Even if Kazakhstan had been an independent republic, Russia still has to maintain close ties because it is the site of major Soviet Projects. In a way Russia cannot exist without Kazakhstan in tow simply because the Baikonur Cosmodrome is here, the main arena of Russian space launches and the world's oldest and largest spaceport; the Semipalatinsk Polygon is also here the USSR's nuclear weapons testing site where 456 nuclear blasts were recorded from 1949 to 1989.
In fact the Semipalatinsk Polygon is now a highly radioactive range and the new Kazakh government has to close it in 1991.
Since its independence, a new
Kazakhstan flag flew, a rectangular piece in blue with an image of the sun at the center surrounded by thirty-two beams, with a steppe eagle flying beneath. And near the hoist a national ornament is placed on the vertical strip, all images except the strip are in gold.
The design of the flag is tied to the art and cultural traditions of the old khanate and Kazakh people. Light blue stands for the various Turkic (Tatars, Mongols, Uyghurs and others) people that compose the present-day population. Besides, blue has a religious significance particularly Gok-Tanry, the sky god, while at the same time it also represent water, as well as a symbol for the cultural and ethnic unity of the Kazakhstani people.
The sun on the flag represents the source of life and energy; also as a symbol of wealth and abundance; and the sun's rays are interpreted as like grains which is the foundation of abundance and prosperity. The golden eagle had been with the people for centuries, a symbol associated with the power of the state, independence, freedom and the future.
by:
The Flagman
