providing long-term credits to lenders. As of 2003, there was no deposit insurance scheme in operation. Organized crime is also a problem for many banks, with security therefore assuming a considerable cost.

The International Monetary Fund reports that in 2001, currency and demand deposits—an aggregate commonly known as M1—were equal to $1.8 billion. In that same year, M2—an aggregate equal to M1 plus savings deposits, small time deposits, and money market mutual funds—was $3.8 billion. The discount rate, the interest rate at which the central bank lends to financial institutions in the short term, was 9%. The reform of the banking sector was initially set up according to a two-tier system, with the central bank occupying the top tier and specialized, sector-oriented banks occupying the second tier. Among these specialized banks are Narodny Bank (for savings); Kazakhstan Bank (for industry and agriculture); Turan Bank (for the construction sector); Kredsotsbank (for housing and municipal services); and Agroprombank (for agriculture).

In 2002, there were 47 commercial banks, including 1 state bank (3% of total financial sector assets), 1 intergovernmental bank, 16 banks with foreign participation, and 12 foreign representative offices. In 2001, total bank assets reached $3.82 billion.

The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange and the Central Asian Stock Exchange both operate in Kazakhstan.

INSURANCE

Approximately 73 insurance companies were registered in 1999.

PUBLIC FINANCE

Kazakhstan has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, thanks almost entirely to high world oil prices. GDP grew 9.6% in 2000, 13.2% in 2001, and 9.5% in 2002. The surge has been extremely helpful in ridding the government deficit. In 1999, the deficit was equivalent to 3.5% of GDP; by 2001 the government ran a primary surplus of 1.9% of GDP.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that in 2005 Kazakhstan's central government took in revenues of approximately $1.2 billion and had expenditures of $1.2 billion. Revenues minus expenditures totaled approximately -$11.2 billion. Public debt in 2005 amounted to 9.8% of GDP. Total external debt was $32.7 billion.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that in 2003, the most recent year for which it had data, central government revenues were t700.37 billion and expenditures were t734.81 billion. The value of revenues was us$5 million and expenditures us$5 million, based on a official exchange rate for 2003 of us$1 = t149.58 as reported by the IMF. Government outlays by function were as follows: general public services, 32.7%; defense, 5.5%; public order and safety, 10.0%; economic affairs, 15.0%; environmental protection, 0.4%; housing and community amenities, 1.4%; health, 2.6%; recreation, culture, and religion, 1.8%; education, 3.2%; and social protection, 27.5%.

TAXATION

In January 2002 a new Tax Code went into effect. The new code, seen by tax experts as a model of equity, economic neutrality and simplicity (on its face, if not in its implementation), replaced the 1995 Tax Code that had been criticized for leaving too much discretion in the hands of the Tax Police and other government officials. The new code also reduced a number of tax rates. Under it, the personal income tax (PIT) ranges from 5% to a top rate of 30%, down from 40%, while the corporate income tax (CIT) rate remains set at 30%. Social taxes (payroll taxes) were reduced to 11% from 21% and the rate for the value-added tax (VAT), introduced 1 January 1992, was reduced to 16% from 20%.

Dividends and interest are subject to a 15% withholding tax, while royalties are subject to a 20% rate.

In January 2003, a new investment law was introduced that generally eliminates tax incentives for foreign investors.

CUSTOMS AND DUTIES

In Kazakhstan, licenses are required to import certain products and the importation of others is prohibited. An import tariff schedule eliminated duties for most consumer goods in April 1994. There are no longer any export tariffs on most goods. However, animal skins, nonferrous and scrap ferrous metals are subject to an export duty. Tariffs have increased on certain products, including alcoholic beverages, leather, and carpets. The average tariff is 9%. There is also a 16% value-added tax (VAT) on destination principal. Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have formed a customs union. In May 1992, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United States signed a most-favored nation agreement for reciprocal tariff treatment.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT

Even before its formal independence, the government adopted the Foreign Investment Law of 1991 that allowed investment by foreign companies in any economic activity except the manufacture of military goods. The law contained provisions for duty-free imports as well as tax breaks for firms with foreign investment, especially those involved in producing consumer goods, agricultural goods, and electronic and medical equipment. Further, the law also laid out provisions for the operation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) where imports of intermediate products and exports of finished goods would be allowed without customs duties.

The regime was subsequently revised in a new Foreign Investment Law in 1994 (amended in 1997) to provide stronger guarantees against changes in Kazakhstan's legislation, greater clarity on investment requirements and on the credit facilities available to foreign investors, some additional customs exemptions, and a guarantee of the right to recourse to international arbitration to settle disputes.

From August to November 1996, the government pursued a vigorous privatization program. In 1997, a new law enabled investors to qualify for up to 100% tax relief for five years, and for up to 50% tax relief for the second five years. Priority areas were infrastructure, manufactures, housing, construction in Astana (designated the new capital as of December 1997), and agriculture. Following the recession in 1998, in 1999 the government began to change its stance on foreign investment from favorable treatment to national treatment. In January 2001, the government passed laws to control the transfer of capital out of the country. Foreign investors expressed concern over the increased authority given customs officials to regulate export and import transactions.

In 2001 the government moved to enact a new investment law to replace the 1994 and 1997 regulations. Because of strong opposition from foreign investors, the president did not sign the new law until January 2003. The new code, unlike the previous law, offers fewer protections to foreign investors and limits exemptions from customs fees to one year, with extensions limited to no more than five years. Particularly contentious was the removal of the right to international arbitration to settle disputes.

In 1996, foreign direct investment (FDI) was estimated at $1.22 billion, and at $1.3 billion in 1997. FDI flows fell slightly to $1.2 billion in 1998, or from 9.4% of GDP to 5.7% of GDP. In 1999, FDI flow rose to almost $1.8 billion, and then soared to $2.75 billion in 2000, or from 11.4% of GDP to 15% of GDP. From 1993 to 2001, total gross inflow of FDI amounted to about $17 billion. Over a third (34% or $5.2 billion) of the FDI flow came from the United States, with United Kingdom (including the British Virgin Islands) the second-largest source at $2.3 billion or more than 15%. Other major sources of FDI are South Korea, China, Italy, Turkey, Japan, and Germany.

Since 1995, FDI in the development of the country's immense oil and gas deposits has averaged more than $1 billion, and was close to $2 billion in 2001. As of October 2001, there were 3,606 joint ventures and 2,030 foreign companies operating in Kazakhstan according its Ministry of Economy and Trade. Important non-oil sector projects include the expansion of gold production in partnership with foreign concerns promoted as a means of quickly boosting the inflow of foreign exchange.

As of 2006, foreign investors were increasing their focus on Kazakhstan's energy infrastructure, including oil transportation routes such as the completed Baku-Ceyhan-Tbilisi (BTC) pipeline, and a pipeline between Kazakhstan and China, projected to be finished around 2010. Kazakhstan's efforts to create a favorable investment regime, especially in the energy sector, through economic liberalization and privatization, contributed to a cumulative $38.4 billion in foreign investment by September 2005, primarily in the oil and gas sector, but increasingly in other areas, such as mining and agricultural equipment. Foreign investors are also active in the banking sector, as well as in consumer goods and telecommunications. The United States was the largest investing country in Kazakhstan in 2005 ($11.5 billion), followed by the Netherlands ($4.5 billion), the United Kingdom ($4.3 billion), and Italy ($2.4 billion). TengizChevrOil (TCO) is the largest single investment in Kazakhstan. It is a joint venture consortium between Chevron Overseas Petroleum Inc., Exxon Mobil, Kazakhstan's national oil and gas company (KazMunaiGaz), and LUKArco. It is part of a 40-year, $20 billion agreement signed in 1993 to extract an estimated 6 to 9 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Th rough 2004, TCO had received more than $7 billion in direct investment, and its output had reached an estimated 280,000 barrels of oil per day.

In 2005, FDI amounted to 12% of GDP, down from 20.3% in 2004 and 15.2% in 2003. Net gold and hard currency reserves of the National Bank totaled an estimated $7.1 billion by year-end 2005.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

While still a republic of the USSR (prior to independence in 1991), Kazakhstan underwent rapid development of its agricultural and industrial sectors. Vast tracts of land were brought into cultivation with the expansion of irrigation under the USSR's "Virgin Lands" program, while within the industrial sector, development of its metallurgical, mining, and machinery industries were prioritized. Growth in these various economic sectors was fueled by a high labor-force-participation rate in the local population, especially among women, as well as the import of some skilled labor from Russia. By the 1980s, growing problems of inefficiency and inadequate technological development in the overwhelmingly dominant state sector resulted in a flagging rate of growth overall.

The region's industrial and agricultural development had, moreover, come at some high environmental costs. The structure of Kazakhstan's transportation and energy sectors clearly highlight the overall orientation of the economic base fostered under the Soviet regime; railroads and paved roads are clustered mainly in the north and the south, serving more to link Kazakhstan with Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan than to integrate the republic itself. Similarly, electricity transmission networks facilitate the exchange of energy with different republics in the former USSR rather than between different parts of Kazakhstan.

Since sovereignty was declared in December 1991, Kazakhstan has been embarked on a process of economic restructuring aimed at establishing a market economy. In 2002, President Nazarbayev reported that Kazakhstan was recognized by both the EU and the United States as a market economy, and that 75% of the country's GDP was derived from the private sector. Th is transformation, substantial if incomplete, involved reform on many fronts: privatization; lifting of price, capital, and profitability controls; the elimination of subsidies; debt restructuring; tax, customs, and banking reform; creation of a securities and exchange commission; and trade and investment liberalization. The government made several policy changes in the late 1990s and early 2000s that left outside investors and auditors uncertain about the direction and stability of the economic regime.

Independent Kazakhstan appealed to numerous international agencies for assistance in restructuring its economy. The World Bank's aid program comprised both policy-based adjustment loans and investment projects in areas that included agriculture, energy, environment, finance, health, legal reform, roads, social protection, taxation, urban transport, and water supply and sanitation. The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) supported both private sector development and public sector projects such as ports, power, railways, and telecommunications. Technical assistance for enterprise and civil service reforms, food production and distribution, and human development have been provided by other UN agencies and the EU. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) was active in the areas of health, transport, postal service, and water supply. Japan, the largest bilateral donor, provided significant balance-of-payments support and extended loans for the Astrana airport and the transport infrastructure. The United States provided assistance for privatization, tax and pension reforms, and social services. Other bilateral donors are Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. By 2006, Kazakhstan had become the first country in the former USSR to have repaid—in advance—its IMF debt.

In 1993, the government negotiated a far-reaching major contract to explore and develop the Tengiz oil field. Th rough mergers, acquisitions and sales, the shareholders in this venture as of 2006 were ChevronTexaco, Exxon Mobil, KazMunaiGas, and LukArco.

In 2000, the Philip Morris Co. completed a $200 million greenfield cigarette factory in the Almaty region.

In seeking to achieve monetary stability, Kazakhstan in 1995 and 1996 entered into credit agreements with the IMF. In 1996 the president established a secret National Fund, into which he deposited the proceeds from the sale of shares in the Tengiz oil field. The existence of the National Fund was not revealed until 2001, and by 2002 most of the original $1 billion had reportedly been used in two major withdrawals—$480 million had been used in 1997 to pay off pension funds threatened with bankruptcy, and $400 million had been used in 1998 to cover budget deficits stemming from the collapse of the Russian ruble. While the secret fund seems to have cushioned the economy from external shocks, its existence raised serious questions about the transparency of the government's finances.

The government emerged from the financial crises of the late 1990s less committed to privatization and ready to dismantle some of its incentives for foreign investment. In 1999, the government halted or slowed privatization programs. There was also a shift in monetary policy. In February 2002 the government took another major step away from privatizing the oil and gas sector by announcing the establishment of a national energy conglomerate, KazMunaiGaz, combining the national oil company with the national oil and gas transport company for the stated purpose of being able to compete with the international oil companies. In 2002, agreement was reached among Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan on the route for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, and construction began in May 2003. The first stage of the pipeline was officially inaugurated in May 2005.

As of 2006, the economic policy program was focused on maintaining fiscal prudence, achieving economic diversification away from the oil industry, and managing the exchange rate in the face of large hard-currency inflows. Of these goals, that of diversifying the production base will be the hardest to attain. However, the free functioning of market mechanisms was forecast to be hampered by the government's pursuit of interventionist policies for the promotion of favored enterprises. President Nursultan Nazarbaev, upon reelection in December 2005, announced political reforms should follow economic reforms.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Social security programs were first introduced in 1956, and were revised in 1991 and 1996 following independence. All employed persons, including noncitizens, qualify for old age, disability, and survivorship pensions. Employers contribute 30% of payroll, while employees contribute 1% of earnings. Residents of ecological disaster areas are entitled to early retirement. Workers' compensation is offered under a dual social insurance and universal system. The government funds a family assistance program for needy citizens, refugees, and stateless persons residing it the country.

Women have equal rights under the law, although discrimination persists. Women generally have access to higher education but are still channeled into mostly low-level, low-paid jobs. Traditional attitudes towards women are a barrier to achieving an active role in politics or business. Sexual harassment in the workplace is common, and as of 2004, the government took no steps to address the issue. Violence against women and domestic abuse remained problems and are vastly underreported. Traffi cking in women remained a serious issue. The constitution provides for the upkeep and education of orphans, although limited financial resources result in many children receiving inadequate education and medical care.

Ethnic tensions between Kazakhs and Russians continued to exist. Ethnic Kazakhs receive preferential treatment in housing, education, and employment. Although the Russian language still predominates, the 1995 constitution specifies that Kazakh is the official state language. The government is responsible for numerous violations of democratic freedoms and human rights. Prisoners are beaten and tortured, and killings are committed by security forces.

HEALTH

Under restructuring of the health care system, roughly half of Kazakhstan's hospitals, mainly facilities in rural areas, were closed between 1990 and 1997 and the number of acute-care hospital beds was decreased by 44%. As of 1999, the rural health care network, which had deteriorated due to lack of funds, was in the midst of reorganization. As of 2004, there were an estimated 330 physicians, 567 nurses, and 28 dentists per 100,000 people. Total health care expenditure was estimated at 5.5% of GDP.

The average life expectancy in 2005 was 66.55 years. The infant mortality rate for that year was 29.21 per 1,000 live births. For every 100,000 live births, 70 women died during pregnancy or in childbirth. More than half of married women ages 15–49 (66%) used some form of contraceptive. The crude birth rate as of 2002 was estimated at 17.8 per 1,000 inhabitants. Major causes of death were communicable diseases and maternal/perinatal causes, noncommunicable diseases, and injuries. There were 130 reported cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 people in 1999. In 1990–94, immunization rates for children up to one year old were: tuberculosis, 87%; diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 80%; polio, 75%; and measles, 72%. As of 1999, figures for DPT and measles were, respectively, 98% and 99%. A majority (67%) of children under five suffered from some form of anemia (1995).

The HIV/AIDS prevalence was 0.20 per 100 adults in 2003. As of 2004, there were approximately 16,500 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country. There were an estimated 200 deaths from AIDS in 2003.

Major environmental health concerns include industrial pollution in the east, the former nuclear facilities in the Semey region, and ecological threats in the Aral Sea region.

HOUSING

As of 1 January 1994, 458,700 households were on waiting lists for housing in urban areas. Th ough specific data was not available concerning the actual number of dwelling units, it was estimated that about 79% of all housing was in private ownership and about 17% was owned by the state; indicating a dramatic shift from figures in 1990 which placed private ownership at 32% and state ownership at 64%. In 2000, there were about 10,500 new housing units built. About 91% of the population had access to improved water sources and 99% had access to improved sanitation systems.

EDUCATION

Both at the primary and secondary level, education is free and state funded. Although Russian is the most commonly taught language, Kazakh, which is the official state language, is now gaining popularity and is being extended to all areas. A small percentage of students are also taught Uzbek, Uighur, and Tajik. Most children are enrolled in a kindergarten program at age six. This is followed by four years of primary school and five years of basic secondary studies. Students may then choose to continue in a two-year academic school, a two-year vocational school, or a four-year professional school. The academic year runs from September to June.

In 2001, about 12.8% of children between the ages of three and six were enrolled in some type of preschool program. Primary school enrollment in 2003 was estimated at about 91% of age-eligible students. The same year, secondary school enrollment was about 87% of age-eligible students. Most students complete their primary education. The student-to-teacher ratio for primary school was at about 19:1 in 2003.

There are about 55 institutions of higher education and three universities. Third level educational institutes had a total of 260,043 pupils in 1996. The University of Kazak Al-Farabi State University was founded in 1934 and offers history, philosophy, economics, sociology, journalism, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and geography. The Karaganda State University was founded in 1972 and teaches philosophy, economics, law, history, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. The Technical University at Karaganda Metallurgical Combine was founded in 1964 and has faculties of metallurgy, mechanics and technology, and chemical technology. In 2003, about 45% of the tertiary age population were enrolled in some type of higher education program; 39% men and 51% women. The adult literacy rate for 2004 was estimated at about 99.5%.

As of 2003, public expenditure on education was estimated at 3% of GDP.

LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS

Three outstanding libraries are the National Library of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Almaty (5.5 million volumes), the Scientific and Technical Library of Kazakhstan also in Almaty (22.3 million volumes), and the Central Library of the Kazak Academy of Science (6.2 million volumes). The Al-Farabi Kazak State University Library in Almaty has 1.5 million volumes. Kazakhstan has an extensive public library system. The Pushkin Regional Public Library in East Kazakhstan is regarded as the oldest public library in the nation, with over 700,000 items, and a major cultural center for the region. The Karaganda Regional Public Library contains about 440,369 items.

Kazakhstan has dozens of museums. The Central State Museum of Kazakhstan in Almaty features 90,000 exhibits exploring the history and physical conditions of the region. The A. Kasteyer Kazak State Art Museum (formerly the Kazak T.G. Shevchenko State Art Gallery) in Almaty primarily contains works of Russian and Kazak artists from the 15th to 20th centuries. There are regional and general interest museums throughout the country.

MEDIA

Kazakhstan is connected to the other former Soviet republics by land line or microwave and to other countries through Moscow. In 2003, there were an estimated 130 mainline telephones for every 1,000 people; about 168,000 people were on a waiting list for telephone service installation. The same year, there were approximately 64 mobile phones in use for every 1,000 people.

Nearly all broadcasting facilities are owned by the government, so that even independent companies must rely on some government support. Kazak Radio broadcasts in Kazak, Russian, Uighur, German, and Korean. Kazak Television, established in 1959, broadcasts in the same languages except for Korean. In 2004, there were about 116 independent television and 35 radio stations. Only three stations had nationwide coverage; only one of these was nominally independent. In 2003, there were an estimated 411 radios and 338 television sets for every 1,000 people. The same year, 16 of every 1,000 people had access to the Internet. There were six secure Internet servers in the country in 2004.

In 2004, the government reported that there were about 990 privately owned newspapers and 418 privately owned magazines nationwide. Nearly every major city has its own paper. The government operates one of the two national Russian-language newspapers and the only national Kazakh language newspaper that appears daily. Leading newspapers in 2002 included Kazakhstanskaya Pravda (Kazakhstan Truth ), Didar Kazakhstan, Khalyk Kenesi (Councils of People), Leninshil Zhas (Leninist Youth), LeninskayaSmena (Leninist Rising Generation ), and Yegemen Kazakhstan (Sovereign Kazakhstan ).

The constitution and 1991 Press Law provide for a free press, although in practice the media is said to perform self-censorship in key subject areas, especially criticism of the president and other government officials.

ORGANIZATIONS

The major economic organizations in Kazakhstan are the Union of the Chambers of Commerce Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Union of Cooperative Entrepreneurs. The Zhardem International Charitable Fund promotes public interest in science and culture and operates cultural and educational centers for children and teenagers. There are many professional associations dedicated to research and education in the fields of medicine and other sciences. The Republican Council of Women's Organizations, established in 1985, promotes economic and social equality for women. National youth organizations include the Association of Young Leaders, Kazakhstan Youth Forum, and the Union of Youth of Kazakhstan. There are several sports associations and clubs for both youth and adult amateur athletes. There are national chapters of the Red Crescent Society and Caritas.

TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION

Kazakhstan offers a wide variety of natural landscapes to the hardier traveler, ranging from forests and mountain ranges to the vast steppes where Kazakh nomads live in tents called yurts and race thoroughbred horses and camels. The old capital, Almaty (Kazakh for "mountain of apples"), has no historic attractions but is an attractive city where tree-lined streets, parks, fountains, and canals give it a European flavor. In the winter, ice skating is popular on its waterways. Air service to Kazakhstan has direct flights to Almaty from Ankara, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and other cities, as well as frequent daily flights from Moscow. Kazakhstan is open to both business travelers and tourists.

In 2003, about 3.2 million tourists visited Kazakhstan. There were 11,104 hotel rooms with 22,172 beds. Tourist expenditures totaled $638 million. A passport, visa, and onward/return ticket are required for all visitors wishing to enter Kazakhstan. Visitors staying more than 30 days must have proof of a negative HIV test.

The US Department of State estimated the 2005 daily expenses to stay in Astana at $268, and in Almaty at $265.

FAMOUS KAZAKHS

Nursultan A. Nazarbayev (b.1940) was elected president of Kazakhstan in December 1991. Sergey Tereshchenko, Akezhan Kazhegeldin, Imangali Tasmagambetov, and Daniyal Akhmetov have each served as prime minister since independence in 1991. Abay Ibragin Kunanbayev (1845–1904) is internationally known as a 19th century humanist and poet, and is considered the founder of modern Kazakh literature. Writer Mukhtar Auezov (1897–1961) wrote Abay, a novel about steppe life that was translated into English. The novelist Kaltay Muhamedjanov is from Kazakhstan.

DEPENDENCIES

Kazakhstan has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Edwards-Jones, Imogen. The Taming of Eagles: Exploring the New Russia. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1993.

George, Alexandra. Journey into Kazakhstan: The True Face of the Nazarbayev Regime. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 2001.

Kazakhstan. Minneapolis: Lerner, 1993.

Kazakhstan. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund, 1992.

Kort, Michael. Central Asian Republics. New York: Facts On File, 2004.

Nazpary, Joma. Post-Soviet Chaos: Violence and Dispossession in Kazakhstan. Sterling, Va.: Pluto Press, 2002.

Nysanbayev, Abdumalik. Kazakhstan: Cultural Inheritance and Social Transformation. Washington, DC: Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, 2004.

Olcott, Martha Brill. Kazakhstan: Unfulfilled Promise. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2002.

Peck, Anne E. Economic Development in Kazakhstan: The Role of Large Enterprises and Foreign Investment. New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004.

Seddon, David (ed.). A Political and Economic Dictionary of the Middle East. Philadelphia: Routledge/Taylor and Francis, 2004.

KAZAKHSTAN

Republic of Kazakhstan

Kazakstan Respublikasy

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

LOCATION AND SIZE.

Kazakhstan is located in the center of the Eurasian landmass in what is known as Central Asia. Kazakhstan is bordered on the east by China, on the south by Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, on the west by the Caspian Sea, and on the north by Russia. The capital city of Astana is located 1,300 kilometers (808 miles) north of Almaty (the former capital), roughly in the center of the country. With a total surface area of 2,717,300 square kilometers (1,049,150 square miles), Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country in the world, slightly less than 4 times the size of the U.S. state of Texas. The northern border with Russia, which spans 6,846 kilometers (4,030 miles), is the longest continuous bi-national border in the world.

In physical respects, Kazakhstan is a country of superlatives. It sweeps from the high mountain border regions near China across the mineral rich regions of Eastern Kazakhstan, then further west across broad expanses of plains to the oil-rich regions of Western Kazakhstan near the shore of the Caspian Sea. To the north, Kazakhstan is bordered by the taigas of southern Siberia (taigas are subarctic forests that border on the harsher arctic tundra); to the south, Kazakhstan is bordered by the Aral Sea and the deserts of Central Asia. Kazakhstan is rich in oil, gas, and other mineral resources including gold, iron ore, coal, copper, chrome, and zinc. Large oil deposits are located in the western regions of Kazakhstan and in the Caspian coastal region. Massive Soviet Union-era mining and mineral processing complexes are located at various points around the country. Kazakhstan is home to the Baikonur Soviet Cosmod-rome, still used as the launching pad for Russian space flights. Kazakhstan is also home to the main Soviet nuclear weapons testing range, not used since 1992, located near the city of Semipalatinsk in the northeastern part of the country.

POPULATION.

The population of Kazakhstan was estimated at 16,733,227 in July 2000, a slight decrease from the 1990 population. In 2000 the birth rate stood at 16.78 births per 1,000 while the death rate was 10.56 deaths per 1,000 persons. Migration out of the country, estimated at 6.7 persons per 1,000, has been a major source of the country's population decline. The population was estimated to be shrinking at a rate of .05 percent a year in 2000.

Kazakhstan is the second largest state in terms of territory to emerge from the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). In December 1991, when Kazakhstan declared national independence from the USSR, the government and economy were still closely tied to the Soviet centralized economic and managerial systems. Kazakhstan's politically moderate, multi-national population was divided roughly in half between indigenous ethnic Kazakhs and other peoples—Russians, Germans, Ukrainians, Chinese, Uygurs, Koreans—as well as dozens of other smaller national and ethnic groups. In 2000 the population was roughly 46 percent Kazakh, 35 percent Russian, 5 percent Ukrainian, 3 percent German, 3 percent Uzbek, 2 percent Tatar. In terms of religious identification, roughly 47 percent of the population professed Islam, while 46 percent was Russian Orthodox or Protestant.

The Kazakh language belongs to the family of Turkic languages. Turkic languages are far removed in structure and derivation from Indo-European languages. Russian shares many structural features and linguistic roots with other European languages. The Turkic languages, in contrast, have few links with major European languages. Soon after national independence, the Kazakh language was adopted as the official state language of Kazakhstan. Roughly 40 percent of the population of the country lists Kazakh at their principal language, about while 40 percent of the population lists Russian as their principal language. In practice, most government and commerce is conducted in Russian.

Kazakhstan's multicultural composition is a source of both tension and cooperation. Given the roughly equal balance of numbers among the largest ethnic groups, there is a widespread recognition of the need for equal treatment under the law.

