At the IV National Kurultai in Borovoe, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced a major initiative to regulate onomastics in Kazakhstan. According to Orda.kz, Tokayev emphasized that local authorities had previously made serious errors in naming streets and settlements, including cases where names were assigned based on regional affiliations or family ties rather than historical or cultural significance. To address this, the government has centralized the onomastic process, establishing a unified and clear framework for naming and renaming places. The initiative has already been approved by parliament, ensuring that future decisions will be made systematically and fairly.
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| Фото: пресс-служба Акорды |
Ensuring Historical Justice in Naming
Tokayev reaffirmed that commemorating outstanding historical figures is an essential part of national identity. However, he cautioned against using onomastics as a tool for glorifying controversial individuals, particularly those whose "historical contributions" are not supported by archival evidence. The misrepresentation of Soviet figures - including those involved in orchestrating the Asharshylyq famine - was singled out as a problematic trend. Tokayev expressed concern that certain individuals in independent Kazakhstan continue to mythologize these figures, calling it a regrettable phenomenon that needs to be addressed.
Reevaluating Urban and Rural Toponyms
The President proposed a pause in renaming cities and streets, advocating for a more selective and historically justified approach. He noted that Kazakhstan has underutilized its wealth of traditional geographic names, which better reflect the country’s linguistic and cultural heritage. While some village names may require updates due to their historical obsolescence, Tokayev stressed that renaming should not become a politicized or impulsive process. Instead, public engagement and thorough historical review must guide such decisions.
Additionally, priority will now be given to naming thousands of currently unnamed streets, which have complicated emergency services such as firefighters, police, and medical responders. Duplicate toponyms will also be eliminated to improve administrative efficiency.
Regulating Private Sector Naming Practices
Tokayev also criticized the unregulated naming of private establishments, highlighting cases where businesses display socially inappropriate or culturally insensitive names. While creativity in branding is encouraged, he insisted that public decency and national identity must be respected. As part of the new regulations, private establishments will now require approval from an onomastic commission before being named after a historical figure.
A Systematic Approach to Onomastics
Tokayev’s announcement marks a major shift in Kazakhstan’s approach to place-naming policies, ensuring that historical justice, cultural heritage, and administrative efficiency remain at the core of onomastic decisions. The centralization of onomastic policies will help prevent regional favoritism, ideological distortions, and haphazard renaming efforts.
As Kazakhstan moves forward with national modernization, its toponymic landscape will now reflect a more historically accurate, transparent, and structured approach - one that preserves national identity while avoiding unnecessary political influence.
