The Republic of Kazakhstan

Context General information a.Territory (boundaries, minerals, etc) b.National Symbols c.Landscape d.Population (nationalities) e.Religions A little bit of history a.Nomadic tribes b.Genghis Khan c.Russian Empire d.Soviet Union e.Independence Political system a. President of the RK b.Table of political system c.International organizations

Kazakhstan on the world map Territory: 2,700,900 km Population: 17, 948,816 Kazahstan is the 9th largest country by size in the world. It’s a huge place with a very small population of only 18 million people.

Almaty

Astana

National Symbols

Minerals The Republic of Kazakhstan possesses significant fossil fuel reserves, along with mineral and metal deposits, its industrial sector is based on the extraction and processing of these natural resources. Kazakhstan's substantial mineral resources include the world's largest chromium, vanadium, bismuth and fluorine reserves. The country is also a major producer of iron, coal, uranium, lead, zinc, tungsten, molybdenum, borates, phosphorite, copper, potassium and cadmium. It also ranks third amongst CIS countries in terms of gold reserves. Almost all gold mining companies and properties have been fully privatized in Kazakhstan, the only country within the former Soviet Union to have done so. Oil and gas is the leading economic sector. Kazakhstan holds about 4 billion tons of proven recoverable oil reserves and 3 trillion cubic meters of gas Kazakhstan is the third country in the world for uranium production volumes, and it owns the world second biggest uranium reserves after Australia. It has also the largest silver, zinc and nickel markets in West Asia.

Top 5 exports of Kazakhstan: 1.Raw oil (55%) 2.Oil-associated gas (4.9%) 3.Pure copper (4.3%) 4.Ferroalloy (4.3%) 5.Oil-products (4.2%) Top 5 countries for export: 1.China – 20% 2.Russia – 9% 3.Italy – 8.9% 4.Holland – 7.4% 5.France – 6.9% Export

Nationalities and Languages

Religions Islam – 70,2% Orthodoxy – 23,9% Other – 5,9% However, Kazakhstan is a secular state and doesn’t have state religion. It maintains national governance without influence from religious factions. Kazakhstan is the only Central Asian state whose constitution does not assign a special status to Islam

History -The territory of Kazakhstan has historically been inhabited by nomadic tribes. -In the 13th century Genghis Khan occupied the country and divided the territory among his 3 sons. -Power eventually reverted to the nomads because of internal struggles among the conquerors. - By the 16th century, the Kazakhs emerged as a distinct group, divided into three jüz (ancestor branches occupying specific territories). -In 18 th century Kazakh people suffered from aggression of Dzhungars. In this time Kazakhstan officially asked Russian Empire about protection. -By the mid-19th century all of Kazakhstan was part of the Russian Empire. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, and subsequent civil war, the territory of Kazakhstan was reorganized several times before becoming the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic in 1936, an integral part of the Soviet Union. -Kazakhstan was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991; the current President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has been leader of the country since then.

Since 1991 we had 3 presidential elections (1999; 2005; 2011). Somehow all 3 times won Nazarbayev. One interesting fact about election and constitution of the RK: Nazarbayev amended our constitution 3 times in 1998, 2007 and All three amendments were connected with election process, e.g. in 1998 the changes affected the timing and powers of the president

Political system The head of the state is the President The supreme body of the authority is two-chamber Parliament that consists of the Senate and the Mazhilis. Kazakhstan — the constitutional parliamentary- presidential republic. The president is the head of the state and chief supreme commander. Executive authority The President of Republic Kazakhstan is voted by full age citizens of Kazakhstan on general, equal, direct and secret vote basis. The President of Republic Kazakhstan is Nursultan Nazarbaev. The Presidents terms of limit are 5 years. The executive authority is carried out by the government. The system of the executive branch of the government consists of the ministries, services and agencies. The head of the government — the prime minister Karim Masimov. Legislative power Legislature is brought into action the Parliament that consists of two Chambers: the Senate and the Mazhilis working on a regular basis. The Judicial Branch udicial system is a set of all courts of Kazakhstan. The judicial system includes the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the local courts established according to the Constitution of RK and the Constitutional law. To local courts concern: Oblast (regional) courts and equal to them (city courts of cities of republican value and capital, specialized court — Military court of Republic Kazakhstan, specialized financial courts, etc.); District (rayon) courts and equal to them courts (city, interdistrict, specialized court -military court of garrison and others). In the Republic of Kazakhstan specialized courts (military, financial, economic, administrative, juvenale, etc.) can be created. The set of mentioned RK’s courts is connected by the unity of issue on distribution of justice and functional form of acting.

The government of the RK President of the RK Legislative authorityExecutive authorityJudicial authority Parliament of the RK Senat Majilis The government of RK Central Executive Authorities Local executive authorities The Supreme Court Local Courts

Membership in international organizations Kazakhstan belongs to many international organizations, including the United Nations, NATO's Partnership for Peace, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, etc. In 2011 we formed a customs union with Russia and Belarus.

Interesting facts about Kazakhstan The New Year for Kazakhs is called Nauryz, and it is celebrated on the 22nd of March. The word Kazakh can be translated to “independent” or “wanderer.” The country has a density of less than 6 people per square kilometer. Kazakhstan is home to the Baikonur Cosmodome, the world’s first and largest space launch facility. It is leased by the Russians until 2050.