No one told the Kazakhs either! My friend told me she fell asleep in Astana and woke up in another city, not something you expect in your own bed. It was not a popular decision outside the political elite and subsequent events may indicate that most of the elite didn’t know either.

Taraz, in the south holds the record for the number of name changes over the years, but Astana is up to six now I think. Many cities have and use both Kazakh and Russian names happily.

Now, back to those pesky pens!