Kazakhstan Independence Day (December 16): History & Celebrations

Kazakhstan Independence Day (Täuelsızdık küni, Тәуелсіздік күні) is celebrated on December 16. On this day in 1991, Kazakhstan declared its independence — the last of the 15 Soviet republics to do so, just days before the Soviet Union officially ceased to exist. The date also honours the young people who protested on the same day in 1986, in an event known as Zheltoqsan (“December”).

Key facts
Date	December 16 every year
Year of independence	1991
Declared by	Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR
First President	Nursultan Nazarbayev
Capital	Astana (since 1997)
UN membership	March 2, 1992
Holiday type	National public holiday
Greeting	Тәуелсіздік күнімен! — Happy Independence Day!

From the Steppe Khanate to Soviet Republic

The Kazakh Khanate was founded in the mid-15th century by Kerei and Janibek Khan, uniting nomadic tribes of the great Eurasian steppe. From the 18th century, the region was gradually absorbed by the Russian Empire, and in the 20th century it became a Soviet republic. The Soviet era brought heavy losses: the famine of 1930–33 (Asharshylyk) killed over a million Kazakhs, millions of people were deported into the region, and the Semipalatinsk test site saw more than 450 nuclear tests.

Zheltoqsan: The December 1986 Protests

On December 16, 1986, Moscow replaced the long-serving Kazakh leader Dinmukhamed Kunayev with Gennady Kolbin, an outsider from Russia with no ties to the republic. Thousands of students and young people gathered on Brezhnev Square (now Republic Square) in Almaty to protest. The demonstrations were crushed by force over several days; many were injured, arrested or expelled from universities. Zheltoqsan is seen today as one of the first major public challenges to Soviet power and a seed of Kazakh independence. The Independence Monument on Republic Square stands near where the protests took place.

Road to Independence: Timeline

Date	Event
1465	Kazakh Khanate founded
December 16–19, 1986	Zheltoqsan protests in Alma-Ata
October 25, 1990	Declaration of State Sovereignty (now Republic Day)
August 29, 1991	Semipalatinsk nuclear test site closed
December 16, 1991	Constitutional Law on State Independence adopted
December 21, 1991	Alma-Ata Protocol creates the Commonwealth of Independent States
March 2, 1992	Kazakhstan joins the United Nations
November 15, 1993	National currency, the tenge, introduced
1995	Kazakhstan finishes giving up the Soviet nuclear arsenal on its soil
1997	Capital moves from Almaty to Astana

👉 Kazakhstan and peace: International Day Against Nuclear Tests — August 29

Kazakhstan Today in Numbers

Fact	Detail
Area	About 2.7 million km² — the largest landlocked country in the world and 9th largest overall
Population	About 20 million
Official languages	Kazakh (state language) and Russian
Famous for	The steppe, Baikonur Cosmodrome, horses, eagle hunting, apples (Almaty means “father of apples”)
Nuclear legacy	Voluntarily gave up what was then the world’s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal

How Kazakhs Celebrate Independence Day

• Official ceremonies in Astana with the President’s address and state awards.
• Wreaths at the Independence Monument in Almaty and memorials to the Zheltoqsan victims.
• Concerts, festivals and fireworks in city squares despite freezing temperatures.
• Flags everywhere — sky-blue with a golden sun and soaring steppe eagle.
• Family feasts with beshbarmak (boiled meat with flat noodles), baursak (fried dough), kazy (horse-meat sausage) and kumys (fermented mare’s milk).
• Sports and traditional games such as kokpar and asyk, and dombra music performances.

National Symbols

Symbol	Meaning
Flag (1992)	Sky blue for peace and the open sky; golden sun for life and wealth; steppe eagle for freedom; national ornament for culture
State emblem	A shanyrak (the crown of a yurt) — a symbol of home and unity — with winged horses
National anthem	“Meniñ Qazaqstanym” (“My Kazakhstan”)
Yurt	The traditional nomadic home, still used at festivals

Other Major Kazakh Holidays

Holiday	Date
Nauryz (spring new year)	March 21–23
Unity Day of the People of Kazakhstan	May 1
Defender of the Fatherland Day	May 7
Capital Day	July 6
Constitution Day	August 30
Republic Day	October 25
Independence Day	December 16

👉 Plan ahead: All December holidays

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