OVERVIEW OF ECONOMY

Kazakhstan is a new state, established as an independent country in 1991 as a result of the breakup of the USSR. In the first decade of national independence, the Kazakh government demonstrated a commitment to establishing the foundation for an open, market-based economy. As a legacy of decades of Soviet-style centralized economic planning, Kazakhstan inherited a physical infrastructure designed to serve the Soviet economy by providing primary commodities , particularly energy and minerals, to industrial markets in the north, particularly in the Ural and central Siberian industrial regions of Russia. Kazakhstan's population of roughly 16.5 million makes it a relatively small country compared to international standards, but it is the world's ninth largest coun- try. Kazakhstan is rightly considered to be the world's "largest small country."

The transition from a communist system of government and economy to a market-based system has been difficult for Kazakhstan. The transition began in 1991, but the economy contracted sharply in the first years, with 1994 a particularly difficult year. Kazakhstan was shaken by the economic instability that hit Asian financial markets in 1997 and swept across Russia in 1998. After recovering from the setbacks caused by the 1998 financial market crash, Kazakhstan began to make significant progress in 1999. Economic growth surged ahead in 2000, reaching a level of 8 percent. The government pursued prudent fiscal policies , avoiding overspending despite the fact that government revenues—taxes and other forms of income—exceeded original expectations. The economic recovery was led by strong growth in exports, particularly gas and oil, and was helped by high prices for fuel products in international markets.

Many areas of macro-economic reform have been highly successful, even providing a model for other post-communist countries to follow. The government established a legal foundation and regulatory system for a private economy. It moved quickly to establish sound and fiscal monetary policies and actively encouraged international trade and foreign investment. The government adopted sound taxation and spending policies. The government introduced a national currency, the tenge, which has been quite stable. The government established a regulatory structure for the private banking and financial sector and privatized major enterprises, including the majority of power generation facilities and coal mines. The government passed environmentally sound oil and gas legislation that meets international standards.

Yet Kazakhstan's reform has made less headway in other areas. Kazakhstan's agriculture remains without adequate investment in infrastructure such as roads, processing equipment, and farm inputs. Moreover, the banking system has virtually ignored agriculture, failing to provide much needed credit for farm expansion. Kazakhstan adopted a private pension system, moving ahead of other former communist countries, but the social safety net has worn thin in many areas. With a per capita income of US$1,300, most citizens of Kazakhstan have yet to see the benefits of macro-economic reform and the resurgence of world prices for the country's significant oil, gas, and gold deposits. The social safety net has been weakened with declines in health status, benefits for senior citizens, and education opportunities. Dramatic increases in infectious diseases, such as drug-resistant tuberculosis, pose serious social threats.

POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND TAXATION

The dominant feature of Kazakhstan's government is the transition from communism. As a part of the Soviet Union until 1991, Kazakhstan was a testing ground for many important communist policies of the USSR. The communist system was distinguished by a powerful central government, an official state ideology of Marxism , and a centralized, planned economy. The communist government took control of the means of production (farms, factories, and natural resources) in the early 1920s through a process of nationalization . The changes in the Soviet Union began in 1988 with the introduction of open and relatively free elections. Kazakhstan's first open election was held in February 1990. Nursultan Nazarbaev— then the first secretary of the Kazakhstan Communist Party—was elected chairman of the Kazakhstan parliament. A short time later the parliament passed the Kazakhstan Declaration of Sovereignty. The true meaning of the declaration was somewhat obscure. Kazakhstan became a sovereign government but remained within the larger government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Soviet Union. As the Soviet Union began to unravel in the autumn 1991, President Nazarbaev scheduled popular elections. Running without opposition, he won the election and became Kazakhstan's first popularly-elected president. Just 2 weeks later the Kazakhstan parliament adopted the Kazakhstan Declaration of Independence, and Kazakhstan became truly independent.

In the first 2 years following the disintegration of the USSR, Kazakhstan began to define its strategy for the transition from communism to a market-based economy. One of the most important elements in this transition is the transfer of property rights from the government to the private sector . If property belongs to everyone—as is the case under communism—it is often treated as if it belongs to no one. Establishing private property rights is, therefore, a first step in the transition to the economically rational use of resources. In 1993 the Kazakhstan government adopted a privatization program to return control of economic assets to the people themselves.

The most important stage of privatization in Kazakhstan took place between 1994 and 1997. Sales and public auctions were held to distribute the country's 4 categories of properties: the country's major industries, mines, and oil fields; large factories; small shops, stores, and apartments; and agricultural enterprises. The "caseby-case privatization program" sold most of the country's major industries, mines, and oil fields. The "mass privatization program" held auctions for most of the country's large factories. Most small shops and stores were sold in the country's "small scale privatization program." Agricultural enterprises were privatized, although agricultural land itself was not. Residents were also allowed to privatize the apartments and houses in which they were living at the time. Residents were required to pay a nominal sum for their property, but there were few cases of people who were left without hearth and home by the privatization program.

In December of 1991, Communist Party chiefs of 11 of the former 15 Communist Party organizations of the USSR gathered in the Kazakh capital (then called Alma-Ata) in a dramatic meeting to decide what to do about the collapsing Soviet Union. The outcome of this meeting was the Alma-Ata Declaration, announcing that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics would "henceforth cease to exist." The Alma-Ata Declaration also established a loose coordinating structure called the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and sanctioned the emergence of 15 new and independent states from the former Soviet Union. Kazakhstan was one of these states.

In its first decade of independence Kazakhstan made great progress in the transition to a modern, democratically governed state with a market-based economy. The steps the Kazakh government has taken over these years of independence follow a textbook description for the establishment of a civil society—a constitutionally organized, secular society based on the rule of law, the protection of human and civil rights, and the limited role of popularly elected, accountable government. The Kazakh government established the fundamental institutions of civil development, such as a constitutional form of limited government based on a separation of powers, open electoral process, a professional judiciary, a deliberative parliament, free press, and the rights of speech, assembly, and religion. The government also initiated and carried through the process of selling the state's assets to the public through privatization.

The Kazakh government carried out macroeconomic reforms including true price liberalization , freeing the markets from government controls. It also established the legal and regulatory structure of a private economy, including a modern civil code and tax, banking, and investment laws that accord with international standards. The Kazakhstan government relinquished control of the nuclear weapons on its territory in accordance with international treaty agreements. And, although it is not entirely unblemished, Kazakhstan's record of protection of human and civil rights compares favorably with that of its former Soviet neighbors.

Kazakhstan enacted its first post-communist tax code in April 1995. The Kazakhstan tax code is based on international standards and stresses equity , economic neutrality, and simplicity. Taxation takes place at the 3 levels of government: central, provincial (called an "oblast" in the Russian language), and local. The 3 most important taxes are the enterprise profits tax, the individual income tax , and the value-added tax (VAT). Profits for most private firms are taxed at a rate of 30 percent. Most business expenses are deductible, including wages. The individual income tax ranges from 5 to 30 percent. The VAT is applicable to all goods, work, and services, including imports into Kazakhstan. The VAT on imports is usually 20 percent of the value added , or the difference between the purchase and resale price. In addition to these basic taxes, there are a number of other, less common taxes such as the natural resource tax paid for the right to explore for oil and other mineral resources. Land is taxed annually. Business assets are taxed at .50 percent yearly. And individually owned land is taxed at .10 percent of the assessed value. Automobiles and trucks are taxed on their value.

INFRASTRUCTURE, POWER, AND COMMUNICATIONS

With a highway system that includes some 103,272 kilometers (64,123 miles) of paved highways, Kazakhstan ranks favorably in terms of miles of road per inhabitant. Many quite developed countries in the world have much less roadway per inhabitant. Kazakhstan's main form of transport infrastructure for haulage and

freight is rail. Kazakhstan's main railway system includes 14,400 kilometers (8,948 miles) of track. Kazakhstan's transport infrastructure also includes oil and gas pipelines. Kazakhstan has 2,850 kilometers (1,770 miles) of crude oil pipelines, 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) for refined oil products, and 3,480 kilometers (2,162 miles) of natural gas pipelines. In early 2001 a new pipeline was opened to carry crude oil from Kazakhstan's northwestern oil fields through Russia to western markets. Kazakhstan has major port facilities at the Caspian harbors of Aqtau and Atyrau, as well as ports on the navigable Irtysh River at Oskemen, Pavlodar, and Semey. There are 10 major airports in the country, with international airports at Astana and Almaty.

Kazakhstan's railway system was integrated into the Soviet system. Connections allowed for shipment of freight throughout the Eurasian landmass. However, the access to markets in Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East is through rail connections that now pass through the territory of Russia. Kazakhstan's highway system is in a poor state of maintenance but otherwise is adequately developed. The highway system allows for truck freight traffic through all bordering countries.

Kazakhstan is the largest of the 5 post-Soviet Central Asian countries (in addition to Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). All the Central Asian countries are highly interdependent with respect to energy resources, transportation infrastructure, and markets. The greatest source of wealth in the region is natural resources, particularly gas and oil. The Caspian region's major oil and gas reserves are located in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Much of the oil wealth is located in the shallow coastal regions of the Caspian Sea or in the remote regions of western Kazakhstan. The potential for increasing oil and gas production in the region is great. Oil industry analysts expect that the region could be exporting as much as 2 million barrels a day by 2010. But because all the region's oil-producing countries are landlocked, routes to the market invariably involve shipment through third party countries. As a consequence, the complexities of the region's geography and the differing national interests of the countries make access to market a matter of mutual agreement.

Kazakhstan inherited from the Soviet period a telecommunications system that was exceptionally poor. In 1995 Kazakhstan had slightly fewer than 2 million phone lines in use. The number of mobile cellular lines in the country was quite small (4,600 according to U.S. government official estimates). Most cities and small towns rely on deteriorating fixed copper wire phone systems that are comparable to what was used in the United States in the 1940s. Inter-city communications take place through landline and microwave radio relay. However, the system is being modernized. The cities of Almaty and Astana have had recent telecommunications upgrades.

In 1999 the cellular and digital phone revolution arrived in Kazakhstan. Like many developing countries with aging fixed copper wire systems, a steep drop in the cost of cellular services made it possible to bypass over the existing copper service. Statistics are not available concerning the extent to which cellular phones are in common use, but observations on the street would suggest that soon the copper wire fixed system may be replaced by reliance upon new mobile phones. International phone connections are possible with other countries by satellite and by the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable, as well as by earth-to-satellite-to-earth stations.

ECONOMIC SECTORS

Kazakhstan's economy is export-oriented. Gas, oil, and metals make up 72 percent of Kazakhstan's exports. Since a rise in world market prices for oil in 1999, Kazakhstan's oil and gas sector has benefitted from strong foreign demand, comparatively strong domestic demand, a crossroads geographic location, a favorable foreign investment climate, and multiple joint ventures with Western and Eastern oil companies. Agriculture, while accounting for 23 percent of employment in Kazakhstan, accounted in 1999 for just slightly over 10 percent of the GDP. Industry, with 27 percent of the country's employment, accounted for 30 percent of Kazakhstan's GDP. Kazakhstan's industrial sector rests on the extraction and processing of natural resources and also on a relatively small machine building sector. This sector specializes in construction equipment, tractors, agricultural machinery, and transportation equipment such as small buses and railroad cars. The country has considerable agricultural potential with its vast lands accommodating both livestock and grain production.

The breakup of the USSR and the collapse of demand for Kazakhstan's traditional heavy industry products have resulted in a sharp contraction of the economy since 1991, with the steepest annual decline occurring in 1994. In the period 1995-97 the pace of the government program of economic reform and privatization quickened, resulting in a substantial shifting of assets into the private sector.

The December 1996 signing of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium agreement to build a new pipeline from western Kazakhstan's Tengiz oil field to the Black Sea increased prospects for substantially larger oil exports in the years ahead. Kazakhstan's economy turned downward, however, in 1998 with a 2.5 percent decline in the GDP growth due to slumping oil prices and the August financial crisis in Russia. A bright spot in 1999 was the recovery of international oil prices, which, combined with a well-timed tenge devaluation and a bumper grain harvest, pulled the economy out of recession . If initial reports of the production capacity of the new Kashagan field on Kazakhstan's Caspian shelf turn out to be accurate, Kazakhstan's ability to produce oil will far outstrip its ability to get it to market.

AGRICULTURE

Kazakhstan has substantial untapped agricultural potential, yet its agricultural sector is underdeveloped and under-financed. The country's capital, Astana (previously known as Tselinograd), was the epicenter of a major Soviet agricultural expansion program—the "Virgin Lands" program—of the 1950s and 1960s. During this period, tens of thousands of households moved to central Kazakhstan to assist in the expansion of agriculture. Currently agriculture is the country's major employer. Yet it comes in a distant second to the industrial sector in attracting government attention for investment and support.

Kazakhstan produced about 8 million tons of wheat in the 2000-01 growing season, down from 11.2 million tons produced the previous year. Total grain production was about 10.5 million tons, down from over 14 million the year before. Area under cultivation increased approximately 4 percent in 2000 from the previous year, to 9.0 million hectares of wheat and 11.4 million total hectares of grain. Conditions were generally favorable for wheat in Kazakhstan's key north-central oblasts since the beginning of the growing season, with adequate precipitation in the form of frequent light-to-moderate showers. Vegetation indices from late July indicate that crop conditions in Kazakhstan in 2000 were not as good as in 1999, when near-ideal conditions prevailed, but they were better than during the drought of 1998 when wheat output dropped to 4.7 million tons.

One constraint that some economists see on Kazakhstan's agricultural development is the failure of the country to develop firm private property rights for agriculture. Economists maintain that private property rights play a critical role in providing the incentives necessary for investment and careful use of resources. During the Soviet period, large-scale agriculture was carried out on state farms (Sovkhozes) and collective farms (kolkhozes). With the end of the Soviet period, these farms were reorganized into large agricultural cooperatives with the understanding that they would eventually become private farms. However, the Kazakhstan government has postponed the adoption of true private property in agricultural land for cultural and political reasons. The lower chamber of Kazakhstan's parliament decided in June 2000 to postpone debate on a proposed law on land ownership. The Kazakhstan government originally submitted the draft bill to the parliament for passage in 1999, but the law was withdrawn after widespread public protests against land privatization. An amended version was resubmitted for debate in 2000. The year 2000 version stipulated that only land adjacent to rural dwellings, but not all the country's agricultural land, could be privately-owned. The amended draft also triggered public protests, including a hunger strike by opposition members of the Alash party organization. Members of the Alash fear that if agricultural land is privatized there will be little public support for defending the interests of small farmers against the interests of large farm owners. Kazakhstan, they fear, will witness the develop- ment of large plantation-style farms that derive profits for multinational companies while small farmers are increasingly pushed into subsistence-level farming.

INDUSTRY

The country is rich in mineral resources, including chrome, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, wolfram, and zinc. The economy is still closely linked with the other economies of the former Soviet Union and especially with the Russian Federation. However, since independence in 1991, foreign trade has been redirected toward markets outside the former Soviet Union.

Prior to the breakup of the USSR, Kazakhstan's electrical grid was a single component within the unified Soviet electrical system. When independence came, Kazakhstan underwent a wrenching withdrawal from the physical infrastructure of the Soviet system. Dozens of independent power grids appeared, fragmenting energy markets. The reliability of energy supplies fell sharply. Cases of forced restrictions of power supplies and disconnections rose. Many small towns in northern Kazakhstan were forced to suffer the severe Siberian winters without gas and electricity supplies in the early years of the transition. During this period the Kazakh government sought to develop independent electrical and natural gas supply systems for the purposes of self-sufficiency. Ultimately, the country came to see the wisdom of reinte-grating regional Eurasian energy markets. In summer 2000 Kazakhstan began the steps to create a single power system stretching across the states of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

In 1991 the Kazakh government began negotiating with international oil firms to develop Kazakhstan's Tengiz oil fields. The Kazakhstan government joined the large multinational oil firm Chevron to form a joint venture called Tengizchevroil. The agreement committed Chevron to spend about US$20 billion over 20 years to develop the Tengiz field's 6 billion barrels of proven reserves. The agreement anticipated that eventually Kazakhstan would be exporting as much as 700,000 barrels a day from the field. Other major international petroleum firms, including Birlesmis Muhendisler Burosu, British Gas, and Agip also committed investment in the country's oil fields.

Beginning in 1992, Kazakhstan's northern neighbor Russia restructured the management of its state-owned oil and gas companies. Large, powerful, and politically well-connected private oil companies emerged from the reorganization in Russia. These new firms and the Russian government cooperated to restrict the access of the Caspian states to the Russian pipeline system and its connections to western markets. Russia first imposed high taxes and surcharges on the movement of gas and oil and then, in order to block economic development that might run contrary to the interests of Russian energy firms, sought to blockade its southern neighbors by cutting off access to foreign markets entirely.

In response to the Russian measures, the Caspian oil and gas producing countries (principally Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan) began seeking ways to bring energy supplies to market without having to pass through Russian territory. Russia lobbied for a continued reliance on the Soviet-era pipeline system, the so-called northern option. European and North American countries favored the idea of shipment across the Caucasus and on to world markets through the Bosporos, the narrow strait that leads from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), based in the countries of the Middle East, urged pursuit of a southern option. Thus, 4 routes for the Caspian oil eventually gained attention. First was a pipeline from Baku (Azerbaijan) to Ceyhan (Turkey), the Baku-Ceyhan line. Another was a pipeline that originated in Kazakhstan, went through Turkmenistan and Afghanistan before going to Pakistan and the Indian Ocean. Yet another pipeline discussed would go from Turkmenistan through Iran, Turkey, and then onward toward Europe. Finally there was discussion of a pipeline that would supply Uzbek and Turkmen gas to Pakistan through Afghanistan.

In 1995 negotiations among the oil and gas producing countries resulted in the Caspian Littoral Agreement. The agreement, which included Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan, was designed to coordinate trade routes, regulate the access to natural and mineral resources, and unite efforts at environmental protection. The agreement also established a Caspian Council, consisting of a secretariat and 4 specialists' committees. The council was to be politically controlled by an intergovernmental council representing the Caspian states. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) was founded by Russia, Kazakhstan, and Oman in 1995. The goal of the consortium was originally to deliver oil from the Tengiz field in Kazakhstan to a Russian port on the Black Sea for shipment to western markets. In the summer of 1997, Kazakhstan and China concluded an over US$10 billion agreement for the extraction and transportation of Kazakh oil. In 1998 the 2 countries began to develop and operate the Uzen oil field and the Aktyubinsk oil and gas field in northwestern Kazakhstan. The Chinese National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) bought a 60 percent stake in Kazakhstan's large Aktobemunaigaz oil field for US$325 million and pledged to invest another US$4 billion in it over the next 20 years. Kazakhstan and China began exploring the possibility of jointly laying an oil pipeline from Western Kazakhstan to China. The project would cost an estimated at US$3 to US$3.5 billion and be the largest pipeline construction project in history. The pipeline, if constructed, would be about 3,000 kilometers long and its annual handling capacity would be at least 20 million tons.

In some categories of mining Kazakhstan is among world leaders. The country has about one-third of the world's chromium and manganese deposits. It has substantial tungsten, lead, zinc, copper, bauxite, silver, and phosphorus. Kazakhstan is also a major producer of beryllium, tantalum, barite, uranium, cadmium, and arsenic. Major iron mines are located in the north of the country. There are reserves of goethite and limonite, but these are generally considered to be low grade. The capacity of these mines has been listed as 25 million tons/year. Large reserves of coal are generally found in the central and northern parts of the country. Kazakhstan has large reserves of phosphorus ores in the Zhambyl region in the south. The government privatized state mining companies in 1994.

Kazakhstan has major aluminum, copper, steel, uranium, and zinc factories. The country's major steel producer, Karaganda Metals (or Karmet), was privatized in 1994 and sold to the international firm Ispat-Karmet. Production dropped for several years but in 2000 began to increase, reaching 300,000 tons. The major aluminum producer, Aluminum of Kazakhstan, is engaged in a major expansion of output. The country's chief zinc complex, Kazzinc, announced in 2000 that it would expand production to 250,000 tons. Kazakhstan also has a growing precious metals sector, with production increases in recent years in gold and silver in particular. The majority of gold and silver output comes as a by-product from base metal production, but there are also separate deposits. There are 23 gold-bearing regions in Kazakhstan. The Vasilkovskoye mine in north Kazakhstan is considered to be the fourth largest gold mine in the world.

SERVICES

Kazakhstan's consumer markets are small by comparison with the markets of Europe and Asia. Consequently, most manufacturing focuses on primary commodities for export rather than on the production of consumer goods to meet domestic demand. The service sector in Kazakhstan is large and growing in the major municipal areas. However, the service sector is limited by the relatively small size of the markets and the fact that Kazakhstan's urban population is concentrated in only 10 major towns that are located at great distances from one another.

Kazakhstan's retail sales and service markets have been underdeveloped for many years. As a result of the heavy emphasis on primary commodities, little attention was paid during the Soviet period to consumer goods and services. After Kazakhstan became independent, new laws and regulations made it possible to open private businesses offering consumer goods and services. The small service sector surged ahead as business people began offering services, such as car repair, housing construction and improvement, real estate services, legal services, beauty shop services, and other small businesses that did not require substantial investment.

Because few consumer goods, such as processed foods, small appliances, clothing, and beauty products were produced in Kazakhstan, people had to import them. For a brief period of 2 or 3 years after independence there was a remarkable amount of growth in the import of clothing and household consumer goods that was conducted by shopping tours. These were trips made by individuals either by car, plane, or train to foreign countries such as the United Arab Emirates, China, or Turkey in order to purchase and bring back to Kazakhstan for re-sale large quantities of goods which are imported as luggage. In 1997 government customs agents began to apply import taxes to these goods, thereby discouraging much of this activity. In addition, because the transaction costs of such economic activity is very high, the market for these goods was eventually taken over by shipping and hauling companies that could import large volumes of foreign-made consumer goods.

While Kazakhstan is a country possessing many areas of great natural beauty and potential, the tourist industry is still underdeveloped but growing rapidly. Kazakhstan's new capital, the city of Astana, has several recently constructed world-class hotels. Kazakhstan's other major city, Almaty, has numerous major hotels that cater to international travelers. But the majority of cities in Kazakhstan have few hotels that can offer tourists accommodations and travel services that are in accordance with international standards.

Kazakhstan's banking sector has undergone substantial restructuring during the decade of independence. During the period between 1997 and 2001 the number of banks in Kazakhstan went from 129 to 48 as many small and non-competitive banks went out of business, merged, or were acquired by larger banks. During this period of restructuring, Kazakhstan's banking sector won high marks from international institutions for its rapid adoption of international standards of policy and practice. But these standards have not yet succeeded in convincing international investors and Kazakhstan's citizens that the financial services that are offered by Kazakhstan's major banks are critical to business success and personal finance. The major banks have still not managed to attract major foreign investment. According to banking industry estimates, fewer than 3 percent of Kazakhstan citizens regularly use personal banking services such as checking and consumer credit cards. As a result, most small business transactions in Kazakhstan continue to be cash transactions.

Financial markets are those in which stocks, bonds, and other forms of investment and savings can be bought and sold. In the transition from a centrally-planned economy to a liberal economy , the growth of the financial markets is critical to success. Financial markets facilitate capital formation for businesses and governments and provide a means of profitable utilization of assets for investors. Efficient financial markets also encourage a lot of otherwise idle financial resources to circulate more freely in the economy, what economists refer to as high liquidity . A well functioning financial market is an engine of savings and investment for any free-market economy.

There was great expectation that Kazakhstan would be able to rapidly develop active and vital financial markets immediately after independence. A decade after independence, however, those expectations have not proved well-founded. Kazakhstan's capital markets and stock markets have not proved attractive to foreign investors. Foreign direct investment has been concentrated in a few sectors, particularly oil, gas, and minerals development. Kazakhstan's offering of government bonds has met with interest from investors primarily because investors have confidence that the Kazakhstan government, with its long-term expected revenues from the oil, gas, and mineral sectors, will continue to make good on its promise to pay off its state debt.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Kazakhstan has become a relatively open economy. In 1999 the shares of export and imports in terms of GDP stood at 38 percent and 35 percent, respectively, reflecting a favorable trade balance. In that same year exports stood at US$5.2 billion while imports were US$4.8 billion. The country has the trade structure of a primary commodity supplier. In 1999 oil, gas, and minerals accounted for 78 percent of exports. In contrast, in this same year consumer products dominated imports.

Kazakhstan's largest trading partner is Russia. In 1999 Kazakh exports to Russia accounted for 20 percent of all exports, followed by China accounting for 8 per-

cent, Italy for 7 percent, Germany for 6 percent, and Switzerland for 6 percent. The United States accounted for less than 2 percent of Kazakhstan's exports. Russia was also the largest importer to Kazakhstan, accounting for 37 percent of total imports. Russia was followed by the United States, which accounted for 9 percent of imports, the United Kingdom for over 6 percent, and Italy for about 3 percent. Other trading partners accounted for less than 2 percent each.

Before independence 90 percent of Kazakhstan's trade was with Russia. After independence, the government committed itself to establishing the conditions for integration into the international market. These steps included price liberalization, through the reduction of subsidies and the deregulation of prices, as well as a balanced government budget through increases in taxes and cuts in government spending. The government also instituted a tight monetary policy through an increase in the Central Bank interest rate and encouraged foreign trade liberalization by lifting export and import licenses, granting permission to all firms to engage in foreign trade, and lifting tariffs . Kazakhstan also devalued the domestic currency to bring it down to the domestic market rate, and privatized and restructured state monopolies . The government sought to create a market environment through the legislative and regulatory reform of banking, capital markets, civil and contract law, and dispute adjudication. In order to cushion the social impact of these sweeping economic structural transformations, the government developed a social safety net. The Kazakh government has also pushed ahead with plans to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2002.

MONEY

For a period after national independence, Kazakhstan chose to rely upon the Russian ruble as its currency. None of the successor states of the USSR was in a position at independence to rapidly introduce its own currency, yet none of the countries wanted to be dependent upon monetary decisions taken by Russian financial authorities. Each of the states considered the idea of introducing

separate currencies during the first months of independence. Estonia introduced the first post-Soviet currency, the Kroon, in June 1992. Throughout 1992 most of the states, however, stayed in the ruble zone—those countries that used Russia's currency. Russia announced that it would make the ruble a fully convertible currency in the summer of 1992. After the ruble floated on the international market as a tradable currency, it immediately plunged in value, falling from 130 to over 450 rubles to the U.S. dollar. The fall of the ruble motivated the movement of huge amounts of old rubles to post-Soviet countries, particularly Kazakhstan where the ruble was still the only legal currency. As a result, the Kazakh money supply quadrupled in just a few months. To insulate itself from such disruptions, Kazakhstan introduced a new national currency, the tenge, in November 1993.

