On April 14, 2026, a scientific seminar titled **“The People’s Constitution in the Context of the Historical Development of Kazakhstan’s Statehood”** was held at the Presidential Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan, organized by the research staff of the Institute of State History.
The scientific seminar was attended by representatives of leading mass media, political scientists, legal experts, and historians. Among the speakers were a well-known scholar, Doctor of Law, Professor of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University Zh.I. Ibragimov, as well as researchers from the Institute of State History and the Kazakhstan Institute for Public Development. As the chair of the seminar, the Director of the Institute of State History of the Committee of Science of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, PhD, Associate Professor N.S. Pusyrmanov delivered a report. He noted that the text of the new Constitution had been adopted through a nationwide referendum and had generally received broad public support. The main idea of the updated Basic Law is defined by education and science, culture and innovation. This represents a fundamentally important shift, demonstrating that the future of the state is determined not by mineral resources and natural wealth, but by human capital and the achievements of its citizens. According to the Director of the Institute of State History, another important direction is digitalization. In this regard, for the first time, the new Constitution enshrines a provision on the protection of citizens’ rights in the digital environment. The next speaker was the Deputy Director of the Institute of State History, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor B.G. Ayagan. In his report, the prominent scholar emphasized that the features of Kazakh statehood have been developing since ancient times. He was followed by Doctor of Law, Professor Zh.I. Ibragimov, who stated that the Constitution strengthens justice in a new society. Then the floor was given to the Chief Researcher of the Institute of State History, Doctor of Political Sciences Zh.I. Kuanyshev. According to him, the new Constitution adopted at the nationwide referendum is aimed at redistributing the powers of the branches of government and strengthening the mechanisms of checks and balances. The seminar was organized by the Head of the Department of Source Studies, Historiography and National History, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor G.M. Karasaev, who in his speech highlighted the positive impact of the newly adopted Constitution on enhancing the role of Parliament and increasing government accountability. The Chief Researcher of the same department, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor T.M. Aminov, assessed the new Constitution as the fundamental law that shapes the political system of the Republic of Kazakhstan and has fulfilled its historical mission. The concluding report was delivered by the Director of the Institute of State History, PhD, Associate Professor N.S. Pusyrmanov. During the seminar, issues of continuity of the principles of statehood, their transformation, and their reflection in the modern constitutional system were discussed. The organizers of the scientific seminar were the Institute of State History and the Presidential Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
THE DECLARATION ON STATE SOVEREIGNTY – THE HERALD OF KAZAKHSTAN’S GENUINE INDEPENDENCE
Авторская колонка Aminov Talgatbek Makhmetovich Chief Researcher , с.h.s Теги: The adoption of the Declaration “On the State Sovereignty of the Kazakh SSR” on 25 October 1990 constituted a pivotal historical step in the process of acquiring independence. The Declaration provided the Republic with the legal capacity to act as an autonomous subject of international relations, to define its foreign policy in accordance with its own interests, and to independently determine matters of foreign economic activity. This stage was marked by a rapid rise in national self-consciousness among the peoples of the Union republics, as well as by the radicalization of activities undertaken by various political parties, public organizations, and movements across all Union republics of the former USSR. In October 2022, speaking at the solemn ceremony of conferring state awards and prizes, the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized that the Kazakh people had been moving along the sacred path toward sovereignty for many years. In his words: “The Declaration on the State Sovereignty of Kazakhstan opened the way to our sacred Independence. Therefore, this document is of historical significance. Today we are marking Republic Day in a renewed manner, having granted it the status of a national holiday. I am confident that this initiative will receive broad support in society and will become a good tradition. Republic Day is a momentous holiday intended to uplift the spirit of the people, strengthen statehood, and reinforce our unity and solidarity” [1]. According to K.–J. Tokayev: “The Declaration of Sovereignty is a triumph of courage and diplomacy, reason and patience. Very soon we felt the force of this historic document. We renewed the foundations of society and aspired to new heights. Having overcome a difficult transitional period, Kazakhstan embarked on the path of building a strong statehood” [1]. The Declaration on State Sovereignty proclaimed the supremacy of the Constitution of the Kazakh SSR and the laws adopted on the territory of Kazakhstan, as well as the Republic’s right to suspend the effect of Union-wide acts that infringed upon its sovereign rights. It was from this Declaration that the Republic effectively began to exercise its state sovereignty in practice. While remaining within the USSR, Kazakhstan possessed sovereignty only in a formal-legal sense and, in fact, did not possess it substantively; accordingly, it could not function as a genuine subject of international law. The Declaration of 25 October 1990 affirmed the indivisibility and inviolability of the territory of Kazakhstan, and defined the country as a subject of international law. The proclamation of the Republic’s exclusive ownership of all natural resources, as well as of its economic, scientific, and technical potential, enabled Kazakhstan to pursue an independent economic policy. For the first time, the Declaration rejected a class-based approach to defining the social