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Nursultan Nazarbayev is sworn in as president. Photo by Akda News Service
December 1 is an official holiday in Kazakhstan; citizens celebrate the First President’s Day. The name of the holiday indicates that one day the country will have its second and third presidents, but this “red calendar day” has nothing to do with them. For the sixth consecutive year, grateful citizens praised the permanent leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, remembering that he did not back down during the difficult period of the collapse of the Soviet Union, created a unified Kazakhstan and “provided real sovereignty.”
Why a successful politician who still leads the country and speaks about the modernization of the consciousness of Kazakhs needs a cult of personality is not clear. It is not entirely clear how the First President’s Day should be celebrated, where to go, what to do, so that they do not have a bad impression of you, because there are still no traditions associated with this holiday.
What and how we celebrate
On December 1, 1991, Kazakhstan held its first direct popular presidential election, and Nazarbayev (the only candidate at the time) received 98.7% of the votes. “The first step of the first president was to sign the law on December 10, 1991, changing the name of the Kazakh SSR to the Republic of Kazakhstan. Six days later, on December 16, 1991, the Supreme Council declared the independence of the Kazakh state. The first days of December 1991 were a real turning point and destiny, determining the path of the development of the independent republic,” is how the background of the holiday is described on almost all government websites. Since then, Nazarbayev has been elected president five times, the title of “Head of the Nation” (Elbasi) was almost imposed on him, and a national holiday was established for him at the end of 2011.
Every year, deputies and officials try to come up with something special for the holiday. For example, in 2016, the 10,000th banknote with Nazarbayev’s face was issued, a monument to the head of state was erected in Taldykorgan, and a new city, Nurkent, was founded in the Almaty region. In 2017, on the eve of Nazarbayev’s presidential day Rename Furmanov Street in Almaty. Last summer, it was again suggested that it was time to rename Astana (formerly Akmola) in honor of the president, who founded the new capital of Kazakhstan here in the 1990s, but Nazarbayev himself, as we all know, was skeptical of the idea.
Festive fireworks in Astana. Image from 24.kz website
Kazakh Films recalls the transfer of the capital to the current Presidential Day, the filming of a new part of the film epic “The Path of the Leader”, the premiere of which appointment November 30. “The story of the film begins in July 1994, when Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev announced at a plenary session the transfer of the capital from Almaty to Akmola,” the film’s notes read. – According to the president’s plans, the new capital should become a symbol of change for the young, independent state of Kazakhstan. The president was faced with a seemingly impossible task (…). Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev was putting his political career at risk. ”
The film was complex and each episode was agreed upon with the creative authors, but the end result was “very interesting,” said Serik Zhubandikov, vice president of the film studio, at a press conference before the premiere.
First Presidential Day in Astana Appeared His wax figure. The sculpture is installed at the National Military-Patriotic Center of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Author Aidos Esmagambetov captured the moment in 1992 when Nazarbayev signed the document appointing Sagadat Nurmagambetov as Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, within the walls of the Eurasian National University Open Visit the exhibit “which contains a unique array of materials, including rare video footage, photographs and archival documents that reveal the president’s historic path.”
Wax figure of Nursultan Nazarbayev. Photo from Tengrinews.kz
In cities large and small across the country, everything local authorities can imagine is scheduled for Presidents’ Day: concerts, Cycling, Sports competitionAgricultural Fair, Demonstration key from a mortgaged apartment. In Kostanay, on the day of the first presidential election, a civil servants school opened a new clinic in Ust-Kamenogorsk. KazMunayGas and KazTransGas commissioned three compressor stations during the festive period. Why, even tenge, Forbes.kz writes, Become stronger Presidents Day.
On social networks, officials have been trying for years to make the holiday more popular through flash mobs and contests. For example, on Instagram, you can compete for likes by posting a photo of yourself with the president and using the hashtag #ElbasyJaneMen. According to the person who proposed it, a photo with Nazarbayev can “show the role played by Elbasy in a person’s activities or fate”. The winners will receive an IPHONE X, an IPAD and an action camera. Finally, the Center for Social Interaction and Communication, a subsidiary of Samruk-Kazyna JSC, launched a flash mob #PapaWeWearTheHat on Facebook. This is a series of videos in which participants put on a hat and ask “Dad” (as many people popularly call the president) not to worry about them.