The purpose of a national currency is to allow the central economic planners and bank managers a measure of control over the economic activity of the country and to provide a medium of exchange to promote domestic commerce and foreign trade. To be an effective medium for commerce, the currency must be tradable so that buyers and sellers can exchange their goods and services with knowledge that the currency is a reliable medium for exchanging things of value. The marketability of the currency depends upon a system that allows purchasers of the currency to buy it and sell it in accordance with their currency needs. This, in turn, requires that the banking system is arranged in such a way that banks may settle their accounts among themselves and foreign banks on a regular basis, moving the currency of the country and of other countries in response to the demands of the currency users. The Kazakhstan government has taken key steps to assure that the tenge is a tradable currency with adequate provisions for clearing and settlements among banking institutions.

The Kazakhstan National Bank, the government agency responsible for maintaining the stability of the currency, has sought over the past years to maintain a stable but flexible exchange rate for the tenge. The value of the tenge fluctuated in a narrow band at about T138-143 per U.S. dollar in late 1999 and early 2000, settling at about T142.5 per U.S. dollar in late 2000. Given the strong growth in deposits and the confidence of market participants in a stable exchange rate, interest rates declined. Rates on 3-month treasury bills declined by about one-half in late 2000, reaching about 8 percent per annum.

Kazakhstan's central bank has sought to avoid many of the problems associated with the "boom and bust" syndrome of economies that are dependent upon the sale of natural resources, minerals, and other primary commodities. During 2000 the government recorded a substantial surplus. Exports grew strongly, resulting in a current account surplus as a percentage of the GDP. During 2000 the Kazakh government borrowed money on the international market by issuing Eurobonds of US$350 million. These bonds are basically treasury bills that the government issues with a promise to pay at a later date. They are called "Eurobonds" simply because they can also be purchased by investors in European markets. In May 2000 the Central Bank (the National Bank of Kazakhstan, or NBK) repaid outstanding obligations of roughly US$385 million to the International Monetary Fund, substantially reducing the public external debt .

POVERTY AND WEALTH

Poverty is a major concern in Kazakhstan. More than a third of the population of the country was estimated by the World Bank to live below the subsistence minimum in 1996. Some 6 percent of the population was estimated to live on less than US$2.15 per day. Almost two-thirds of the poor live in the southern and eastern regions of the country, the areas that are largely agrarian and rural. Certain groups are most affected by poverty: the young, households with many children, households with one parent, and the retired.

Under the Soviet system, industrial facilities based in cities and regions were largely responsible for the welfare of the local citizens. The farms, factories, offices, and enterprises in which virtually every Soviet citizen worked were responsible for providing everything from road maintenance to health care to childcare. When Kazakhstan ended state ownership of industry and agriculture, these large enterprises ceased to provide social services. However, few programs came into being to rapidly assume the responsibility for providing these public services. Many Kazakh citizens who were unable to find employment in the new, rapidly changing circumstances of a market economy found their incomes lost or dramatically diminished and social services almost non-existent.

In the Soviet Union, most people lived at a roughly equal socio-economic level. The Soviet personnel system and the system of distribution of state resources such as

housing and access to education was highly standardized. Such systems are inherently wasteful because the scarcity of goods and services is not efficiently or accurately represented. The end of communism and the advent of market economics introduced new efficiencies. At the same time, the transition period introduced the possibility of using government positions or control over resources to amass great personal wealth. New extremes of rich and poor arose quickly. Some townspeople with access to wealth benefitted greatly from the first stages of the post-communist transition. Many rural dwellers, such as herdsmen and farmers, suffered terribly as government subsidies came to an end and health, education, and other social services ended abruptly. Many small towns that had been organized during the Soviet period were essentially "company towns," that is, towns in which virtually all the population worked in one large factory. After the Soviet era, many of these communities turned into ghost towns as unprofitable factories teetered on the edge of bankruptcy, released workers, and were unwilling to support the social services for the towns and villages.

Some analysts estimate that as much as 30 percent of the economic activity in the Kazakh service sector takes place in the informal economy and is thus not visible to tax collectors. In transition economies people often seek to conceal their earnings out of fear that conspicuous wealth may attract outlaws or the tax collectors. Payments for services are often made in cash; many kinds of government control over the economy allow bureaucrats to pad their modest incomes through bribes, that is secure payments for government licenses, approvals, or support. As a consequence, many business people find that they often have to make bribes or other payments to advance their business deals or assure that they will not be harassed by officials.

A step the Kazakhstan government has taken to address this situation is the strengthening of the funded pension system that was introduced 1 January 1998. This fully-funded pension system was designed to help the government improve the marketability of financial assets held by the pension funds. Pension funds are now compelled to use internationally-accepted accounting and valuation standards, and they have greater freedom to invest in high-quality foreign assets. In the long run, workers in Kazakhstan can be assured that their earnings over their productive years will grow and pay them dividends in retirement. However, the new system amasses money as new entrants into the workforce begin regularly paying a portion of their incomes into the pension funds. Those workers already on pension or close to pension will receive little benefit from the funds. A great social injustice of the transition period is the large number of pensioners who worked their entire productive lives and only to receive monthly pensions amounting to no more than US$15 per month.

The government has taken steps to focus public assistance programs on providing critical services to the truly needy. In 1998 the Kazakhstan government adopted a system of needs tests to ensure that social assistance is provided to those who need it and not provided to those who are not entitled to it. In addition, the government discontinued reliance on unemployment registration as a means of identifying eligibility for social assistance. Overall, public assistance in such areas as medical care,

assistance to children and the elderly, however, has fallen far below the level needed.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Kazakhstan has a workforce of roughly 8.8 million people. Some 27 percent of the labor force is occupied in industry, 23 percent in agriculture and forestry, 20 percent in education, and the remaining 30 percent in the service sector and other sectors such as government and military. The unemployment rate was estimated to be 14 percent in 1998. Unemployment is much higher in rural areas than in urban areas, where the service sector has enjoyed robust growth in recent years. Employment by women in urban areas lags behind that of men by a considerable margin, reaching 20 percent.

Kazakhstan has paid a high social price for its rapid progress in the transition from communism. Under communism, economic growth was restrained but there was a very low level of inequality. Most workers made roughly the same income. Extremes of high and low incomes were rare. Since independence, Kazakhstan's success in rapid macroeconomic and political reforms created anxiety among the country's southern neighbors, particularly Uzbekistan, where government-regulated prices and subsidized production were still the norm. Kazakhstan's abandonment of subsidies for Soviet-era industries permitted a steep industrial decline, throwing hundreds of thousands of Kazakh citizens out of work. Kazakhstan's success in privatization led to charges in the press and among many industrial workers that the Kazakhstan government had sold out to large multinational corporations , abandoning social principles in favor of rapid income gains for the few. Kazakhstan's efforts to court a few large multinational enterprises— particularly in the gas, oil, and minerals sectors—led to the widespread perception of growing corruption, bribery, and cronyism.

The socio-economic consequences of the transition are immediately visible in Kazakhstan. High unemployment, deteriorating or even non-existent social services, unpaid salaries, social security and pension payments, unheated apartments, and unavoidable confrontations with dishonest or corrupt local officials: these are everyday features of life in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan's industrial workers have sought to use collective bargaining to promote their common welfare. However, trade unionism has weak traditions in the country. The Confederation of Free Trade Unions claims a membership of about 250,000 workers. In fact, the number of independent trade union members is much lower. Other unions have had even less success. To obtain legal status, an independent union must apply for registration with local judicial authorities and with the Ministry of Justice. Registration is generally lengthy, difficult, and expensive. Independent unions gravitated towards opposition political candidates but turned more pro-government in 1999 when the government authorities introduced protectionist trade policies aimed at supporting domestic industries. Kazakhstan law does little to protect workers who join independent unions from threats and harassment by enterprise management or state-run unions. Members of independent unions have been dismissed, transferred to lower-paying jobs, threatened, and intimidated.

COUNTRY HISTORY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

650-750. A tribal alliance of herders and nomads known as the Kaganate moves into the area that is now Kazakhstan.

750. Arabs invade the area, spreading the influence of the Islamic culture and religion.

1700. The people divide into 3 Kazakh tribes (called "Juz"), which become known as the senior, middle, and junior tribes.

1731. The junior tribe joins the Russian empire, while the senior and middle tribes remain independent.

1820. The khan of Kokand, ruling from the ancient city of Kokand located far to the south, extends its political influence northward, capturing and taking control of areas of southern Kazakhstan.

1850. Major Russian emigration occurs. Russians arrive in Kazakhstan in search of new agricultural lands.

1867. The Russian tsar decrees the establishment of the Turkestan general-governorship, extending official Russian rule into Kazakhstan and Central Asia, making Kazakhstan part of the Russian Empire.

1917. The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia toward the end of World War I leads to the establishment of a communist government and the creation, in 1918, of the Russian Socialist Republic (which includes the territory of present-day Kazakhstan).

1925. Ethnic Kazakhs in the southern region gain recognition as the separate Karakalpak Autonomous Province. The province is included in the new republic of Uzbekistan, not in Kazakhstan, thereby dividing the ethnic Kazakhs.

1929. The capital of Kazakhstan is moved from the city of Kzyl Orda to Alma-Ata (later known as Almaty).

1929-33. The Russian government embarks upon the collectivization of agriculture to reorganize agriculture along the lines of industrial management. The disastrous agricultural policies lead to widespread opposition, farmers' uprisings, and famine.

1936. The province of the territories of modern day Kazakhstan is proclaimed to be a Soviet Socialist Republic, called the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. During the rule of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, the communist government conducts campaigns against political opposition. Thousands of Kazakhs are imprisoned for crimes against the state, the political crime of disagreement with state policy.

1957-61. Under the leadership of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev a new agricultural initiative called the Virgin Lands Campaign relocates tens of thousands of people from the European parts of the USSR to Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is identified as the new bread basket of the USSR.

1986. After a decision by Soviet leaders to appoint an ethnic Russian as the head of the Kazakhstan Communist Party, widespread nationalist opposition to the dominance of the Communist Party results in public protests and riots.

1990. Demands for greater political autonomy on the part of the Socialist Republics of the USSR lead to a movement for republican sovereignty. The Kazakhstan Soviet-era parliament passes the Declaration of Sovereignty, asserting that the natural resources of the country belong to Kazakhstan and not the Soviet Union.

1991. An unsuccessful attempt to take over the Russian government by Communist Party hard-liners precipitates a crisis in Moscow. Many rank and file communists join opponents of Moscow's long-standing domination of the rest of the country. Kazakhstan, like all of the 15 republics that made up the USSR, declares national independence.

1991. In December, 11 high Communist Party officials gather in Almaty (then known as "Alma-Ata") to sign a document announcing the end of the USSR and the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

1992. Kazakhstan joins major international organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

1993. The Kazakhstan Constitution is adopted.

1995. A new version of the Kazakhstan Constitution, assigning greater powers to the executive branch, is adopted.

1995. The first Kazakhstan tax code is introduced.

2000. Kazakhstan joins the Eurasian Economic Community, an international organization designed to create a common economic market throughout much of the former USSR.

FUTURE TRENDS

Kazakhstan's government has made substantial progress in the transition to a modern, globally integrated economy. Following independence, Kazakhstan quickly carried out macroeconomic reforms and established the legal and regulatory structure of a private economy. The country has adopted a tradable currency, liberalized prices, and privatized major sectors of the economy including industry, telecommunications, and energy. Kazakhstan lifted virtually all subsidies on consumer goods in 1994. State industrial subsidies were abandoned in 1994, and small-scale privatization has also taken place. Kazakhstan established the fundamental institutions of a civil society—a constitution recognizing a separation of powers, an electoral process, a professional judiciary, a deliberative parliament, a free press, and rights of speech, assembly, and religious freedom. Kazakhstan's record of protection of human and civil rights compares favorably with that of its former Soviet neighbors. Given these facts, it can be argued that Kazakhstan has gone further than many of the former Soviet states in the establishment of a modern state. Yet serious challenges remain.

Kazakhstan inherited a physical infrastructure designed to serve the Soviet economy by providing primary commodities such as energy and minerals to industrial markets in the north, particularly in the Ural and central Siberian industrial regions of Russia. Kazakhstan's industry was previously tightly connected to these regions of Russia because its industrial suppliers and consumers were primarily in these regions. The country's rail and road transportation systems were designed to connect its primary commodity industries with the northern manufacturing markets. These are the realities of Kazakhstan's contemporary situation: primarily commodity-based industries, a sparse population, previous economic specialization under Soviet-style socialism , and a legacy of centralized planning.

In terms of Kazakhstan's political future, the stakes are obviously big. Kazakhstan is potentially one of the richer countries of the region, and perhaps one of the richer countries of the world if it can succeed in negotiating access to world markets for its oil, gas, and mineral riches. But an oil-led economic development strategy has potential drawbacks for Kazakhstan. A strategy that relies exclusively on the export of primary commodities and raw materials is likely to make Kazakhstan susceptible to fluctuations in international markets. Like the other post-communist countries, Kazakhstan will very likely continue to be influenced by economic trends that it cannot control. Private international investors, with the exception of the major oil companies, have been reluctant to make major commitments to Kazakhstan. Those foreign companies that have moved into the Kazakhstan market, such as Tractabel, the large European energy company, have found the Kazakh domestic market to be more challenging than they anticipated. There is a consensus that the Kazakh government needs to strengthen the institutional and legal underpinnings of a market economy, balance its public and private sectors, and make a more substantial commitment to strengthening the social safety net. The Kazakh government has made substantial progress in developing a market-based policy framework, at least in theory. Making this framework function in practice is one of the main challenges facing the country's economic managers.

DEPENDENCIES

Kazakhstan has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cummings, Sally N. Kazakhstan: Centre-Periphery Relations. London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2000.

Economist Intelligence Unit. Country Profile: Kazakhstan. London: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2001.

Hopkirk, Peter. The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia. London: Kodansha International, 1994.

Kalyuzhnova, Yelena. Kazakstani Economy: Independence and Transition. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998.

Kaser, Michael Charles. The Economies of Kazakstan and Uzbekistan. London; Royal Institute of International Affairs, and Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 1997.

Kazakhstan: The Transition to a Market Economy. Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1993.

Kazecon. <http://www.kazecon.kz/>. Accessed February 2001.

Kazhegeldin, Akezhan. "Shattered Image: Misconceptions of Democracy and Capitalism in Kazakhstan," Harvard International Review. Vol. 22, Winter/Spring 2000.

International Monetary Fund. Republic of Kazakhstan and the IMF. <http://www.imf.org/external/country/KAZ/index.htm>. Accessed February 2001.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan. <http://www.nationalbank.kz/eng/>. Accessed February 2001.

President's Office of the Kazakhstan Government. Welcome to the Official Kazakhstan. <http://www.president.kz/>. Accessed February 2001.

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook 2000. <http:// www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html>. Accessed September 2001.

U.S. Department of State. FY 2000 Country Commercial Guide: Kazakhstan. <http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/business/com_guides/2000/Europe/index.html>. Accessed September 2001.

—Gregory Gleason

CAPITAL:

Astana.

MONETARY UNIT:

Tenge (T). One tenge equals 100 tiyin. No coins exist. Paper currency comes in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 tenge as well as 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20 tiyin.

CHIEF EXPORTS:

Oil, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal.

CHIEF IMPORTS:

Machinery and parts, industrial materials, oil and gas, vehicles.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT:

US$54.5 billion (in purchasing power parity, 1999 est.).

BALANCE OF TRADE:

Exports: US$5.2 billion (1999 est.). Imports: US$4.8 billion (1999 est.).

Kazakhs

ETHNONYM: Kazaks

Orientation

Identification. Kazakhs are a Central Asian people who live mainly in Kazakhstan, formerly the Kazakh SSR. The so-called Kirghiz SSR was established as part of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic in 1920 and renamed the Kazakh SSR in 1926. In 1991 it declared its sovereignty and independence and began to be called the Republic of Kazakhstan. Toward the end of 1991 it voluntarily joined the other states that formed the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Republic of Kazakhstan is a multicultural state, with members of numerous different ethnic groups living there. A significant portion of the population is Slavic, mainly Russians and Ukrainians, who constitute nearly half the population in some northern areas. Also living in Kazakhstan are Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, Turkmens, Uighur, Tatars, Dungans, Germans, Koreans, Greeks, Kurds, Turks, Mordvins, and many peoples from the Caucasus, especially the northern Caucasus.

The self-name of the Kazakh people—"Kazakh" or "Kazak"—has existed, according to written sources, since the seventeenth century and was generally known to neighboring peoples by the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Russians, who called them "Kazakhs" or "the Kazatskaye" (or also "Kazattskaya"), subsequently began to call them "Kyrgyz" (although the actual Kyrgyz are the Karakyrgyz or Will Stone Kyrgyz), "Kazak-Kyrgyz," "Kyrgyz-Kaisak," and "Kyrgyz-Kazakh." This occurred because the Russians sought to differentiate the Kazakhs from the Russian Cossacks who had settled in neighboring regions of Siberia at the beginning of the eighteenth century, or in Kazakh territory itself. Only in 1926, when the Kazakhs gained national autonomy, was the name of the Kirghiz ASSR changed to Kazakh and did the Kazakhs regain the use of their traditional name.

Location. The territory of the Kazakhs, known as Kazakhstan, is quite large. It stretches from the Balkhash Lowlands in the east to the Ural River in the west (about 3,000 kilometers) and from the Syr Darya and Chu river systems and the Tobol River in the south to the Imum and the Irtysh rivers in the north (about 2,000 kilometers). Basically the region consists of steppe, desert, and semidesert lands, which in the east and southeast are bounded by the Altai and Tianshan massifs. In the extreme northwest are the southern marshes of the Common Syrt; in the south the wide, flat Pre-Caspian Lowlands and, further on, the desert peninsula of Mangyshlak. The Ural River flows almost all the way across the Common Syrt and the Pre-Caspian Lowlands, emptying into the Caspian Sea. To the west, Europe begins at the Ural Mountains, and Asia is to the east.

The Mangyshlak Peninsula, along with the low mountain ridges of the Aktar and Karatar, is distinguished by deep hollows, the deepest of which—Karagie—is 132 meters below sea level. To the east from Mangyshlak there extends the desert plateau of Ust Urt. Both of these places are now used by the Kazakhs for winter pasturage. To the northeast lie the Pre-Caspian Lowlands bordering the spurs of the Urals and the low mountain massif of Mugogzhari. Further east lie the Turgay plateau and, south of it, the Tuvan Lowlands filled by the desert of Kyzylkum. To the north of the Aral Sea are the sandy massifs of the great and small Balger. The desert of the Pre-Aral Kanakum is north of the Aral Sea. The Aral Sea has recently become well known, as it is gradually growing shallow and creating an ecological crisis. Since ancient times, the Kazakhs have used this region for winter pasturage for their cattle.

Further to the east, the Kazakhs occupy the southern region of the western Siberian plain, to the south of which spreads the fine summer pasturage that the Kazakhs affectionately call the Sary-Arka. Yet further to the south is the desert of Betpak-Dala. The Chu River, its waters flowing from the west, separates the southern part of Betpak-Dala from the sands of Muyunkum. From the southeast to the northwest the land is framed by the mountain ridges of the Karatay. To the east of the Betpak-Dala Desert lies Lake Balkhash and, to the south of the lake, the well-known province of Gernirechye, or, as the Kazakhs call it, Jetys.

The wide variation in the landscape and variable distances from the oceans have led to a climate that is basically continental but with marked regional variation. In the north the winters are cold and long, with temperatures dipping to as low as -45° C. In the central regions winters are moderate, and in the south they are gentle and short, almost without snow. Summers are dry and range from warm in the north to hot in the south.

Precipitation is rare almost everywhere other than the mountains, and especially so in the desert regions, where it is less than 10 centimeters per year. Only in the foothills and mountains is rainfall plentiful, ranging from 40 to 160 centimeters per year. Winds blow across the entire region; in the steppe lands these winds turn into severe snowstorms (buran ) in the winter, and in the fall (and less often in the summer) into dust storms. The variations in topogaphy and climate have also produced marked variation in the distribution of water sources. Although there are about 85,000 lakes, many are in the mountains in the north, with hardly any in the desert and semidesert regions. The water level in lakes and rivers rises and falls markedly with the seasons, and during droughts some dry up completely in the summer months. The water in the great majority of lakes is saline. Fresh water is found only in the steppe lands and the mountains and in the flatland along the major rivers and lakes. The two seas—the Caspian and Aral—and the largest lakes, including Balkhash, are isolated basins. Only major rivers such as the Ishim, Irtysh, and Tobal cross the Kazakh region and extend into other regions.

The flora is diverse. Many varieties of grain (feather grass, wormwood, and tipchak —an oatlike grass that grows in steppes and deserts) flourish in the steppe in the north; the main summer pasturage is found here. Wormwood and grasses predominate in semidesert regions. Most of Kazakh territory is desert covered by drought-resistant bushes, small brush, and different grasses called salt grass (solyanka ). In the sandy deserts are sand wormwood, sage, acacias, and haloxyon (saksaul ). In the flatland are tugainye woods, and around the lakes reeds are found in abundance. The foothills are covered with poppies and tulips. Higher up in the mountains are bushes and mixed woods of aspen and birch and, even higher, coniferous forests. In the forest belt, fed by the glacial streams, are alpine and subalpine meadows with a rich variety of flora. The soil in Kazakhstan is mostly fertile. In the north it is chernozem, to the south chermits soils are most common, and in the desert regions there is a mix of red-brown, grey-brown, and sandy soils. Agriculture in the desert regions requires irrigation.

As with the flora, there is also a rich variety of fauna including 155 varieties of mammals, 480 of birds, 49 of reptiles, 11 of amphibians, 150 of fish, and many invertebrates.

Demography. According to the 1989 census, there were 8,136,000 Kazakhs in the lands of the Soviet Union, with 6,535,000 in Kazakhstan. Kazakhs also live in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan in Central Asia and in Russia. Over 1 million live in other countries, mainly China, Mongolia, and Turkey, and in Europe.

Linguistic Affiliation. The Kazakh language belongs to the Northwest or Kipchak Group of Turkish languages of the Ural-Altaic Family. Together with Karakalpak and Nogay it forms the Kipchak-Nogay Subgroup of the Kipchak languages. Kazakh has three dialects—Western, North-Eastern, and Southern.

History and Cultural Relations

Much archaeological and documentary evidence establishes the continuous history of Kazakhstan from the Late Paleolithic era. In the late Bronze Age (end of the second to the beginning of the first millenia b.c.) the inhabitants of the steppe region began practicing nomadic animal husbandry, mining, and the production of bronze wares. More than 100 settlements dating to the Bronze Age, with foundaries for the fusion of metals and the manufacture of weapons, tools, and ornaments, have been discovered. In the following period (roughly from the first millenium b.c. to the Christian Era) the nomadic tribes of Kazakhstan began to consolidate into larger units—the Saks (Scythians) tribal union in southern (Semirechie), eastern, and central Kazakhstan, and the Savromat Confederacy to the west and partly to the north. Ideologically, the cults of the sun and fire dominated worship of the goddess-guardian of the domestic hearth and of fertility and totemism, and magical practices were retained. The well-known Scythian-Saksian style flourished, renowned to this day for its artistry and expressivity. Subsequently, new, more powerful tribal unities developed, these showing early signs of centralized state power: Usuni, and Kangyugi (in southern Kazakhstan the Semirechie), which maintained contacts with Bactria and the empires of Kushan, Panthia, and China.

In the second 500 years of the first millennium a.d. a process of feudalization took place. Powerful feudal states such as the Old Turkish, Tyurgesh, Karluk, Oguz, Kumak, and Kipchak ruled the region, with each tending to replace the next. In 1219-1220 Mongol Tatars conquered the region; their rule restricted cultural and economic development. The emergence of the Kazakhs as a distinct ethnic group occurred in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries with the rise of the Kazakh Khanate. There were three powerful entities called zhuz (Russian: orda): the Old Zhuz in southern Kazakhstan and the Semirechie, the Middle Zhuz in central and northern Kazakhstan, and the Young Zhuz in western Kazakhstan. At the start of the nineteenth century the Bukeev Zhuz broke away from the Young Zhuz and occupied the Pre-Caspian steppe between the Volga and Ural rivers. Each of the zhuzes consisted of a number of tribes, which were further subdivided into smaller tribes and clans within the tribes. The clans were unified internally by common ancestry.

During the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries the "traditional" culture of the Kazakhs was established, including house type, furnishings, utensils, clothing, food, rituals, art, and oral tradition. All customs and beliefs were strongly influenced by the nomadic and seminomadic animal husbandry that was the basis of Kazakh life.

In the first quarter of the eighteenth century the survival of the Kazakhs was threatened by invasions of the Jungans from the east in 1713, 1718, and 1722-1723, a period known as "the years of the great disaster." The Jungans seized a significant amount of Kazakh land, and some Kazakh tribes and clans fled west and established protective ties with the Russians. In 1731 the Kazakhs of the Young Zhuz (Khan Abulkhair) and some from the Middle Zhuz accepted Russian citizenship. The unification of Kazakhstan with Russia was completed by the 1860s, and, as a result, the Kazakh steppe was ringed by Russian military lines and fortifications, which served to strengthen the Russian Empire. The basic military force was drawn from Cossack settlements, to which were given over 67 million hectares of the best Kazakh land. During the unification process the power of the Kazakh khans was weakened (the Young Zhuz in 1824 and the Nukeev Zhuz in 1845), and a new administrative system based on the rule of the czar was introduced. The new system delineated the following territories: West-Siberian, later Steppe (with the Akmolinsk and Semipalatinsk regions); Orenburg, with its Ural and Tungai provinces; Turkestan territory, with its Syr-Dal'in and Semirechie provinces. In turn the provinces (oblasts ) were subdivided into regions (uezds ) and the regions into districts (volosts ). Kazakh lands were declared to be state property and granted for usufruct without a time limit.

During this period, the Kazakh economy also changed markedly. Trade increased, agriculture developed, and the first industrial enterprises, mainly devoted to the processing of agricultural raw materials, were developed. The territory was also settled by large numbers of peasants from European Russia, and Kazakhstan became a multicultural region. The presence of the Russians affected the Kazakhs in a variety of ways. On the one hand, they lost large tracts of the best pasturage because this land was allotted to the settlers. On the other hand, the settlers were involved in the development of Kazakh agriculture and the emergence of a Kazakh ethnic consciousness. A Kazakh bourgeoisie was born, and a working class began to emerge—both entirely new social groupings for the Kazakhs.

