As the world turns toward Sochi for this year’s Winter Olympics, Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city and former capital, longs to host the 2022 Games. The bid is one of many strategies by the Kazakh government to shine the spotlight on this Central Asian giant.

Before being conquered by the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, the steppes of Kazakhstan were inhabited by nomadic tribes. The first move toward the consolidation of a Kazakh culture occurred under the times of the Kazakh Khanate, in the interim between Mongolian and Russian rule. This identity developed through the times of the Russian Empire, bringing a strong nationalism and with it a drive to fight the Bolsheviks and depose the Russians after the revolution of 1917 in a period known as the Alash Autonomy. The Autonomy ended in 1920 and the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic was established in 1936. Kazakhstan was the last country to leave the Soviet Union in 1991, with Nursultan Nazarbayev presiding over the republic since then.

In 1997 President Nazarbayev decided to move the capital from Almaty to Astana. Official sources justified the decision on the basis of the former city’s proximity to China and its frequent earthquakes. Unofficial sources, however, stated that Nazarbayev aimed to enhance Kazakh ethnic presence throughout the country. Whatever its reasons, Nazarbayev’s move has proven successful when it comes to putting the country back on the radar as the new capital: Once a forgotten Soviet threshold for wheat production, Astana will be a host to the Expo 2017. Moreover, the city’s architecture has received acclaim for its innovation and symbolic relevance. An example of this is Baiterek, Astana’s most notable landmark, a building representing the Kazakh story of the tree of life and the struggle between good and evil.

In spite of Almaty’s and Astana’s futuristic skylines and the country’s brimming oil wells, Kazakhstan continues to be a country of social disparities as Nazarbayev’s crusade for progress has still not reached the entire population.

Another issue that has received international attention is Nazarbayev’s two-decade rule and the ever-stronger ties between Russia and Kazakhstan. Nursultan Nazarbayev, the “leader of the nation,” secured another five years in office in 2011. With a VAP turnout of 72.7 percent but few guarantees for the opposition, international observers judged the election as far from meeting democratic standards. Such results have raised questions on Kazakhstan’s participation in the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. On the other hand, Kazakhstan agreed on a Customs Unions with Russia and Belarus late last year.

These recent developments have sparked fears in the West about where Kazakhstan’s loyalties lie. Nonetheless, there is little doubt the country is equipping itself to become a major player in the global economic and political arenas.