The Parliament of Kazakhstan has supported the initiative to rename the capital city of the country after the first President, Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Nurlan Nigmatullin, speaker of the lower house of parliament, called the decision “historical.” The change will take effect after acting President Kassym-Zomart Tokayev signs it.

Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has led the country since independence from the Soviet Union, announced his resignation yesterday. Speaker of the upper house of parliament Kassym-Zomart Tokayev has become the country’s acting president.