Kazakhstan Removes Elbasy from National Fitness Standards Name

Kazakhstan has officially renamed its set of public physical fitness assessments, dropping the reference to former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Orda.kz reports.

According to an order signed by the acting Minister of Tourism and Sports on June 12 and effective as of June 16, the standards will now be referred to simply as the “presidential tests.” The updated title no longer includes the “Elbasy” designation previously used in reference to the country’s first President.

The revised document, now called “Rules for conducting presidential physical fitness tests for the population of the Republic of Kazakhstan,” outlines procedures for fitness evaluations open to all age groups — children, youth, and adults. 

The “leader of the nation” title (Elbasy - Ed.), which had granted Nazarbayev lifetime privileges such as immunity and leadership of the Security Council, was established in 2010.

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov