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| Nursultan Nazarbayev, Longtime Leader of Kazakhstan, Says He’s Resigning | Nursultan Nazarbayev, Longtime Leader of Kazakhstan, Says He’s Resigning |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| MOSCOW — The 78-year-old president of Kazakhstan, the oil-rich former Soviet republic in Central Asia, announced Tuesday that he was resigning after 30 years in power. | MOSCOW — The 78-year-old president of Kazakhstan, the oil-rich former Soviet republic in Central Asia, announced Tuesday that he was resigning after 30 years in power. |
| The announcement by the president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, one of the longest-serving leaders to navigate the breakup of the Soviet Union, was considered a surprise. | The announcement by the president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, one of the longest-serving leaders to navigate the breakup of the Soviet Union, was considered a surprise. |
| He made his announcement on national television, but did not indicate precisely what future role he might play in the Kazakhstan hierarchy. | He made his announcement on national television, but did not indicate precisely what future role he might play in the Kazakhstan hierarchy. |
| “Until my dying day, I will stay with you,” he said. “Concerns of the people will stay my concerns.” | “Until my dying day, I will stay with you,” he said. “Concerns of the people will stay my concerns.” |
| Mr. Nazarbayev has led Kazakhstan since 1989, first as the leader of its Communist Party and then as president. He has attracted enormous investments from foreign energy companies to develop the nation’s oil reserves, which, at an estimated 30 billion barrels, are among the largest of all the former Soviet republics. | Mr. Nazarbayev has led Kazakhstan since 1989, first as the leader of its Communist Party and then as president. He has attracted enormous investments from foreign energy companies to develop the nation’s oil reserves, which, at an estimated 30 billion barrels, are among the largest of all the former Soviet republics. |
| He has also maintained a cordial relationship with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, where Mr. Nazarbayev’s resignation announcement was repeated on Russian state television. | He has also maintained a cordial relationship with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, where Mr. Nazarbayev’s resignation announcement was repeated on Russian state television. |
| Mr. Nazarbayev, an authoritarian leader, faced no prominent rivals for power and is not known to have groomed any successor. He won the last presidential election in 2015 with nearly 98 percent of the vote. | |
| He said that the speaker of Kazakhstan’s upper house of Parliament, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who formerly served as foreign minister and prime minister, would serve as acting president for the remainder of Mr. Nazarbayev’s term, which ends in 2020. | |
| While Mr. Nazarbayev has helped triple Kazakhstan’s oil output and taken a number of popular measures, including raising the salaries of public workers, rights groups consider him one of the most politically repressive leaders. | |
| Amnesty International’s assessment of Kazakhstan has faulted the government for restricting trade unions and nongovernmental organizations, allowing torture and other ill treatment in detention facilities, discriminating against women and people with disabilities, and subjecting journalists to politically motivated prosecutions. |