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Kazakhstan: Countries
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Kazakhstan is the second-largest successor state, after Russia, occupying 12 percent of the former Soviet Union. It is nearly four-times the size of Texas and borders Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Caspian Sea. Long dominated by the Mongols, the lands comprising Kazakhstan were annexed by Russia in the 18th century; in 1920, the area was incorporated into the Soviet Union. At independence in 1991, Kazakhstan had an equal population of ethnic Kazakhs and ethnic Russians – a legacy of Stalin’s policies of deportation and collectivization along with later Soviet population resettlement. Since independence, many ethnic Russians have returned to Russia, and many Kazakhs have repatriated from other regions of the former Soviet Union and beyond, giving ethnic Kazakhs a majority. Thousands of Chechens deported to Kazakhstan in the 1940s remained in the country, and thousands more arrived in the mid- to late-1990s, fleeing their war-torn homeland.
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Kazakhstan is a newly independent nation in the midst of profound economic and political change. The capital is Astana. The U.S. Embassy is still located in Almaty, the largest city and former capital. Tourist facilities are not highly developed, and many of the goods and services taken for granted in other countries are not yet available. Internal travel and travel to other New Independent States (NIS), including both air and land routes, can be subject to disruptions and long delays.
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Kazakhstan has a rich past. Its geographical and geopolitical position has played a vital role in promoting the country's development. Located in the center of Eurasia, Kazakhstan has long found itself at the crossroads of the world's most ancient civilizations and trade routes. It has been a land of social, economic and cultural exchange between East and West, North and South, and between the major players in Eurasia. At different stages of its history, various states emerged and developed in the land which became today's Kazakhstan. read more
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The land-locked country of Kazakhstan has many environmental issues. There are radioactive or toxic chemical sites (associated with former defense industries and test ranges) scattered throughout the country, which pose health risks for humans and animals. Because the two main rivers which flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation, the sea is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts. These substances are picked up by the wind and blown into noxious dust storms. There is pollution in the Caspian Sea. The soil is polluted as a result of salination from poor infrastructure and wasteful irrigation practices, as well as from the overuse of agricultural chemicals.
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As Kazakhstan economy develops and relies more and more on private sector and capital markets international rating agencies start playing a more important role. The agencies analyze and assign credit ratings to Kazakhstan itself and Kazakhstani borrowers. The country now is rated at the investment grade level by the Moody’s, and one notch below it by the Standard & Poor’s and the Fitch. Accordingly, the domestic entities are rated below the sovereign ceiling. In the absence of major macroeconomic shocks and adverse developments ratings the agencies usually review country and company ratings once in a year. The rating reports are available from the agencies for a fee.
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Kazakhstan has signed up to global and regional security structures. Kazakhstan joined the UN in March 1992 and renounced nuclear weapons in 1995. It is a member of a number of regional organisations including the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, the Conference for Security and Confidence-Building Measures, (a Kazakhstani initiative), the Collective Security Treaty Organisation and the Eurasian Economic Community. Since 2004 Kazakhstan has been contributing troops to the International Coalition against Terrorism work in Iraq. It is the only Central Asian country to have agreed an Individual Partnership Action Programme with NATO. It is an active participant in the US/Russian initiative on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons of mass destruction.
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