The politics of Kazakhstan takes place in the framework of a semi-presidential republic, whereby the President of Kazakhstan is head of state and nominates the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament.
Image: Kassym Jomart Tokayev (2019 05 29) (cropped)
Image: Älihan Smaiylov (2022 01 24) (cropped)
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country mostly in Central Asia, with a part in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbekistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southwest, with a coastline along the Caspian Sea. Its capital is Astana, while the largest city and leading cultural and commercial hub is Almaty. Kazakhstan is the world's ninth-largest country by land area and the largest landlocked country. It has a population of 20 million and one of the lowest population densities in the world, at fewer than 6 people per square kilometre. Ethnic Kazakhs constitute a majority, while ethnic Russians form a significant minority. Officially secular, Kazakhstan is a Muslim-majority country, although ethnic Russians in the country form a sizeable Christian community.
Ural Cossacks skirmish with Kazakhs
Kazakh woman in wedding clothes, 19th century
Stanitsa Sofiiskaya, Talgar, 1920s
Young Pioneers at a Young Pioneer camp in the Kazakh SSR