Until earlier this month, Kazakhstan, the largest of Central Asian republics to become independent after the dissolution of the Soviet Empire 30 years ago, appeared the most stable entity in the region.
Under President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s iron-fist leadership, it had avoided the religious feuds, civil wars, coups and counter-coups that had shaken kindred former Soviet republics, such as neighboring Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
However, Nazarbayev’s autocratic rule was not the sole reason for the new republic’s stability. There were at least three other contributory factors.
