We continue to cover the events which happened in Kazakhstan after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. You can read Part 1 here.

So, 1992, government began to introduce reforms and mend diplomatic relations. First welfare aid was rendered. Common people set more down-to-earth aims for themselves – to survive. They did not receive their salaries for months. Unemployment, inflation, adjustment… these were terms familiar to everybody, including children.

Miners of the Karaganda Coal Field had been on strike since December 9th, 1991 till January 16th, 1992. Workers did not believe that their salaries would be raised by 2, as promised.

The ruble devalued, prices skyrocketed. Government froze prices for bread and flour.

A new problem appeared – lack of cash. People received their wages on paper but not in cash. That’s why some began to pay wages in food.

30% of the salary of workers who got paid more than 2000 rubles, was automatically transfered to savings bank books, but since the 1992 inflation exceeded 3000%, no real money was saved. The same year they introduced cheque-books.

They created their own gold and diamond reserves.

They began celebrating Nowruz officially.

They put on their national costumes, ate national food and danced.

First lady of Kazakhstan Sarah Nazarbaeva created her charity foundation to help orphans and children from low-income families.

Government and businessmen supported the foundation financially. Enterpreneur Bulat Abilov was one of them. Later, his company became so successful that its logo was put onto a spaceship.

Kazakhstan was admitted to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the United Nations Organization. In Alma Ata, 19 countries opened their diplomatic representations.

Turkey was the first to let Kazakhstan open its diplomatic representation. In Kazakhstan, they opened first Turkish-Kazakh schools. Children admitted to school studied English and Turkish for a whole year and after that all subjects were tought in two languages. Pupils lived in the dormitory 5 days a week. The majority of teachers were Turks.

Kazakhstan created its own armed forces.

They held a competition for the best national symbols: an anthem, a flag and a national emblem.

The National Emblem.

The National Flag.

They issued a law concerning the national symbols of the independent republic and held a solemn ceremony.

They renamed militiamen into policemen and set a new aim for them – to improve the work of Department of the Interior.

‘Observe Adjustment Law!’

In order to raise pensions, they drew up an adjustment law.

By the time people received their new adjusted pensions, they had been already ‘burnt’ by inflation.

They imported Chinese clothes and food, and exported scrap ferrous and nonferrous metal to China.

‘We buy ferrous and nonferrous metal. Good price’.

For many people, this ‘business’ became one of the means of making a living.

Pioneers ceased to exist. Pupils began wearing clothes they wanted, thus revealing their social status.

Pupils who wanted to help their parents, started their own businesses, such as selling newspapers and washing cars.

They opened Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research where they began preparing managers for market economy.

Over 100 thousand of Germans left Kazakhstan due to a very unstable political and economic situation in the country. Officially, they were allowed to do it earlier, back in 1986, after a relevant law had been issued. However, in Soviet time, few people dared to.

Location: Kazakhstan

via voxpopuli.kz