Kazakhstan's first president Nursultan Nazarbayev has reacted to a proposal to erect a monument to him, VRK News reports.
A few days ago, at the conference “Turkestan — the spiritual capital of the Turkic world: integration and prospects for cooperation”, Bilal Cakici, deputy head of TURKSOY, proposed erecting a monument to Elbasy in Turkestan.
“I think a monument should be erected here (in Turkestan — editor's note) to Nursultan Nazarbayev, who brings a new spirit to the ancient city and supports the idea of introducing Turkic unity,” the TURKSOY deputy head said at the opening of the online conference on 24 May.
Then a photo of a finished bronze sculpture was circulated online. It turned out it had been commissioned by a businessman, who also proposed placing the statue in Turkestan.
Now it has emerged how Nazarbayev himself reacted to all this.
“Elbasy did not support this idea, just like many others before it. He absolutely dislikes such ‘gifts’ connected with erecting monuments and renaming architectural objects, especially if these ‘gifts’ are organised by local officials. ...Nursultan Abishevich has already said quite a few times that he does not need such tokens of attention...” — this is how Elbasy's press secretary Aidos Ukibai commented on the statement.
Sometimes “it seems that some people deliberately create information noise”, Ukibai continued.
“The only case in history when he agreed to give his name to new projects is the university and the intellectual schools,” Elbasy's press secretary added.
In April 2021, during a session of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev explained why he agreed to have the university named in his honour.
“I wanted it to be successful. And it is successful, recognised in the world,” Elbasy said of Nazarbayev University.
Meanwhile, we note that a photograph of Mazhilis deputy Azat Peruashev against the background of a tall statue resembling Nursultan Nazarbayev has appeared on social media. The Mazhilis deputy said that last winter he was photographed by the works of the honoured sculptor Tleuberdy Binashev, who proudly showed his workshop. “Everything else is someone's fantasies and inventions,” Peruashev brushed aside the speculation.
“The situation with our much-talked-about photograph by the Elbasy sculpture has been clarified. The customer of the sculpture turned out to be the well-known Turkestan entrepreneur Bolatkhan Nazhmitdenuly. He has no connection with the parliamentary opposition in general or with our party in particular. Nevertheless, I know him as a person well known in the region, with his own views on many issues; he has repeatedly entered into discussion with state bodies and defended the business interests and rights of his colleagues. Like any citizen, Bolatkhan has the right to personal initiative, which he set out on his social media page: that the role of the first president deserves to be immortalised,” the leader of the Ak Zhol party commented on the viral photo.
However, the intrigue remains: will this monument appear in Turkestan by 6 July.
One more thing. In July 2020 a new monument to Nursultan Nazarbayev appeared in Nur-Sultan. It stands in front of the National Defence University named after the First President — Elbasy.
Other monuments to Nazarbayev appeared even earlier.
Also, in 2017 Furmanov Street in Almaty was renamed Nursultan Nazarbayev Avenue.
And in May 2018 a new tulip variety, “President Nazarbayev”, appeared.
