1. KAZAKHSTAN
Andy Scott
Social Studies
Mrs. Sanchez
4/5/16

2. Kazakhstan’s Flag (adopted on June 4, 992)
Blue represents the country’s Turkish heritage as this color blue is of religious importance to the Turkic people. It also represents the endless sky and abundant water in Kazakhstan.
The sun represents life and energy but it also shows Kazakhstan’s nomadic past for the nomads used the sun to measure time and movements.
The sun has 32 beams in the shape of a grain. Grain signifies abundance and prosperity.
The eagle symbolizes the state but is also an important symbol for people living the steppe as it represents independence, freedom and the strength to overcome any obstacles and difficulties.

4. Kazakhstani Currency
Kazakhstan’s currency is the Kazakhstani Tenge. One Kazakhstani Tenge is worth less than 2 cents in US Dollars or 1.00 USD =  KZT

5. Kazakhstani Geography
Located in Central Asia
In size it is slightly less than 4 times the size of Texas
Shares a border with 6 other countries: Russia, Mongolia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan
Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in the world
It borders the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea
Most of the country is made up of steppe, which is dry flat grassland

6. People Comparison United States Kazakhstan
Population: 321,368,864 (17 times that of Kazakhstan)
Major Ethnic Groups:
white 79.96%
black 12.85%
Asian 4.43%
Official Language: None
Most Spoken: English 79.2% and Spanish 12.9%
Prominent Religions:
Protestant 51.3%
Roman Catholic 23.9%
Life Expectancy: years
Obesity: 35%
Population: 18,157,122
Major Ethnic Groups:
Kazakh 63.1%
Russian 23.7%
Uzbek 2.9%
Official Language: Yes
Kazakh (official) 74% understands and speaks
Russian (official) 94.4% understands and speaks; designated the “language of interethnic communication”
Prominent Religions:
Muslim 70.2%
Christian 26.2% (mainly Russian Orthodox)
Life Expectancy: years
Obesity: 23.5%

7. Government of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is a republic. A republic is a representative democracy in which the people's elected representatives, not the people themselves, vote on legislation. In a well functioning republic the people’s rights and freedoms are protected.
The government of Kazakhstan is currently functioning much like a dictatorship with most governmental power being held by the president.
Capital City: Astana
Independence: December 16, 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Constitution: September 5, 1995

8. Government Comparison
United States
Kazakhstan
Executive Branch
President (Chief of State)
Current Nursultan Nazarbayev
Serves a 5 year term; as the first president of Kazakhstan he has not term limits
Elected by majority of popular vote
Has served since 1991 (25 years)
Executive Branch
President (Chief of State)
Current Barack Obama
Serves a 4 year term; cannot serve more than 2 terms
Elected by an electoral college
Has served since 2009

9. Kazakhstan United States Executive Branch Executive Branch
President (Head of Government)
Current Barack Obama
Serves a 4 year term; cannot serve more than 2 terms
Elected by an electoral college
Has served since 2009
Executive Branch
Prime Minister (Head of Government)
Current Karim Masimov
Serves a 5 year term
Appointed by the president and approved by the Mazhilis
Has served since 2014

10. Legislative Branch United States Kazakhstan
Bicameral (2 house) legislature
Senate
Serve 6 year terms
Elected by majority of popular vote
House of Representatives
Serve 2 year terms
Bicameral (2 house) Parliament
Senate
Serve 6 year terms
Most indirectly elected and 1/3 (or 15) appointed by the president
Mazhilis
Serve 5 year terms
Most elected by direct election

11. Citizenship United States Kazakhstan Citizenship by birth? Yes
Citizenship by descent? Yes
Must live legally within the United States for 5 years before going through the naturalization process to become a citizen
Citizenship by birth? No
Citizenship by descent? Yes, at least one parent must be citizen of Kazakhstan
Must live legally within Kazakhstan for 5 years before going through the naturalization process to become a citizen

12. Economy United States Kazakhstan GDP per capita: $56,300 GDP by sector
Service: 62.3%
Agriculture: 25.8%
Industry: 11.9%
Unemployment Rate: 5.2%
Population below the poverty line: 15.1%
GDP per capita: $24,700
GDP by sector
Service: 59.9%
Industry: 35.3%
Agriculture: 4.8%
Unemployment Rate: 5%
Population below the poverty line: 5.3%

13. Life United States Kazakhstan Cell Phone Usage
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 100
Television Stations: 2,218
Percent of Population with internet: 86.8%
Cell Phone Usage
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 156
Television Stations: 12
Percent of Population with internet: 59.3%

14. Interesting Facts Birthplace of apples.
One of their staple meats is horse.
Home to the Baikonur Cosmodome, the world’s first and largest space launch facility
Corruption is an unfortunate way of life here. It’s better to pay the police off than get ticketed.
Ancient Kazakhs were the first people in the world to domesticate and ride horses.
Kazakhs believe that whistling a song inside a building will make you poor for the rest of your life.

