Ten years ago, President Nursultan Nazarbayev decided to move the Kazakh capital from Alma-Ata to the provincial Akmola, later renamed Astana. There are several reasons behind this decision, and they are still the subject of heated debates.
First, by transferring the capital from the country's south to the very center, Nazarbayev managed to balance out the interests of different Kazakh clans, and establish a system of checks and balances for them.
This explains the second reason: a new construction site made it easier for the president to set up an entirely new bureaucratic machine and management system, which would be loyal to him rather than clans. He made some achievements on this road although the clan factor is still of key importance for the elite.
The third reason is rooted in the Kazakh president's political ambitions. He wants the new capital to be the greatest monument to his presidency. Apparently, some post-Soviet leaders are still dreaming about the laurels of Peter the Great. This is why Nazarbayev is taking an active part in all detailed discussions of Astana's development, starting from construction plans and ending with architectural novelties. This makes him feel like an architect of Kazakh independence, which is materially embodied in Astana.
The new capital is closely associated with Nazarbayev. Even its founding anniversary happens to coincide with his birthday. Medvedev is going to attend both events.
Shortly before the celebrations, deputies of the lower chamber of Kazakh parliament proposed that the day of the capital's official foundation should become a national holiday, although in this case the whole nation would actually have a day off on the president's birthday. This is a subtle Oriental approach.
Official explanations for the capital's transfer boiled down to politics and geography. One argument was that the former capital, Alma-Ata, was too close to the border with China. A more reasonable reference was made to its high-seismic location. Experts estimate that an earthquake in Alma-Ata could kill 400,000 to 500,000 people and inflict about $50 billion dollars worth of damage.
Nazarbayev's opinion will determine the attitude towards Medvedev in Kazakh political circles. For the time being, Medvedev is something of a dark horse for the Kazakh president, but he understands him as Putin's successor in Russia's foreign policy and other spheres.
Indicatively, Kazakhstan is unanimous on foreign policy, including close cooperation with Russia. Unlike other CIS countries, Kazakhstan has never had any obvious anti-Russian political forces, and they are not likely to appear under Nazarbayev. Even the opposition is more prone to criticizing the domestic situation than the president's foreign policy.
It would be a mistake to explain the close contacts between Astana and Moscow solely in terms of the presidents' personal likings, although they play a no small role in the highly personified political systems of both countries. This is a sound partnership of the two states, which understand that it is easier to reach political goals by concerted effort.
Putin and Nazarbayev once said that no kind of integration, even if endorsed at the highest level, would be carried out without the business community. Last year a Eurasian club of bankers was established at Nazarbayev's initiative. It was one of the first attempts to encourage Russian and Kazakh banks to cooperate in reaching common goals. Business communities face problems from the lack of a common economic space, such as numerous artificial obstacles to the free movement of goods, services, capital, and manpower. It is quite possible that the two presidents will discuss these problems in Astana, all the more so since both countries and Belarus are working to create a common customs space.
The two presidents may also touch on the forthcoming summit of the heads of the border regions to be held in the Kazakh city of Aktoba on September 12-13, with the participation of both presidents. Russia and Kazakhstan devoted much attention to the promotion of border cooperation when Putin was president. This time, the summit will be attended by the governors and akims (as their Kazakh counter parts are known) of all the bordering Russian and Kazakh regions, the mayors of Moscow and St. Petersburg, the akims of Astana, Alma-Ata, and the Karaganda Region, as well as cabinet members.
The forthcoming forum is expected to concentrate on the development of small- and medium-size businesses, as well as mutually advantageous cooperation between the business communities of the two countries. It will include a business conference and an industrial exhibition, which are likely to be visited by heads of major national companies. This year, Kazakh and Russian businessmen will meet no less often than the heads of state.
Dosym Satpayev is the director of the Political Risk Assessment Group, a Kazakh consulting company, and member of the RIA Novosti Expert Council.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
