KZBlog

Wherein I divulge the procedure by which the relected President is honored

The Inauguration of Nursaltan Nazarbayev:

Typed up while watching Khabar TV’s broadcast 10:45am, in Kazakh and Russian alternating.

The broadcasters mentioned and showed the prescence of Putin, Karimov, Yuschenko, Karazi and the Presidents of Tajikistan and Georgia, as well as representatives of the UN, the EU and more 12 Parliments to congratulate Nazarbayev. Yeltsin was also in attendance and, of course, the Nazarbayev family, his children, grand-children, and their spouses. Ak Orda and the new national anthem were mentioned many times as new symbol of new Kazakhstan.

President arrived in limo surrounded by motorcylces. And some big old SUVs. It already had been reported that they pulled in regional police to keep traffic order on the day of the inaguration. And of course the –30 degree weather kept at least this observer away though I entertained the notion of going down to see if there would be any public aspect. There were some people on the streets near Ak Orda. Which Khabar noted, as well as the freezing cold.

The Repbulican Guard escorted the Presidential standard in with the national flag.
The cemeronial copy of the Constitutuion was then marched in and a representative of the Constitutional Committee Igor Rovov placed the Constitution on the podium.

As the President entered the gates of Ak Orda, they fired Howitzers. The President was greeted at the door by General Issakova (sp?), the head of command. The President then walked in alone followed by the general.

Nazarbayve immediately took the oath. He put his hand on the Constitution, while he spoke (in Kazakh so I didn’t get the text of the oath), then kissed the flag. They then played the new anthem and the flag (not the one he kissed) was raised simultenously over Ak Orda. People sang along with the new anthem. He was then handed his new Presidential idenitification by Jumanbekov.

The President gave his speech in Kazakh and then Russian. No big surprises. Some notes (disclaimer: I am typing these live and my Russian is not fluent):
He again congratulated and thanked the people for reelecting him and generally agreed it was a good idea. He emphasized good friendship with his neighbors. He reminded us that from independence the government was set three goals: To build new government, to build strong world economy, and to improve the life of our people. And followed this up by saying we built Astana as a symbol of the future of Kazakhstan.

He noted progress toward an open society, including:

The story of the elections is one step in the story of democracy in Kazakhstan. We welcome international organizations, and an open society. Serious steps to integrate into the world community. Religious tolerance and harmony for not only state but also world world stability. Elections are not only an event but also a mandate for the future and I listen to the voice of the people.

He cited the goal to raise Kazkhstan to one of the 50 most competitive countries—not only in terms of the economy, income, and value of national products, but also to include political, social, and cultural development. He mentioned the need to be in agreement with OSCE standards.

In terms of international neighbors he mentioned Russia, China, USA, EU, Muslim nations, and Central Asian neighbors.

The President then left the hall to orchestral music and walked out to the Square in front of Ak Orda where the military was waiting. I don’t know if this was open to the public. That area is usually public space but since the President was there, I don’t know exactly. The Minister of Defense, Oltenbayev, greeted him, ‘reported for duty,’ and gave him command of the military.

The soldiers gave three cheers and then paraded by Ak Orda and the President.

And we were done.

It was great fun to watch the reportes stall for time while waiting for the President to show up:

And now this is the spire of Ak Orda, the most beautiful building in Kazakhstan.
And now the entourage is driving past the Winter Hall, and the Creative Hall, and uhm, it’s –30 on the street, not –40 like they predicted.

There was also a lot of citing of facts about Ak Orda.