It was not difficult to predict after the violence in Kazakhstan in January 2022; the capital Astana, which was renamed in March 2019 after the country’s first president, Nursultan (Nazarbaev), has regained its old name as of today and is Astana again. After all, the violence in January was a direct result of a power struggle between supporters of the former president and those of the current president, Toqaev. The latter came out victorious and this has consequences now for the naming of the capital.

That also means that the billions of Euros invested in Astana’s brand awareness – think of an EXPO in 2017 and also the cycling team – have not been in vain.