These days, the institution of presidential power is celebrating its 30th anniversary – on April 24, 1990, the Supreme Council of the KazSSR adopted a law establishing the post of president and introducing amendments and additions to the Constitution, and then overwhelmingly elected 49-year-old Nursultan Nazarbayev to this post, less than a year ago, who became the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan.
Author: political scientist Daniyar Ashimbaev.
Part 2. Political leadership: historical forks
The pragmatic reformer Nazarbayev, having gained a foothold in the republic, quickly began to be perceived in the country as a union-level politician. By position, he became a member of the Federation Council of the USSR and the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, while his candidacy was only considered in 1990 for the post of Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Deputy General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Vice President of the USSR, and then Prime Minister of the country. Gorbachev later recalled that the only thing that held him back from nominating Nazarbayev was that he did not see who could replace him in Kazakhstan.
New problems were added and multiplied. Let’s try to list at least some of them. The economy of the republic was in crisis: to the old diseases (low level of technological equipment, underdevelopment of the manufacturing industry) were added the severance of economic ties, inflation, decline in production, the need to develop new economic methods, for which neither enterprises nor the authorities were ready.
To say that there were no reform scenarios would be wrong. As usual, there were plenty of them. And various theoretical models, and international experience. The problem was that it was necessary to choose the right one, and not only choose, but also implement it, while synchronizing them with other republics of the USSR at a time when the negotiation process on the renewal of the Soviet federation was in full swing and there was no particular consensus .
The second pressing problem was the national question. Firstly, rapid processes of growth of national self-awareness began in Kazakhstan, which, as the experience of neighbors showed, easily degenerated into nationalism and came into conflict with the growth of national self-awareness of other ethnic groups, which ended in bloodshed. And secondly, the republic was one of the most multinational in the country; The entire multinational people of Kazakhstan took part in its development and no one considered themselves “diasporas” – even the peoples deported to the republic considered it their new homeland.
Nazarbayev chose the only correct scenario: the national democratic agenda was partially integrated into the national ideology, and the radicals were neatly pushed to the margins of political life and after a few years disappeared from the information space, torn apart by the struggle for power in their dwarf parties and movements. But in 1990, the threat of interethnic conflict in the republic was perceived very acutely. Not only the national, but also the party palette was quickly formed and politicized: new parties and movements arose that confidently considered themselves competitors to the Communist Party, which was losing influence.
Gorbachev tried to solve the problem in the most cunning way: the Union had to have a strong president, and the republican first secretaries and chairmen of the Supreme Soviets had to deal with all problems at the regional level. The heads of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were the first to see through Gorbachev’s plan.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, without waiting for elections to the Supreme Council, was elected chairman of the Supreme Council on February 22. At the session he stated: “During this transition period, it is extremely important not to hesitate, not to miss the moment of implementing fundamentally important government decisions. Life itself today does not allow time to unwind. Tomorrow will be too late to do what the current situation requires. And the process of transferring power to the Soviets has been somewhat delayed.».
He recommended Sergei Tereshchenko as his first deputy. Literally immediately the question of introducing the post of President of the KazSSR was raised. Nazarbayev noted: “It is no secret that the problem of the deficit of executive power, which is acutely felt in the country, has not passed us by. We also feel the need to strengthen government functions aimed at protecting perestroika, ensuring strict implementation of laws (…) The creation of the institution of presidency in the republic would make it possible to strengthen republican independence and establish a reasonable balance between legislative and executive power in the republic».
A little later he clarified: “This step is also supported by such an argument as the multinational composition of the population of Kazakhstan. The consolidation of society is especially important now. This, first of all, should be facilitated by the updated mechanism of state leadership. Exactly the president must act as a guarantor of respect for the rights and freedoms of the peoples living on the territory of the republic».
