Astana is a windswept city located in northeastern Kazakhstan that has been transformed into a pompous metropolis by the billions of dollars it received from the sale of oil, Reuters writes. It became the capital in 1997, when then President Nazarbayev decided that the capital should be located closer to the geographic center of this Central Asian country. The former capital and currently the largest city of Almaty is located in the south-east of the country, near the border with Kyrgyzstan.
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Current President Tokayev is moving away from Nazarbayev due to protests that broke out in the country in January of this year over fuel prices. Today, 82-year-old Nazarbayev, although no longer the president, until then had extensive powers as head of the Nur-Otan party and as president of the Security Council. After the events of January, however, he resigned from his post.
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