During World War I large numbers of Kazakhs were mobilized for rear-echelon work. In 1916 an anticolonial movement flared up, only to be harshly suppressed; 300,000 Kazakhs were forced to migrate beyond the boundaries of Russia, some to China and Mongolia. During the 1917 Revolution and the civil war and in subsequent periods, the Kazakhs shared the same fate as other peoples of the USSR. On the one hand, a backward, agrarian region was transformed into an agricultural, industrialized republic. As a result, a high culture emerged, characterized by literature, art, science, and technology. These years, however, were also marked by cruel famines, especially during the years of massive collectivization, which for the pastoral Kazakhs was accompanied by enforced settlement, epidemics, and many Stalinist repressions that killed millions of people. For example, during the famines of the 1930s the populations of entire villages perished—hundreds of thousands of Kazakh families. Those who survived left their property and herds behind and set off for Siberia, Central Asia, and other regions. Approximately 1 million Kazakhs dispersed in China, Mongolia, Afghanistan, and other countries. Nearly 200,000 of these returned in 1934; the rest remained abroad. During the 1930s, mass purges and campaigns against "enemies of the people" were carried out among the Kazakhs, as among the other peoples of the USSR. As a result of all these tragic events, 1.75 million Kazakhs perished—nearly 40 percent of the total population.

Despite these horrific human losses, the national economy of Kazakhstan nevertheless developed steadily. In the prewar years, 200 large-scale industrial enterprises were established, land-tenure regulations for the former Kazakh nomads and seminomads were implemented, and livestock raising and agriculture were improved.

World War II interrupted the peaceful development of the Kazakh Republic. More than 1.2 million citizens of Kazakhstan were drafted into military service and participated in the defense of the USSR. According to data from 1946, 96,638 Kazakh veterans received decorations and medals of distinction.

During the war the Kazakh homeland also played a vital role in the country's economy, providing coal, oil, and various metals and furnishing the army with food products. Also during the war, Kazakhstan accommodated more than 1 million Russians, Ukrainians, Belarussians, and other peoples of the Soviet Union evacuated from frontline areas.

In the postwar period, the Kazakhs endured several unfortunate events. In the mid-1950s, there was a mass "opening up" of the virgin steppe lands. With the help of 640,000 immigrant workers who arrived to aid the Kazakhs, more than 1.8 million hectares of land were plowed and sown—that is, approximately 60 percent of the total area of the country's newly opened land. In 1956 Kazakhstan provided the state with more than 1 billion puds (36 billion lbs/16.38 billion kg) of bread. This was more than in the eleven preceding years combined. The virgin land epic was ill-conceived, however. Over a huge area the most fertile layer of soil (humus) was destroyed by erosion. In addition, the lands previously used for pasture, the best ones, were reduced, which seriously undermined the basis of the Kazakhs' traditional occupation, livestock raising. The ecological situation in Kazakhstan deteriorated, as the plowing up of the steppes resulted in a reduction of the number of livestock and the stocks of wild animals and birds and the drying up of the rivers and lakes.

In the rural areas, less than one-half of all children are provided with preschool institutions; most medical facilities are ill-equipped, lacking medicine and medical supplies; and hospital beds are poorly distributed. The homes of rural Kazakhs, as a rule, lack running water and sewer systems; more than 700 settlements use imported water. Many cities, including large ones, are experiencing a severe shortage of water. In remote districts, where mainly Kazakhs dwell, a low standard of living remains: there is a high infant and maternal mortality rate and a high rate of disease in general.

Not every aspect of the development of industry was well received. Although Kazakhstan is an industrially developed country, the structure of the national economy is one-sided: the principle emphasis has been on the attainment and initial processing of raw materials. All of these factors led to serious socioeconomic complications and to a shortage of industrial goods and food products.

To this one must add the irreparable changes in the ecosystem as a result of 40 years of systematic nuclear testing in the Semipalatinsk region. The air, earth, rivers, and lakes of the once-blossoming region were contaminated with radioactivity in a large area around the testing ground; the people, especially the children, as well as the animals and plants are suffering from the effects of these acts.

An ecological tragedy is coming about with the unprecedented drying up of the Aral Sea. Because of the shortage of water, the dispersal of poisonous chemical fertilizers, and the general contamination of the land and water, everyone living within a few kilometers of the Aral Sea is perishing. The tragedy affects not only Kazakhs but other peoples as well—the Turkmens, the Uzbeks, and the Karakalpaks who live in the basin of the Aral Sea.

The events outlined above have led to an exacerbation of socioeconomic and political problems and to dissatisfaction manifesting itself in various ways. On 17 December 1986 student disturbances broke out in the capital of Kazakhstan, Alma-Ata. As a result of provocation, clashes between youths and the militia flared up, causing numerous casualties. Nearly 1,700 people were injured and more than 8,000 arrested and detained, many of whom were convicted. At the present time these events have been reappraised as struggles for democratic freedom. December 17 has been proclaimed Kazakhstan's Day of Democracy.

In June 1989 long unresolved social problems in the city of Novyi Uzen' (Mangyshlak Peninsula) led to interethnic conflicts—members of seventy ethnic groups, many from the Caucasus, live in the city alongside Kazakhs. As a result of the riots, lives were lost and strikes were held repeatedly at the mines of the Karagandin coal basin.

The modern political life of the Kazakhs is very active. Legislators are passing a series of laws that are fundamentally changing the lives of the people of Kazakhstan. The president of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbaev, was popularly elected and enjoys the support of most of the population, especially the Kazakhs. In September 1991, the Communist party of Kazakhstan was renamed the Socialist party. Other parties have arisen, including the Social Democratic party, the Alash Party of National Independence, and the Republican party, along with many social movements. Testing at the atomic proving ground of Semipalatinsk Oblast has been discontinued. The Aral Sea Basin has been declared a zone of ecological disaster, and measures are being taken to rectify the aftereffects of this catastrophe. Among the laws adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, notable are the laws connected with the development of the culture and language of the Kazakh people as well as those of other ethnic groups living in the territory of Kazakhstan. The Kazakh language has become the state language, although Russian continues to be the language of international relations. Legislation about teaching and record keeping in the languages of other nationalities in areas where they live in dense concentration has also been passed.

Fundamental economic changes have come about. Joint-stock companies, cooperative works, and the privatization of businesses have been authorized. The number of farm-based economies is growing. Land is given to farmers for unlimited use, including the right to inherit it. On collective and state farms, leases are receiving widespread distribution; anyone may rent a portion of land to cultivate crops, in return for a portion of the harvest but is entitled to sell the remainder at market price. Since 1992, in Kazakhstan as in many other republics of the former USSR, free prices for food and industrial products have been introduced, with the exception of products of primary necessity. In short, a market economy is being developed.

Settlements

As of 1989, 16,538,000 people live in Kazakhstan, of which 57 percent are urban dwellers and 43 percent rural residents. The capital of the republic, Alma-Ata, was founded in 1854 and is situated at a height of 700-900 meters by the northern slopes of the Zailiiski Altai range; its population is 1,132,000. There are 82 cities and 132 urban-type settlements in Kazakhstan. The 17 provinces (oblasts) include 218 rural and 33 urban districts. In the cities Kazakhs live in large apartment buildings, paying monthly rent, as well as in houses of the rural type, which, in general, they own. In the rural settlements and auls of rural areas, Kazakhs live in houses of their own construction. A portion of rural dwellers use houses built for them on collective or state farms. At the present time, measures are being undertaken toward the privatization of all housing. A distinguishing feature of the Kazakhs living in rural areas is the retention of the traditional transportable dwelling—the yurt—in several regions of Kazakhstan (the Mangyshlak Peninsula, the areas around the Syr Darya, etc.), even up to the present. The yurt is a round, collapsible dwelling consisting of a wooden frame covered in felt. The basis of the frame is several sliding wooden lattices (kerge ), which fold up when collapsed. The bigger these lattices are, the bigger are the yurts themselves. Long curved poles (uuk ) are attached to these lattices from above, the sharp upper ends of which are put into a wooden hoop (shangyrak ). Thus the roof of the yurt has a dome-shaped appearance. In one place between the lattices Kazakhs fasten a wooden bivalved door frame. A flap of felt on the hoop of the yurt's dome is tied back to form an opening for smoke from the hearth, which is traditionally positioned in the center of the yurt, slightly closer to the door. Today yurts are used mainly during the summer. They serve as dwellings chiefly for families of shepherds who set off with their herds for the summer pastures. Other rural inhabitants set up yurts near their homes in the summer.

The entire internal space of the yurt is strictly arranged according to tradition. Opposite the door by the wall is the zhuk, where trunks filled with household items are stacked; during the day the bedding is also piled up there. The place in front of the zhuk is considered the most honored (tor). The most esteemed guest occupies this spot and, in the event no guest is present, the master of the yurt does so. The floor of this area is covered with fleece carpets or even fur bedding over the usual felt. The woman's half of the yurt is located to the left of the tor, where she stores household tools and food supplies as well as the large skin bag (saba ) for kumys (a beverage prepared from sour mare's milk). The bedding of the master and his wife is located nearer to the tor. The area to the right of the tor is considered the male half, where the horse harness, saddle, and the master's tools are found. Closer to the door is the place reserved for the younger members of the family, including sometimes even a married son. The door of the Kazakh yurt always faces south. Kazakhs still try to preserve the traditional layout of the yurt's interior as much as possible.

Among the settled and semisettled Kazakhs (among the latter during their winter camp), permanent dwellings are found, differing according to the climatic conditions of the vast Kazakh homeland and depending on the influence of neighboring settled peoples. Thus, among the northern Kazakhs, a permanent dwelling in a yurtlike form was originally widespread, as is common among peoples of western Siberia. In the south and west of Kazakhstan, the ancient form of dwelling was the adobe cottage. In the middle of the nineteenth century, however, quadrangular buildings with flat roofs covered with earth and turf appeared. As a rule, these were built without a foundation and had an earthen floor, which was covered with felt and carpets. They utilized turf, adobe bricks, wood, and stone as building materials.

Today the rural dwelling of the Kazakhs is a rather large accommodation with several rooms. Usually there is a room for the elderly, in which they maintain the traditions particularly strongly. There is also a guest room with modern furnishings. The kitchen is set off separately. Even now, however, the whole life of a family is spent in a single room, especially during the winter. Many rural homes have their own steam heating.

Despite the predominance of a nomadic or seminomadic life-style among the Kazakhs, they did construct a large number of "cult" monuments—funerary buildings (see "Death and Afterlife").

Economy

In the pre-Revolutionary period the Kazakhs were prominent on the Eurasian Steppe, leading nomadic and seminomadic life-styles. Their chief occupation was livestock raising; the animals were kept in pastures year-round. These pastures were divided according to season—summer, spring/fall, and winter, based on when grass was sufficient, in turn depending on climatic conditions. The summer pastures were located in the north, in the steppe zone, with abundant, lush grass. It was impossible to remain there during the winter, however, as the huge amount of snow would not permit the livestock to graze. Therefore the nomadic livestock breeders were required to move with their herds far to the south to the desert and semidesert zones in the winter, where vegetation flourished after the autumn rains and where there was little snow. Sometimes the migration reached upwards of 1,000-1,500 kilometers. En route, the nomads would stay for a short while at the spring/fall pastures when they were migrating to the north in the spring and to the south during the fall. Such a migratory system was quite widespread among the Kazakh nomads and seminomads; it has been designated "meridianal" in the literature.

In the mountainous regions the nomadic and seminomadic Kazakhs passed the winter in the valleys of the mountain rivers and ravines, where there was little snow, whereas in the summer they and their herds went high into the mountains to the alpine and subalpine meadows. This type of migration is called "vertical."

The particular nomadic life-style determined the specific makeup of the herd. The domesticated animals had to withstand travel during the lengthy migration and, crucially, had to be able to procure food for themselves from under the snow during the winter. The horse was most suited to these conditions and was thus highly prized among the Kazakhs. The horse was also the main transport and riding animal, able to cover a long distance in a relatively short time. The horse also supplied kumys, which has been revered since the days of the Scythian nomads. Horse meat was also considered most tasty and nutritious; horse hair was used in the preparation of strong, thick ropes.

In early childhood the Kazakh nomad was given a colt, which she or he called by name, looked after, and by the age of 5 to 7 was already riding. Adult Kazakhs, both men and women, were spectacular riders; so great was there skill that several researchers noted that the rider seemed to become one with the horse. The importance of the horse in the life of the Kazakh nomads is further attested by the fact that instead of "to the left" the Kazakhs say "mounting side" (minar yak); instead of "to the right" they say "whip[-holding] side" (kamshi yagt ). From as early as the Scythian-Sak period, nomadic livestock breeders have revered the horse as a totemic animal.

Sheep have no lesser significance to the Kazakh nomads and seminomads. As with the horse, the Kazakhs had their own particular breed of sheep, which was well suited to the conditions of year-round pasturing without warm refuge during the winter. "Fatty-tail" sheep were particularly prized—that is, sheep that instead of a tail had a large fatty growth that reached a weight of 10-16 kilograms. Kazakhs get all that is necessary for life from sheep. From its wool they make felt, with which they cover the traditional nomadic dwelling, the yurt, and make felt carpets decorated with multicolored ornamentation. They cover the earthen floor in the yurt with these carpets. In the winter the Kazakhs put stockings of thin felt in their boots for warmth. Felt is also used as a saddlecloth.

From sheepskins, which the Kazakhs, as a rule, process themselves, they sew warm coats, hats, and sometimes men's trousers. The pelts of domestic animals, including sheep, are sent to market. A minority of Kazakhs also raise goats, from which they also get milk, meat, wool, and pelts.

Camels serve as the basic beast of burden among the Kazakh nomads and seminomads. During the migrations they load all domestic goods on them, including the dismantled parts of the yurts. Kazakhs keep fewer camels than they do other domestic animals, however. Even rich families possess no more than fifty to sixty camels; other households, the poorer ones, have no more than three or four—that is, only as many as are required to transfer all domestic items during the migrations. In several regions of Kazakhstan—on the Mangyshlak Peninsula, for example—the Kazakhs drink shubat (the sour milk of camels), which is their preferred beverage. Camel's wool is valued for its great warmth. Like the horse and the sheep, the camel is highly esteemed by the Kazakhs. Muslims view it as a holy animal.

The Kazakhs also raise cattle. Among the nomads, it is true that there are only a few, and often none, because they are not suited for long and rapid migrations and are not capable of procuring food for themselves from underneath the snow. Relatively more cattle are found among the seminomads, who, in contrast with the nomads, undertake shorter migrations and prepare hay for the livestock to eat during winter. Cattle are not only a source of milk, meat, and leather; they are also the principle beast of burden in agricultural endeavors.

In general, the Kazakhs grew a variety of grains: wheat, millet, a little rye, barley, and others. At present Kazakh farmers, for the most part, raise the best kinds of wheat: the so-called hard (durum) wheats. The cultivation of rice, peas, corn, and industrial crops, especially cotton and tobacco, is widespread. In the south of Kazakhstan, the cultivation of fruits and vegetables is developing.

In a number of regions of Kazakhstan where the conditions are suitable for irrigation agriculture—along large rivers and lakes, for example, or in foothill regions where streams abound—the Kazakhs have always practiced agriculture.

Food. Kazakhs make butter and various types of curds and cheese from sheep's milk. The most widespread is a dry cheese from sour milk, kurt. It is one of the chief means of nourishment for the average Kazakh in the winter months, when there is no milk. The Kazakhs always boil sheep or cow's milk; only mare's milk is used fresh and, in this case, always soured. The most beloved and widespread Kazakh dish is boiled lamb, in Kazakh bes barmak ("five fingers," since the Kazakhs, like many other Eastern peoples, eat with their hands). They give the specially prepared lamb's head to the most esteemed guest.

Division of Labor. The community is divided into smaller units, auls, which consist of closely related families headed by the senior member, an aksakala ("white beard"). Usually this is the father, although the adult married sons head the other households. After the father's death, his oldest son becomes head of the aul.

The households of the aul cooperate in many labor-intensive activities, such as tending the livestock. The most difficult jobs necessitate the strength of many workers; for example, the shearing of sheep in spring and fall requires the combined efforts of the households and auls of the entire nomadic community. At present, Kazakhs are trying to preserve the traditional forms of the family, especially in rural areas; under urban conditions, this is obviously more difficult.

Land Tenure. The summer pastures are usually under the governance and use of individual clans, which consist of several nomadic kin groups or communities. The winter pastures, as a rule, are in the common use of the small nomadic community. Water sources for livestock are a chief concern of the nomadic breeders. Best of all are natural sources: rivers, streams, lakes, and so forth. Frequently, however, livestock can slake their thirst only from wells; therefore these are the property of the individual households that dug them, or of the aul. The right to use the pastures nearest to the well follows from this. There are also wells that belong to the entire clan. As a rule, such wells were dug long ago. The land-use pattern of the seminomadic Kazakhs is similar, but in contrast with the nomads, they also have hay-growing areas for the preparation of winter fodder. As a rule, these hay-growing areas are under the control of individual households and are spread out near the winter pastures. Also located here are the arable lands: seminomadic Kazakhs engage in varying degrees in agriculture along with raising livestock. The poorer a household is, the more it relies on agriculture. The poorest families, who have no livestock, have abandoned seminomadism and live year-round in one location, engaging in agriculture or some other business. Thus, they constitute the settled population among the Kazakhs.

Industrial Arts. In addition to raising livestock and practicing agriculture, the Kazakhs engage in a variety of manufactures. Only women process wool and prepare various items from it, but both men and women process leather and pelts. Woodworking and metalwork are in the domain of the men. Traditionally, only Kazakh men were occupied with tending the livestock (including the milking of the horses), whereas women performed all domestic tasks, including the erecting and dismantling of the yurts during the migrations. Notable for their quality are the preparation of various felts and the working of leather and pelts for clothing, various types of skin vessels, saddles, and so forth. Woodworking is widespread, including the preparation of the wooden parts of the yurt, saddles, trunks, and wooden vessels, which like the skin vessels are indispensible in nomadic conditions. Many wooden products are adorned with carvings. One of the most ancient trades of the Kazakhs is metalwork: the fabrication of weapons and instruments of labor as well as household items. The art of silver adornment is highly refined.

The years of Soviet dominance were marked by the fostering of a nihilistic attitude toward national culture; as a result, many traditional Kazakh trades disappeared almost completely. Only in the present has a rebirth of traditional Kazakh trades occurred, in conjunction with a general rebirth of national culture.

Clothing. The traditional Kazakh national costume was closely tied to their nomadic life-style. Thus, the oldest materials used in clothing preparation were cloths woven from camel or sheep wool, thin felts, skins, and fiar. In ancient times, however, they had already begun sewing clothing from manufactured fabrics—cottons, silks, and wools from Central Asia, China, and, from the eighteenth century on, from Russia. In our own time, fabrics of industrial manufacture have supplanted all others. The men's outfit traditionally consisted of an undershirt and pants, which in the summer also served as work clothes. Over the shirt, men wore long beru kavkas or beshmets (quilted coats, narrow but widening toward the bottom, knee-length with long sleeves). The shapan —a robe with long sleeves tapering from the shoulder to the fingers, with a stand-up collar, worn open and therefore always with a belt—was ubiquitous. Poor Kazakhs fashioned their shapans from home-woven camel wool; the rich, however, made them from velvet, heavy cloth, or silk of bright colors. Depending on the weather, Kazakhs would wear one shapan over another. In the wintertime, they wore coats sewn from sheepskin—either double-sided or not—or from skins of lamb, ferret, marten, and fox. The outer trousers were made of skins adorned with ornaments, especially among the rich. When setting off on a long journey, the Kazakh horseman inserted the flaps of all the robes he was wearing into these trousers. Their high-heeled boots, sewn of strong skins, were well suited to riding.

The traditional winter headgear of the Kazakhs was a pointed fur cap (tymak ) with earflaps of lamb's wool or even sable fur, with a felt base covered by heavy cloth. Factory-made caps with earflaps have almost completely supplanted them. In the summer Kazakhs wore hats made from thin white felt with bent-back flaps (kalpak ); recently such hats have also been replaced by factory-made ones, including ones of felt. It has again become fashionable, however, especially among youths, to wear the traditional felt caps which, incidentally, provide better protection against the cold. These caps have turned into a distinctive "ethno-designative" feature. Bashlyks with a crown with a small peak and flaps to cover the ears and neck were sewn from felt and later from cloth. It was usual that the head was always covered, even at night during sleep, if only with a tyubeteika (Central Asian embroidered skullcap).

Traditionally, all Kazakh men shaved their heads as well as their mustaches and beards around the lips. At present, only elderly men shave their heads, and most men let their mustaches and beards grow.

The belt was an indispensible part of the traditional costume; Kazakhs tied it over the shapan or trousers, especially when they were preparing to ride. Belts were of silk fabric or skins—the latter were decorated with metallic plates, of silver and sometimes even precious stones, among the rich.

The Kazakh women, like the men, wore a shirt and trousers as undergarments. Sometimes, however, the shirt was long and tunic-shaped and served as a dress. Fashioned out of cotton fabric, the shirt-dress was white (but dark for older women and of bright and variegated colors—usually red—for younger women). Beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century, Kazakhs began to sew these brought in at the waist, to which they attached a wider lower part at the gathers. As an adornment to this lower part of the dress, younger women sewed on two or three frills of the same material. Sometimes they embroidered them and covered them with braids and silk ribbons.

Over the dress women wore sleeveless tunics extending down to the knees, with an open collar and a clasp at the belt. They also wore beshmets. These were sleeveless ones, fashioned of thick cotton, wool, silk, or velvet fabrics. Red, green, or raspberry beshmets of velvet were particularly prized. The women, like the men, wore robes when out and about and sheepskin overcoats in the winter.

Women's footwear consisted of leather boots sewn for one foot—that is, without distinguishing the left side from the right. They also sewed soft boots of green and red leather and adorned them with embroidery. Women's trousers were of almost the same cut as the men's.

A great diversity existed in women's headgear. Variations pointed to age differences, family position, or membership in a given clan. Thus, girls wore elegant caps with a cloth crown, which they decorated without fail, and a fur cap-band (boryuk ). The decoration was finished with eagle-owl feathers, which had a protective function. The young women wore the most expensive female headdress, saukele. This consisted of a tall (up to 70 centimeters) cone of felt, covered in expensive fabric and richly ornamented with various pendants, fur, and precious stones. Along the sides of the saukele descended corals, pendants of beads, and other decorations. From the back of the saukele women attached long, richly embroidered and adorned ribbons or kerchiefs of expensive fabric. Among the rich, the worth of the saukele could reach up to 2,000 silver rubles. Therefore, the saukele passed from one generation to the next in Kazakh families.

In the year after marriage, the young woman donned the headdress of the married woman, which represented a type of cowl of white fabric covering the head, shoulders, breast, and back. Kazakhs call such a headdress kimeshek. Young and middle-aged women decorated theirs with embroidery on the outward-facing side; those of the elderly were not embroidered. Among the various Kazakh clan groups, this headgear was differentiated according to cut, form, and dimensions of the part covering the back. Women wore the kimeshek when at home, and, when going out, they put on a white turban of great width over it.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, multicolored silk shawls with tassels imported from Russia came into fashion. Today, particularly in rural areas, women wear headgear according to their age; if young girls or women appear in public without headgear, they meet with great disapproval from the older generation. Girls do not necessarily wear a headdress at home, especially the daughter of the master of the house. If a young woman wears a headdress, it indicates that she is marriageable.

Women and girls also differed from one another in hairstyle. The former braided their hair into two or three plaits, whereas the girls had many thin braids, sometimes as many as thirty. Young women and girls adorned their braids with shells, metallic plates, pearls, and coins. Rich Kazakh women sported many silver adornments—rings, bracelets, earrings, breast pendants, and so on. Some of these adornments had a sacred significance. Thus, the arms of a woman were considered unclean if she wore no bracelets. As with men, an indispensible attribute of the female costume was a richly ornamented belt of beautiful fabric or even skin.

Many researchers note the influence of the Tatar outfit on both the Kazakh men's and women's attire and, from the mid-nineteenth century, of Russian-style clothing, especially in the cities. In the present, as was noted above, individual parts of the traditional Kazakh attire that serve as ethno-designative features have been preserved. The national costume has been retained to a great degree in rural areas and among the elderly population, especially by the women, as well as among those who most uphold the occupations of the traditional branches of the economy—shepherds, for example. In general, however, Kazakhs today wear clothes of urban cut and of factory manufacture.

Kinship

Kin Groups and Descent. Rather close kin relations were preserved between persons counting back to the seventh generation. Men who were united by this kinship group were not allowed to select a wife from it. In other words, an exogamic clan up to the seventh generation existed among the Kazakhs. Several such clans constituted an even larger clan, which also had one common ancestor. In turn, these clans were united into even larger groupings, groups of which formed tribal unities, entering into three zhuz (see "History and Cultural Relations"). The Kazakhs considered all these clans and tribes to have a common origin or forefather. Specialists maintain that although the ancestors of the exogamic clans were actual personages, those of the larger clans and tribes were legendary or fictitious. The oldest zhuz of the Kazakhs consisted of eleven large tribes, namely Dulat, Alban, Suan, Sary-Uysun, Srgeli, Ysty, Oshakty, Chaprashty, Canyshkly (Katagan), Kangly, and Zhalair. All these tribes in ancient times entered into a union of tribes, headed by an usun. In turn, each of these enumerated tribes consisted of several large clans. Thus, the Dulat tribe consisted of four clans: Botpay, Chmyr, Saikym, Zhamys. These also consisted of several clans. For example, the Botpay clan had four subclans: Xudaykul, Chagay, Bidas, and Kuralas; the Saikym clan had ten; the Chmyr clan, three; and the Zhamys clan, seven. Each of these subclans was divided into yet smaller groupings down to the exogamic clan and family-kin groups. Every Kazakh knew his own genealogy, at least to seven generations. Thus, the Kazkahs could always determine their kinship ties to one another. Large tribes of Kazakhs entered into the Middle Zhuz: Kipchaks, Argyns, Naimans, Kere, and Uaki. Three large tribes constituted the Younger Zhuz: Bayul, Alimul, and Zetyru. Historical tales and legends associated with the origin of a given clan or tribe also exist. Every Kazakh clan and tribe had its own tamgy, a clan symbol, as well as a war cry, the uran.