On April 24, the new Supreme Council of the 12th convocation established the post of president. According to the new law, the president is the head of the republic, acts as a guarantor of the rights and freedoms of citizens on the territory of the republic, the Constitution and laws of the Kazakh SSR, takes the necessary measures to protect the sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of the republic; ensures compliance with the union agreement; represents the republic within the country and in international relations; ensures interaction between the highest bodies of state power and administration of the Kazakh SSR; presents to the Supreme Council candidates for the posts of chairmen of the Council of Ministers, the People’s Control Committee, and the Supreme Court; raises before the Supreme Council the question of the resignation of the Council of Ministers; in agreement with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, dismisses and appoints members of the government; appeals to the President of the USSR with a petition to suspend the action of resolutions and orders of the Council of Ministers of the USSR that contradict the interests of the Kazakh SSR; protests to the Council of Ministers of the USSR acts of governing bodies subordinate to it that contradict the interests of the Kazakh SSR and suspends the effect of the protested acts on the territory of the republic; assigns honorary titles and awards state awards; resolves issues of admission to citizenship of the Kazakh SSR, granting asylum; pardons citizens convicted by the courts of the Kazakh SSR; in the interests of ensuring the safety of citizens of the Kazakh SSR, introduces a state of emergency with the immediate submission of the adopted decision for approval by the Supreme Council.
On the same day, the Supreme Council overwhelmingly elected Nazarbayev as the first president of the republic.. The deputies discussed the issue of holding national elections, but decided that there was no point in delaying the introduction of the presidency.
A Presidential Council was created, which included Tereshchenko (deputy president and head of his office), Prime Minister Karamanov, heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB, deputies Drozhzhin, Zhangurazov, Sartaev, ex-chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council Sagdiev, as well as Myrzatai Zholdasbekov and Daulet Sembaev (the latter the two became at that time the main ideologist and economist, respectively). Commissions on citizenship and pardon issues were created under the president.
The basis of the new presidential apparatus was not the apparatus of the Central Committee, as some historians point out, but the apparatus of the former Presidium of the Supreme Council, from which the departments of pardons and awards were transferred. In the Office of the President (later renamed the Office of the President), a department of affairs, departments for relations with the press and the study of public opinion, state-legal, issues of citizenship and pardons, letters and reception of citizens, and awards were created.
The creation of a new vertical of power took place against the backdrop of a campaign for re-election of party bodies, which was no less stormy than the parliamentary elections that took place the day before. If three members of the government and the head of the capital’s party organization could not be elected to the Supreme Council, then four first secretaries of regional committees lost their posts at party conferences. Nazarbayev was forced to send his deputy Tereshchenko to Chimkent to strengthen regional leadership.
At the first session of the Supreme Council, the government lost its Minister of Trade and almost lost its Minister of Foreign Affairs. By the summer, the situation worsened even more: without waiting for progress in negotiations with the center, in conditions of a power vacuum, the republics began a “parade of sovereignties.”
By this time, Nazarbayev had made an important foreign policy breakthrough: in July, he visited the United States, organized by the American Trade Consortium. The President of Kazakhstan held negotiations with the White House administration, the Senate, Congress, as well as with the leadership of the Chevron corporation, which at that time was negotiating with the Union government on the creation of the Sovchevroil joint venture in the Kazakh oil fields of Korolev and Tengiz. Nazarbayev first ensured that the republic became a party to the negotiations, and then ousted the union Ministry of Oil and Gas Industry from its leading position.
