Kazakhstan celebrates Republic Day
Today, October 25, Kazakhstanis celebrate one of the most important dates in the history of the country, Republic Day. Namely on this day, in 1990, the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR was adopted, which became the country's first step towards Independence, Kazinform News Agency reports.
The Declaration proclaimed the sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR and declared the political and legal foundations of Kazakhstan as an independent state. It for the first time enshrined such principles of statehood as integrity, indivisibility and inviolability of the territory, strengthening of national identity, development of the culture of peoples and their languages.
Bolat Zhanadilov was one of 360 deputies of the 12th convocation of the Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR, when the Independence of Kazakhstan was proclaimed. All documents defining and representing the state were adopted by the deputies of this convocation. The veteran of healthcare, an honorary citizen of the city of Kokshetau shares his memories of those years with a correspondent of Kazinform.
"The first document we adopted was the Declaration of State Sovereignty of 1990, followed by the Law on Independence, which has constitutional force. While we were advocating for the establishment of a sovereign country, 12 deputies voted against the Declaration of Independence. "What are we going to do next? Why do we need Independence? Where are we going?" they asked. We answered them: "There is only one Motherland, it is Kazakhstan!" In the same way, when the law was adopted, various discussions took place," recalls Bolat Zhanadilov.
Among those, who greatly contributed to the adoption of this crucial document, was Byrganym Aitimova, ex-Minister of Education and Science, Deputy of the Supreme Council of the XII convocation. She says the process of adoption of the Declaration was not easy, as the country still was a part of the Soviet Union.
"This document started everything from scratch. No one had ever adopted a document on the concepts of national interests, of their republic. It was very hard, but also interesting. Of course, everyone tried to make their contribution and shared an idea of what should be included in the meaning of sovereignty. There were heated debates, different opinions were suggested. It was not like everyone raised their hands and voted "yes", since the working group included representatives of different sectors. Some of my colleagues fully realized the concept of "independence" and put forward bold decisions, such as to withdraw from the Union," says Byrganym Aitimova.
Republic Day was included in the list of state holidays in 2001. However, in 2009, by the decree of the first President of the country, it was excluded from the list of state holidays.
In 2022, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed to revive the celebration of the Republic Day at the first meeting of the National Kurultay.
In September 2022, the Senate of the Kazakh Parliament adopted amendments to the law “On amendments to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on issues of cinematography, culture and holidays.”
October 25 was proclaimed the national holiday - Republic Day, and December 16 - the Independence Day – became the state holiday
Another deputy of the Supreme Council of the 12th convocation, Vitaly Voronov, said it was a fair decision.
"Since February 2020, I have tried to contact the President of the country via social networks and directly to discuss the issue of including this date in the calendar of state holidays. Justice has been restored for me," he noted.
On the eve of the holiday, at a solemn ceremony of presenting state awards, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev extended his congratulations on the national holiday, highlighting that the adoption of the Declaration on State Sovereignty marks the beginning of the country’s Independence.