Three years after being renamed Nur-Sultan, the Kazakh capital took back the name of Astana after the parliament voted in favour of the change on Friday, breaking with the legacy of ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The parliament also unanimously passed an amendment to limit the presidency to a single term of seven years. The new president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has yet to sign the two texts, but this is expected as a formality.
The capital of Kazakhstan, Astana was renamed Nur-Sultan in March 2019, after the first name of the former head of state, after his departure from power. Mr Nazarbayev, who authoritatively ruled the former Soviet republic of 18 million inhabitants from its independence in 1991 to 2019, was for years a cult personality in Kazakhstan.
Coming to power after the surprise resignation of his mentor, the new president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has gradually distanced himself from Nazarbayev's legacy, initiating reforms and dismissing the influential clan of the ex-president.
After deadly riots that rocked Kazakhstan in January, Nazarbayev and his family were pushed out. Built at the end of the 1990s and as a centre of futuristic skyscrapers in the northern steppes, the capital had taken the name of Astana, the Kazakh word for "capital”.