The memory of membership in a given tribe or clan still persists among the Kazakhs, even down to the smallest grouping. The Kazakhs of the oldest generation know this particularly well. In connection with the growth of national self-awareness, the interest in one's past has awakened among the youths as well.

Kinship ties among the Kazakhs were traced along both the male and female lines. The children of the daughters or sisters of a woman were called zhien by her other relatives, whereas the latter were called nagashi by the former. In accordance with centuries-old traditions, the Kazakhs attempted not to offend their zhiens and not to refuse them anything, insofar as was possible. According to customary laws, the zhien could take any valuables from the relatives of the mother up to three times.

Kinship Terminology. Kazakh kinship terminology shared many features with that of other Turkic peoples of Central Asia, such as differentiation of age within generations, recognition of many degrees of lineal and collateral agnates, and recognition of maternal as well as paternal lines. Consonant with their penchant for calculating kinship, Kazakhs had numerous terms designating consanguinity and affinity.

Marriage and Family

Marriage. A variety of forms of marriage existed among the Kazakhs. The most widespread was marriage via matchmaking and purchase of the bride for a kalyn (bride-price). For an individual to enter into marriage, the observance of certain restrictions tied to the exogamic norms—social, national, and sometimes that of the clan/tribal denomination—were required. The exogamous barrier generally was in effect up to the seventh generation (see "Kin Groups and Descent"). The Kazakhs still uphold this restriction. Traditionally, those who violated the exogamic barrier were severely punished, to the point of expulsion from the clan and even death. In social relations, the parents tried as much as possible to become related to families of standing equal to themselves. Historically, in Kazakh marriages ethnicity and religious factors held great significance. Marriages of mixed ethnicity were encountered, however, especially between Kazakh men and Turkic-speaking women who followed Islam. Less frequently did the Kazakhs take wives from among followers of other faiths. According to Sharia (Islamic law), Muslims could marry nonbelievers only if the latter publicly renounced their faith and adopted Islam. Marriage of Kazakh women to nonbelievers was strictly forbidden. Even in the present, such restrictions generally continue to operate among the Kazakhs.

One form of arranged marriage was the so-called cradle-betrothal, in which the fathers of the future bride and groom negotiated their marriage immediately following the birth of the children.

One of the most ancient forms of marriage among the Kazakhs was abduction, in which, under certain circumstances, the young man abducted his future wife either with her agreement or without it.

As a rule, patrilocal marriage predominated among the Kazakhs. There were instances, however, in which the groom went to live among the relatives of the bride, usually when the daughter was the only child in the family.

Levirate (emengerlik ) and sororate (baldyz alu ) exist among the Kazakhs. In accord with the custom of levirate, after the death of her husband, the widow, together with the children and all the property of the deceased, is inherited by his brother (i.e., she becomes his wife). If the wife or a betrothed bride died, the widower husband/groom, according to the custom of sororate, had the right to marry the younger sister of the deceased. Although this custom was not as strongly observed as levirate, individual instances persist in the present day.

There are also remnants of ancient variants of "cousin marriages" among the Kazakhs. The so-called cross-cousin marriage is one in which a man married the daughter of his mother's brother or his father's sister. The "orthocousin" marriage was one in which a man married the daughter of his father's brother or of his mother's sister. The latter, of course, would have been a violation of the exogamic norms and therefore was not encountered among the Kazakhs; marriage between children of sisters, however, was frequently encountered, as the exogamy was observed only along the male line.

A necessary condition of Kazakh nuptials was the custom of recompense payment, the kalyn, from the groom's family to the father of the bride. In general, the bride-price consisted of livestock. In response to the bride-price, the bride brought a rich dowry to the home of her intended, which by tradition obligatorily included a yurt.

In accord with custom, Kazakhs could have several wives; Islamic doctrine permitted up to four wives. Kazakhs turned to polygamy, however, only when the first wife was barren; ii there were no male heir; by virtue of the tradition of levirate; or because of the inability of the first wife to lead the domestic household, owing to illness, for example. A rich man could have several wives in order to increase the number of his descendants, have sufficient labor resources available, and other reasons. According to custom, the husband had to care completely for all his wives and children.

The senior wife in the house (baybishe ) occupied a special position with respect to the second and third wives (tokal ). This often led to strained relations among them and their children. Therefore the Kazakhs tried to separate them into individual households or even auls, insofar as possible.

The wedding ceremonies began with the matchmaking, at which the size of the bride-price and the order of its payments were agreed upon. From this moment on the preparation of the dowry was set into motion in the bride's home. As a rule, the parents carried out the selection of the bride, since frequently the bride and groom did not know each other. Only after payment of part of the bride-price could the groom "secretly" visit the bride.

After the payment of the kalyn, the wedding day (toy ) was designated. Usually the groom first came to the bride's aul, where the wedding ceremony took place with the aid of a mullah. This was followed by festivities at which various ceremonial songs were sung and everyone was treated to kumys.

The bride departed from her own aul and set off for the groom's home accompanied by the groom and numerous relatives. When the bride approached the groom's home, she covered her face. Entering the house, she greeted the fire at the hearth. Those who gathered for the celebration, generally the groom's relatives, sang songs called bet ashar (uncovering the face). They also sang songs in which the obligations of the young wife were enumerated. Then one of the groom's young relatives raised the veil slightly from the bride's face with a small stick. At this time, those who gathered counted the gifts for the bride-inspection (smotriny ).

In the wedding celebrations of the Kazakhs, many ceremonies bear a religio-magical character, for example the showering of the newlyweds with sweets and the "uniting" ceremonies—the drinking of water by the bride and groom from one cup, for instance.

The ceremonies associated with the wedding are generally preserved today, but sometimes, especially in the cities, so-called youth weddings are organized. At these the acquaintances and relatives simply gather with the bride and groom around a common table, and lavish refreshments are presented. In recent years, however, there has been a tendency toward returning to traditional wedding ceremonies.

Still rather widespread, especially in rural areas, is marriage through abduction. This is today only an imitation of abduction, however, since the girl, as a rule, willingly goes to the groom's home "surreptitiously." In such instances, the wedding is arranged immediately. The groom's parents ask forgiveness from the bride's parents, who give it. After the wedding the bride's dowry is brought.

Among the Kazakhs a young wife must behave very modestly; she does not have the right, especially at first, to call her husband's relatives by name, especially the older ones, or show them her face; she must make way for them, let them pass by, and do other acts of obeisance. These taboos, for the most part, are kept even today, just as the survival of clan exogamy up to the seventh generation continues.

Domestic Unit. Among nomadic Kazakhs the small, individual family predominated, consisting, as a rule, of a married couple, their unmarried children, and elderly parents. In accordance with custom, the oldest son was able to marry first, followed by the other sons in descending order of age. The father allotted livestock (enshi ) to the married son and in this way created a new household (otay ). According to the ancient customs of the minorat, the youngest son was not allotted a household, even after marriage. He remained the heir to the ancestral hearth. Among the seminomadic and settled Kazakhs, there were extended families in which several closely related families lived in one household. Usually this was the family of the head of the household, as well as his married sons, and, after his death, the families of his married brothers. As a rule, however, after the death of the household master, the married brothers parted company. The daughters went to live with the families of their husbands after marriage.

Elements of patriarchal relations were preserved in certain ways, however. Married sons, even when they had their own individual households, did not break ties with the paternal household completely. Many labor-intensive tasks, such as pasturing of livestock, shearing of sheep, preparation of felt, and so on, were accomplished through the efforts of several households with close relations along paternal lines. This was especially important in defending livestock and pastures from the encroachment of others. Such a unification of families, the basis of kinship ties, is called in the literature a "family-kin" group. In Kazakh, these groupings are called bir ata baralary (children of one father). If a family-kin group was called Koshenbaralary, for example, then their ancestor was called Koshen, and the families of this group had heads who were grandsons and great-grandsons of Koshen. Among the Kazakhs, such family-kin groups formed communities. The heads of families were considered close relatives up to the fourth or fifth generation.

Socialization. The Kazakhs attach great significance to the birth and raising of children. A Kazakh family is not considered happy without children, especially sons—the continuers of the clan. There are many customs and ceremonies associated with birth and raising of children. These customs arose from centuries of experiences and from the Kazakh worldview. Thus, they protected a pregnant woman from the evil eye with the aid of amulets and did not allow her to leave the house alone at night; weapons, wolves' teeth, eagles' bills, and owl talons were forbidden wherever she lived. All this was necessary to protect her from impure forces. The pregnant woman herself had to observe a multitude of taboos. In order not to tangle the child's umbilical cord, for example, she could not step over the staff for raising the dome of the yurt (bakan ), the device for catching horses (kuruk ), rope (arkan ), and many other items. She was also forbidden to eat camel meat because it was thought that, were she to do so, she would carry her child for twelve months, like a she-camel. Kazakhs protect pregnant women from heavy labor, especially in the later months.

Kazakhs carefully guard the woman and child during the actual birth and the first forty days thereafter, which are regarded as especially dangerous for the baby. Various rituals are followed—placing the child in the cradle on the seventh day, for example. The fortieth day after birth is seen as especially festive because the danger is deemed to have passed. Only women gather at this celebration.

Kazakhs accustom children to work from an early age. They teach a boy to ride a horse at age 3 and to tend it and other livestock at age 5 or 6. The shaving ceremony, strongly upheld in modern times, is conducted when a boy has reached age 3 to 10. Girls are taught to sew, embroider, and carry out other household activities. In the past, Kazakhs believed that at age 13 to 15 they were ready for independent life and could have their own family; at present girls marry at age 16 to 18.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs and Practices. The Kazakhs are Sunni Muslims. Islam began to appear in southern Kazakhstan in the eighth to ninth centuries, after the Arab conquest of Central Asia. After the foundation of the Kazakh khanate in the fifteenth century, Islam became the predominant religion among the Kazakh people. Its influence was especially strengthened after the Russian colonization of the Kazakhs in the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries because the czarist government attempted to solidify its position in Kazakhstan through Islam. During this period many mosques were constructed and madrasahs (Islamic secondary schools) opened. Pre-Islamic beliefs—the cults of the sky, of the ancestors, and of fire, for example—continued to a great extent to be preserved among the common people, however. The Kazakhs believed in the supernatural forces of good and evil spirits, of wood goblins and giants. To protect themselves from them, as well as from the evil eye, the Kazakhs wore protection beads and talismans. Shamanic beliefs were widely preserved among the Kazakhs, as well as belief in the strength of the bearers of this cult—the shamans, which the Kazakhs call bakhsy. In contradistinction to the Siberian shamans, who used drums during their rituals, the Kazakh shamans, who could also be men or women, played (with a bow) on a stringed instrument similar to a large violin.

At present both Islamic and pre-Islamic beliefs continue to be found among the Kazakhs, especially among the elderly. Following the severe Soviet persecutions, in which the mullahs were annihilated, there are few today who have received special religious training. For this reason, literate elderly people who know the prayers fulfill the role of mullahs in rural areas. Quite frequently these are school teachers on pension or other people with higher education.

Death and Afterlife. The Kazakhs observe funerary rites that are a mixture of Muslim customs with pre-Islamic beliefs. Mainly the relatives and neighbors of the deceased take part in the funeral ceremonies; they place the deceased, washed and wrapped in a white shroud, into a separate yurt specially put up for this event and do not leave him or her unattended for a single minute until the burial. Those who gather for the funeral pray under the guidance of a mullah. The women bemoan the deceased. The mourners bring the deceased to the cemetery on special stretchers; after further prayers, they lower the body into the grave and bury it. Among the Kazakhs, as among many other Eastern peoples, women are not allowed at the cemetery. After interment, ablutions are enacted at home and the clothing of the deceased is distributed to funeral participants; refreshments are prepared for all. Near the yurt of the deceased they set up a spear with a mourning flag, which is red if the deceased was a young person, black if middle-aged, and white if elderly. They do not remove this spear throughout the entire period of mourning—that is, the whole year. Funeral banquets for the deceased are held on the third, seventh, and fortieth days. Kazakhs observe the first anniversary funerary feast especially solemnly, with as many people as possible coming together. For this day, they slaughter the favorite horse of the deceased, whose mane and tail they had shaved on the day of it's master's death. They also slaughter a good deal of other livestock for the feast.

This anniversary funeral banquet is celebrated quite ceremonially; many people gather—representatives come from various tribes and clans, sometimes several hundred people. For this reason, they set up many additional yurts and organize equestrian races, the victors receiving rich prizes. At present the Kazakhs are attempting to preserve all customs and ceremonies associated with the funerary rites.

The Kazakhs set up domed monuments on the graves, frequently mausoleums of stone, adobe bricks, and clay. The simpler grave constructs are clay or brick fences in a rectangular shape, or sometimes simply a pile of stones with a pole to which they attach bundles of horse hair. They also make sacrifices at the graves, laying bones of animals on them.

Art. Oral folk art is widely developed among the Kazakhs: songs, epic tales, folktales, heroic epics, and so forth. The Kazakhs greatly value their performers: the storytellers (zhyrsy ) and improvisational poets (akyn ). Several of these achieved great popularity, including Bukharzhyrau Kalmakanov (1693-1787) and the improvisational poet Makhambet Utemisov (1803-1846), who along with his friend Isatay Taymanov led the Kazakh uprising in the Bukeevsky Horde in 1836-1837.

The work of the eminent Kazakh educator and scholar Chokan Valikhanov (1835-1865), who painstakingly gathered and attentively studied the national poetic works of the Kazakhs, had great significance for the development of Kazakh literature. Kazakh written literature took shape under the influence of Russian literature in the second half of the nineteenth century. The renowned pedagogue Ibray Altynsarin (1841-1889) made a great contribution to the development of Kazakh literature as well. He created the first Kazakh chrestomathy for Russian/Kazakh schools and published his own works, those assembled by him from the national oral literature, and translations from Russian. Abay Kunabaev (1845-1904) was also a prominent figure of the Kazakh literary movement. From the beginning of the twentieth century a plethora of Kazakh poets and writers has produced works in Kazakhstan. Among them are the giants of Kazakh literature Mokhtar Auezov (1897-1961), Saken Seyfullin (1894-1939), Beymbet Maylin (1894-1939), and others. The modern Kazakh writers are successfully continuing the traditions of Kazakh national art and of the founders of Kazakh literature.

The folk music traditions are an inseparable part of the spiritual culture of the Kazakh people: the songs, the vocal accompaniment of the professional improvisational poets, the instrumental works, and so on. Popular musical instruments include the dombra, a "plucked" string instrument, and the kobyz —an instrument played with a bow. The favorite wind instrument is the sybyzgy, in the shape of an elongated flute; as for percussion instruments, the dauylpaz, a small drum, is favored. Since the second half of the nineteenth century, new musical instruments have appeared: the accordion and the violin. In the twentieth century professional musical arts have arisen and developed greatly among the Kazakhs. In 1934 the first musical performance took place, and in 1935 the Kazakh State Philharmonic opened. In 1937 the Abay State Academic Theater of opera and ballet opened.

Formerly there were no professional theatrical arts among the Kazakhs. Only in the beginning of the twentieth century and during the years of Soviet dominance did amateur forms of Kazakh theater begin to grow. The first Kazakh theater opened in 1926 in Orenburg (at that time the capital of the Kazakh Republic). At present, Kazakh drama and theatrical arts, as well as the national cinema, have achieved a great deal of success in a short period of time.

Until recently the decorative arts of the Kazakhs have focused mainly on the details of Kazakh dwellings, clothing, and other everyday objects. One can find original Kazakh ornamentation on teased and unteased carpets, strips, the yurt, and felt coverings. Kazakh women decorate their clothes and embroider.

Woodworking, leatherwork, and metalwork have occupied places of distinction within the Kazakh national arts, but a professional decorative arts industry developed only in the twentieth century. Moreover, the first professional artists in Kazakhstan were Russians. The openings of the Kazakh State Artists Gallery in 1935 and the Artistic-Theatrical Gallery in 1938 played a large role in the development of art in Kazakhstan. The communications media have greatly expanded, including print, radio, and, in recent times, television.

Academics have developed intensively in the course of the twentieth century; this includes the study of a variety of disciplines from mathematics and mechanics to various social sciences. In Kazakhstan today there are hundreds of scientific institutions where tens of thousands of scholars work. There is also a Kazakh Academy of Science.

See also Kazak in Part Two, China

Bibliography

Grodekov, N. I. (1889). Kirgizy i Karakirgizy Syr-Dar'inskoi Oblasti (The Kazakhs and Kirgiz of the Syr Darya Region). Tashkent: Typolithography of S. I. Lakhtin.

Hudson, Alfred E. (1938). Kazak Social Structure, 1-109. Yale University Publications in Anthropology, no. 20. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Konovalov, Aleksei V. (1986). Kazakhi i Iuzhnogo Altaia problemy formirovaniia etnichesko i gruppy (Problems in the ethnic and group formation of the Kazakhs and Southern Altai). Alma-Alta: Izdvo Nauka Kazakhskoi SSR.

Murdock, George P. (1934). "The Kazakhs of Central Asia." In Our Primitive Contemporaries, 135-153. New York: Macmillan.

Vostrov, Veniamin V., and I. V. Zakharova (1989).

Kazakhskoe Narodnoe Zhilishche (Dwellings of the Kazakh people). Alma-Alta: Nauka Kazakhskoi SSR.

VADIM P. KURYLËV (Translated by Paul Friedrich and Gregory S. Anderson)

Kazakhstan

Compiled from the February 2007 Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume. See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes.

Official Name:

Republic of Kazakhstan

PROFILE

Geography

Area: 2.7 million sq. km. (1.05 million sq. mi.); ninth-largest nation in the world; the size of Western Europe.

Cities: Astana (capital, June 1998), Almaty (former capital), Karaganda, and Shymkent.

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.

Climate: Continental, cold winters and hot summers; arid and semiarid.

Border lengths: Russia 6,846 km., Uzbekistan 2,203 km., China 1,533 km., Kyrgyzstan 1,051 km., and Turkmenistan 379 km.

People

Nationality: Kazakhstani.

Population: (July 2006 est.) 15.2 million—down from 16.2 million in 1989; second most-populated country in Central Asia.

Population growth rate: (2006 est.) 0.3%. Population distribution: 56.4% of population lives in urban areas. Twenty-six cities had approximate populations of more than 50,000 in 1999—Astana (capital) 529,000, Almaty (former capital) 1.2 million, Karaganda 440,000, Shy-mkent 370,000, Taraz 340,000, Ust-Kamenogorsk 310,000, Pavlodar 300,000. Large scale emigration of ethnic Russians, Germans, and Ukrainians accounts for most of the population decrease since 1989.

Population density: 14.5 people per sq. mi. (U.S. density 2000: 79.6 people per sq. mi.).

Ethnic groups: (2002) Kazakh 55.8%, Russian 28.3%, Ukrainian 3.3%, Uzbek 2.6%, German 1.8%, Uyghur 1.5%, other 5.0%.

Religions: Sunni Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%.

Languages: Kazakhstan is a bilingual country. Kazakh language has the status of the “state” language, while Russian is declared the “official” language. Russian is used routinely in business; 64.4% of population speaks the Kazakh language.

Health: (2006 est.) Infant mortality rate—28.3/1,000. Life expectancy—66.89 years (male 61.56 yrs.; female 72.52 yrs.). Health care (2005 est.)— 30.3 doctors and 68.2 hospital beds per 10,000 persons.

Education: Mandatory universal secondary education. School system consists of kindergarten, primary school (grades 1-4), secondary school (grades 5-9), and high school (grades 10-11). Literacy rate—98.4%.

Work force: (2005, 7.85 million) Industry and construction—18.1%; agriculture and fishing—32.9%; services—49%.

Government

Type: Republic.

Independence: December 16, 1991 (from the Soviet Union).

Declaration of sovereignty: October 25, 1990.

Constitution: August 30, 1995 constitution adopted by referendum replaced a 1993 constitution.

Government branches: Executive—president, prime minister, Council of Ministers. Legislative—Senate and Mazhilis. Judicial—Supreme Court.

Political subdivisions: 17; 14 oblasts plus 3 cities—Almaty, the former capital; Astana, the current capital; and the territory of Baykonur, which contains the space launch center that the Russians built and now lease. Twelve parties were registered for the parliamentary elections in fall 2004. They were: the Agrarian Party, Ak Zhol (Bright Path), Asar (All Together), Ayul (Farmers), the Civil Party, the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, the Communist People's Party, DCK (Democratic Choice), the Democratic Party of Kazakhstan, Otan (Fatherland), Party of Patriots, and Rukhaniyat (Spirituality). In January 2005, DCK was liquidated. In July 2006, Otan and Asar merged. This new party retained the name Otan, but voted to change its name to Nur-Otan in early 2007. Suffrage: Universal, 18 years of age.

Economy

GDP: (2006) $52.6 billion.

Exchange rate: (Period average) 132.88 KZT/USD in 2005.

GDP growth rate: 13.2% (2001); 9.5% (2002); 9.2% (2003); 9.1% (2004 est.); 9.4% (2005 est.); 8.5% (2006 est.).

GDP per capita: (2006) Purchasing power parity—$9,100.

Inflation rate: 6.4% (2001); 6.6% (2002); 6.8% (2003); 6.9% (2004 est.); 7.5% (2005 est.).

Trade: Exports (2006 est.)—$35.55 billion. Imports (2006 est.)—$22 billion.

Gross external debt: $18.2 billion (2002); $22.9 billion (2003); $26.03 billion (2004 est.); $41.66 billion (2005 est.).

Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves: $3.1 billion (2002); $4.96 billion (2003); $7.07 billion (2005 est.).

National (oil) fund reserves: $1.9 billion (2002); $3.6 billion (2003); $5.1 billion (2004); 10.1 billion (July 2006).

Unemployment rate: 9.3% (2002); 8.7% (2003); 8.4% (2004 est.); 8.1% (2005 est.); 7.4% (2006 est.). Population below poverty line: 15.3% (2005, 1st quarter est.).

PEOPLE AND HISTORY

The majority of Kazakhstanis are ethnic Kazakh; other ethnic groups include Russian, Ukrainian, Uzbek, German, and Uyghur. Religions are Sunni Muslim, Russian Orthodox, Protestant, and other. Kazakhstan is a bilingual country. The Kazakh language has the status of the “state” language, while Russian is declared the “official” language. Russian is used routinely in business; 64.4% of the population speaks the Kazakh language. Education is universal and mandatory through the secondary level, and the literacy rate is 98.4%. Nomadic tribes have been living in the region that is now Kazakhstan since the first century BC, although the land has been inhabited at least as far back as the Stone Age. From the fourth century AD through the beginning of the 13th century, the territory of Kazakhstan was ruled by a series of nomadic nations. Following the Mongolian invasion in the early 13th century, administrative districts were established under the Mongol Empire, which eventually became the territories of the Kazakh Khanate. The major medieval cities of Taraz 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 a constant search for new pasture to support the livestock-based economy. The Kazakhs emerged from a mixture of tribes living in the region in about the 15th century and by the middle of the 16th century had developed a common language, culture, and economy. In the early 1600s, the Kazakh Khanate separated into the Great, Middle and Little (or Small) Hordes—confederations based on extended family networks. Political disunion, competition among the hordes, and a lack of an internal market weakened the Kazakh Khanate. The beginning of the 18th century marked the zenith of the Kazakh Khanate. The following 150 years saw the gradual colonization of the Kazakh-controlled territories by tsarist Russia.

The process of colonization was a combination of voluntary integration into the Russian Empire and outright seizure. The Little Horde and part of the Middle Horde signed treaties of protection with Russia in the 1730s and 1740s. Major parts of the north-east and central Kazakh territories were incorporated into the Russian Empire by 1840. With the Russian seizure of territories belonging to the Senior Horde in the 1860s, 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 garrisons in its effort to establish a presence in Central Asia in the so-called “Great Game” between it and Great Britain. Russian efforts to impose its system aroused the resentment of the Kazakh people, and by the 1860s, most Kazakhs resisted Russia's annexation largely because of the disruption it wrought upon the traditional nomadic lifestyle and livestock-based economy. The Kazakh national movement, which began in the late 1800s, sought to preserve the Kazakh language and identity. There were uprisings against colonial rule during the final years of tsarist Russia, with the most serious occurring in 1916. The destruction of the nomadic life, prior to and during the Communist period, created a Kazakh diaspora in neighboring countries, especially western China. Since independence in 1991, the government has encouraged the return of ethnic Kazakhs by offering subsidies for returnees.

Although there was a brief period of autonomy during the tumultuous period following the collapse of the Russian Empire, the Kazakhs eventually succumbed to Soviet rule. In 1920, the area of present-day Kazakhstan became an autonomous republic within Russia and, 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 Soviet system. Kazakhstan experienced population inflows of thousands exiled from other parts of the Soviet Union during the 1930s and later became home for hundreds of thousands evacuated 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 industrializa-

tion and increased mineral extraction in support of the war effort. At the time of Soviet leader Josif 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 the agricultural 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 economic reforms, which came to a head in the 1980s. In December 1986, mass demonstrations by young 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.

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 the groundswell of Soviet republics seeking greater autonomy, Kazakhstan declared its sovereignty as a republic within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

(U.S.S.R.) in October 1990. Following the August 1991 abortive coup attempt in Moscow and the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan declared independence on December 16, 1991. The years following independence have been marked by significant reforms to the Soviet command-economy and political monopoly on power.

Under Nursultan Nazarbayev, who initially came to power in 1989 as the head of the Kazakh Communist Party and was eventually elected President in 1991, Kazakhstan has made significant progress toward developing a market economy, for which it was recognized by the United States in 2002. The country has enjoyed significant economic growth since 2000, partly due to its large oil, gas, and mineral reserves.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Kazakhstan is a constitutional republic with a strong presidency. It is divided into 14 oblasts 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 June 10, 1998.

The president is the head of state. The president also is the commander in chief of the armed forces and may veto legislation that has been passed by the Parliament. President Nursultan Nazarbayev has been in office since Kazakhstan became independent. In 1995, President Nazarbayev called for a referendum that expanded his presidential powers: only he can initiate constitutional amendments, appoint and dismiss the government, dissolve Parliament, call referenda, and appoint administrative heads of regions and cities.

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.

