Astana to Be Renamed After Nazarbayev, Proposal by New President

The newly appointed President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has proposed to rename the capital city Astana in honor of the country's first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev.

According to tengrinews.kz, Tokayev stated: “It is necessary to immortalize the name of our great contemporary, the first President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev, by naming our capital after our president, and it should be called Nursultan.”

It is recalled that earlier news announced the resignation of the longest-serving leader in the post-Soviet space, Kazakhstan. Today, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, 65, was sworn in as the acting President of the country, following the announcement of his appointment as the speaker of the upper house of Kazakhstan's parliament.