Nursulatn Nazerbayev was the first president of Kazakhstan. He was elected in 1990 when the country was part of the Soviet Union. Being a Soviet Socialist Republic Kazakhstan got representation in the Politburo. The Soviet Union was collapsing and in 1991 there was an attempted coup. Kazakhstan gained its independence along with other Central Asian states. Nazerbayev did not bring political liberalization to the country. Much of the authoritarian structure remained in place, even though the Communist Party of Kazakhstan was no longer dominant. The news profile of the new president was broadcast in September of 1991. President Nursultan Nazerbayev’s rule would extend until 2019. The interview from 1991 shows President Nazerbayev stating at the moment he remains a communist. He criticized the party for forming just a large management system. Nazerbayev also explains why he was open to free markets and trade. Decades ago that would not have been possible under past Soviet leadership. Kazakhstan was already taking a new direction in foreign policy seeing economic ties with China, Singapore, and South Korea. Even though Kazakhstan left the Soviet Union Nazerbayev wanted to keep relations with Russia. This was due to the need for economic support. Although Nursultan Nazerbayev resigned in 2019 amid public pressure, he still maintains influence in government. He is a member of both the Constitutional Council and and the Security Council.
;”>
The World History Archive and Compendium 