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Kazakhstan, republic in Central Asia, bounded on the north by Russia;
on the east by China; on the south by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan; and on the
west by the Caspian Sea and Russia. Almost all of Kazakhstan is located in the west
central portion of the Asian continent; however, a small part of the republic lies west of
the Ural River on the European continent. Astana (formerly Aqmola), located in northern
Kazakhstan, replaced Almaty as the republic's capitalin1997.
In Kazakh, the official state language, Kazakhstan is called Qazaqstan Respublikasy.
Kazakhs are the largest ethnic group in the republic, but they do not constitute a
majority of the population. Kazakhstan was part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR) from 1922 until December 1991, when it became independent. The republic has
maintained a presidential system of government since independence. In 1995 Kazakhstan
adopted a new constitution that granted extensive powers to the president.
Religion The Kazakhs are a Muslim people. Their first
significant contact with Islam occurred in the 16th century, long after the Central Asian
peoples to the south were introduced to the religion during the Arab conquests of the 8th
century. Sufi ascetics, who wandered across western Asia during the 16th century,
introduced the Kazakhs to Sufism, or Islamic mysticism. The personal focus of Sufism was
compatible with the Kazakhs' nomadic way of life. The Kazakhs adopted Islam gradually,
with their conversion only becoming complete in the early 19th century.
During the Soviet period, the officially atheistic Communist regime sought to restrict the
practice of Islam because of its potential for creating organized dissident movements.
Most of Kazakhstan's mosques were forcibly shut down in the 1920s. The regime briefly
relaxed its antireligious stance during World War II but then reinstated restrictions. In
the mid-1980s the Soviet government lifted most of these restrictions, and the number of
practicing Muslims in Kazakhstan began to increase considerably. The revival of Islam in
Kazakhstan intensified after independence in 1991.
Uzbeks and Tatars are also Muslims. Altogether, 47 percent of the population in the
republic is Muslim. The Slavic peoples of Kazakhstan are traditionally Orthodox
Christians, and the Russian Orthodox Church is the largest Christian denomination in the
republic. The Christian community also includes small numbers of Protestants (mainly
Lutherans) and Roman Catholics. |
The flag of KZ
Coat of arms
Tain Shan
Nazarbaev.N.A
sheep herd
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