HOW HAS KAZAKHISATION BEEN REFLECTED INTO ASTANA URBAN SPACE?

Abstract

According to the official discourse of President Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan is presented as a multiethnic state with national identity program that includes interest of all ethnic groups. However, in academic literature there is evidence that the state’s nationalism policy is directed at reviving, strengthening, and representing the socio-cultural and political values of ethnic Kazakhs. Academics argue that the state is undergoing a so-called Kazakhisation process. Opinions of scholars active in the academic discourse on the current situation on the national policy in Kazakhstan vary. I argue that the state has an official multiethnic policy that recognizes the principles of multiculturalism, friendship of people, and tolerance. Also, the state realizes unique multiethnic policy by putting Kazakh culture and language as a core of general Kazakhstani identity, not excluding other groups. The contribution of this research to the general literature on nationalism in Kazakhstan is that it argues for the multiethnic dimension of the Kazakhisation process, which are reflected in the state’s discourse and policies, as well as in the urban space of Astana.