Central Asia

As Wikipedia tells us:  "Kazakhstan is another landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a portion 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. Hilly plateaus and plains account for nearly half its vast territory, with lowlands composing another third; its southern and eastern frontiers are composed of mountainous regions. Kazakhstan has a population of 20 million and one of the lowest population densities in the world, with 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 with a sizeable Christian community.

There are two official languages: Kazakh and Russian but Russian appears to be the lingua franca.

In the 13th century, the area was subjugated by the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan. Following the disintegration of the Golden Horde in the 15th century, the Kazakh Khanate was established over an area roughly corresponding with modern Kazakhstan. By the 18th century, the Kazakh Khanate had fragmented and was gradually absorbed and conquered by the Russian Empire. By the mid-19th century, all of Kazakhstan was nominally under Russian rule. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution and subsequent Russian Civil War, it became an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR within the Soviet Union. Its status was elevated to that of a union republic in 1936. The Soviet government settled Russians and other ethnicities in the republic, which resulted in ethnic Kazakhs being a minority during the Soviet era. Kazakhstan was the last constituent republic of the Soviet Union to declare independence in 1991 during its dissolution.

Kazakhstan dominates Central Asia both economically and politically, accounting for 60% of the region's GDP, primarily through its oil and gas industry; it also has vast mineral resources, ranking among the highest producers of iron and silver in the world. Kazakhstan also has the highest Human Development Index ranking in the region.

Government

Officially, Kazakhstan is a democratic, secular, constitutional unitary republic, having an elected president and a bicameral parliament composed of the Majilis (the lower house) and senate (the upper house).
Single-mandate districts popularly elect 107 seats in the Majilis but the 48 seat Senate is partially elected (district representatives) and partially appointed by the president (15 seats).

The president may veto legislation that has been passed by the parliament and is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The Prime Minister chairs the cabinet of ministers and serves as Kazakhstan's head of government. There are three deputy prime ministers and sixteen ministers in the cabinet.

As with almost all ex-soviets such excessive presidential powers, based on a US style constitution, have resulted in presidents who soon took full control of the government, censoring the media, silencing dissenting voices, and suppressing any opposition.

In this case, the first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev led the country from independence in 1991 to 2019. After an election in June 2019, he was succeeded by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the present leader. The election was compromised by a lack of opposition and in 2020 Freedom House rated Kazakhstan as a "consolidated authoritarian regime", stating that freedom of speech in Kazakhstan is not respected and "Kazakhstan's electoral laws do not provide for free and fair elections."

In response, Tokayev signed a decree that limits presidential tenure to one term of seven years. He furthermore announced the preparation of a new reform package to "decentralise" and "distribute" power between government institutions. The reform package also seeks to modify the electoral system and increase the decision-making authorities of Kazakhstan's regions. The powers of the parliament were expanded at the expense of those of the president, relatives of whom are now also barred from holding government positions, while the Constitutional Court was restored and the death penalty abolished.

Nevertheless, in 2024, the V-Dem Democracy Indices again described Kazakhstan an electoral autocracy.

Yet, unlike Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan has been politically stable and ranks highly as a good place to invest, while simultaneously, ranking as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.