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Nazarbayev acknowledges Tokayev’s triumph.On January 18, Kazakhstan’s first president Nursultan Nazarbayev interrupted his prolonged silence and recorded an address to the nation in which he assessed the recent upheaval in Kazakhstan and, more importantly, attempted to refute rumors that it was caused by a split and disagreements in the country’s political elite. He reiterated that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has full authority, is the head of the Security Council and will soon be elected chairman of the Nur Otan ruling party. "So, there’s no conflict or standoff among the elite. The rumors on this subject are absolutely groundless," Kazakhstan’s first president...

Nursultan Nazarbayev announces shock resignation in televised address, hands over power to speaker of upper house. Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev has abruptly announced his resignation, 29 years after taking office. In a televised address on Tuesday, the 78-year-old said he has taken the "difficult" decision to terminate his authority as president, but did not give a specific reason for the shock decision. "I have decided to end my duties as president," Nazarbayev said, before signing a decree terminating his powers from March 30. "This year I will have held the highest post for 30 years," he said. "As the founder...

Mukhtar Dzhakishev is by all accounts in miserable shape.Languishing in a “harsh” Kazakhstan prison colony that was once part of Stalin’s gulag system, he suffers from hypertension, hardened arteries and kidney disease likely triggered by a severe beating.“His life is constantly at risk,” one human-rights group warned in September, as it urged the international community to advocate on Dzakishev’s behalf.Largely unable to communicate with the outside world, the former head of Kazakhstan’s state uranium conglomerate has made one thing clear: he blames his arrest and 14-year prison term at least in part on a Canadian company’s corporate dealings.More specifically, Dzakishev...

The prime minister of Kazakhstan unexpectedly announced his resignation Wednesday and was swiftly replaced by his influential predecessor. All three parties in the oil-rich Central Asian nation’s parliament voted to approve Karim Masimov, 49, as the new head of government. …

Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Akhmetov, who had managed Central Asia's largest economy since September 2012, said on April 2, 2014 that he had resigned. REUTERS Photo Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov and his entire government resigned Wednesday, the authorities in the Central Asian country said. Akhmetov told a cabinet meeting that his resignation had been granted by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the government of the oil-exporting country said. No reason was given for Akhmetov's abrupt dismissal, but President Nazarbayev has broad powers to change prime ministers at his choosing. His press-service said on Twitter that the Kazakh leader has already proposed...