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

Elections to the Mazhilis in September 2004 yielded a lower house dominated by the pro-government Otan party, headed by President Naz-arbayev. Two other parties considered sympathetic to the president, including the agrarian-industrial bloc AIST and the Asar party, founded by President Nazarbayev's daughter, won most of the remaining seats (Asar and Otan subsequently merged in July 2006 to form the new Otan party).

Opposition parties, which were officially registered and competed in the elections, won a single seat during elections that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said fell short of international standards. The opposition party Ak Zhol refused to take the seat in protest of the flawed elections.

In December 2005, President Naz-arbayev won a new 7-year term in an election that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said fell short of international standards. Official results gave the president 91% of the vote, although independent exit polls found this figure to be somewhat inflated. Opposition candidates Zharmakhan Tuyakbay (For a Just Kazakhstan) and Alikhan Baymenov (Ak Zhol) were able to compete freely in this election.

Principal Government Officials

Last Updated: 2/1/2008

Pres.: Nursultan NAZARBAYEV

Prime Min.: Karim MASIMOV

Dep. Prime Min.: Yerbol ORYNBAYEV

Dep. Prime Min.: Umirzak SHUKEYEV

Min. of Agriculture: Akhmetzhan YESIMOV

Min. of Culture & Information: Yermukhamet YERTYSBAYEV

Min. of Defense: Daniyal AKHMETOV

Min. of Economy & Budget Planning: Bakhyt SULTANOV

Min. of Education & Science: Zhanseit TUYMEBAYEV

Min. of Emergency Situations: Vladimir BOZHKO

Min. of Energy & Mineral Resources: Sauat MYNBAYEV

Min. of Environmental Protection: Nurlan ISKAKOV

Min. of Finance: Bolat ZHAMISHEV

Min. of Foreign Affairs: Marat TAZHIN

Min. of Health: Anatoliy DERNOVOY

Min. of Industry & Trade: Galym ORAZBAKOV

Min. of Internal Affairs: Baurzhan MUKHAMEDZHANOV

Min. of Justice: Zagipa BALIYEVA

Min. of Labor & Social Protection: Berdybek SAPARBAYEV

Min. of Tourism & Sport: Temirkhan DOSMUKHANBETOV

Min. of Transport & Communications: Serik AKHMETOV

Chmn., National Bank: Anvar SAYDENOV

Chmn., National Security Committee (KNB): Amangeldy SHABDARBAYEV

Sec., Security Council: Berik IMASHEV

Ambassador to the US: Yerlan IDRISOV

Permanent Representative to the UN, New York: Byrganym AITIMOVA

ECONOMY

Kazakhstan's economy grew by 8.5% in 2006. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 9.4% in 2005, 9.1 % in 2004, 9.2% in 2003, 9.5% in 2002, and 13.2% in 2001.

Kazakhstan's monetary policy has been well managed. In 2006, inflation remained relatively steady at 8.6%, up from 7.5% in 2005. Inflation from 2001-2003 was 6.4%, 6.6%, and 6.8%, respectively. Because of its strong macroeconomic performance and financial health, Kazakhstan became the first former Soviet republic to repay all of its debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2000, 7 years ahead of schedule. In March 2002, the U.S. Department of Commerce graduated Kazakhstan to market economy status under U.S. trade law.

The change in status recognized substantive market economy reforms in the areas of currency convertibility, 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 to receive an investment-grade credit rating from a major international credit rating agency. Estimated level of external debt in 2005 was $41.66 billion. In 2004, Kazakhstan's gross foreign debt was about $26.03 billion. Kazakhstan has been successful in reducing the ratio of debt to GDP in recent years. In 2005, total governmental debt was $5 billion, which amounts to 8.9% of GDP. In 2000, total government debt equaled 21.7% of GDP.

The upturn in economic growth, combined with the results of earlier tax and financial sector reforms, dramatically improved government finances from the 1999 budget deficit level of 3.5% of GDP to a deficit of 0.5% of GDP in 2005. Government revenues grew from 19.8% of GDP in 1999 to 22.6% of GDP in 2001 to 25.7% of GDP in 2005.

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, which reduced the value added tax (from 16% to 15%), the social tax (from 21% to 20%), and the personal income tax (from 30% to 20%). Kazakhstan furthered its reforms by adopting a new land code on June 20, 2003 and a customs code on April 5, 2003.

Oil and gas is the leading economic sector. Production of oil and gas condensate in Kazakhstan amounted to 61.9 million tons in 2005, which was 4.3% more than in 2004. Kazakhstan exported 52.4 million tons of oil and gas condensate a year in 2004 and 2005. Natural gas production in Kazakhstan in 2005 amounted to 14.5 billion cubic meters, a 25% increase from 2004.

Kazakhstan holds about 4 billion tons of proven recoverable oil reserves and 3 trillion cubic meters of gas. Industry analysts believe that planned expansion of oil production, coupled with the development of new fields, will enable the country to produce as much as 3 million barrels per day by 2015, lifting Kazakhstan into the ranks of the world's top 10 oil-producing nations.

Kazakhstan's 2005 oil exports were valued at $17.4 billion, representing over 70% of overall exports. Major oil and gas fields and their recoverable oil reserves are Tengiz (7 billion barrels); Karachaganak (8 billion barrels and 1,350 billion cubic meters of natural gas); and Kashagan (7-9 billion barrels). Starting in 2004, the Government of Kazakhstan increased its take of oil deals by increasing taxation of new oil projects.

Kazakhstan instituted an ambitious pension reform program in 1998. There are 14 saving pension funds, one of which is state controlled. The National Bank oversees and regulates the pension funds. The pension funds’ growing demand for quality investment outlets triggered rapid development of the debt securities market. Pension fund capital is being invested almost exclusively in corporate and government bonds, including Government of Kazakhstan Eurobonds.

The Kazakhstani banking system is developing rapidly. Its capitalization now exceeds $1 billion. The National Bank has introduced deposit insurance in its campaign to strengthen the banking sector. Several major foreign banks have branches in Kazakhstan, including ABN-AMRO, Citibank, and HSBC.

Agriculture

Agriculture accounted for 10.3% of Kazakhstan's GDP in 2005. Grain (Kazakhstan is the seventh-largest producer of wheat in the world) and livestock are the most important agricultural commodities.

Agricultural land occupies more than 220 million hectares, about 68% of which consists of pasture and hay land. Chief livestock products are dairy goods, leather, meat, and wool. The country's major crops include wheat, barley, cotton, and rice. Wheat is the leading agricultural commodity in Kazakhstan's export trade. Kazakhstan harvests 14-15 million tons of wheat per year.

Natural Resources

Oil, gas, and mineral exports are key to Kazakhstan's economic success. Since 1993, Kazakhstan's extractive industries have attracted $30.7 billion in foreign investment, which represents almost 76% of the total foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan for that period. Kazakhstan has significant deposits of coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, uranium, and gold.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Kazakhstan has stable relationships with all of its neighbors. Kazakhstan is a member of the United Nations, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and North Atlantic Cooperation Council. It also is an active participant in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Partnership for Peace program. Kazakhstan also is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization along with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan established the Eurasian Economic Community in 2000 to re-energize earlier efforts at harmonizing trade tariffs and the creation of a free trade zone under a customs union. Kazakhstan is the founding member of the Conference for Interaction and Confidence in Asia. Kazakhstan also engages in regional security dialogue with ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations).

U.S.-KAZAKHSTAN RELATIONS

The United States was the first country to recognize Kazakhstan, on December 25, 1991, and opened its Embassy in Almaty in January 1992. In the years since Kazakhstan's independence, the two countries have developed a wide-ranging bilateral relationship. The current Ambassador is John Ordway, who assumed his post in September 2004.

The bilateral relationship has witnessed a surge in activity in recent months, including visits by Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Rice, Secretary of Energy Bodman, Secretary of Agriculture Johanns, and CENTCOM Commander Abizaid. President Nazarbayev met with President Bush in the White House on September 29, 2006.

U.S.-Kazakhstani cooperation in security and non-proliferation has been a cornerstone of the relationship. Kazakhstan showed leadership when it renounced nuclear weapons in 1993. The United States has assisted Kazakhstan in the removal of nuclear warheads, weapons-grade materials, and their supporting infrastructure. In 1994, Kazakhstan transferred more than a half-ton of weapons-grade uranium to the United States.

In 1995 Kazakhstan removed its last nuclear warheads and, with U.S. assistance, completed the sealing of 181 nuclear test tunnels in May 2000. Kazakhstan has signed the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty (1992), the START Treaty (1992), the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1993), the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (2001).

Under the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, the United States has spent $240 million to assist Kazakhstan in eliminating weapons of mass destruction and weapons of mass destruction-related infrastructure.

Economic Relations

U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) was 27% of total FDI in Kazakhstan in 2006. American companies have invested about $11.8 billion in Kazakhstan since 1993. These companies are concentrated in the oil and gas, business services, telecommunications, and electrical energy sectors. Kazakhstan has made progress in creating a favorable investment climate although serious problems, including arbitrary enforcement of laws, remain. A U.S.-Kazakhstan Bilateral Investment Treaty and a Treaty on the Avoidance of Dual Taxation have been in place since 1994 and 1996, respectively. In 2001, Kazakhstan and the United States established the U.S.-Kazakhstan Energy Partnership.

Sections 402 and 409 of the United States 1974 Trade Act require that the President submit semi-annually a report to Congress on continued compliance with the Act's freedom of emigration provisions by those countries, including Kazakhstan, that fall under the Trade Act's Jackson-Vanik Amendment. Bilateral trade in 2005 was valued at $1.64 billion, a 91% increase from 2004.

U.S. Assistance

Between 1992 and 2005, the United States provided roughly $1.205 billion in technical assistance and investment support in Kazakhstan. The programs were designed to promote market reform, to establish a foundation for an open, prosperous, and democratic society, and to address security issues.

Since 1993, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has administered technical assistance programs to support Kazakhstan's transition to a market economy, fully integrated into the world trade system. These programs include cooperation in privatization, fiscal, and financial policy; commercial law; energy; health care; and environmental protection.

In 2006, Kazakhstan became the first country to share directly in the cost of a U.S. Government's foreign assistance program. Through 2009, the Government of Kazakhstan will contribute over $15 million to a $40 million USAID economic development project aimed at strengthening Kazakhstan's capacity to achieve its development goals.

The U.S. Commercial Service provides U.S. business internships for Kazakhstanis, supports Kazakhstani businesses through a matchmaker program and disseminates information on U.S. goods and services.

Additional information is available on its website: www.buyusa.gov/kazakhstan/en/. The Peace Corps has about 120 volunteers working throughout Kazakhstan in business education, English teaching, and the development of environmental non-governmental organizations. Since 2001 and the advent of the war on terror, the U.S. has assisted Kazakhstan to combat illegal narcotics, improve border security, and, more recently combat money laundering and trafficking in persons.

The United States supports increased citizen participation in the public arena through support for non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Dozens of grants have been provided to support NGOs that promote an independent media, legal reform, women's rights, civic education, and legislative oversight. USAID also has provided training courses for leaders and professionals.

Military Cooperation

Kazakhstan's military participates in the U.S.'s International Military Education and Training program, Foreign Military Financing, as well as NATO's Partnership for Peace program. In 2005, U.S. Central Command conducted approximately 45 bilateral, military cooperation events with the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan and other agencies, an increase of more than 100% since 2002. Events vary in size and scope, ranging from information exchanges to military exercises.

Environmental Issues

Kazakhstan has identified a number of major ecological problems within its borders—desiccation of the Aral Sea, protection of the fragile Caspian ecosystem, remediation of the Semi-palatinsk nuclear testing range, cleanup of the Baykonur launching facility, extremely polluted cities, desertification, and development of mechanisms for regional transboundary water management.

To address the water management problem of the Syr Darya River, Kazakhstan and other basin states, with technical assistance from USAID/Central Asia, established the 1998 Framework Agreement on the Use of Water and Energy Resources of the Syr Darya Basin. Kazakhstan became a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1999.

The United States and the European Union worked together with the Ministry of Environmental Protection to establish an independent, nonprofit, and nonpolitical Regional Environmental Center (REC) in Almaty in 2001. The mission of the REC is to strengthen civil society and support sustainable development by promoting public awareness and participation in environmental decision-making among the countries of Central Asia. In 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Embassy, and Ministry of Environmental Protection signed a memorandum of understanding to provide the REC with funding for its grants program.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

Last Updated: 2/19/2008

ASTANA (E) 22-23 Str., No.3, Ak Bulak 4, Astana, APO/FPO POuch address: 2230 Astana Place, Washington D.C. 20521-2230, +7 (7172) 70-21-00, Fax +7 (7172) 34-08-90, Work-week: 9:00-18:00, Website: http://www.usembassy.kz.

ALMATY (BO) 97 Zholdasbekov St., Almaty, 7-7272-50-48-02, Fax 7 -7272-50-76-35, Workweek: 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, Website: http://www.usembassy.kz.

Business Customs

In terms of business customs, Kazakhstan is more European than Asian. It is customary to shake hands and call people by their first names at business meetings, as well as at informal get-togethers.

However, men generally do not shake women's hands in company. Business attire is generally a suit and tie for men and a suit or business dress for women. Small gifts—pens, company logo pins, memo, and books—are frequently given at the end of an initial meeting as a token of appreciation. Business cards are the norm, often in both Russian and English.

Kazakhstani business people are generally less direct than American business people, and what can be accomplished in a few meetings in the United States might take more in Kazakhstan, requiring patience and discipline on the part of the U.S. business people. An experienced and competent interpreter can add invaluable context to your business meetings.

It is common in Kazakhstan to have dinner with business contacts, but usually only after establishing business contacts in a more formal setting. Business attire is worn. Usually diners share a bottle of vodka or cognac and offer toasts, stating their desire for a fruitful business relationship and warm personal relations between partners. After-hours informal meetings, dinners and toasts, as well as weekend hunting and barbecues can be very important to forge business relations.

TRAVEL

Consular Information Sheet

February 5, 2008

Country Description: Kazakhstan is a constitutional republic with a strong presidency and a market economy. Kazakhstan's tourist facilities are not highly developed; the availability of goods and services is better than in most neighboring countries, but not up to the standards found in North America and Western Europe. Internal travel and travel to neighboring countries, by air and land, can be subject to delays due to infrastructure shortcomings and winter weather.

Entry Requirements: A valid passport and visa are required. The Embassy of Kazakhstan in Washington, D.C. and the Consulate of Kazakhstan in New York issue visas. The Embassy of Kazakhstan is located at 140 1 1 6th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, telephone (202) 232-5488 or 550-9617, fax (202) 232-5845 and the Consulate at 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 586 A, New York, NY 10017, telephone (212) 230-1900 or 230-1192, fax (212) 230-1172.

As of February 2004, an invitation is no longer required for single-entry business and tourist visas, but multiple-entry visas require an invitation from an individual or organizational sponsor in Kazakhstan.

The U.S. Embassy in Astana and the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Almaty do not issue letters of invitation to citizens interested in private travel to Kazakhstan. All travelers, even those simply transiting Kazakhstan, must obtain a Kazakhstani visa before entering the country.

Travelers should be aware that overstaying the validity period of a visa will result in fines and delays upon exit. Travelers may be asked to provide proof at the border of their subsequent travel arrangements. Travelers transiting through Kazakhstan are reminded to check that their visas allow for a sufficient number of entries to cover each transit trip and to check the length of validity of the visa.

Crossing the land border to and from the neighboring Kyrgyz Republic can result in delays or demands from border officials to pay fines.

Travel to certain areas bordering China and cities in close proximity to military installations require prior permission from the Kazakhstani government. In 2001, the government declared the following areas closed to foreigners: Gvardeyskiy village, Rossavel village, and Kulzhabashy railway station in Zhambyl Oblast; Bokeyorda and Zhangaly districts in Western Kazakhstan Oblast; the town of Priozersk and Gulshad village in Karaganda Oblast; and Baykonur, Karmakshy, and Kazakly districts in Kyzylorda Oblast.

Americans traveling within Kazakhstan have on occasion reported local officials demanding documentation authorizing travel within their area of jurisdiction, even though they received permission from the Department of Migration Police (formerly OVIR), currently part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Americans should report any trouble with local authorities to the U.S. Embassy in Astana or the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Almaty.

Registration of American passports is conducted at the same time as the issuance of the visa in one of Kazakhstan's embassies and consulates abroad or at the time of a border crossing. Americans are not required to register in Kazakhstan upon arrival at a local office of the Department of Migration Police. All registrations are valid for three months, regardless of where they are issued.

To extend your registration beyond three months, please contact your local office of the Department of Migration Police. However, if you are not sure if you have been properly registered at the time of visa issuance or border crossing, please contact your local office of the Department of Migration Police.

In an effort to prevent international child abduction, many governments have initiated procedures at entry/ exit points. These often include requiring documentary evidence of relationship and permission for the child's travel from the parent(s) or legal guardian if not present.

Having such documentation on hand, even if not required, may facilitate entry/departure. All children adopted in Kazakhstan after May 2003 must obtain exit stamps from both the Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Foreign Affairs before departing the country.

Visit the Embassy of Kazakhstan's web site at http://www.kazakhembus.com for the most current visa information.

Safety and Security: Supporters of extremist groups such as the Islamic Jihad Union, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, al-Qaeda, and the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement remain active in Central Asia. These groups have expressed anti-U.S. sentiments and may attempt to target U.S. Government or private interests in the region, including in Kazakhstan.

Attacks against foreign interests in Central Asia have occurred and new tactics, including the use of suicide bombers, have been employed by extremists in neighboring Uzbekistan.

Terrorists do not distinguish between official and civilian targets. Because of increased security at official U.S. facilities, terrorists are also targeting “soft” civilian targets such as residential areas, clubs and restaurants, places of worship, hotels, schools, outdoor recreation events, resorts, beaches, maritime facilities, and aircraft.

Kazakhstani security personnel may at times place foreign visitors under surveillance. Hotel rooms, telephones and fax machines may be monitored, and personal possessions in hotel rooms may be searched.

Taking photographs of anything that could be perceived as being of military or security interest may result in problems with authorities.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs’ web site at http://travel.state.gov, where the current Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts, as well as the Worldwide Caution, can be found. Up-to-date information on safety and security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada, or for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll-line at 1-202-501-4444.

Crime: Travelers in Kazakhstan should exercise the same precautions concerning personal safety and protection of valuables as they would in any major U.S. city. Using good judgment and avoiding high-risk areas can reduce the crime threat. The most common crimes foreign tourists encounter are purse snatching, pick pocketing, assaults, and robberies.

Pick pocketing or robberies occur most frequently in the vicinity of Western hotels, transportation sites, and at open-air markets, including the central open-air market in Almaty (known locally as the “green market”). Americans are advised to exercise caution in the vicinity of hotels, bus or train stations, and when shopping.

The U.S. Embassy strongly recommends that Americans do not carry large sums of money on the street.

Identification checks by the police are common practice. U.S. visitors must produce either a passport or an Embassy-certified copy thereof upon request. Police are not required to demonstrate probable cause or reasonable suspicion to initiate ID checks.

Given concerns with crime, the U.S. Embassy has made arrangements with the Kazakhstani Government to allow Americans in the Almaty Oblast to carry a certified copy of their passport and visa rather than the original.

These copies can be obtained from either the U.S. Embassy's Consular Section in Astana or the Branch Office in Almaty during business hours Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Be wary of persons representing themselves as police or other local officials. It is not uncommon for Americans to become victims of harassment and extortion by imposters, genuine law enforcement and other officials. A genuine police official should always present his own credentials when approaching someone on the street. If the officer cannot produce identification, he is most likely an imposter.

Never voluntarily hand over your wallet to a police officer. If pressured, tell the officer that you will report his behavior to the U.S. Embassy and his supervisors. Authorities are concerned about these incidents and have cooperated in investigating such cases. Try to obtain the officer's name, badge number, and license plate number, and note where the incident happened because this information assists local officials in identifying the perpetrators. Report crimes committed against you by persons presenting themselves as police or other governmental authorities to a police station and the U.S. Embassy.

The “lost wallet” scam continues to be common in Kazakhstan. One version of this swindle involves the discovery of a lost wallet in your presence. A first person will discover the wallet and offer to divide its contents with you. Then, a second person will appear, claim to be the owner of the wallet, and demand compensation for the missing money.

A second version involves a person looking for a lost wallet, asking you if have seen it. The person asks you to reveal the contents of your pockets or bag to prove that you do not have the missing wallet. The wallet seeker will then surreptitiously steal your exposed valuables. When initially approached by the “finder” or “seeker” of the lost wallet, simply walk away. Never hand over your wallet or belongings to someone who approaches you on the street. The perpetrators will eventually go looking for another target.

Another swindle has occurred at the Almaty International Airport. Men posing as “meet and greet” airport facilitators lure foreigners into cars purportedly to take them to their hotels. However, the driver takes the passengers to a secluded destination and then demands approximately $100 for gas to take the foreigner back to the city.

All travelers should make prior arrangements with their contacts in Almaty for concrete identification upon arrival at the airport. Americans should not leave with anyone who does not show pre-arranged identification, even if the person is holding a sign with the traveler's name.

The Embassy has received reports from American residents and visitors being victims of violent, late-night muggings. Americans are advised to travel in groups or pairs.

Lone individuals often make easy targets for muggers. At night, try to remain in well-lit, populated areas. Visitors are encouraged to leave restaurants or bars if fights break out. Corruption by public officials, including law enforcement, has been reported frequently, especially at the airport in Almaty.

Some foreigners have been told by customs or border guard officials that they must pay a $50-$500 fine for violating an undisclosed local regulation, despite the fact that the foreign citizen has fully complied with local laws. Some Americans have reportedly been asked to pay a large fine upon exiting Kazakhstan.

When encountering such irregularities, U.S. citizens are advised to seek clarification from supervisory airport officials or contact the U.S. Embassy before paying.

Information for Victims of Crime: The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately to the local police and the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are the victim of a crime while overseas, in addition to reporting to local police, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for assistance.

The Embassy/Consulate staff can, for example, assist you to find appropriate medical care, contact family members or friends, and explain how funds could be transferred.

Although the investigation and prosecution of the crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can help you to understand the local criminal justice process and to find an attorney if needed.

Medical Facilities and Health Information: Medical care in Kazakhstan is limited and well below North American and Western European standards. The U.S. Embassy maintains a list of English-speaking physicians.

Basic medical supplies, including disposable needles, anesthetics, and antibiotics can be in short supply. Elderly travelers and those with pre-existing health problems may be at risk due to inadequate medical facilities.

Most resident Americans travel to Western Europe for serious medical treatment. Such travel can be extremely expensive if undertaken under emergency conditions. Travelers requiring prescription medications or specific brand-name medicines should bring sufficient supplies of medications and not rely on local availability.

Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747) or via the CDC's web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel.

For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad consult the World Health Organization's (WHO) web site at http://www.who.int/en. Further health information for travelers is available at http://www.who.int/ith/en.

Tuberculosis is an increasingly serious health concern in Kazakhstan. For further information, please consult the CDC's Travel Notice on TB at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel.

Medical Insurance: The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and whether it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions: While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning Kazakhstan is provided for general reference only, and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance.

Roads in Kazakhstan are in poor repair, especially in rural areas. Street lighting, especially on side streets, may be turned off at night. Drivers often ignore lane markings. Potholes are common, and are often dangerously deep.

Pedestrians frequently dart out in front of cars. Visitors should drive defensively at all times as many local drivers do not follow traffic laws. Special caution should particularly be taken if driving at night. Road rage can be a problem, especially in and around Almaty, and a non-confrontational response to such behavior is strongly recommended.

Accidents involving severe injury and/or death are common. Traffic police have reportedly stopped cars to extort bribes on main city streets and at periodic checkpoints on major highways.

The road between Almaty and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, is especially treacherous at night or during poor weather. Americans and other travelers have been killed in traffic accidents on that road, and travel at night should be undertaken with great caution or avoided.

Travelers should be particularly careful when using public transportation and taxis. Buses tend to be very crowded and can be unsafe and unreliable. Due to the danger of theft or assault, travelers should be selective regarding which taxi they contract and always avoid entering a cab that already contains persons other than the driver.

Americans wishing to drive in Kazakhstan should possess a valid international driver's license. For specific information, travelers may contact the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan at 140 1 1 6th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, telephone (202) 232-5488.

Visit the web site of Kazakhstan's national tourist office and national authority responsible for road safety at http://www.kazakhembus.com.

Aviation Safety Oversight: As there is no direct commercial air service between the United States and Kazakhstan, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed Kazakhstan's Civil Aviation Authority for compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation safety standards. For more information, travelers may visit the FAA's web site at http://www.faa.gov.

Special Circumstances: Kazakhstan remains largely a cash economy. Traveler's checks and credit cards are not widely accepted, except at large hotels and restaurants catering to international visitors.

U.S. dollars can easily be exchanged for the local currency (Tenge) at local and authorized currency exchanges, but all denominations of U.S. currency except $1 bills must be new series (large portraits) and all must have been issued after 2000 and be in good condition (not worn or torn and without any writing or marks).

Kazakhstan, especially in the mountainous southeast region, is an earth-quake-prone country. The U.S. Department of State has ranked the earthquake threat level within Almaty as a Level 4 (the highest level assigned).

Building practices within Kazakhstan do not generally meet U.S. seismic standards. In addition, local authorities do not have sufficient resources to respond to a large-scale disaster.

American citizens traveling to Kazakhstan are encouraged to register with either the U.S. Embassy or the U.S. Embassy's Branch Office's Consular Section to facilitate contact in the event of an emergency. General information about natural disaster preparedness is available via the Internet from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at http://www.fema.gov.

Kazakhstani customs authorities may enforce strict regulations concerning export from Kazakhstan of items such as antiquities. Foreigners must complete a customs declaration upon entering Kazakhstan and may face fines upon departure if unable to produce certificates verifying legal conversion of foreign currency.

Travelers are strongly encouraged to declare all valuables, including computers, video cameras, and mobile telephones, upon entry in order to avoid paying duty on those items upon departure. Tenge, Kazakhstan's currency, can be exported by residents of Kazakhstan (including foreigners) in amounts up to $3,000 without declaration and without written certification of the origin of funds.

Residents exporting between $3,000 and $10,000 must complete a customs declaration and prove the origin of the funds (e.g. proof of locally-paid salary). Travelers visiting Kazakhstan for short periods of time may not leave the country with more currency than they declared when entering Kazakhstan. For legal requirements on the export of Tenge, travelers should consult with local Customs officials.

