Kazaxia’s political commentator Gary Kefali has been In Kazakhstan to check out the celebrations marking 550 years of Kazakh statehood.
As Kazakhstan celebrates the 550th anniversary of statehood, is it finally time for the nation to shrug off the ‘young country’ label it has held for many years?
Who would have thought back in 1465 when Kerey and Zhanibek Khan set up the forerunner of modern-day Kazakhstan that 550 years later the state would still be referring to itself as a ‘young country’.
The state uses this label to conceal a multitude of problems related to human rights, press freedom, democracy and freedom of belief and assembly. Whenever criticised, the familiar refrain of “Kazakhstan is a very young country” is invoked by the authorities.
Now it seems that it is not so fresh-faced after all with its long history being celebrated in Taraz. As kazaxia suggested in 2011, it’s time Kazakhstan grew up and accepted responsibility for its actions.
Kazaxia 
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