How Many Monuments to Nursultan Nazarbayev Are Left?

Recently, a monument to Nursultan Nazarbayev was removed from the National Defense University. The Ministry of Defense said that the statue will move to the Museum of the Armed Forces. Orda has counted how many monuments and busts of the first president are left in Kazakhstan, and where they are.

The first monument to Nazarbayev was erected in 2011 in the Almaty Park of the First President in honor of the 20th anniversary of the country's independence. It is made of bronze, granite, and marble. Nazarbayev sits in front of two wings symbolizing the two main cities of the country — Almaty and Astana.

On July 3, 2021, President Toqayev unveiled a monument to Nazarbayev in honor of his 81st birthday on the territory of a new park at the intersection of Alikhan Bokeikhan and Kerey Zhanibek Khans streets in Astana. Nazarbayev is depicted sitting in an armchair.

In 2021, a monument to the first president was installed in Turkestan. Its height is four meters, the height of the gabbro granite mountain is 2.7 meters. The bronze sculpture's author is Kazakhstani artist Tleuberdi Binash.

Binash depicts the moment when the first president looks attentively at the endless steppes in the foothills of Karatau. The composition and movement of the sculpture were not chosen by chance. They symbolize a world-class man who came from the common people, the press service of the akim of the Turkestan region said at the time.

In Astana, at the Palace of Independence in May 2009, at the initiative of the Union of Urban Planners of Kazakhstan, the memorial "Cossack Ate" was constructed. It is located in the central part of the capital on Independence Square.

The column is mounted on a rectangular base of white marble. At the base, on each of the four sides, there are decorative niches with bas-reliefs describing the main milestones in the history of the country's independence. The height of the monument is 91 meters symbolizing the year of Kazakhstan's independence.

A bas-relief "The People and the President" appeared in the center of the bronze image - with the image of Nursultan Nazarbayev in front of people people.

Another monument appeared in 2016 on the Day of the first president, July 6. It was installed in front of the akimat of the Almaty region's administrative center at that time – Taldykorgan.

Hardly anyone would have guessed that five and a half years later it would be torn down by protesters.

In November 2022, the Jetisu region's administrative center reported that they would not restore the monument to the ex-president. It was proposed to erect a monument to Abay Kunanbayev in its place.

Monuments to Nursultan Nazarbayev Abroad

Several such monuments and busts were erected not only in Kazakhstan.

In the Ukrainian city of Kamenskoye (formerly Dneprodzerzhinsk), where the former president of Kazakhstan arrived to study at a local vocational school at 17, a bronze bust was installed in 2005.

A couple of years after the events in Zhanaozen, the monument was doused with red paint, and later signatures were collected for its dismantling, yet to no avail.

There is another bust in the city of Comrat. It is the capital of the autonomous territorial entity of Moldova — Gagauzia. Gagauz are Turks, remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Apparently, this is why busts of leaders of Turkic states have been installed on the Comrat Walk of Fame since 2007. In December 2012, a sculpture of Nazarbayev appeared and is still there today. Incidentally, in 2014 Gagauzia tried to become a member of the Customs Union, but the referendum held in the region was declared illegal.

Many Kazakhstanis have seen the monument to Nazarbayev on the shore of Issyk-Kul. It stood there along with sculptures of artists, scientists, and politicians. It appeared in 2005 during Askar Akayev's presidency.

In July 2022, during the summit of the heads of state of Central Asia, it turned out that the monument had disappeared. The administration of the complex assured journalists that it had been sent for restoration, but did not specify when it would be completed.

Where is The Monument to Nazarbayev?

By order of the Minister of Defense, the National Defense University named after the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan — Elbasy, was renamed the National Defense University of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It was decided to move and install the aforementioned monument in the building of the State Military Historical Museum of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

An Orda correspondent contacted the Department of Excursions of the Military Historical Museum, as other numbers are unvailable — Ed., to clarify whether they already have it.

A department employee said that she would find out and call back in an hour. But no one called back. The correspondent tried to find out again and received the following answer from an employee:

A young girl told me that we are not qualified to answer such questions,  the museum employee quickly ended the conversation.

Original Author: Angela Kim

DISCLAIMER: This is a translated piece. The text has been modified, the content is the same. Please refer to the original piece in Russian for accuracy.