Kazakhstan Today

Paper Summary:

This paper presents a general background of Kazakhstan today, focusing on its people, politics and economy. The paper gives a comprehensive discussion of the ethnic mixture that makes this nation so interesting, including its various religions. The paper also gives a brief history of this emerging nation to place it in its current context. The author further describes concerns with the current government. The paper concludes with an optimistic outlook for the economic future of the country.

From the Paper:

"Sovereign for just over a decade, Kazakhstan has been inhabited by Turk and Mongol nomadic groups for centuries. The region was conquered by the Russians in the 18th century and later, Kazakhstan became one of the republics of the Soviet Union. Modern Kazakhstan reflects a commingling of indigenous Kazak and Russian influences. Russians comprise about one-third of the nation's population and both Russian and Kazak are widely spoken. Russian is more commonly used than Kazak as the language for business and commercial transactions, whereas Kazak is the official state language. In spite of robust economic and political ties with Russia, Kazakhstan does not permit dual citizenship. According to the BBC Country Profile, ethnic Russians in Kazakhstan "resent the lack of dual citizenship and having to pass a Kazakh language test in order to work for government or state bodies." One of the motivations for Kazakhstan's strict citizenship policy is the struggle to create a "cohesive national identity," (CIA)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bashiri, Iraj. "Kazakhstan: An Overview." Retrieved Dec 10, 2006 from http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Kazakhstan/Kazakh.html
• BBC News. "Country Profile: Kazakhstan." 10 Dec 2006. Retrieved Dec 10, 2006 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1298071.stm#facts
• CIA. "Kazakhstan." The World Factbook. 30 Nov 2006. Retrieved Dec 10, 2006 from https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/kz.html
• "The Economist Intelligence Unit's Quality of Life Index." The World in 2005. Retrieved Dec 10, 2006 from http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf
• Freedom House. "Country Report: Kazakhstan." 2005. Retrieved Dec 10, 2006 from http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=47&nit=372&year=2005

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