foundations of the state and proclaimed the national character of statehood. The Declaration became the fundamental legislative act from which began the subsequent development of the state–legal system of the country in the direction of formalizing full state independence. Its historical significance lies in the fact that it endowed the Republic’s sovereignty with real content, recalled the historically rooted statehood of Kazakhstan with its centuries-long history, emphasized the principle of territorial integrity, and proclaimed the separation of powers as the core principle underpinning the functioning of the Republic as a democratic and law-governed state. Thus, in the dynamic year of 1990, internal forces were awakened within Kazakhstani society which soon led to the formation of a new independent state — the Republic of Kazakhstan. The attainment of independence became possible only after the collapse of the totalitarian Soviet regime. As is well known, by the late 1980s and early 1990s the political and economic crisis in the USSR had reached its apex. The decrepit and functionally incapacitated Soviet state machinery — inherited by the last leader of the Union and architect of perestroika, Mikhail Gorbachev — began to fail repeatedly. The USSR was undergoing a profound systemic crisis. Political movements advocating independence and withdrawal from the USSR began to emerge across the Union republics. The attempts by the Soviet leadership to deploy force — in Tbilisi (1989), Baku (1990), and Vilnius (1991) — had the opposite effect: protests multiplied and became increasingly massive. The dramatic events of those years constituted a bitter, yet important, historical experience. Recognizing the causes of the rapid disintegration of a once powerful state and analyzing the tactical mistakes of the central leadership enabled us to draw essential lessons from what was unfolding [2]. The political reforms undertaken in the USSR in the late 1980s and early 1990s — including the proclamation of a course towards building a socialist rule-of-law state, the establishment of Soviet parliamentarianism, the convocation of a new supreme representative body (the Congress of People’s Deputies), the introduction of the Presidency of the USSR, and the formation of multiparty politics — resulted in the democratization of society and rendered inevitable the re-emergence of the “national question”, previously considered to have been “resolved”. Accelerated internationalization without regard for national interests led to grave miscalculations in nationalities policy. On 18 May 1989, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to adopt a Declaration of Sovereignty. By the summer of 1991 the majority of the Union republics had enacted sovereignty laws, compelling the central authorities to accelerate work on a new Union Treaty. The signing of such a treaty would not only have preserved a single state, but also would have entailed a transition to a genuinely federal structure. On 17 March 1991, a referendum was held on the question of whether the USSR should continue to exist and, if so, in what form. The majority of those who participated voted in favor of preserving the USSR. The Baltic republics, Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia did not take part in the vote. In September, the Extraordinary Congress of People’s Deputies of the USSR recognized the independence of the Baltic republics. The leaders of seven republics — Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan —
An international scientific and practical conference titled “The State Sovereignty and Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan: History, Modernity and New Facets of Development” was held in Astana.
Today, an international scientific and practical conference titled “The State Sovereignty and Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan: History, Modernity and New Facets of Development” was held at the President’s Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The event was co-organized by the President’s Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Institute of History of the State, and the Scientific Research Institute of the Study of the Ulus of Jochi. The conference was attended by deputies of the Parliament, representatives of state bodies, prominent state and public figures, leading domestic and foreign scientists, and experts. The plenary session was moderated by the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Sayasat Nurbek. Welcoming remarks were delivered by: Nurtore Zhusip, Chairman of the Committee on Socio-Cultural Development and Science of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Snezhanna Imasheva, Chairman of the Committee on Legislation and Judicial-Legal Reform of the Majilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Sarangua Radnaaragchaa, UN Resident Coordinator in Kazakhstan; Kairat Sarybay, Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and Ambassador. State and public figures Altynshash Zhaganova and Alikhan Baimenov shared their memories of the formative years of independent Kazakhstan. The second part of the conference was moderated by Bakytzhan Temirbolat, Director of the President’s Center. The Director of the Institute of History of the State, PhD Nurbek Psyrmanov, presented two new scientific monographs prepared by the Institute’s team. Presentations were also made by: Nuriya Niyazova, Deputy of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Sagila Nurlanova, Director of the National Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Maria Zhukovskaya, a scholar from the University of Bialystok (Poland); Natalya Pan, Director of the Institute of Parliamentarism; Aliya Masalimova, Vice-Rector of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The participants emphasized the relevance of interdisciplinary research on the formation and evolution of the ideas of independence and state sovereignty. The discussions focused on improving the structure of the state, democratizing society, and strengthening spiritual and moral values. Particular attention was paid to the need to instill in youth the principles of “Law and Order” and “Independence and Patriotism” as key foundations for the country’s sustainable development. Following the conference, the participants called on the scientific community to continue studying archival materials and to comprehensively examine the historical content and significance of Republic Day.