Nazarbayev Resigns As Kazakhstan's President; Was First Elected In 1991
Nazarbayev is the only president Kazakhstan has ever known. He first rose to authority as a Communist Party official — and he's been accused of human rights abuses.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev says he will resign the post he has held for nearly 30 years, abruptly announcing the end of an era that began in 1990. But Nazarbayev, 78, also said he'll keep several key official posts, in a speech that aired on national TV Tuesday.
In the former Soviet bloc,
