LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Kazakhstan: Soviet Union
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Kazakhstan's monetary policy is generally considered by outside observers to be well-managed. Its principal challenge since 2002 has been to manage strong foreign currency inflows without sparking inflation. Since that time, inflation has not been under control, registering at 6.6% in 2002, 6.8% in 2003, and 6.4% in 2004, higher than forecast levels of 5.3%-6.0%. In 2000 Kazakhstan became the first former Soviet republic to repay all of its debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), 7 years ahead of schedule. In March 2002, the U.S. Department of Commerce granted Kazakhstan market economy status under U.S. trade law. This change in status recognized substantive market economy reforms in the areas of currency convertibility, wage rate determination, openness to foreign investment, and government control over the means of production and allocation of resources.
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Despite economic progress, ecological devastation in Kazakhstan is widespread and a serious threat to further national development. The Kazakh government faces the prospect of a massive environmental cleanup to deal with disasters left over from Soviet-era nuclear weapons tests, unsuccessful agricultural projects, and almost-nonexistent industrial pollution controls. The Aral Sea, a principal source of irrigation and drinking water, has shrunk dramatically, posing serious environmental and health hazards.
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The Kazakhstan national football team is the national football team of Kazakhstan and is controlled by the Football Federation of Kazakhstan. After the demise of the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Turkmenistan on June 1, 1992. The team was originally a member of AFC but switched to UEFA in 2002. On March 24, 2007, they won their first competitive match as a member of UEFA, beating Serbia 2-1 at home. [1]
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Kazakhstan's industries are located along the margins of the country. Steel, agricultural and mining machinery, electric motors, construction materials, and fertilizers are among the manufactured goods. Temirtau is the iron and steel center. Semey was the Soviet center of space-related industries, and the surrounding region was the site of Soviet nuclear testing; radiation pollution is widespread in the area, which experienced a severe economic downturn following the end of nuclear testing in 1991. The Baikonur (Bayqongyr) Cosmodrome in central Kazakhstan was the Soviet space-operations center and continues to serve Russian space exploration through an agreement between the two nations. The main exports are oil and petroleum products, ferrous metals, chemicals, machinery, grain, wool, meat, and coal.
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Kazakhstan declared its independence from the Soviet Union on Dec. 16, 1991, and the new nation became a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Nursultan Nazarbayev became the country's first president and soon began a gradual movement toward privatization of the economy. In 1994, Kazakhstan signed a series of security agreements with the United States, in which the latter would take control of enriched uranium usable for nuclear weapons and aid Kazakhstan in removing extant nuclear weapons, closing missile silos, converting biological-weapons-production centers, and destroying its nuclear test ranges. These projects were financed by the United States, and most of the work was completed by 2005.
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Kazakhstan was the largest producer of sheep and wool in the former Soviet Union. At one time, there were over 40 million sheep in Kazakhstan. Sheep farms were generally large with more than 10,000 head on state farms. Artificial insemination (vaginal, with fresh semen) was widely practiced. Today, there are fewer than 12 million sheep in Kazakhstan, though the population has stabilized in recent years and is said to be increasing several percentage points per year. The goal is to increase the population to approximately 20 million head.
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