President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart TokayevNUR-SULTAN, Jan 29 President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said he sees no problem when Russian-speaking citizens and foreigners refer to the country's largest city and first capital as Alma-Ata instead of the Kazakh version of «Almaty». causes and consequences of the January events, further political and social reforms, as well as relations with key foreign policy partners. Nazarbayev» (Such a variant of the name as) Almaty is more suitable for Kazakh-speaking people. As for the Russian-speaking, «Alma-Ata» is more convenient to pronounce. Therefore, let's agree that the name «Almaty» will remain officially, and the city itself will call it as it is convenient for its residents and those who from the outside treat our city very warmly,» Tokayev said in an interview with the Khabar 24 TV channel. Alma-Ata was the capital of the Kazakh SSR as part of the Soviet Union and independent Kazakhstan until 1997 . The latest estimate puts the city's population at 2 million. The name «Almaty» was enshrined in the country's 1993 constitution. In December 2019, writer and public figure Olzhas Suleimenov suggested renaming the city back to Alma-Ata. He said that he discussed this proposal at a meeting with President Tokayev, who supported the initiative. At the same time, according to him, the head of state stressed that the people should decide this issue themselves.
