When Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union, the capital of the country was Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan. 

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the intention was stated to move the capital back to the historical capital of Kazakhstan, Akmola. Thus on July 6th 1994, the capital of Kazakhstan was moved from Almaty to Akmola 

The capital of Kazakhstan has had many names over the years. It started life as Akmolinsk, at its founding as a Russian military outpost in 1830. Then, from 1961, it was Tselinograd, Russian for “virgin lands city”, to mark its place at the centre of Soviet expansion to the steppe. At the country’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, it was renamed Akmola, or “white tomb”. On May 6th 1998 Akmola was renamed Astana, which means “the capital city” in Kazakh. Akmola means “white grave” in Kazakh. 

On Astana’s 10th anniversary in 2008, July 6th was made a national holiday. July 6th is also the birthday of the former President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev. 

Nur-Sultan is the second-largest city in Kazakhstan and is located in Akmola region, though it is administrated separately from the region as the city with special capital status. 

The modern part of Nur-Sultan is a planned city similar to Brasilia in Brazil and Canberra in Australia. The plans for this part of Astana were designed by the renowned Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. 

Nur-Sultan will celebrate its day with a fireworks display and a laser show.