October 20th witnessed the unveiling of another bizarre monument in Astana. Not far from the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, lies Kazakh Eli Square, where the Kazakh authorities uncovered a 15-foot high bronze statue of none other than Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The statue, accompanied by other traditional Kazakh scenes, lies at the base of a rather harmless white obelisk in an area that’s hardly in the center of town. That being said, Nazarbayev has always been one of the more restrained Central Asian presidents, but that restraint seems to be disappearing as the 69-year old gets older.
This comes after chatter about Nazarbayev being declared president-for-life, which Nazarbayev coolly dismissed as unnecessary, since he’ll keep winning elections regardless. Nazarbayev is obviously no Saparmurat Niyazov when it comes to unveiling monuments to himself, but this new statue in Astana (and the festive ceremonies that accompanied it) are rather eerie. Just watching the encomiums on the evening news for Nazarbayev and the deep significance of the new monument are enough to make one scream.
The Kazakh newspaper, Svobodaya Slova, ran the headline “Kazakhbashi” the day after the monument was unveiled, so clearly not all Kazakhs are ecstatic about it. Yet the personality cult around Nazarbayev seems to be reaching new heights, and the man himself is unsurprisingly doing very little to stop it.
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To be fair, there is already a similar bas-relief sculpture of the President in Almaty in Republic Square as part of a series of scenes from the history of Kazakhstan, including the election of the first President. This monument in Astana is similar, featuring four reliefs that show the people of Kazakhstan and the history, including the President. It could have been much more egoistic–next to the obelisk is a set of freestanding statues, featuring a dombro-player, a boxer and what I assume are various allegorical figures (Peace, freedom, industry). At least they didn’t put a staute of the President in there!
It’ll be a while before I agree that Nazarbaev’s personality cult begins to compare with Turkmenbashi, or even Karimov. And there’s something to be said for actual pride in your president, as compared with fear/admiration in Russia, propaganda/love in Turkmenistan, or fear/propaganda in Uzbekistan.
And if you want to talk about Наш Нурсултан as a cult figure, why not bring up the ул. Фурманова in Almaty as the future ул. Назарбаева. Or Aстана as the future Султана or Нурбек or Назарбаевбург.
I think the test will be who follows him…
I certainly agree that there’s a long way to go before the sentiments surrounding Nazarbayev in any way resemble those of the other Central Asian dictators. I also agree that it’s refreshing to see that Kazakhs appreciate their President rather than feel deep cynicism towards him. Just wanted to point out that things are tilting in a rather strange direction, especially since the statue is being referred to in the Kazakh media as a память even though there’s a representation of a living, breathing person on it.
Excuse the cowardly anon. name, but this seems like as good a post as any to ask something that had been bugging me for a while.
I was wondering if anyone else thought the recent changes in beloved PaPa’s portrayal in Kazakhstan could be related to health issues? I’ve not really paid a great deal of attention to his speeches until the last couple of years – has he always had a bit of a slur? Not like a Yeltsin-too-many-shots-slur, more a relative who has difficulty using one side of his body slur, if you get my gist. I appreciate the rules here, so am not spelling it out directly, just wondered if I was alone in my thoughts?
There is nothing that surprises me here. Despite Dariga Nazarbaeva’s earlier remarks about Kazakhstan not being a “stan” like others (other Central Asian countries), Kazakhstan is essentially a part of the semi-feudal Central Asia. The cults may differ from an arrogant “bashism” to a facade of a “democratic” leader, but the essence will always remain the same…
To argue that Nazarbayev does not have a fully operative personality cult is, in my considered opinion, an apologetic of the worst variety.
Fair enough, putting things in context, he is certainly not as grotesque as Niyazov, but that is setting the bar rather high. But he is certainly more obsessed with his own public image and his perceived legacy than Karimov.
This would be sideshow stuff, were it not for the fact that his overbearing political presence is stifling any chance for political evolution in Kazakhstan. The country is being led blindly, but absolutely, in the knowledge that everything and everybody is answerable to a man with little to offer in terms of contemporary leadership or vision.