In practice, however, travelers should be wary of such officials at the airport, as visitors have been erroneously charged duty on Tenge exports or asked to surrender Tenge in the past. It is advisable to contact the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Washington, D.C. for specific information at 140116th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, telephone (202) 232-5488.

Foreigners are required to carry a valid passport while in Kazakhstan. American citizens are strongly urged to have a certified copy of their U.S. passport made at the either the U.S. Embassy's Consular Section in Astana or the Branch Office in Almaty. Having a certified copy in their possession satisfies the local requirement to carry a passport and reduces the chances of a passport being lost or stolen.

Criminal Penalties: While in a foreign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that country's laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses.

Persons violating Kazakhstan's laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested or imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Kazakhstan are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines. Engaging in sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime, prosecutable in the United States.

Children's Issues: For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, see the Office of Children's Issues website at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Registration and Embassy Locations: Americans living or traveling in Kazakhstan are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department's travel registration web site so that they can obtain updated information on travel and security within Kazakhstan. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency.

The U.S. Embassy in Astana and the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Almaty are 11 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time. The U.S. Embassy in Astana is located at Akbulak-4, St. 22-23, Building 3, 010010, Astana, tel. 7-7172-70-21-00, fax 7-7172-70-22-80, e-mail USAKZ@ state.gov, or web site http://kazakhstan.usembassy.gov.

The U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Almaty is located at 97 Zholdasbekov St., Samal-2, Almaty 050059, tel. 7-727-250-49-00, 250-49-01, fax 7-727-250-48-84, e-mail [email protected].

OVIR registration. There are local Kazakhstani registration requirements. All U.S. citizens arriving in Kazakhstan through 12 international airports and the railway point of Dostyk (Druzhba) are registered at the moment of the border crossing and, as proof, receive a migration card with entry and registration marks from the Border Service of Committee of National Security of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Registration of U.S. citizens is also done at automobile checkpoints in Khorgos, Dostyk, Bakhty, Maikapchagai, Kordai and Kolzhat, and the seaports of Aktau and Bau-tino. The registration upon arrival is valid for 3 months. For stays longer than 90 days, travelers should register with the Migration Police.

However, if for any reason, a U.S. citizen was not registered in the Kazakhstan Embassy or immediately upon arrival in Kazakhstan, the traveler should register with the Office of Visas and Registration (OVIR) within 5 calendar days. Visitors who do not register may have to pay fines upon departure and their departure may be delayed.

International Adoption

May 2007

The information in this section has been edited from a report of the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Overseas Citizens Services. For more information, please read the International Adoption section of this book and review current reports online at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Disclaimer: The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and current understanding. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.

Please Note: Kazakhstani law requires that orphans be registered with the Ministry of Education Committee of Guardianship and Care for at least six months before they are eligible for adoption. It is difficult for foreigners to adopt two or more biologically unrelated children at the same time.

Prospective adoptive parents wishing to adopt two or more non-siblings on the same trip are urged to question their adoption agencies carefully prior to visiting the children to ascertain whether this is possible in the city where they plan to adopt.

Kazakhstan has a requirement that all adopted children must have a Post Placement Report (PPR) filed for them each year until the adopted child turns 18. This is extremely important, and a failure by adoptive parents to comply with this requirement could have a negative effect on the ability of future families to adopt from Kazakhstan.

Adoption Authority: The Kazakhstani government agency that over-sees intercountry adoptions is:

Ministry of Education
Committee on Guardianship and Care
83 Kenesary Street
Astana, Kazakhstan 010000
http://edu.gov.kz/

Eligibility Requirements for Adoptive Parents: Officially, Kazakhstan allows both single and married people to adopt, and there are no age requirements other than that an unmarried prospective adoptive parent must be at least 16 years older than the child s/he intends to adopt. In practice, however, some unmarried prospective adoptive parents have found it difficult to adopt, as have prospective parents over age 60.

Prospective adoptive parents who have any type of arrest record, regardless of how minor or how long ago an offense occurred, should consult with an adoption professional before deciding to adopt from Kazakhstan. In several cases adoptive parents have faced lengthy and costly delays in finalizing their adoptions in Kazakhstani courts because of decades-old arrest records.

An approved home study citing the arrest does not guarantee a favorable court decision.

Residency Requirements: Prospective adoptive parents must reside with the child for a minimum of 14 days at the child's habitual place of residence in Kazakhstan prior to the adoption (“the Bonding Period”).

This pre-adoption bonding period cannot be waived. Kazakhstani law also provides for a 15-day waiting period (“the Appeal Period”) after the court hearing, before the adoption becomes final. A judge can waive this period at his or her discretion but this is a rare occurrence. The court decision, adoption certificate, post-adoption birth certificate and child's Kazakhstani passport cannot be obtained until the judge finalizes the adoption.

Time Frame: Prospective adoptive parents should expect to stay in Kazakhstan a minimum of 60 days (sometimes longer) to complete Kazakhstani adoption requirements. This period includes those listed under the “Residence Requirements” section above as well as the completion of all post-adoption and U.S. immigration paperwork.

Adoption Agencies and Attorneys: Kazakhstani law does not recognize the role of adoption agencies or assume that an intermediary represents adoptive parents. However, the regulations allow foreign adoptive parents to have assistants, such as interpreters or lawyers, to help them through the process. The result is that adoptive parents may work with any agency or individual they choose, but should be aware that there is no formal registration or oversight process for adoption intermediaries working in Kazakhstan.

Adoption Fees: U.S. citizen parents who have completed adoptions in Kazakhstan report that the total cost, including fees for services charged by U.S.-based agencies, averages approximately $18,000 to $25,000 per child. The amount includes the following official fees: application to court $4; new birth certificate $17; adoption certificate $17; exit stamp from Migration Police of Kazakhstan $8; registration of the child with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan $84. Expedited passport issuance is optional but available for $80. Regular passport issuance takes one month.

Adoption Procedures: Once prospective adoptive parents are cleared for adoption in their home state and have completed the initial processing requirements of the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the next step is to register with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to indicate an intention to adopt a Kazakhstani orphan. A U.S. adoption agency normally assists with this registration by submitting the file of documents (“the dossier”) to the Embassy of Kazakhstan or Consulate of Kazakhstan in the United States.

When a married couple hopes to adopt in Kazakhstan and the couple is of mixed citizenship (i.e., one parent is a U.S. citizen and the other parent is a non-U.S. citizen even if s/he holds U.S. residency), the Kazakhstani government requires additional documentation from the non-U.S. citizen parent in the dossier. Prospective adoptive parents in this situation should consult their U. S. adoption agency regarding dossier requirements.

Kazakhstani consular officers are required to review dossiers for completeness and translation accuracy. Dossiers that are missing documents or have other errors will be returned to the adoption agency to be corrected. The Kazakhstani Embassy or Consulate then transfers the dossier to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Astana for processing, which in turn sends it to the Ministry of Education for review. Next, the dossier is forwarded to the Guardianship Body in the town from where the prospective adoptive parents wish to adopt. Once the dossier has cleared this stage, the Guardianship Body will then issue a letter inviting the parents to travel to Kazakhstan to apply for adoption.

After obtaining Kazakhstani visas, prospective adoptive parents are free to travel to Kazakhstan to select their child and proceed with their petition for adoption.

There is no such thing as a “referral” or “pre-identification” in Kazakhstan. Even though the prospective adoptive parents may wish to adopt a particular child, the Government of Kazakhstan does not match a child to the parents or in any way “assign” them a child until they arrive in Kazakhstan, select a child in person, and apply to the court to adopt the child. Information about medical histories of the children and other pertinent information will be available only at the orphanage during selection of the children. Kazakhstani law requires that orphans be registered with the Ministry of Education Committee of Guardianship and Care for at least six months before they are eligible for adoption.

Prospective parents are required to have a minimum 14 days of personal contact with the orphan before formally submitting an adoption application. This means that prospective parents must stay in the town where the orphan is living and visit the orphan on a regular basis during this two-week period. Nearly all Kazakhstani jurisdictions require that in the case of married petitioners, both parents be present for the entire 14-day bonding period.

Once all legal requirements are fulfilled, prospective adoptive parents may submit their adoption application to the civil court that will decide whether to grant the adoption. The adoption application to the Kazakhstani court should include:

• Letter of intent to adopt a child in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
• Commitment from the Family to Kazakhstan Adoption Law.
• Home Study.
• Home Study Agency post placement commitment prepared by a HS Agency Social Worker.
• Home Study Agency letter of recommendation.
• Adoption Agency “Certificate of Approval.”
• Adoption Agency License.
• Commitment from the Family to Follow-Up Visits.
• Commitment from the Family on Post-Placement Reporting.
• Commitment from the Family to Register the Child.
• Notarized Copies of each Prospective Adoptive Parent's Passport.
• Marriage Certificate.
• FBI Background Checks.
• Medical Forms.
• Employment Letters.
• Financial Statements (Affidavits).
• Bank letter.
• Home Ownership.
• Notification from USCIS of Petition Approval.
• Powers of Attorney.
• Pictures of Prospective Adoptive Parents.

In addition to the documents listed above, any adoptive parent who was previously divorced must submit notarized copies of all divorce decrees. Prospective adoptive parents should note that Kazakhstan allows only two divorces. In addition to the documents listed above, unmarried adoptive parents must submit a notarized, certified copy of his/her birth certificate.

Single parents must also prepare notarized letters identifying the name (s) of the person(s) who will be appointed guardian of the child or children if the adoptive parent can no longer care for the child or children. The designated guardians must also write a separate letter, with notarized signature, accepting this designation. Separate guardianship letters must be prepared for each child being adopted.

After the court makes its decision, there is a 15-day waiting period before the decision is final. After the court's decision is finalized, the parents may apply for the adoption certificate, the child's new Kazakhstani birth certificate the Kazakhstani passport based on the court decree. All these documents will include the child's new name. In addition to the passport, the child will need a permanent exit visa from the local Migration Police Office (formerly OVIR) where the child resides. An adopted child must be registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Astana prior to departing Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has a requirement that all adopted children must have a Post Placement Report (PPR) filed for them each year until the adopted child turns 18. It is important to adhere to the exact requirements of the PPR, as failure to do so could jeopardize future adoption processing in Kazakhstan.

The PPR should be done in the U.S. state where the child and family reside, preferably by a licensed social worker and include up to 5 photos of the child. The PPR should be translated into Russian or Kazakh and sent to the Department of Education of the city or region from where the child was adopted.

Please see the International Adoption section of this book for more details and review current reports online at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
1401 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202-232-5488
Fax: 202-232-5845
http://www.Kazakhembus.com
[email protected]

Consulate of the Republic of Kazakhstan in New York 866 UN Plaza, Suite 586 A
New York, NY 10017
Tel: 212-888-3024
Fax: 212-888-3025
http://www.kazconsulny.org
[email protected]

U.S. Immigration Requirements: Prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to consult USCIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. Please see the International Adoption section of this book for more details and review current reports online at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Embassy of the United States of America
Consular Section, Adoptions
97 Zholdasbekov Street, Samal—2
Almaty, Kazakhstan 050059
Tel: 7-327-250-49-00; 250-49-01
Fax: 7-327-250-48-84
http://www.usembassy.kz

Adoption E-Mail:
[email protected]
General Consular
E-mail: [email protected]

Additional Information: Specific questions about adoption in Kazakhstan may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Almaty. General questions regarding international adoption may be addressed to the Office of Children's Issues, U.S. Department of State, CA/OCS/CI, SA-29, 4th Floor, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818, toll-free Tel: 1-888-404-4747.

Kazakhstan

History & Background

The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to the creation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, one of the world's largest countries (2.7 million square kilometers), located in the heart of the Eurasian continent. Administratively, the country is divided into 14 oblasti (states), with 160 raiony (districts), and the major cities of Astana, Almaty, Ekibastuz, Karagandy, Kustanai, Pavlodar, Semipalatinsk, Shymkent, and Ust'-Kamenogorsk. In 1997, the capital of the country was moved from Almaty to Astana.

Kazakhstan is a multi-ethnic state. Various periods of Kazakhstani history reflected noteworthy shifts in the demographic situation. In the course of peasants' migration in the pre-1917 period, more than 1 million people came to Kazakhstan from Russia, the Ukraine, and Byelorussia. After the 1917 Revolution, about 1 million people were subjected to migration to Kazakhstan for the purposes of constructing industrial facilities; even greater numbers were victims of Stalin's policy of farm collectivization. They came mostly from the European part of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). During World War II, 150,000 people were evacuated from the territories occupied by Nazi Germany to work at the military facilities. Kazakhstan became a place of exile for several ethnic groups who were suspected of being potential collaborators with Hitler. These groups included nearly 800,000 Germans, 78,500 Koreans, 102,000 Poles, and 507,000 people from the North Caucasus. In the 1950s, the reclamation of virgin soils in Kazakhstan brought yet another 1,500,000 people from various USSR republics.

According to the 1999 estimate of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Statistics, almost 15 million people representing 120 ethnic groups lived in the country. Among them were nearly 8 million Kazakhs, more than 4 million Slavic and non-Slavic Russians, 547,000 Ukrainians, 353,000 Germans, and 249,000 Tatars, and 1 million people belonging to other ethnic minorities. The population of the country has a high percentage of people with bi-ethnic and multi-ethnic backgrounds. Since the last census taken in 1989, there was over a 1 million decrease in population due to emigration because of the country becoming a separate nation-state, economic hardships, and growing nationalism. Most of the emigrants were from Russian and German communities. Another factor relates to the birth reduction. For example, the 1995 child birth rate was approximately 17 children per 1,000 of the population. In 1999, the rate fell to 14.

Most of the population lives in urban areas that have better economies in comparison with the rural areas. This has a great impact on the educational system and educational opportunities of people. The urban areas, mostly located in the northern part of the country, have highly developed industries, and a high number of educational institutions. They are heavily populated with ethnic Russian or Russian-speaking people, while the countryside has a larger proportion of ethnic Kazakhs and other Central Asian minorities.

Major religions are Islam, which makes up a little more than half of the population, and Russian Orthodox Christianity, which comprises just a little less than half of the population. Kazakhs were converted to Islam only in the early nineteenth century. A predominantly atheistic republic by the end of the twentieth century, Kazakhstan experienced a genuine religious renaissance after the days of its independence.

Kazakhstan possesses rich oil and natural gas reserves (mainly in the Tenghiz region in Western Kazakhstan) and substantial amounts of iron ore, chrome, coal, copper, titanium, and other mineral resources. These are viewed by the leadership of the country as a significant factor in helping the country to emerge from its difficult berthing. Major farm products include wheat, barley, meat, and wool.

Since most ethnic Kazakh nomads moved with their cattle from one place to another, there were few attempts made to develop formal schooling. A rudimentary education was provided in the mektebah schools (four-year elementary schools) for a small number of young boys who studied the Koran. This studying was done in Arabic under the guidance of mullas (priests), most of whom were foreign. A small number of advanced three to four year medrece schools were held at mosques and trained religious ministers and teachers of mektebah schools. Overall, the level of illiteracy among the people was high. According to the 1897 census, a very small part of the population was literate, and most of them lived in the northern parts of Kazakhstan where the mixture of Kazakhs and Russians was the highest. Only one child out of ten attended a school.

The first formal schools providing general education for the indigenous population were sponsored by the Russian mercenaries and settlers. They migrated to this region in search of new lands in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The first secular vocational schools were also opened to prepare clerks, translators, teachers, and medical workers for the Russian Protectorate administration. The Russian-Kazakh and Russian-Kyrgyz municipal schools, financed by the government, laid the foundation for the creation of the system of public education. To promote the education of girls, the government opened several Russian-Kazakh women's schools and community colleges. By 1896, the number of girls in these schools reached only 211; however, it was a break from a centuries-old Islamic tradition of keeping Kazakhi girls away from getting an academic education. To pursue higher education, most ethnic Kazakhs usually went to Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, or other Russian cities, since Kazakhstan did not have any colleges or universities.

Although not a separate, national state in the past, Kazakhstan began the construction of its national identity after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. The Communist ideological foundations that shaped the USSR were a significant factor in molding the educational, political, social, and economic scene of the republic and the culture of its people.

Kazakhstan inherited many educational legacies from the former Soviet Union. One such legacy was a system of universal compulsory general school education. The Communist ideology of the Soviet Union was driven by the social reconstructionist theory that placed a great importance on education as a means of economic, political, and social transformation. The government set the eradication of illiteracy among both adults and children as its prime goal. In the 1920s, supported by the Soviet government, the Communist Party leadership, filled with the revolutionary enthusiasm of the young people, launched the campaign "Down with illiteracy!" Though the material and the human resources were scarce, by the end of the 1930s Kazakhstan managed to teach most of the population, about 84 percent, the basic literacy skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic at the elementary school level. Education became an important value and an issue for personal and social development for the Kazakhstani people.

Another legacy was the development of a system of higher education and scientific research institutions. Having not a single establishment of higher education in the pre-1917 years, the words "university" and "institute" did not even exist in local languages, Kazakhstan entered its new stage of development in 1991 with the Academy of Sciences. This included several dozen institutions conducting research in a wide range of disciplines such as astronomy, agriculture, biology, ethnography, linguistics, among other areas.

The ideological and moral fabric of education in the Soviet Kazakhstan was yet another inherited legacy. It was deeply rooted in the ideas of collectivism, which is the supremacy of the social good and social prosperity over individualism and personal good. The ideology of the Socialist state broke away from the capitalist values of the pre-1917 Tsarist Russia, and emphasized sameness and uniformity, which suppressed individuality. For more than 70 years the educational system of Kazakhstan, like education in any other Union republic, tried to instill in students the ideas of the collective serving the good of the country and the good of other people, rather than competing with others for wealth and benefits through personal efforts, talents, and ambitions. In a state where everybody was supposed to be like others, school curriculum did not promote pluralism and diversity, and there was no choice for educational institutions.

In its attempts to educate a new, Socialist type of a person, one who was free from exploitation, greed, religion, and ethnic nationalism, the Communist ideology gave priority to educating individuals who rose above, or abandoned, their ethnic values and traditions. Even some ethnic Kazakh Communist leaders sacrificed their ethnic identities, considering them inferior to the identity of a modern socialist person. Neither Kazakh, nor Russian cultures of pre-1917, were represented in their full glory within their national curricula. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Kazakhstani society was still in search of answers as to which historic traditions and values needed to be restored, which Communist ideas to abandon, and which new world values to adopt.

Another inherited legacy was that of a strong emphasis on free high school education for all. For 75 years, the state-owned and government-planned economy excluded any private initiative in education. It accustomed parents and their children to the ideas of free textbooks, to a monthly allowance given to the university students with good grades, to the reduced cost of public transportation to all students, to free access to university facilities, and to many other benefits and privileges. The idea of free education, so deeply embedded in the mentality of Kazakhstani people, was challenged by the new capitalistic developments such as the introduction of private education.

A final legacy was that of a tough military and economic competition with the world's capitalist countries in the twentieth century. The Soviet system of education placed a great emphasis on preparing engineers, scientists, and researchers. As a result, the school curriculum included many subjects related to mathematics and science, and neglected the role of social studies and humanities. Teaching stressed indoctrination and rote memorization of the content materials, rather than the development of critical thinking abilities.

In 1991, Kazakhstan obtained sovereignty. The process of the dissolution of the Soviet Union was abrupt. It happened at an unexpectedly high speed for many people throughout the USSR, especially in multiethnic republics, like Kazakhstan. For the people of Kazakhstan, independence did not come as a result of long struggle. On the contrary, the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbaev, was one of the few leaders of the former Soviet republics who fought for the preservation of some type of a union for the territories of the USSR. However, it did not happen, and Kazakhstan was left completely unprepared for the new role of a nation-state. Kazakhstan faced many adjustments, such as the transitional period from a "command and planned" economy to free-market one; from Communism to Democracy; from the dependence on the decisions made by the central Union government; and the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to independent decision making as a sovereign state. The destruction of the well-established economic ties between all republics of the USSR brought the country many economic, social, educational, political, and ethnic conflicts and challenges. The legal and governmental authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan faced a problem of establishing a national system of education and a governance that would facilitate the process of nation and state building. The efforts of the Kazakh society have been directed toward reassessing the legacy of the socialist education system and introducing market economy, promoting democracy, developing new types of cooperation with the former Soviet republics within the Commonwealth of Independent States, and searching for new cultural identities. The search for national identity increased the number of educational institutions at which all subjects were taught in Kazakh and other languages.

Constitutional & Legal Foundations

In 1995, the Parliament of Kazakhstan adopted a constitution that was approved during the nationally held referendum. It spelled out the following political, and ideological principles of education: democracy, equal rights, construction of the national identity, and rediscovery of ethnic and religious identities. The constitution guarantees citizens the right to determine their language identity. As Article 19 stipulated, "everyone shall have the right to use his native language and culture, to freely choose the language of communication, education, instruction and creative activities."

The country remains dedicated to providing its citizens free public education compulsory through the eleventh grade. The constitution states, "The citizens shall be guaranteed free secondary education in state educational establishments. Secondary education shall be obligatory" (Article 30).

The constitution preserves the traditional competitive nature of higher education it inherited from the Soviet Union under which applicants to state-owned universities are required to take entry exams. In such a system, only a small part, less than the top 25 percent of those who apply, can be admitted.

For the first time in the history of the country, the constitution guaranteed that "the citizens shall have the right to pay for and receive an education in private educational establishments on the basis and terms established by law" (Article 30). The existing laws allow individuals and organizations to sponsor private educational institutions, a practice abolished in 1917.

As the control of the educational system by the Communist Party loosened during the last years of the Soviet Union, the local bodies and educational institutions lowered the requirements in education. To prevent a decrease in the quality of education, the constitution stipulated "the state shall set uniform compulsory standards in education. The activity of any educational establishment must comply with these standards." This provision also created background for a high degree of centralized state planning and administering of the educational system in the country.

The constitution created the necessary legal foundations for the use of various languages in state institutions. According to Article 7, the Kazakh language became the state language of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Since the Russian and Russian-speaking population are high in the country, Russian acquired the status of an official language. As the constitution maintains, "in state institutions and local self-administrative bodies the Russian language shall be officially used on equal grounds along with the Kazakh language." It becomes a law that "the state shall promote conditions for the study and development of the languages of the people of Kazakhstan."

The reform of education in the Soviet Kazakhstan began in mid-1984 with the adoption by the USSR Supreme Soviet "The Basic Trends of the Reform of Secondary General and Vocational School." The law, passed during M. Gorbachev's politics of restructuring and openness, paved the way for innovative educators and new progressive movements in education. This law gave rise to new ideas in instructional methods, organization, teacher-student relations, democratization, and humanization of educational curriculum. These ideas received a new impulse in 1992 when laws "On Education" and "On Higher Education" were passed by the Kazakh Parliament. They served as guidelines for conducting state policy in this area based on new national and cultural identities, and limited administrative interference. Overall, they extended greater autonomy to educational institutions. A national program of state-granted support of educational establishments was developed. The government approved several documents outlining several conceptual frameworks for education, such as the Conception of State Policy in the Field of Education, and the Conception of Arts Education, among others.

Many concepts and ideas were determined as priorities in the field of education for the country during the twenty-first century. Some of them include: transition to alternative education, humanization of education; introduction of a student-centered curriculum instead of society-centered one; democratization of education; compiling Kazakhstani textbooks in all the subjects of general-education school; integration of the educational system in the world educational processes; and the computerization of Kazakhstani schools.

Educational System—Overview

The Republic of Kazakhstan enjoys a 97 percent literacy rate, which is higher than in developing countries such as India, Peru, and Morocco. The system of education in the country consists of: preschool education, general secondary education, out-of-school training and education, family education, secondary vocational training, secondary technical education, higher education, post-higher education, and the development of professional competence and in-service training.

The mandatory general education for young people, ages 7 through 16, is provided by various institutions. Before independence, the biggest number of students attended 8,027 primary and secondary schools. In 2000, the number of schools and students slightly decreased due to the overall decrease in population. The primary school includes grades 1 through 4; the secondary stage consists of grades 5 through 9 and high school includes grades 10 and 11. It is a common practice that all three stages function under one administration and are located in the same building. Primary schools exist mainly in very remote rural areas with a low density of population.

At the end of the 1980s, an alternative type of general education institution received a revival—gymnasiums and lyceums. A small number of them functioned in the area even before 1917. The gymnasiums had a very rigorous classic curriculum that prepared students for higher education, while the lyceums emphasized math and science. However, after 1917, the Soviet government abolished both institutions and installed a unified system of school education that tried to blend both trends. The experiment lasted for several decades and proved that the unified secondary education did not meet the needs and interests of diverse student population, and for that reason it came under public criticism in the 1980s. In 2000, the system embraced 31 gymnasiums and 96 lyceums.

The network of general secondary education establishments also incorporates 244 secondary specialized schools which, in addition to the general education curriculum, offer the in-depth study of some subjects, foreign language being the most common one. In addition, there are 40 common type children's homes with a contingent of 5,006 children; 43 family type children's homes with 126 children; 22 boarding schools for orphaned children and children deprived of parental care; 48 seasonal boarding schools of common type attended by 15,647 children of migrant workers; 249 all-year round boarding schools with 8,250 children; 32 boarding schools for 4,853 mentally and physically handicapped children; and 1 boarding school for 93 children with severe behavioral problems. Along with the day-time general education schools, there are 62 night schools, 31 full-tuition by-correspondence schools, and 21 training centers for adults who received no certificate from a secondary high school.

Equal educational opportunities for boys and girls was a major goal of the Soviet Union, and remains as such in independent Kazakhstan. Historically, before 1917, education of girls was organized within families to teach girls to accept the traditional women's roles as wives, mothers, and cooks. In 1920 and 1921, only 1,900 ethnic Kazakh girls attended schools. In the years 1966 to 1976, this number rose to 424,759 and, in 1999, the number rose to more than 1 million. All schools are coeducational.

School education is offered in 21 languages. Out of the total number, 3,291 schools use Kazakh, 2,406 use Russian, 2,138 are bilingual and use both Russian and Kazakh; 77 Uzbek; 13 Uighur, 16 Tajik, Ukrainian, and German; 86 schools use other languages. As for higher education, 77,000 students are taught in Kazakh and 177,000 in Russian. Since science and engineering were started in Kazakhstan by Russian scholars. Russian language is used more in the politechnical, technological, and scientific schools of higher learning. In some majors, teaching is conducted in Uzbek, English, or German languages.

