Kazakhstan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Kazakh television station of the same name, see Qazaqstan (channel).
| Flag Emblem |
| Anthem: Менің Қазақстаным Menin' Qazaqstanym "My Kazakhstan" MENU 0:00 |
| Kazakhstan was reorganised several times. In 1936, it was made the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, part of the Soviet Union. |
Kazakhstan was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The current President,Nursultan Nazarbayev, has been leader of the country since then, and is characterised as authoritarian, with a government history of human rights abuses and suppression of political opposition.[15] Kazakhstan has worked to develop its economy, especially its dominant hydrocarbon industry.[15]Human Rights Watch says that "Kazakhstan heavily restricts freedom of assembly, speech, and religion,"[19] and other human rights organisations regularly describe Kazakhstan's human rights situation as poor.
Kazakhstan's 131 ethnicities include Kazakhs (63% of the population),Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Germans, Tatars, and Uyghurs.[20] Islam is the religion of about 70% of the population, with Christianity practised by 26%.[21] Kazakhstan officially allows freedom of religion, but religious leaders who oppose the government are suppressed.[22] The Kazakh language is the state language, and Russian has equal official status for all levels of administrative and institutional purposes.[4][23] Kazakhstan is a member of the United Nations, WTO, CIS, the Eurasian Economic Union, CSTO, SCO,OSCE, OIC, and TURKSOY.
