ASTANA – Marking 35 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Kazakhstan’s State Sovereignty, celebrated as Republic Day on Oct. 25, political experts say the document not only defined the birth of modern Kazakhstan, but continues to shape its foreign policy.
Declaration as a foundation of statehood
According to Baurzhan Sheriyazdanov, senior researcher of the Institute of State History of the Science Committee of the Kazakh Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the declaration of sovereignty laid the foundations for Kazakhstan’s statehood.
Republic Day is celebrated not only to mark the adoption of the declaration but also to honor its core message: the pursuit of sovereignty based on the desire to create dignified and equal living conditions for all citizens of the state.
“The main provisions of the declaration were used in the first article of the 1995 Constitution, which states that the Republic of Kazakhstan affirms itself as a democratic, secular, legal, and social state, whose highest values are the individual, his or her life, rights, and freedoms,” said Sheriyazdanov in an interview with Kazpravda newspaper.
“The fundamental principles are social harmony and political stability, economic development for the benefit of the entire population, Kazakh patriotism, and the resolution of the most important issues of state life by democratic means, including voting in a republican referendum or in Parliament,” he said.
The declaration of sovereignty was adopted amid the political, legal, and social upheavals of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when economic hardship and social tension fueled heated debates in various areas.
“Working on the document was no easy task, given the country’s complex ethnogeographical structure. There were heated discussions in the Supreme Council, the Parliament at that time, and throughout society. Every article and every word of the document had to be defended and justified. The adoption of the declaration on state sovereignty was an important milestone in the development of statehood and, in particular, in the future creation of a professional Parliament,” said Sheriyazdanov.
The declaration also established the country’s exclusive ownership of all natural resources, as well as its economic and scientific-technical potential, which allowed Kazakhstan to pursue an independent economic policy.
October 1990
In the political history of the formation of sovereign Kazakhstan, a special role belonged to the Supreme Council of the 12th convocation, whose elections were held in March 1990. For the first time, it ensured the broadest representation of the scientific and creative community. Under the leadership of statesman Salyk Zimanov, a working group of intellectuals, lawyers, and deputies drafted the declaration in just six months.
“On Oct. 25, Salyk Zimanov presented the final draft of the declaration to 360 deputies at a session of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. The people’s representatives carefully examined and discussed each article. Although the declaration itself contained only 17 points, its discussion in the Supreme Council lasted almost six hours,” said Sheriyazdanov.
Looking back, Sheriyazdanov noted that submitting the draft declaration for public discussion increased its legitimacy. The document, in turn, established Kazakhstan as an independent subject of international relations, allowing it to determine its foreign policy in its own interests, exchange diplomatic and consular representations, and participate in the activities of international organizations.
“On that day, the country took a huge step toward the freedom that our ancestors had dreamed of for centuries. In this regard, I consider Oct. 25 to be a special day in the history of the country. (…) After all, this is the will of the people, a decision proven by history,” said Sheriyazdanov.
Establishing Kazakhstan’s role in international relations
Kazpravda newspaper writes that over the years of sovereign development, the declaration enabled Kazakhstan to occupy a unique place in the system of international relations.
“It was at that moment that Kazakhstan began to establish itself as an independent player on the world political stage. In fact, even before the Declaration of Independence, which came more than a year after the adoption of the declaration [of sovereignty], our country began to play a much more active role in foreign policy,” reads the article.
It was evidenced by several high-level visits. In 1991, Kazakhstan hosted landmark visits by then-Turkish President Turgut Özal, UN official Peter Hansen, then-U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, and then-German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, marking its growing international recognition and laying the foundation for future diplomatic and economic cooperation.
Kazakhstan has been a UN member since 1992, becoming the first Central Asian country to serve as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2017–2018. In 2025, the UN Regional Center for Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan was inaugurated in Almaty.
In 1992, Kazakhstan joined the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and later, during its 2010 chairmanship, hosted the OSCE’s only summit of the 21st century.
The country also initiated the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), joined the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), co-founded the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Organization of Turkic States, and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and continues to promote regional dialogue among Central Asian nations through regular consultative meetings.
“This is Kazakhstan’s superpower as a middle power – building bridges between major powers and entire regions, taking an active part in building a safer world, and getting involved in finding solutions to global challenges and problems,” reads the article..
As President Tokayev notes, foreign policy is always a reflection of domestic policy.
“Dialogue, cooperation, understanding the importance of peace, and promoting unity in diversity are values that are organically woven into not only Kazakhstan’s foreign agenda but also its domestic agenda. In essence, they are part of the national identity and a key element of the image of the future state,” reads the article.
The articles were originally published on Kazpravda.
