NUR-SULTAN -- Kazakhstan’s ruling party has changed its name as President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev seeks to distance himself from his predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbaev.
The party announced on March 1 during an annual congress that it would now be called Amanat, which among other meanings can be translated as Ancestors' Legacy. It was previously called Nur Otan (Light of the Fatherland).
"The new name portrays the unfading ideals of independence, the values of strong statehood, national unity, the vast expanses of our homeland, which our ancestors bequeathed to us," Toqaev said at the congress.
Toqaev has been trying to distance himself from Nazarbaev since mass protests in early January turned deadly.
At least 227 people died in the violence, sparked in part because of anger over the corruption and nepotism that stemmed from Nazarbaev's rule even after he stepped down in 2019.
The ruling party was initially called Otan (Fatherland) when it was established in 1998.
Later, as the former president's cult of personality turned into a mass phenomenon in the tightly controlled oil-rich nation, the party, like many other organizations and state entities, changed its name to Nur-Otan, to associate it more closely with Nazarbaev.
While ruling for almost three decades, he installed relatives in key positions, enriching them at the expense of ordinary Kazakhs who have failed to share in the country's vast oil riches.
Many relatives and close associates of Nazarbaev have lost their posts in government, security agencies, and profitable energy groups since the unrest.
Nazarbayev, who used to be shown regularly on Kazakh television, made no public appearances during the unrest.
