18 years ago, Astana became capital city of Kazakhstan (PHOTOS)

The Decree “On declaring Akmola the capital city of the Republic of Kazakhstan” was signed by President Nursultan Nazarbayev on the 20 th October 1997.

Earlier, on the 6 th June 1994, the Supreme Presidium adopted a Resolution “On shifting the capital city of the Republic of Kazakhstan.”

On the 15 th September 1995, Head of State N. Nazarbayev signed Statutory Order No. 106 “On the capital city of the Republic of Kazakhstan” through which he commissioned the central authorities to establish a State Commission for redislocation of the supreme governmental structures to Akmola.

On the 8 th December 1997, Akmola witnessed arrival of the state symbols of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and 10 th December 2015 there was held a joint sitting of the Kazakh Parliament’s Majilis and Senate chambers.

“There were many skeptics who put in doubt the rightness of this ambitious step. However, there were also enthusiasts who moved to the new capital and actively joined its development. Being a politician and head of the country I put at stake everything. We needed to demonstrate our abilities to the global community and to ourselves. And we proved that we can respond to big challenges and overcome problems. The idea was fully justified,” the Head of State said in one of his speeches.

The aspiration of the Kazakh President to make Astana “a pearl of the steppe”, his constant attention to all the details of construction works in the city gave their positive results. Astana has turned into a modern city possessing a unique architectural image, filled with buildings and compositions erected as per the projects of the best foreign and domestic architects with the application of the cutting edge technologies. The population of Astana has grown four times since then. The city has become a large cultural, educational and medical centre both for Kazakhstan and the entire Central Aisan region. The capital city is surrounded by a green belt – a forest that gradually changes Astana’s severe climate, thus making it more favorable for its residents.

It is not accidental that the biggest international organizations open their branches in Astana, while various events organized by Kazakhstan bring together the representatives of the world’s political, research and business elite. The Summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe held in Astana in 2010 which led to a significant transformation of this structure’s activity and its activation. The Congress of the Leaders of the World and Traditional Religions convened regularly in Astana has also become an important dialogue platform for the representatives of various confessions including those conflicting with each other.

In 1999 UNESCO awarded a medal and the "City of Peace" title to Astana.