The school year starts on the first of September and lasts for 210 days, excluding weekends, holidays, and breaks. The grading system is based on a scale from one to five, with five being the highest. The lessons last for 45 minutes with a 10-minute break between them and one 20-minute snack break. There are usually four to five lessons a day in the primary schools, and five to six lessons in the high schools. Homework requiring several hours of study is common. Since admission to universities is highly competitive, many parents hire tutors for their high school children, thus turning the other half of the day, and often weekends, into a second school.

The government pursues the policy of giving assistance to parents through the Parents' Universities and the Knowledge Universities. These provide consultations, lectures, and films on educational issues.

The educational policies, facilities, and efforts created a substantial educated human capital in the twentieth century that has helped make Kazakhstan more industrialized than other former Soviet republics in Central Asia. However, educational institutions are mainly concentrated in big cities and towns, creating a cultural gap between rural and urban population.

Private Education: During the Soviet years, Kazakhstan had no private educational institutions; they all belonged to, and were run by, the government. The constitution provided guarantees to individuals, public organizations, and churches to open private educational institutions. The growth of non-state educational institutions in the 1990s was substantial. The number of non-state general education secondary schools went from zero in 1991 to 199 in 1999. The enrollment of students increased from zero in 1991 to 16,400 in 1999.

While the number of schools increased in the second half of the 1990s, the enrollment of students decreased. The private initiative was on the rise and many new entrepreneurs wanted to open schools; however, the quality of teaching in state-owned schools remained better. The public and the parents who experienced enthusiasm about private education at the beginning of the 1990s became disappointed about the low quality of instruction. The entrepreneurs were more interested in the number of students and less in the quality of teaching. The parents started withdrawing their children from private schools and sent them back to public schools. The picture was different in non-state vocational secondary schools. In 1991, there were no non-state vocational secondary schools, as compared to 99 in 1999. The enrollment of students increased from zero in 1991 to 33,000 in 1999.

As the desire of many young people to get to work earlier to make money as capitalist incentives became stronger, attendance in vocational schools became significantly higher. This is also because of the desire of some parents for their children to be financially independent in the wake of growing poverty.

The growth of non-state institutions of higher learning was on a constant rise in the country from zero in 1991 to 106 in 1999. Kazakhstan's Association of Educational Institutions was established in 1996 in order to develop nongovernmental sector of education, to improve the quality and range of services, and to democratize and ensure wholesome competition. In 2000, the Association included 71 private universities and 45 colleges. It actively participated in developing the legal base for the institutions of different levels. This was extremely important because the development of the private educational sector was accompanied by a number of serious violations. There exists a corrupt policy of double standards in licensing and certification that undermines the principle of fair competition. It leads to unreasonable suspension and withdrawal of licenses from some educational institutions and granting them to those who do not meet the requirements.

Preprimary & Primary Education

There were two preprimary educational types of schools in Kazakh SSR, one of which was nurseries for children from one-and-a-half years of age through three years of age, with a primary goal of providing child care for working parents. The other was kindergartens for children four to six years of age, with two purposes: to provide child care and help children develop intellectually, physically, emotionally, and socially for attending a primary school. Preschool institutions were heavily subsidized by the government, or by big enterprises that built kindergartens and nursery homes for their employees. They paid up to 90 percent of all expenses for children. In cases when families had several children (in the 1950s, the Kazakhs had the highest birth-rate of all 15 Soviet republics with 7.4 children per family), the government paid 100 percent of all expenses and gave additional assistance to the family in terms of clothes, money, and summer camps, among other things. In a classless society, children were the only "privileged class," as the Soviet metaphor described the attention to the children's needs and concerns in the country.

In 1966, some 4,143 preschool institutions for 360,167 children operated in the republic. In the 1970s, the number increased to 551,800. Preprimary education in the Soviet Kazakhstan was sometimes criticized for not being able to accommodate all children of working mothers. In some regions, the kindergarten admitted up to 80 percent of preschool children. In others, especially rural areas, less than 50 percent were admitted. One example of the lack of facilities for many children was the Karaganda coal mining company. This company, one of the biggest in the USSR, constructed 85 nurseries and kindergartens for 10,000 children of its employees.

As Kazakhstan embarked on capitalist economy, the state subsidies to the preschool institution dramatically dropped, leaving them to survive on their own. The privatized companies, factories, and plants sharply cut the state's spending on preschooling. As a result, many of these institutions were closed and children had to stay at home with elderly, or with other members of the family.

The private preschool institutions that arose after 1991 are not numerous due to their high cost, and the fact they can be afforded by only wealthy people. As of the beginning of the 1997-1998 school year, the Republic numbered some 1,905 establishments of preschool education attended by 184,500 children.

Primary schools consist of grades one through four. As independent units within the system of education, they function only in remote villages with scarce populations. There were 1,766 primary schools out of total 8,400 schools. Children in rural areas are provided transportation to attend school in a nearby town or city. Since most of the population of the Kazakh Soviet Republic in the first half of the twentieth century was involved in animal husbandry, boarding schools were created across the republic. However, as the industry developed rapidly during and after the World War II, and more people moved to the urban areas, the number of the boarding schools drastically decreased. The overwhelming majority of students receive primary education at the secondary general education school. This educational institution provides mandatory education for children ages 7 to 16, which involves grades 1 through 9. It unites a primary school, a middle school, and a high school. In the 1996-1997 school year, the enrollment at primary education level was 98 percent of the relevant age group.

The primary schools provide students with rigorous instruction in Kazakh and Russian languages, literature, mathematics, the study of nature, arts, music, and physical health. Some schools offer the study of a foreign language in the second grade. Most of the subjects are taught by one teacher who stays with the students through four years of study; this allows for close bonds to be developed with students and parents. Staying in the same building with middle and high school students gives small children an opportunity to learn about expectations at the next levels of their learning. Since most parents work, primary schools, at an additional cost to parents, organize "extended day" groups, turning the other half of the day into an extension of regular lessons during which children do their home work.

The 1990s brought a huge wave of curriculum reform. An intensive process of updating the textbooks and instructional materials for primary classes was launched in accordance with the State Program "New Generation of Textbooks." In 1997, new and updated textbooks for 19 subjects for the first grade of all types of schools were published by the Ministry of Education. By 2000, the Ministry planned to publish textbooks for 24 subjects for the second grade, and for 26 subjects for the third grade, projecting to continue work on accruement of textbooks for the fourth and other grades in the next decade. Annually, about $1.5 billion tenge (Kazakhstani currency) are allotted to the publication of textbooks of a new generation.

Secondary Education

At the middle level, grades five through nine, each subject is taught by a separate teacher. The curriculum includes the Kazakhi language and literature, Russian language and literature, mathematics, geometry, geography, physics, chemistry, physical health, arts, music, and a foreign language. Each grade section has a senior teacher, or a class guide, who is appointed by the principal to maintain contact with parents, help students organize various social activities, and be a liaison with the school administration. In some small, rural areas, incomplete secondary schools (grades one through nine) operate as a separate entity.

At the end of the ninth grade, school children take exit exams developed by the national Ministry of Education and Science. Those who pass may continue their education in high school to obtain a certificate of secondary general education that gives them the right to apply to an institution of higher learning. Teachers and school administrators advise those students who are not academically bound, and might not meet the requirements of the high school, to apply to one or two-year professional'notekhnicheskoe uchilishche (vocational or professional schools) that enable the graduates enter the labor market at a low level of qualification. However, it is the parents who make the final decision. Students may apply to more academically rigorous tekhnikum (three-year technical schools), pedagogical, or medical schools that grant graduates a general secondary education, a vocational certificate, and the right to apply to universities for advanced programs of study. The students who continue their education in high school take exit exams at the end of the eleventh grade. There were eight exams, but the number was reduced by two in the 1990s. The tests are graded by local teachers, and not by the experts who composed them in the republican test center. Some institutions of higher learning started accepting exit school grades as the entry exams, relieving the school graduates from the stress of two exam sessions a summer. Usually, these are the graduates of some academically rigorous private schools or specialized schools run by the boards of education or by the universities.

As the new educational standards have been developed in Kazakhstan, secondary education in Kazakhstan has been diversified according to the Basic Education Plan that offers the students 28 variants of education. The most major, Variant Number 1, has a general education curriculum. Other variants are designed to provide an in-depth study of specific subjects and resemble magnet schools that exist in some countries. For example, Variant Number 5 offers the intensive study of foreign languages and literature. Variant Number 6 provides profound study of native languages (Turkish, Uighur, Korean, and others.) Variant Number 7 offers an in-depth study of mathematics. Variant Number 23 aims at an in-depth theoretical and practical training in national and economic industries. Variant Number 24 is designed for general education rural school. Variant Number 26 represents an aesthetic profile with such subjects as arts, music, and dance.

The major efforts in secondary school reform aim at diversifying the ideological and theoretical foundations of curriculum development. They also aim to make the process of choosing a curriculum more flexible and democratic by re-introducing traditional ethnic values and multicultural education.

As Kazakhstan becomes more open to the world community, the educational system experiences the imperative of society to increase its dedication to promoting the study of foreign languages. During the Soviet time, all students were required to study a foreign language, usually English, for seven years. This requirement was made because Cold War contacts with other countries were limited, and few students were interested in learning languages. As the country develops cooperation with the rest of the world, the study of two foreign languages, especially English, Arabic, Turkish, or Persian, becomes more common.

A great deal of attention is given by the government to Information Processing, the content of which is oriented toward developing computer skills and programming. To accomplish the goal of computerization, as it is outlined in the reform documents, 40,000 copies of a new textbook in both Kazakhstan and Russian languages have been made available for schools. A Kazakh-Russian-English Dictionary of Informatics terminology has been issued, and regional centers of new technologies in education have been created. In 1997, the President of the country approved the State Program of the Informatization of the System of the Secondary Education for the years 1997-2002 that commits 154 million U.S. dollars to schools. The financial support of the Program also comes from the Asian Bank of Development loan. In 1998, the Program was supposed to computerize 1,000 schools, including 60 percent in rural areas, a goal too bold under the given constraints of the budget.

There is no social promotion in the educational system. Those who fail one subject are allowed to take summer course work, either independently, or through tutoring. If they pass the test on the eve of the new academic year, they are promoted to the next grade. However, the repetition rate is very low (around 1 percent), and this is described by some critics as a result of grade inflation and bribery.

As the country develops its identity, nationalism is on the rise. The political elite continues to establish more schools for the Kazakh ethnic group. The ethnic Kazakh group is disproportionately represented in the leadership of the Ministry of Education and other administrative bodies, though the urban schools are more cosmopolitan. To overcome inter-ethnic tension, the government launched a project of opening schools in which diverse ethnic cultures are represented. The first, called Vozrojdenie (Revival) School was created in the city of Pavlodar. More than 500 school children of different nationalities come here six days a week. They study the native languages, culture, and traditions of people who live in Kazakhstan. The departments and classes actively intercommunicate, prepare joint concert programs, and other social events. The young artists from Vozrojdenie participate in festivals of the Kazakh, Russian, Ukraine, German, Korean, and Polish, all cultures that are regularly carried out in Pavlodar oblast. In 2000, 2 new departments, Belorussian and Greek, were added to the 10 existing departments.

Kazakhstan inherited a wide-spread system of vocational education institutions. In 1997-1998, the specialized secondary vocational education was offered by 230 schools, including 174 state-owned, and 56 non-state owned. They trained 128,730 young people in 160 specialties. During the Soviet years, the system was subsidized by both the enterprises and the state. As the plants and the factories were privatized in independent Kazakhstan, their new owners cut the spending of money on vocational education and the system began crumbling. To meet the needs of local enterprises in the labor force with the middle level of qualification, vocational schools introduced "education on contractual basis." This is when an enterprise, under the auspices of the local Bureau of Employment, signs a contract with a vocational school and pays money for training a certain number of workers.

The government encourages the creation of private secondary schools hoping that they will reduce the financial burden on public schools. The government stopped supplying textbooks for free.

Of the relevant age-group students, 87 percent were enrolled in all types of secondary education schools in 1996-1997. Leaders of Kazakhstan know this must be improved.

Higher Education

The development of higher education in Soviet Kazakhstan was a part of the general policy of the Soviet Union to promote the cultural enlightenment among the wide masses of population. Before 1917, the Kazakh territory had no institutions of higher learning. However, 50 years later, the Republic had 44 four-, five-, or six-year universities and institutes. They include Kazakh State University, Kurmangazy Kazakh State Conservatory, 19 teacher training institutes, 5 medical, and 10 politechnical institutes with total number of 415,000 students. Kazakhstan had the highest percentage of students per 1,000 people among all Central Asian republics. The higher education enjoyed the high status among the young people because it was one of the few paths to well-paid jobs, social prestige, and prosperity at the level of standards attained in the country.

In Soviet times, higher education was free. It was viewed as a professional activity requiring full time dedication on the part of students. To help students materially, the government developed a program for their support. On a monthly basis, students were provided with an allowance, the size of which depended upon their financial status and academic achievements. However, the students who flunked the final exams at the end of the semester, or came from the families with high incomes, were disqualified from receiving an allowance. The universities also awarded some money as remuneration for outstanding achievements in learning. The Union of Higher Education Workers financially supported the students from the families with low incomes. The principle of free education ensured that students did not have to buy textbooks or any instructional materials: there were enough of them in the libraries of the institutions of higher learning or in public libraries. All university facilities were available at no charge. Therefore, because of such generous support, very few students had to seek jobs for extra financial resources during their years of study.

In Soviet times, the admission to the universities was highly competitive, since the country pursued the goal of providing higher education to the few who were academically motivated or capable. Based on the results of the entry exams, universities and institutes selected about 25 percent of all the applicants. Although the USSR Constitution proclaimed equality for all in education, special preference in the admission process was given to the members of the Komsomol (Young Communist League) and to the Communist Party members who were viewed as active social participants in the life of the community.

As the country embarked on the capitalist economy in 1991, higher education continued to be a high priority among young people. The number of institutions and the number of students in them grew even bigger. The dynamics of this growth was remarkable. Despite the growth of the number of the universities and the enrollment, the number of students per 10,000 population decreased from 165 in 1970 to 157 in 1998 due to the faster growth of population during the previous 30 years.

The transformation of the country from socialist toward a capitalist free-market society compelled the society to substantially reconceptualize the notion of public education as being completely free. The size of the allowance shrank to a size that could support students only for a few days. Some institutions started charging admission fees that put the academically talented, but financially poor, in situations of inequality with regard to the rich. It increased competitiveness among the economically challenged for the fewer places available, deprived them of equal educational opportunities, and raised social stress. The fees for some instructional materials, retaking examinations, and other services became common in public universities. Some institutions had to change their public status in order to survive. For example, in 1997 four state technical higher educational institutions were transformed into private institutions.

The reform of higher education in the 1990s followed the provisions of the constitution which allowed the establishment of the private institutions. Their number skyrocketed from 0 to 106 in the years of 1990 through 1999. Educational institutions, such as universities acquired a good reputation, but they were very costly for an average citizen earning the equivalent of US$42 a month. The process of obtaining a license for opening a private institution does not always strictly follow the guidelines set by the government, and the absence of independent accrediting institutions make it difficult to verify the quality of curriculum offered.

The cardinal changes took place in the field of curriculum. They involved the reduction of the ideological burden of the past and the elimination of the mandatory study by all students in such core courses as History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Scientific Communism, and Scientific Atheism. The new market economy in the country also necessitated the introduction of new majors and the development of new courses for them, mainly in the fields of management, marketing, and investment.

In Soviet Kazakhstan every graduate was guaranteed a job upon graduation both by the KazSSR and the USSR governments. The new state experienced high levels of unemployment, 12.3 percent in 2001, and it had to abandon the former function as a job provider. Instead, it gave an order and some money to the state-owned universities to prepare a certain amount of specialists for the needs of the state structures. It also provided financial assistance to 58,600 students or 24 percent of all the total contingent, with full compensation of money after graduation.

The teaching faculty makes up 21,834 people, and among them are 1,191 Doctors of Science and 7,529 Candidates of Science. They are prepared in the educational or research institutions in the three-year aspirantura (doctoral programs). The curriculum of these programs requires more independent work under the supervision of an experienced scholar than the course work in the form of lectures and seminars. After the graduates defend a dissertation, they are granted the scholarly degree of the Candidate of Science in specific areas. Up to 10 percent of those who continue to research extensively and publish, may choose to write another dissertation for the degree of the Doctor of Science in specific areas. The difference in salaries of doctors and candidates is substantial.

The reform of higher education targeted the restructuring of the system in order to bring it closer to the one that exists in many countries of the world. In the past, most institutions of higher learning had a status of an institute with a five-year program. In the 1990s, they were converted into universities and academies with the four-year baccalaureate and one or two-year graduate master's programs.

As an independent country, Kazakhstan established new ties and cooperation with the world's institutions of higher learning. In 1998, a total of 3,598 international students from 43 countries studied in Kazakhstani universities.

Studying abroad for Kazakhstani people is sponsored by various programs organized by the state, religious, and international organizations, such as the British Council, and the American Council of Teachers of Russian. Upon independence, many countries, especially Islamic ones, advanced into the Kazakhstani educational system to promote their culture and influence by opening religious schools and establishing joint institutions; one example is Kh.A.Yassavi Kazakh-Turkish University. The Republic's universities also signed agreements on student exchanges with their partners in other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the former Soviet republics.

Starting in 1995, the Republic has been putting in practice President Nazarbaev's instruction to allocate a 10 percent quota to facilitate admission of representatives of small minorities to higher educational institutions. It resulted in a dramatic rise in their share among students, which equaled this index with the level of national minorities within the overall statistics of the Republic's population.

Administration, Finance, & Educational Research

As independent Kazakhstan faced the imperative of constructing a new structure of governance, it almost followed the pattern of the USSR in establishing a separate Ministry of Education. However, given the limited budget potentials, and the reduced size of the educational system, the Ministry was united with the ministerial structures, which are responsible for culture and health. In 1999, the President of the Republic reformed the government and created the Ministry of Education and Science, which adopts major decisions about educational policies, goals, national standards, finances, and personnel. The Ministry focuses mainly on control rather than leadership, supervision, and evaluation. At the state level, and in the big cities of Akmola and Almaty, the system is administered by the Board of Education and at the district level of by the Department of Education.

When part of the Soviet Union, the system of education in Kazakhstan was operated on a highly centralized planning basis. The major function of the KazSSR Ministry of Education lay in controlling the implementation of the constitutional provisions on education, Communist Party of the Soviet Union ideological guidelines, and orders of the USSR Ministry of Education. While the USSR Ministry of Education developed goals, policies, and the larger part, about 70 percent of the school curriculum, the republican Ministry was responsible for developing about 30 percent of curriculum which included history, literature, language, geography, and culture of Kazakhstan. Parents, governing bodies, and school administrators and teachers had limited authority over decisions about curriculum at the lower local level. Such a centralized system created more uniformity, and deprived teachers an opportunity to adjust schooling to local and individual differences. The administration system still resembles that of the USSR, even though some transformations have been made.

The financial support to the system of public education comes mainly by the national budget. In 1999, some 15 percent of total spending was allotted to education. It is a big increase after the fiscal crisis of the first half of the 1990s when spending fell to 3.1 percent. Additional financial assistance has been provided by International Monetary Fund, World Bank, IREX, American Council of Teachers of Russian, Asian Bank of Development, as well as by various private companies and public organizations from the Arab world. In order to overcome financial shortage, some educational institutions began renting their buildings to private businesses.

The rapid development of science and research in Kazakhstan took place during World War II when many research institutions and scholars were evacuated from the European part of the Soviet Union to the republic. The scientific potential grew so high that, in 1946, the Academy of Sciences of KazSSR was founded, and a network of research institutions developed.

Prior to the country's independence, most of the scientific and technical potential of Kazakhstan was integrated in the much larger and elaborate scientific entities and structures of the former Soviet Union. In the 1990s, the Republic faced a task to reassess its relation and relevance to the former scientific programs and projects, its financial potentials, and the new needs and research agendas of the country. Given the conditions of an allembracing disintegration of the organizational pattern of science, its Kazakhstani contingent suffered a serious destruction. Over the period of 1991-1993, as a consequence of sharply reduced funding of scientific institutions, the number of scholars engaged in research decreased dramatically.

In Soviet Kazakhstan, the substantial amount of educational research work was conducted in the KazSSR Scientific Research Institute of Pedagogy which, after independence, obtained the status of the National Academy of Education. A great number of research projects have been carried out in universities and pedagogical institutes, which are the major teacher training institutions. In 1999 alone, three new research institutes on the problems of education and upbringing were initiated in Kazakhstan: the Institute of Preschool Education in Semipalatinsk State University; the Institute of Higher Education in L.Gumilev Eurasian University; and the Institute of Upbringing under the auspices of National Academy of Education. The institutes set the task to provide the schools of Kazakhstan with textbooks that reflect new challenges of school democratization, humanistic education, multiculturalism, and search for national identities of Kazakhstani people.

Kazakhstan launched a number of projects in experimenting with new approaches in education. In the Republic, 250 schools have been given a status of an experimental site: 46 of them work on curriculum reform; 32 schools research new pedagogical techniques; 31 develop alternative management structures; 55 apply new module technologies; 32 introduce ideas of developmental psychologists V. Davydov, B. Elkonin, and L. Vygoysky; and 46 develop strategies of ethno cultural education. It is too early to evaluate their impact on public system of education.

Nonformal Education

To provide proper conditions for the development of versatile interests and abilities of children in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the government has arranged a network of nonformal educational establishments, which include 790 institutions attended by 383,000 students. Subsidized by the government, they provide opportunities to children to become engaged in car design clubs, drama studios, various clubs of young mathematicians, chess players, and physicists. Stations for Young Naturalists, Technicians, and Tourists provide 47 facilities for students to develop techniques of working with various instruments, camping, and preserving and learning about nature. Schools, as many as 531, offer classes for those who are interested in music, fine arts, dance, and sports, so it is common for a student to attend two schools a day. Due to the financial problems, the state system of nonformal education began charging parents for the use of the materials and facilities, making these institutions unavailable to the poor families. The private system of nonformal education is in the initial stage of its development.

At the level of higher education, the system of bycorrespondence courses was highly developed in the Soviet Kazakhstan. The government of the Republic provided students with additional two-week paid leave and travel expenses to the site of the institution twice a year for exam sessions.

Distance learning via high technology, including the internet, a personalized system of instruction, computers, and television instruction is a new challenge for the country. The assistance for its development comes mostly through international organizations, joint ventures, and foreign companies and organizations. In 2000, a pilot project called National Educational Television began broadcasting on Kazakhstan-1 Channel. For four weeks, National Educational Television launched a daily two-hour educational program for the distant and under-populated regions of the republic. According to the sponsors of the new television program, the latest pedagogical ideas, works of outstanding scientists, the funds of museums, libraries, and archives become available for a wide scope of the population. The project aims at restoring the traditions of educational television, which has taken place in Soviet Kazakhstan's history when the government subsidized educational television programs. The program is a voluntary action designed to draw attention to solve the problem.

Teaching Profession

As the Soviet system of central governance came under attack, enthusiastic teachers created a Union of Teachers to promote innovative ideas in instruction, school organization, and school democratization. As the economy deteriorated in the 1990s, teachers stopped getting salaries on a regular basis and often had to work two jobs to survive. As a result of this, the unions re-focused their efforts from reforming education to mainly economic issues.

The teacher education programs are concentrated in co-educational universities and in pedagogical institutes, including the only one for women (Kazakh State Pedagogical Institute for Women), with a four- to five-year-course of study. The curriculum requires an intensive program of study in subject matter, pedagogical and psychological disciplines, and a practicum, which begins in the first year of their studies. The instructional methods heavily rely on lectures and seminars. After graduation, young specialists are hired on a one-year probation. Students can choose a double major. The two-year pedagogical schools prepare nurses and teachers for nurseries and kindergartens. The graduates may continue their education at the pedagogical institutes in the third year of the program. Each of the 14 administrative states has an in-service training institute for teachers who must upgrade their teaching certificate every five years.

Teachers' salaries are lower than those in many other career areas, especially in the private sector. Sometimes, delays in salary delivery last for several months; therefore, many teachers have left their jobs. In 1996, there were more than 23,000 vacancies in public schools. Schools experience shortages with foreign language teachers because many of them left for international joint venture companies.

Summary

Soviet Kazakhstan arrived at its independence day with a widely developed system of preschool, primary, and secondary education that put the republic among the ranks of developed nations of the world. The citizens of the republic enjoyed free and universal education. The higher education institutions provided the country's economy with highly qualified specialists. The nonformal educational institutions provided additional opportunities for well-rounded development. The KazSSR Academy of Sciences enjoyed a high reputation in international scholarly circles. Since 1991, Kazakhstan has experienced a decade-long transition from being a part of the USSR to an independent state, from socialist planned economy to a free-market one, from Communist politico-ideological system to democracy and pluralism, from a centralized administration to a relatively democratic system with the diversity of educational institutions, policies, and curriculum and freedom of choice of venues in education. However, the country has taken only initial steps on this road and will continue to stay in a transitional state for a long time to come, since changes of such magnitude do not occur rapidly. The precipitous fall in production, the disruption of the monetary system, the break of industrial ties, and the high rate of inflation in the 1990s caused a sharp decline in the standards of living for the population. It is also responsible for a lot of problems in all spheres of education in the country.

The major challenge lies with poor financial resources. Many educational institutions do not have enough financial resources to maintain education at high standards. The equipment in language laboratories, scientific laboratories, and computer classrooms are outdated in many cases. While school administrators and teachers gained more freedom to be creative in their offices and classrooms, many of them quit their jobs because they are not paid salary on a regular basis, or the growth of salary does not match the rate of inflation. The capitalist economy returned Kazakhstan to where it was in 1917 in terms of sharp social stratification and division, inequality, and injustice. The opportunities for free education were diminished. The rural schools, whose budget depends mostly on the national government, suffered more than the city schools. Furthermore, bribery has flourished from kindergartens all the way through the universities, especially prestigious ones.

In the 1990s, the government of Kazakhstan launched several bold reforms on all levels of education with promising prospects. However, the 1998 economic crisis in Asia and Russia had negative consequences for the country and reduced the Republic's chances for quick recovery and development. Kazakhstan needs to address its problems to make the results of reform tangible.

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—Grigory Dmitriyev