The first day of winter in 2012 became a holiday for the people of Kazakhstan. Starting from that year, the Day of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan is celebrated in the country on December 1st. On December 10th 2011, amendments to the law 'On Holidays in the Republic of Kazakhstan' were adopted at the plenary session of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan. "The Day of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan was established to celebrate and recognize the outstanding achievements of the first President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev for the Republic. On December 1st 1991 Nursultan Nazarbayev was re-elected President of the Kazakh SSR. He was the only candidate to receive 98.7% of the votes from 88.2% of the voters.
Nursultan Nazarbayev is the first president of the Republic of Kazakhstan, who occupies this post up to the present moment. One of the first steps of the President was signing the law to rename the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic as the Republic of Kazakhstan from December 10th 1991. And after six days, on December 16th 1991, the Supreme Council declared the independence of Kazakhstan. It meant that Kazakhstan was proclaimed as an independent state.
The Day of the First President of Kazakhstan symbolizes the unity of the Leader of the Nation and the people on the path of prosperity and progress. Festive events are to take place in the capital and all the cities of Kazakhstan. A gala concert 'My Heart is Kazakhstan' is to be organized in Astana.
Kazakh political scientist and editor-in-chief of the magazine World of Eurasia, Eduard Poletayev, said in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza that it was a public holiday, a day off. Many events are devoted to it. "The significance of this holiday was appreciated in Kazakhstan after some time. It took quite a while before it was decided to make the holiday a public one. Its aim is to show the importance of the reforms that were adopted in Kazakhstan, as well as the changes in the economic, political and social life,connected with the introduction of the presidential institution in 1990. The holiday has existed for several years, but despite this fact, it is celebrated by Kazakhs at different levels: from school to state employees,'' the analyst noted.
The director of the center of topical research Alternativa, Andrey Chebotarev, drew attention to the importance of the holiday for the ruling elites of the country. "This is a great holiday for the head of state, his closest colleagues, and for ordinary Kazakhs. It is associated with the ability to take a break from everyday work. Certainly, this holiday has a special meaning, even without any sacredness, because the position of President of Kazakhstan was approved in our land in 1990 for the first time,'' the analyst said.