Such flash mobs, when they coincide with less tragic events, cause heated reactions and discussions. In such cases, commentators try not to engage in a battle of wits. Perhaps, in order not to accidentally violate the honor and dignity of the first president, the Kazakh criminal code provides for penalties – from fines to three years in prison.
Flattery and sycophancy have become the norm
“I do not celebrate this holiday, because the idea of celebrating the current politician for this day does not correspond to my democratic beliefs,” politician Amirzhan Kosanov told Fergana. “I am sure that day will come – we will not have such a holiday, which emerged as a result of the current political situation and is inherent in non-optimal forms of government, such as totalitarianism and authoritarianism.” At the same time, Kosanov assured that he recognizes the undoubted merits of Nazarbayev in his position. “Despite this, the country has achieved results, the country has something to be proud of. But I do not agree with the cult of personality that has emerged in Kazakhstan, both physically and politically!” – he stressed. Kosanov believes that Elbasy is about both the country’s successes and all the omissions and shortcomings that have occurred and are occurring in the modern history of Kazakhstan. “There are formal, legal, political reasons for this: according to the 1995 Constitution, all power is concentrated in his hands, the heads of all branches of government are appointed by him both de jure and de facto, and he is therefore politically responsible not only for his activities but also for everyone he promotes to power. He appoints the Central Election Commission, which means he is responsible for elections and the formation of parliament. He appoints the government and regional governors and is therefore responsible for their activities, which lead to disastrous consequences and a further deterioration of citizens’ living standards. He appoints judges at all levels and is therefore responsible for corruption and unfair legal procedures,” the politician explained.
“In his opinion, the authorities do not want to admit that there is a cult of personality in the country, but it exists in all areas of social and state life. I would also like to say that flattery based on the principle of “who pleases the president more” has become not only a norm of behavior for officials, businessmen and many BroadCast Unitedlectuals, but also a prerequisite for their successful career development and receiving various benefits and awards. And it is extremely regrettable that the president himself indulges in such sentiments, stimulates and motivates all kinds of flatterers. The result is very regrettable: his behavior does not contribute at all to the growth of his authority in the eyes of his compatriots,” Kosanov concluded.
The main photo of the President’s Day photo contest. Photo from Instagram Kdm.gov.kz
One of the authors of Kazakhstan’s Fergana agrees with the politician: “I think this holiday is unnecessary. Unlike Independence Day, it does not have cultural, moral or even historical value. Some will say that the first president was elected on this day. But it is obvious that if a country has gained independence, then it can elect a president on any day of the year. This is also the case in other countries of the former Soviet Union, but not everywhere the day of the first president was established.” The journalist also believes that this holiday helps to strengthen the personality cult of the president. “Kazakh officials open social facilities on the eve of December 1 or July 6 (Astana Day and Nazarbayev’s birthday). In ceremonial speeches, they always mention that any good actions were accomplished due to the wise policy of the head of state – all this is indirect praise for a person. In general, most people are not particularly happy about this holiday itself, but are happy that there will be a day off,” he added.
This year, shortly before the President’s Day celebrations, Nazarbayev published an article Seven Faces of the Prairieso the praise of Elbasi began earlier, on November 20. It is easy to guess that absolutely everyone liked the article, even Maureen Asinbayev, the first deputy chairman of the ruling Nur Otan Party saw It involves a “new page” of rethinking history. In his words, before Kazakhstan gained independence, specific historical facts were fabricated and disseminated to fit current political and ideological principles. “It is time to recognize the greatness of our past,” Ashinbayev said, essentially admitting that he would never have realized it without the president’s approval.
These sycophantic speeches seem particularly depressing against the backdrop of a massive program of modernizing public consciousness and Nazarbayev’s attempts to change the psychology of the Kazakh people (he himself has spoken about this more than once). That is, either the attempts are not very positive, or the president and the people do not understand each other. To be fair, Nazarbayev is indeed sometimes difficult to understand. On the one hand, he congratulates the people of Kazakhstan on the holiday, and on the other hand, Keep your distance First Presidents’ Day, he said, “has nothing to do with specific first and last names.” So why is it even necessary?
Anna Kozyreva
International news agency “Fergana”
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