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Concept
Astana
Summary
Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan.
The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, though administered as a city with special status separately from the rest of the region. A 2022 official estimate reported a population of 1,350,228 within the city limits, making it the second-largest city in the country, after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city became the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997; since then it has grown and developed economically into one of the most modern cities in Central Asia. In 2021, the government selected Astana as one of the 10 priority destinations for tourist development.
Modern Astana is a planned city, following the process of other planned capitals. After it became the capital of Kazakhstan, the city dramatically changed shape with its master-plan designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. As the seat of the government of Kazakhstan, Astana is the site of the Parliament House, Supreme Court, Ak Orda Presidential Palace and numerous government departments and agencies. It is home to a range of futuristic buildings, including many skyscrapers.
Akmola settlement was founded in 1830, possibly named after a local landmark—Ақ мола literally means white grave in Kazakh—although this theory is not universally accepted. In 1832, it was granted town status and renamed Akmolinsk. In 1961 under Khrushchev's government, it was renamed Tselinograd, Russian for "virgin lands city". In 1991 following Kazakhstan's independence, the name was changed to Akmola.
In December 1997, the city replaced Almaty as the capital of Kazakhstan, and in May 1998, it was renamed Astana, which means "capital city" in Kazakh. In March 2019, the capital was renamed to Nur-Sultan (ˌnʊərsʊlˈtɑːn; nʊɾ sʊltɑn; Nūr-Sūltan) in honor of the long-ruling President Nursultan Nazarbayev, shortly after his resignation.
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