It is pointless to ask who will follow Nazarbayev, because it has become quite obvious that the man himself ceased to think about that quite some time ago.
Nazarbayev believes he is the wisest, the best, and the only choice his country should have. His lackeys and the self-interested elite are pleased to second his growingly senile demented self-conviction, and this is not something that can be dismissed. Central Asia’s erstwhile leading progressive state is on the cusp of becoming another failed plutocratic banana (oil) republic, and the personality cult is just the tip of the iceberg.
Alex, your observation about the память completely hits the nail on the head. More and more, Nazarbayev is spoken about in exceptional and hallowed terms (the first president, founder of the nation, leader of the nation, father of the nation), and that spells a worrying trend toward despotism of a very eccentric quality.
@Expeditsya: I think your points are all valid, but if I can be called an apologist, is there any room between those who disagree with you and Nazzy B sycophants? I know a few deputats in Kazakhstan [none too highly placed, none that started out in politics, none of them in Nazzy B's ru] and having met highly trained people with work ethics and non-kleptocratic practices, I have become slightly more positivist for Kazakhstan than I ever was in Uzbekistan when I lived there.
@Mrs Chi: I’ve heard rumors to that effect. He’s no spring chicken, and running a country, even where ‘everyone loves you,’ can really take it out of a man. We’ll have to wait for that first hospital stay in some undisclosed German city.
@Michael: Apologies if I came off a little absolutist in my arguments, but it was not my intention to convey the impression that there is nothing positive in Kazakhstan’s political system and among its operatives. It is simply that the cult of adulation, imposed or applied from the top, in Kazakhstan is very strong and shows no signs of dissipating. If anything, it has picked up steam.
The very people who will get caught up in the wreckage that this kind of foolishness entails are the young, honest, idealistic and well-educated, because there is no room for such people in the fruity Sultanate that Nazarbayev would install had he a moment’s chance.
By the way, on this personality cult, you only need to be a little observant to see how pervasive it is. If you saved any notes from your visit to Kazakhstan, look at the details on it. Whose hand is that? Who is claimed to have designed the tower featured on it? What is the centrepiece inside that tower? And so on and so forth.
It is worth noting that now that Niyazov’s face has been removed from all but the very highest denomination banknote in Turkmenistan* (which very few people have ever seen), Nazarbayev has become the only Central Asian leader with his image depicted on the national currency.
* Some old circulation notes are still used, but are gradually being phased out.
Definitely an on-point observation that saying “it’s not as bad as Turkmenistan” is a pretty useless observation. Clearly we need to demand more from Nazarbayev and Kazakhstan. The adoration of Nazarbayev here is clearly detrimental to the future of the country, since no one has any idea what will happen once the man is gone or too senile to govern effectively.
That being said, I think you’re casting Michael’s point aside a little too lightly. Kazakh’s genuine pride and admiration for Nazarbayev can’t be explained as solely a result of propaganda and an iron fist. Kazakhstan has fared far better economically than the rest of the region (and actually better than most oil-rich autocracies). It remains far more open and free than the rest of the region, and there’s real educational opportunities (such as the Bolashak program) for the country’s youth. This can’t be so easily ignored.
Also want to commend you on your observation about the youth. This past weekend there were maslikhat elections here–in my local deputy elections, the Nur-Otan candidate, Artur Kotenyev, put up posters everywhere with the lone message, “The Future is in the Hands of the Youth”.
The opposition candidate, Talgat Abdizhapparov, put up posters with a real platform and actually went dvor to dvor (so sorry for the pun) shaking hands and hearing out scores of babushkas.
Any visit to a Nur-Otan office and you’ll find it buzzing with young people. The party has clearly created incentives for the youth and totally ignored middle-aged and older people’s concerns. One worries that in twenty years there will be no intellectual life to speak of outside of Nur-Otan.
The fact that they have not developed a personality cult does not tell Nazarbayev or Karimov are more restrained than Niyazov, it simply tells there are more cleavages in the society and it is harder to ensure a monopoly.