There are few cities that have changed their name as many times as Astana. The capital of Kazakhstan went by Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola and most recently Nur-Sultan. Why? It’s not very interesting. It went by names which made sense, then it didn’t and now it does again. The Nur-Sultana part is after Nursultan Nazarbayev, a man who ruled the country for almost 3 decades. Safe to say, you don’t govern a country for 30 years if elections aren’t rigged. He “resigned” and the current president changed the name back to Astana. You can change the name, but you can never change a vibe of this place. Nursultan built a monument of a city, something that really sticks out. Especially in Kazakhstan, a country that people have a particular image of. Almaty fits, Astana…not so much. I...
