Sergey Saenko, international observer

In Kazakhstan, on October 25, 13 years later, Republic Day was again celebrated. Since this year, this holiday in the country has again acquired the status of a state holiday. Previously, the main national holiday of Kazakhstan was Independence Day, which was celebrated on December 16-17, and Republic Day was excluded from the list of country holidays in 2009. However, in June of this year, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, during the first national kurultai proposed to return to the celebration of the Republic Day. He recalled that it was on October 25, 1990 that the declaration on state sovereignty of Kazakhstan was adopted, which was the first step towards the country’s independence.

Indeed, that day for Kazakhstan can be called historical with good reason. At an extended meeting of the Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR, 360 of its deputies adopted an important document – the Declaration on the state sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR. In fact, it was the country’s first step towards independence. For the first time, such principles of statehood as the integrity, indivisibility and inviolability of the territory, the development of the culture of peoples and their languages, and the strengthening of national identity were enshrined in the declaration. The document also proclaimed the principle of independent solution of political, economic and social problems. The Kazakh SSR received the right to create its own bodies of state security and internal affairs. And the President of Kazakhstan was recognized as the head of the country, the head of the administrative and executive power.

In turn, we note that Republic Day in honor of the declaration of state sovereignty adopted in 1990 began to be celebrated in 1995, and in December 2001 it was given the status of a public holiday. However, in 2009, the attitude towards it changed: the proclamation of state sovereignty began to be considered an intermediate stage, after which a more important event came – the proclamation of the independence of Kazakhstan. Some experts believed that the declaration proclaimed the sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR, and not Kazakhstan. Only after the adoption of the Law on State Independence on December 16, 1991, Kazakhstan acquired the legally formalized status of an independent state recognized by the world community.

Almost 31 years have passed since the country’s independence. And in September of this year, the deputies of the Kazakh parliament adopted a law according to which the Independence Day of Kazakhstan was included in the register of public holidays, and now it will be celebrated only one day a year – December 16. At the same time, according to this law, the First President’s Day, which was celebrated on December 1, was excluded from the lists of public holidays.

But let’s get back to the Republic Day holiday. On this occasion, on October 25, ceremonies of raising the state flag were held in Astana and in all regions of the country, and in the capital of the country – with the participation of the President of Kazakhstan Tokayev. The head of state congratulated fellow citizens on the Day of the Republic, while saying that the holiday should elevate the spirit of the people, strengthen the state and unity. “Republic Day is a bright holiday designed to elevate the spirit of the people, strengthen statehood, strengthen our unity and solidarity. We have started building a Just Kazakhstan. This lofty goal can only be achieved with the active participation of all Kazakhstanis, because the main support and the greatest wealth of the state are citizens!”, the President’s congratulatory message on the occasion of the holiday says.

This year, in honor of the Day of the Republic, Kazakhstanis rested for three days – on October 23, 24 and 25. Festive events were held in all regions of the country: they included patriotic actions, concerts, festivals, and various sports competitions. The handover of new facilities was traditionally timed to coincide with the holiday. And the celebration of the Day of the Republic in many cities of Kazakhstan ended with evening fireworks.

Speaking of Kazakhstan, one cannot fail to say that the current holiday in the republic is taking place against the backdrop of a rather difficult domestic political situation in the country as a whole. Suffice it to recall the January events of this year, when the republic was on the verge of a coup d’etat, and only the intervention of the peacekeeping forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, which includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) saved Kazakhstan from disaster.

After that, serious transformations began in the republic. Thus, on March 16, President Tokayev addressed a joint meeting of the chambers of parliament with a message to the people, in which he outlined the key areas of reform and political transformation in the country. In particular, the leader of Kazakhstan proposed to strengthen the role of the parliament in the country and move from a super-presidential to a presidential form of government.

It should be emphasized that after the January crisis, President Tokayev was able not only to stabilize the situation in the country, but also announced a course towards building a model of “New Kazakhstan” – leaving the political arena of “old families”, economic transformations, political reforms, and a real fight against corruption. According to Tokayev himself, “we must preserve our main asset – independence, strengthen the foundations of national identity, and focus on the transformation of the country. This is our sacred duty to future generations”.

It should be noted here that literally on the eve of the celebration of the Day of the Republic, the President of Kazakhstan approved the updated Military Doctrine of the country, which ensures security and defense in modern conditions. Back in a message to the people on September 1, 2021, Tokayev announced the need to restart the Military Doctrine and gave a number of instructions regarding the reformatting of the armed forces, other troops and military formations. He noted that strengthening the defense capability, increasing the efficiency of response to threats should become priorities of state importance. And now, with the adoption of the updated Military Doctrine of Kazakhstan, these words of the head of state have begun to come true.

According to Tokayev, the upcoming early presidential elections in Kazakhstan will establish a new tradition of responsible presidency, which will establish a mechanism for a regular change of supreme power. It should be noted that in these elections, for the first time, Kazakhstanis will elect the head of state, whose term of office will be seven years without the right to re-election. “The results of the November 20 elections will establish a new political tradition of responsible presidency limited to a single seven-year term. This tradition will establish a mechanism for a civilized and regular change of supreme power, put a barrier to attempts to monopolize it,” the leader of Kazakhstan said on October 22 at a solemn meeting on the occasion of the Day of the Republic.

Moreover, according to Tokayev, next year’s elections of deputies to the Mazhilis (lower house of parliament – ed. note) and maslikhats (local representative bodies – ed. note) at all levels will become an important watershed in the development of Kazakhstani parliamentarism. Their results, according to the Kazakh leader, will be a direct reflection of the ongoing political modernization in the country, which is aimed at expanding the participation of citizens in government, ensuring an inclusive representation of all social groups. “Thus, we will reboot and strengthen the key institutions of our political system, set a sustainable vector for long-term state building,” the President of Kazakhstan concluded.