March 22, 2019
The city of Nursultan, formeriy known as Astana
The country of Kazakhstan has decided to rename its capital city of Astana to a name honoring its former president, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
One day after Nazarbayev resigned as president, the nation's new interim president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, suggested renaming the capital. Following a parliamentary vote, "Astana is now officially renamed Nursultan," reported the state-run news agency, Kazinform.
Astana became the capital of Kazakhstan over 20 years ago and has been the pride of the national government, evolving from a small town into a futuristic city. It's nowhome to over one million people.
The changing of the city's name is not a unique event in its history. Astana was previously called Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, and Akmola.
Many of our quizzes are affected by the change, but we plan to have them all updated very soon.
The presidential palace Ak Orda in Nursultan.