ALMATY, Kazakhstan (Reuters) – Kazakhstan’s central bank presented a new banknote design on Friday (September 30th), identical to an old one with one exception: the portrait of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev was replaced by a silhouette of a ‘eagle.
The move is the latest move by the oil-rich Central Asian nation to dismantle the personality cult of its former ruler whose era ended in violent unrest this year.
Nazarbayev, who had ruled the former Soviet republic for three decades, resigned in 2019 and backed career diplomat Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as his successor while retaining sweeping powers as head of the security council.
Tokayev and Nazarbayev had a falling out in January when anti-government protests turned into the deadliest episode of political violence Kazakhstan has seen since its independence in 1991.
Tokayev assumed the presidency of the Security Council and a number of relatives and affiliates of Nazarbayev left high-level positions in the public sector; Nazarbayev’s nephew was sentenced this month to six years in prison for embezzlement.