Population: 17,948,816 (2014 est.)

Area: four times the size of Texas

Capital: Astana (650,000 pop)

Languages: Qazaq (official), Russian

Kazakh culture is derived from a number of tradi-

tions: Russian, Uighur, Mongol, etc. Historically

nomadic, Kazakh customs are often related to a

migratory way of life, however, many Soviet influ-

ences have left their mark as well. Prominent Cen-

tral Asian food staples, like horsemeat, fermented

sheep’s milk and plov are mixed with Russian style

pelmeni and blini. Soviet influence means that

women are more prominently represented in the

workforce and other public settings than in most

primarily Muslim countries. Kazakhs tend to have

more children than Russians, although household

sizes vary significantly.

KAZAKHSTAN (Qazaqstan)

Kazakhstan is the largest of the former republics of the Soviet Union and the world’s largest landlocked nation. Located in North Central Asia, the Kazakh national project began to devel-op under the control first of Tsarist and then of Soviet Russia. Due to its small territorial holdings west of the Ural River, Ka-zakhstan, like Turkey and Russia, can claim to be a truly Eura-sian country. Nursultan Nazarbaev, the leader of the Republic of Kazakhstan for over 25 years, is one of the strongest propo-nents of the Eurasian Economic Union which came into official existence in 2014 and touts itself as an economic regional alter-native to the European Union. Kazakhstan is mostly steppe land, with hilly plains and grassland plateaus. It is roughly four times the size of Texas.

Traditional Kazakh Dress

In 2009, 96% of Kazakh people identified with a religion. Primarily Islam

(70.2%) and Orthodox Christianity (23.9%). Sunni Islam of the Hanafi

school is the primary confession of Kazakh citizens. Other Islamic affilia-

tions are often held by ethnic minorities in the country, such as the Che-

chens. Ethnicity and religious identity are closely linked in Kazakhstan,

as elsewhere. During the Soviet period, the “Virgin Lands” project inject-

ed a large Russian minority into the territory, offsetting the Kazakh eth-

nicity and providing the quarter of the population that identify with Ortho-

doxy. Since 1991, many ethnic Russians have left Kazakhstan and

many Kazakhs have been repatriated returning Kazakh and Islamic

prevalence. Nevertheless, Russian is still spoken by a wider swathe of

people in the country than Kazakh and is the “official language of busi-

ness and interethnic dialogue.”

Kazakhstan boasts a 99.8% literacy rate and government protected

rights to kindergarten, primary and secondary education. Primary and

Secondary school curriculum is state mandated and does not allow for

significant variation between individual schools. Like most countries with

a Soviet heritage, Kazakhstan divides secondary education into two sec-

tions between 9th and 10th grade. After 9th, a student has a number of

options which include entering a vocational school, continuing on a uni-

versity oriented track or terminating their education. In order to meet

goals set by the Bologna Accords, Kazakhstan is pursuing the goal of

extending primary and secondary education from a total of 11 years to

12. The two most important institutions of higher education in Kazakh-

stan are al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty and L.N.

Gumilyov Eurasian National University in Astana.

Updated: 7/24/17

C L A S S R O O M C O U N T R Y P R O F I L E S

Kazakh is a Turkic language and many of the

popular names in Kazakh society are related

to names one may find in other Turkic lan-

guage speaking nations. However, two cen-

turies of Russian rule have introduced many

slavicisms into the language, affecting

names as well (name endings -ev -ov).

Famous people of Kazakh descent include:

Timur Bekmambetov, a Russian-Kazakh,

whose science-fiction/fantasy vampire series,

Night Watch and Day Watch brought him

international acclaim; Talgat Musabayev, a

Kazakh cosmonaut who flew on three space-

flights to the Mir and International Space Sta-

tions and is currently the head of KazCos-

mos; and Zhansaya Abdumalik, the 15 year

old chess prodigy who achieved Woman

Grandmaster status at age 11 and has an

Elo rating of 2379.

Welcome….……………………(Qoş, keldiñiz!)

How are you?(frm)…………..(Qalıñız qalay?)

How are you (informal).............(Qalıñ qalay?)

I’m from……..…………………………(Men ...)

Thank you..………………………….(Raxmet!)

Help!...................................... (Kömektesiñiz!)

Goodbye...………………………(Saw bolıñız!)

Hello………...………… (sah-lem-met-siz be?)

Yes……..………………..................... (ee-ah.)

No…………………………………………. (joq.)

USEFUL LINKS ht tp : / /www.everycu l t ure .com/Ja -Ma/Kazakhs tan.h tm l ht tps : / /www.c ia . gov/ l ib ra ry /pub l i ca t i ons / the -wor ld - fac tbook /

The Kazakh people are very minimally represented in the U.S. popula-

tion, (the 2000 U.S. Census puts the number at less than 300, while in

China the Kazakh ethnicity is claimed by over 1 million people). More

recent data estimates somewhere between 23,000-25,000 people of

Kazakh descent live in the United States today. Reston, VA is a locus

of Kazakh immigration. Many Kazakh immigrants have arrived in Amer-

ica by way of Turkey or China. American families have adopted a sig-

nificant number of Kazakh orphans as well since the 1990’s, swelling

the population.

The flag has a light blue background and a yellow sunburst with a golden steppe eagle.

The hoist side displays the “koshkar-muiz”

pattern.

Kazakhstan has found itself in a unique political position since the end of the

Soviet Union. A large republic, situated between two much larger superpowers

(China and Russia) Kazakhstan has also never had the option of seriously

courting European economic or political patronage.

While the Baltic states scrambled to join NATO and the European Union

moved slowly but steadily east during the two decades following Soviet col-

lapse, Kazakhstan has been a vocal advocate for alternative and, some might

say, nostalgic reconstitutions of regional alliance and power. Since 1989,

Nursultan Nazarbayev has been at the helm of Kazakhstan’s government, win-

ning his most recent election in April 2015 with a typical 97% vote and 95%

turnout rate. In 1997, he moved the capital city to the newly-named Astana

which is rapidly growing and is considered to have some of the largest-scale

and most architecturally grand buildings in the world. Economically, Kazakh-

stan primarily exports crude oil to China (20%) and Russia (9%) while it im-

ports cars, freight cars, and packaged medicaments.

Kazakhstan has inherited a significant role in post-Soviet space programs,

providing many of the launching grounds and landing sites for cosmonauts

shuttling back and forth between the International Space Station and Earth.

Kazakhstan has also had to deal with the legacy of significant nuclear weapons

testing in its backyard, causing significant radiation challenges and higher rates

of birth defect.

Moscow metro station

Church of the Transfiguration, Karelia, Russia