Speaking at the XVII Congress of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan (July), Nursultan Nazarbayev frankly outlined the problems and tasks facing the republic: “Today it is pointless to look for universal forms of ideological and educational work. When taking any step, one should proceed from real economic and social conditions, moral and psychological climate, and other objective factors. This is especially important when organizing ideological activity in such a subtle and delicate area as interethnic relations. It is in national politics that high culture, balanced and sober assessments must especially be present… The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan sees a way out of the crisis situation in the affirmation of the principles of the economic sovereignty of the republic. But In order to be able to engage in new directions in the economy, it is necessary to implement a set of political and legal norms. Among them, the central place is occupied by the legislative consolidation of the status of Kazakhstan as a sovereign state, building its relations with the USSR and other republics on the basis of treaties. We stand for a federal union, but we believe that the republic should delegate only part of its rights to the center, and at its own discretion. This is the crux of the matter… During the stagnant period, catchy words about the untold riches of Kazakhstan wandered from book to book, from article to article. But no attempt has ever been made to analyze why, having a truly gigantic potential and producing enormous values, the republic found itself in the position of an underdeveloped state. Various types of raw materials worth $1.3–1.5 billion are annually exported from Kazakhstan, and 10–12 million tons of grain, more than 300 thousand tons of meat, and 270 thousand tons of milk are supplied to the all-Union fund. But we rank 9th in the country in terms of food consumption, and 10th in terms of housing provision. How can we reconcile the presence of the poorest strata with the nature of our system? More than 2.5 million people, or almost every sixth resident, have a monthly income of less than 75 rubles. In the Baltic republics, for example, only four percent of the population has such meager incomes. This is the inheritance we inherited… Economic independence is not some kind of fashionable fad, but an urgent need for social development, an integral part of genuine state sovereignty. We, too, do not want to walk “with outstretched hands” through Moscow offices in order to receive what we have earned with the stigma of subsidies, which is humiliating for Kazakhstanis. But this does not at all mean a desire for isolation and isolation. We see economic independence as a means for establishing various economic ties both within the country and abroad. Kazakhstan has truly enormous opportunities for establishing long-term mutually beneficial foreign economic contacts, opening joint ventures with foreign companies, and creating free economic zones. All this is vital, since without attracting foreign capital the republic’s economy cannot be quickly boosted. This is not just a matter of naked pragmatism. In a time of openness and expansion of international contacts, it is possible and necessary to borrow world experience…
As for the transition to market relations, the relevance of this radical economic act has been proven by life itself… Obviously, in the entire history of the Soviet state it has not been possible to find incentives to influence production and the sphere of circulation equivalent to competition and entrepreneurial initiative, which are inherent in market relations… There are objective laws of economic development that are not subject to ideology. The market with its commodity-money relations is one of them… Sooner or later, but in any case we would be forced to take this step. The current moment only aggravates the situation and requires society to make an urgent choice. The main law of the market is the law of supply and demand. Where there is demand, capital investments, the energy of enterprising people, and the attention of managers flow there. The command economy is powerless to make such a turn. The people have accumulated enormous amounts of free money, and the heavy, poorly manoeuvrable, bureaucratic composition of the command economy will in no way turn around to meet the unsatisfied demand, which, under market conditions, can cause a colossal boom in production and the service sector. This cannot continue like this. Therefore, either we decide now to adopt a market system, or we will painfully move towards it for many years. The country has reached the point where everyone is required to have the civil courage to accept temporary costs for the sake of well-being in the near future..
The transition of the country and the republic to the rails of a market economy is associated with great not only socio-economic, but also ideological difficulties. For decades, the idea of the harmfulness of commodity-money relations and a multi-structured economy has been implanted in our consciousness. True, we have come to understand the need for pluralism of property; the ideology of barracks socialism holds our hands tightly and pulls us back. This is probably why we are still, under various pretexts, avoiding answering the question: will the market be full-blooded without at least small private property – its most important component? In fact, it has already been admitted in the form of individual property, but we are afraid to call a spade a spade. Unfortunately, such “delayed ignition” is becoming a chronic disease in the country of both ideological and administrative bodies… The market economy must work in full force, establishing an atmosphere of general interest in society, creating incentives for highly productive work, initiative and entrepreneurship. Otherwise, we risk being left behind in the development of civilization. We must be prepared for rising prices, the associated temporary decline in living standards, and unemployment. It would be criminal to suppress the possibility of these phenomena occurring. But we want to emphasize that during the period of economic renewal, serious work will be carried out on the social protection of people, especially low-income groups of the population. For these purposes, a set of large-scale measures has been developed that will help overcome negative attitudes towards the market. These include the adoption of a number of important laws – antimonopoly, on entrepreneurship, on unemployment, on compensation to the population for rising prices. Finally, we must obtain the consent and support of the people before we decide to take this radical step. In this regard, it is necessary to persistently explain to people that there is no more effective way to boost the economy than the development of market relations.”
With this position, the leadership of the republic led the republic to the declaration of sovereignty. In the fall, the leader of the republic emphasized:
«To lose stability today means to lose everything, and we have no right to allow this. Therefore, despite the fact that party and Soviet bodies are reproached for not supporting the demands of certain groups, our position remains unchanged – to equally protect the interests of all nations and nationalities inhabiting Kazakhstan without exception, to fight back against both nationalist , and separatist sentiments.”
To be continued.
Part 1. Political leadership: the beginning of the journey, read here.
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2024-04-01 01:20:23