Independence Day (Kazakhstan)

Independence Day of Kazakhstan (Kazakh: Қазақстан Республикасының Тәуелсіздік күні, Russian: День независимости Казахстана) is the main national holiday in the Republic of Kazakhstan, celebrated annually on 16 December.

Independence Day
Official nameKazakh: Қазақстан Республикасының Тәуелсіздік күні
Observed by Kazakhstan
TypeState
CelebrationsFireworks, Concerts, Parades
DateDecember 16-17
Frequencyannual

Significance
Main article: History of Kazakhstan

In an attempt to keep unity within the Soviet Union, the country held a referendum on 16 March 1991 and Kazakhstan voted 95% in favor of a new Union of Sovereign States. After the aborted coup d'état in August, the Supreme Soviet (Kazakhstan) passed the Constitutional Independence Law of Republic of Kazakhstan on 16 December 1991. Despite the swift collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan was the last to declare its independence. The declaration was followed up by the Alma-Ata Protocol which would give birth to the Commonwealth of Independent States.[1][2] Independence ushered in the era of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, during which a new two house parliamentary system and a new capital was established. Notable events that followed as an indirect result of independence include:[3][4]

General celebrations
Independence Day celebrations in New York

The holiday is celebrated for 2 days on December 16 and 17. If 16 December falls on a weekend, the following Monday will be a holiday. Yurts (traditional tents) are set up in many villages where local delicacies will be served.[5] It tends to be commemorated indoors due to the coinciding winter season.[6] The Astana Opera organizes concerts involving national orchestras that will perform traditional music. Many nationalist politicians and activists use the holiday as an occasion to accuse to the Russian government of attempted genocide of the ethnic population during periods such as the Kazakh famine of 1932–33 and the population transfer of Kazakhs in the Soviet Union.[7]

Jeltoqsan commemorations

Independence Day is also used as a day of remembrance of the 1986 Jeltoqsan protests on Brezhnev Square (present-day Republic Square) against the government of Gennady Kolbin, which began on the same day as Independence Day. By the 1980s, democratization in the Soviet Union began to rise with the 1986 protests, which followed a major unrest in Central and Eastern Europe that began in Poland that spilled over into the individual republics.

Ak Orda ceremony

A ceremony hosted by the President of Kazakhstan is held at the Ak Orda Presidential Palace, in which the president presents orders, decorations, and medals of Kazakhstan to distinguished citizens.[8] Many Kazakhs will dress up in traditional clothes at the formal ceremony in the presidential palace.[9]

Commemorations by year
  • The first independence day military parade of Kazakhstan was held on Almaty's Republic Square in 1996 timed to the occasion of the 5th anniversary of independence.[10] Minister of Defense Mukhtar Altynbayev opened the parade,[11] which also saw a cavalry squadron from the Republican Guard makes its debut appearance.[12]
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited in 2016 to attend the 25th anniversary celebrations.[13]
  • For the 30th anniversary in 2021, a commission under the Ministry of Information and Social Development to prepare for the anniversary was established in October 2019.[14] President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that an amnesty will be held for those brought to criminal responsibility.[15] President Tokayev proposed that during the celebrations, a short history of Kazakhstan be written for a foreign audience (translated into the languages of the word) as means of "not succumbing to the influence of alien ideology".[16]

Foreign celebrations

On the first anniversary in 1992, an orchestra of folk instruments from Semipalatinsk took part in a ceremony hosted by the Kazakh embassy in the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow.[17] Many celebrations in the United States are held by the diaspora in the state of New York as well as the Kazakh embassy in Washington D.C.[18]

See also

References
  1. http://www.kstu.kz/independence-day-of-the-republic-of-kazakhstan/?lang=en
  2. https://publicholidays.asia/kazakhstan/independence-day/
  3. https://www.edgekz.com/kazakhstan-celebrates-independence-day-countrys-accomplishments/
  4. https://www.orexca.com/kazakhstan/history/independence.htm
  5. "Kazakhstan Independence Day | Office Holidays". www.officeholidays.com. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  6. Cummings, Sally N. (2013-09-13). Symbolism and Power in Central Asia: Politics of the Spectacular. ISBN 9781317987000.
  7. Olcott, Martha Brill (September 2010). Kazakhstan: Unfulfilled Promise. ISBN 9780870032998.
  8. https://en.tengrinews.kz/politics_sub/Kazakhstan-celebrates-Independence-Day-257960/amp/
  9. http://aglobalworld.com/holidays-around-the-world/independence-day-kazakhstan/
  10. "Военные парады в Казахстане за 15 лет "подорожали" в одиннадцать раз". Radiotochka.kz | Новости Казахстана – события, мнения, аналитика. Archived from the original on 2017-09-23. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
  11. "Inside Central Asia". 1996.
  12. https://works.doklad.ru/view/wIxZet-3lIU/all.html
  13. December 2016, Malika Orazgaliyeva in International on 16 (2016-12-16). "Israeli Prime Minister Visits Astana, Strengthens Ties". The Astana Times. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  14. "Commission to prepare for Kazakhstan 30th year of Independence celebration formed - Новости Казахстана - свежие, актуальные, последние новости об о всем". www.kazpravda.kz (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  15. "President announced amnesty in 2021 timed to 30th anniversary of Independence of Kazakhstan - Новости Казахстана - свежие, актуальные, последние новости об о всем". www.kazpravda.kz (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  16. kostisg (2021-01-06). "Tokayev proposes to write short history of Kazakhstan for foreign audience". New Europe. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  17. "Семипалатинский оркестр казахских народных инструментов "Насырларх кули" (1992) - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  18. "День Независимости Казахстана празднуют в США - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
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