Short answers, pulled from the story.
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country situated primarily in Central Asia, with a portion of its territory extending into Eastern Europe. It borders Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, and has a coastline along the Caspian Sea.
Kazakhstan covers an area of 2,700,000 square kilometers, making it the world's ninth-largest country and the largest landlocked country. It has a population of 20.5 million and one of the lowest population densities in the world, fewer than 8 people per square kilometer.
The capital of Kazakhstan is Astana. The government relocated the capital from Almaty to Astana on the 10th of December 1997. The capital was renamed Nur-Sultan in 2019 and reverted to Astana in September 2022.
Kazakhstan proclaimed full independence on the 16th of December 1991, becoming the last Soviet republic to do so. Ten days later, the Soviet Union itself dissolved.
The word qazaq derives from a Turkic root meaning free, independent, or wanderer. In 13th and 14th century dictionaries it meant unattached, homeless, loner, or exile, and later acquired the meaning free man. The term Cossack shares the same origin.
Kazakhstan accounts for around 60 percent of Central Asia's GDP, primarily through its oil and gas industry. It holds the 11th largest proven reserves of both petroleum and natural gas, ranks among the highest producers of iron and silver, and has attracted 330 billion dollars in foreign direct investment since independence.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, the communist-era leader, became Kazakhstan's first president and led the country from 1991 until his resignation on the 19th of March 2019. He was succeeded by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who took office on the 12th of June 2019.