[ROLEPLAY]The Government of Kazakhstan in 2018

The 2018 Lily Revolution

In late October 2018, Nursultan Nazarbayeb, President of Kazakhstan since its inception as a state separate from the USSR and the bold leader who brought Kazakhstan into the 21st Century mostly intact, announced that he was stepping out of politics due to health concerns. In the week that followed, it became clear to all both within and without Kazakhstan that this political change was pre-orchestrated: immediately announced as his successor as leader of the ruling Nur Otan would, instead of any of the old guard who had served for decades, be Nazarbayeb's grandson, Bolat Kulibayev. Kulibayev was presented to the world in a grand military parade in the capital, Astana, after embracing his grandfather.

Bolat himself came to the forefront of Kazakh politics as somewhat of an unknown figure, and rumor has it that is exactly why he was chosen as a successor (no previous ties to corruption or other embarrassments). He had been born to Nazarbayev's second daughter, Dinara, in 1991, right as his country's birth was beginning. As Bolat grew up, so did his nation, both economically and politically, and his two parents' wealth and status relatively insulated him from many of the difficulties faced by millions in the difficult years of the 1990s and 2000s. As such, he spent much of his youth abroad, and only came back to Astana once or twice a year, if at all. The young man, in 2014, returned home in order to head a department of the National Bank. For three years, he worked in that position while quietly receiving awards from the Kazakh state, such as an honorary diploma from Nazarbayev University (for "excellence in the domain of economic development" two months after having come into his new career) and membership to the Order of the Golden Eagle. His colleagues at the National Bank, not knowing his true status, noted that the young Kulibayev was "an uninspiring leader" and "intellectually unimpressive." He was fired from the bank in early 2018, and since then had lived with his parents, meeting often with both his grandfather and other senior members of the administration.

It was during his presentation to the world that Bolat presented his list of new ministers that he would be forming a government starting November 2, 2018. Among them were:

Minister of Defense: Aslan Nabiyev, previously Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.

Minister of Finance: Adrik Ivanov, a Russian-Kazakh educated in Russia. Previously had been a senior advisor to the President.

Minister of Energy: Zhuldyz Abdullayeva, formerly senior executive at Tengrizchevoil.

Minister of Foreign Affairs: Erasyl Aikhmutambetov, formerly Kazakh ambassador to the United States.

Minister of Internal Affairs: Rustam Khaparov, formerly police chief and then mayor of Shymkent.

Ministry of Information: Inkar Bayzhanova, previously chief of the FIS.

This sudden change of the political makeup of Kazakhstan was noted by state press services as "ushering Kazakhstan into a new, dynamic century, with new, dynamic leadership." The previously planned 2019 presidential elections have not been changed, and Prime Minister Bakhytzhan Sagintayev has remained in his post.

Қазақстанға даңқ!