History and Government of Kazakhstan

On December 16, 1991 Kazakhstan declared its independence from the Soviet Union. At first the newly declared country was led by the head of the Kazakh Communist Party, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Now this independent Republic is gradually leaning towards a democratic system. It began with electing Nazarbayev as its President.

Kazakhstan is the largest former republic of the Soviet Union. It is the ninth largest nation in the world however the population is among the lowest in the world partly because much of the country is unfit to live in because of its terrain.

This relatively new nation has a rich and long history. It was first discovered by a nomadic civilization. The rich land had been a valuable area for many invaders, including Atilla the Hun, Genghis Khan and Timur the Lame who conquered and ruled the area. It was very much involved with trade with its bordering countries so it adopted many cultures. Islam was gradually introduced starting from the eleventh century and now more than forty seven percent of the country identifies itself with the Muslim religion. The remainder of the population is Russian Orthodox since the population consists of as many Russians as it does Kazakhs.

It was only in the late 1400's that the first Kazakh states were formed. Russian expansion reached Kazakh lands in the beginning of the eighteenth century. By the 1850's the entire region was included into the Tsarist Empire and Russian settlers began arriving in large numbers. Between 1906 and 1912, more than a half-million Russian farms were started as part of the reforms which put great pressure on the traditional Kazakh way of life by occupying grazing land and using water resources which were already scarce. It eventually became part of the Soviet Union in the 1930's and Kazakhs had become a minority in their own nation. About 1.5 million had died due to famine and thousands had migrated to Turkey, China, and Mongolia. Kazakhstan was now under Soviet rule and was developed into an industrial and agricultural nation. Towns, railways and roads were built across the nation and it became a major producer of coal, oil and natural gas. In the late 1950's the agricultural growth had become so strong that the Soviet Union aimed on being self-sufficient on producing meats and grains.

In June 1990, Moscow declared the control of the central government over Kazakhstan, forcing Kazakhstan to detail its own statement of sovereignty. This exchange greatly increased tensions between the Russians and the Kazakhs. Beginning in August 1990, Kazakh and Russian nationalists began to demonstrate frequently around Kazakhstan's parliament building, attempting to influence the final statement of sovereignty being developed within. The statement was adopted in October 1990.

Kazakhstan had become an independent Republic in late 1991 and had a new leader. President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has been in office since Kazakhstan's independence, won a new seven year term in the 1999 election. In December 2005 he won the election by a landslide of over ninety percent of the vote. American presidents are only allowed four year terms and to run for a maximum of two terms. Since Nazarbayev is their first President it is still uncertain whether a limit to the number of terms allowed should be established. Kazakhstan also has a prime minister who serves the president for advice and is the head of government. He is the chair of the Cabinet of Ministers which is very similar to the American Senate. There are three deputy prime ministers and sixteen members of the Cabinet of Ministers. These members are also responsible to serve the president and have a role very similar to the American vice president and advisors.

Kazakhstan's had developed a new constitution which had been adopted in August 1995. According to it's constitution it is a unitary state with a presidential government. Kazakhstan has a bicameral Parliament, made up of the lower house which is called the Majilis and an upper house called the Senate. These members are elected by a voting process with representatives from each district. It is very similar to the American system of the electoral collage. The Senate has thirty nine members. Two senators are selected by each of the elected assemblies of Kazakhstan's sixteen principal administrative divisions. The president appoints the remaining seven members. Majilis deputies and the government both have the right of legislative initiative, though the government proposes most legislation considered by the Parliament. Each member in parliament has a term of four years. The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court which has forty four members and the Constitutional Council which has seven members. These judges and members enforce the laws and have much say in new legislations much like the judicial branch of the government in the United States of America.

Kazakhstan's lean towards a democratic system is very gradual since it is technically a new nation. Their first President was the leader of the Kazakh Communist Party and has plans to combine different systems to form their government. So far, it had been forming much like the American democracy. Over the years it has been growing economically thanks to its tremendous production of coal and oil. Unfortunately it is still quite dependent on Russia for money, trade, and military support. Many economists feel it may grow much stronger economically in the future and develop financial support. Then they may continue to develop their government towards a system that best works for their nation and the rest of the world.