Kazakhstan is the largest country in Central Asia by land area, stretching from the Caspian Sea to the borders of China. Its capital is Astana; the city was renamed Nur-Sultan from 2019 to 2022, and the name reverted to Astana in September 2022. Almaty, the former capital until 1997, remains the country’s largest city and commercial centre.
Central Asian studies in the capital covers the region’s history, languages, and politics, along with Kazakhstan’s role in energy exports, trade routes, and relations between Russia, China, and the West. The country’s Soviet past and its independent development since 1991 give students a rich case for studying post-Soviet transitions.
Related Central Asian material includes Central Asian Islamic art and Central Asian mountain ecology. Regional diplomacy is treated in Middle Eastern diplomacy studies and Middle Eastern politics.

