All Hail Nursultan!

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Last updated: Friday September 27th, 2019

Here on JetPunk we get a lot of the same comments over and over again:

Cyprus is in Europe.

I went to number1worldpopulationsource.ru and it said the world's most populous city is Chongqing. Your quiz is wrong.

A tomato isn't a vegetable it's a fruit you clod.

Too America-centric!!! Why can't you make more Belgian quizzes?

But since March, another line has been added to the chorus:

Umm... I'm not sure if you're aware but Astana has changed its name to Nur-Sultan.

That's right. Back on March 23rd, Kazakhstan's parliament unanimously voted to change the name of their capital from Astana to Nur-Sultan.

Now, I run a quiz site for a living, so I'm generally pretty up on my geography. I knew about the change, but I fought against it for awhile. I know realize that I was wrong to do so. I mean, President Nursultan must be pretty great if they named the capital for him. Heck, he's so popular that, when he was re-elected back in 2015, he got 98% of the vote. In fact, he won so many elections that he ruled the country for 29 years! The press of Kazakhstan seems to love him too. They never say anything bad about him at all!

But, I can't fight the tide any longer. As Brad Pitt once said in this embarrassingly stupid perfume commercial, "the world turns, and we turn with it". In the spirit of honoring a great leader, it's time to make a change. From now on, all featured JetPunk quizzes will refer to the capital of Kazakhstan as Nur-Sultan. All hail Nursultan Nazarbayev! May he live forever.

+11

Level 75

Aug 3, 2019

Mr Nazarbayev resigned in 2019. Generally autocratic presidents who have ruled for decades tend to continue their rule for decades more, so his stepping down was somewhat unusual. The renaming of the capital shortly after his stepping down was, I presume, an effusive thank you from a grateful parliament for the benign wisdom under which they had operated for so long.

Level ∞

Aug 3, 2019

He "resigned" but he is still chairman of the Security Council. The Constitution was amended in 2018 to lay the groundwork for this change. It states that "The decisions of the security council and the chairman of the security council are mandatory and are subject to strict execution by state bodies, organisations and officials of the Republic of Kazakhstan." He's still in charge, he's just taking a step back from the day-to-day operations.

Level 32

Aug 3, 2019

I didn't realise. Ok that means I didn't pay attention.

Level 65

Aug 3, 2019

Nazarbayev did a lot of good for his country and he's one of the best leaders of Kazakhstan since the creation of the country in the mid-15th century.

+10

Level ∞

Aug 3, 2019

Honestly, it's quite possible. I generally think that an enlightened dictatorship is the best possible form of government. (Not sure Nursultan qualifies). The problem with enlightened despots is that they are quite rare and are vastly outnumbered by the unenlightened despots. So its necessary to make a transition to democracy. Singapore seems to have managed this process nicely. Most other countries do not.

Level 65

Aug 3, 2019

You're right, it's very rare, however Singapore is illiberal democracy. They're based more on racial equality, equality before the law, economic freedom and almost non-existent corruption rather than human rights considered important in the West, such as the rights of sexual minorities, lack of capital punishment and political freedom. Singapore is often considered as an example of benevolent dictatorship. Nazarbayev has ruled since the mid-1980s, then as Prime Minister of the Kazakh SSR, so by 1991 he had limited possibilities of action. In an independent country, millions of people get out from poverty, government began to support the Kazakh language, as well as religious and ethnic tolerance, which made Kazakhstan avoid the fate of other countries in the region, which have plunged into ethnic conflicts. In the mid-1990s, about 50% of the population lived below the poverty line, currently only 4%, not only thanks to oil and gas prices, but also due to good resource management.

+15

Level 84

Aug 3, 2019

As rare as enlightened despots are, finding an enlightened electorate is all but impossible.

+59

Level 65

Aug 3, 2019

this blog entry is too Kazhakstan-centric, why can't you make more Belgian blogs?

Level 61

Aug 20, 2019

Nice one.

Level 77

Nov 25, 2019

I went to Belgium this summer - it was a great experience, save the sweltering heat. There was lovely food, including chocolate (I didn't try any waffles though, but I'll be sure to try some next time). I also bought a few Tintin comics, which are very enjoyable to read!

Level 56

Jan 4, 2022

Uh oh, you angered him.

Level 78

Aug 3, 2019

Soon we'll have enough ammunition to be able to have a quiz with questions about the most contentious JetPunk decisions/rulings. Just imagine all the comments on that one :)

Level 83

Aug 3, 2019

It already exists!

Level 75

Aug 3, 2019

Will Astana still be accepted? I'll change my naming of the city. But I'm curious about that :)

+22

Level 56

Aug 3, 2019

Honoring him with just one capital is not enough! JetPunk should accept the name Nur-Sultan as a type-in for all the world's capitals.

Level 56

Oct 31, 2019

seconded XD

+13

Level 71

Aug 3, 2019

I don't see anyone hailing Nursultan in this comment section, what's wrong with y'all.

Level 29

Aug 4, 2019

now you do

Level 57

May 6, 2020

Hail NurSultan and Hail JetPunk

Level 70

Aug 3, 2019

He did several good things but didn't tolerate criticism of himself or his party though. So, does that really make him a great leader? Not sure I agree with the description you've given him.

+21

Level ∞

Aug 4, 2019

Whoosh.

Level 29

Aug 4, 2019

All hail Nursultan!

Level 77

Aug 4, 2019

What I really learned from this blog post was that Brad Pitt needs to be more discriminating in who he does brand deals with.

Level 63

Aug 5, 2019

I visited Kazakhstan a few weeks ago and they haven't began changing the road signs in Almaty towards Nur-Sultan yet, so Jetpunk is pretty forward when it comes to this!

Level 57

Aug 27, 2019

The capital whose name is being changed is Astana. Almaty was the capital until 1997.

Level 73

Jul 9, 2020

How did you visit Kazakhstan and still manage to not know its capital?

Level 79

Aug 5, 2019

Now you have to change every country and capital quiz on the site. That's the real reason you fought this change. Will you still accept Astana as a type-in?

Level ∞

Aug 5, 2019

I actually like changing quizzes. And, yes, Astana is accepted as a type-in.

Level 70

Aug 6, 2019

Nursultan was already a type-in for a few months, right? I think it's understandable not to change capital names on Jetpunk as absurdly quick as they did in Kazakhstan - wait and see whether they stick with it. When I learned all the capitals, I didn't realize that I'd have to keep up with so many changes... I've barely gotten used to Gitega now. And I understood Egypt, Indonesia and Eq. Guinea will change their capital too.

Level 15

Jul 30, 2020

Where's my recognition?

Level 34

Aug 16, 2020

Nursultan was a quite good leader and I didnt define him as a dictator. People like Niyazov or Karimov were dictators, but not him.

Level 43

Dec 8, 2022

Not anymore

Level 59

Mar 8, 2023

He's so great, they changed their minds and decided that Astana was easier to say than Nur-Sultan.