15. Kazakhstan Allies
Russia Russia is probably Kazakhstan’s greatest ally, as the two countries share many ties leftover from the Soviet control of Kazakhstan for much of the 20th century. Russia has large military base in Kazakhstan and the lease was just renewed. They have been founding members of the Eurasian Economic Union and removed may trade restrictions between the two countries over the last couple of years. Lastly, Kazakhstan transports much of its oil and gas to other countries using Russian pipelines and infrastructure.

16. Kazakhstan Allies
Turkey Turkey and Kazakhstan are connected through trade, language and culture. The Kazakhstani language is a Turkic language. Also, they share a common religion Islam.

17. Kazakhstan and the United States
The United States was the first country to formally recognize Kazakhstan’s independence from the Soviet Union in in 1991 and the US has had an embassy in Kazakhstan since The cornerstone of the US/Kazakhstan relationship is nuclear nonproliferation and security, and over the course of two decades has grown to include strong cooperation on trade, regional security and the development of civil society through the rule of law and a well functioning democracy.

18. Current Event #1
Kazakhstan: Activists freed amid warnings of further crackdown on dissent
On March 30th, Yermek Narymbayev and Serikzhan Mambetalin were released from prison after having been convicted in January for inciting social strife. Both prisoners had posted comments on Facebook about an unpublished book by an anti-government author. Although released, their convictions still stand and they are not allowed to get involved in any political activity for 3 to 5 years or risk being re-incarcerated and convicted on further charges. Narymbayev says “All public activities of the opposition are suppressed, there is no freedom of speech, no freedom to assemble and protest.” Many believe their release only came because Mambetalin publicly apologized and Narymbayev is in a state of deteriorating health because of his hunger strike during his trial. Many also feel the release is President Nazarbayev’s attempt to look better as he tries to attract investment from the European Union, as Kazakhstan's economy has been hard hit with the low oil prices. The EU has commented on Kazakhstan’s history of human rights violations and the Kazakh government wants to show that rights are protected and not suppressed.
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19. Current Event #2 First McDonald’s Opens in Kazakhstan
On March 8, 2016, Kazakhstan’s first McDonalds opened in Astana, the country’s capital. Hundreds of people stood in line outside waiting for their turn to eat at McDonald’s. Even though McDonald’s tries to cater to local cuisine and tastes it says that it will not be offering Kazakhstan’s favorite meat, horse. Kazakhstan is hoping to lure more western companies to invest in their country, especially now since gas prices have plummeted and people are in need of work. McDonald’s is not the only large American food company in Kazakhstan, as Starbucks opened a store here in December Kazakhstan is the 120th country to have at least one McDonalds.

20. Current Event #3
After Ukraine, Kazakhstan wary of ethnic Russians broaching autonomy
With the highest percentage of ethnic Russians outside of Ukraine, Kazakhstan may be the next nation to experience a separatist rebellion similar to the one in Ukraine. The northern and western parts of the country are predominantly Russian in their ethnic make up. Russian is the predominant language spoken in this region and unlike the rest of country, which is Muslim, the ethnic Russian in the north are Christian. Although rebellion currently seems remote, because President Nursultan Nazarbayev has maintained close ties with Russian since becoming independent from the Soviet Union in 1995, some fear that any pulling away from Russia may cause a separatist rebellion. As political analyst Dosym Satpayev put it, “Their bodies are in Kazakhstan but their minds are in Russia." The Kazakhstan government denies that there is any threat yet they have recently begun encouraging ethnic Kazakhs to repatriate the northern portion of the country, even offering financial assistance and easier access to education.

21. Would I want to live in my country?
I would not like to live in the country of Kazakhstan, although I would like to visit. Many things about the Kazakhstan are off putting. First, the president, initially did many great things for the newly founded nation, has now turned himself into a dictator. Also, rights are severely restricted and there are not many job opportunities unless you are well connected which I am not. I also would find it hard to adjust to the corruption and the eating of horse meat.