This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Kazakhstan has renamed its capital Nur-Sultan, in honour of the country’s longtime leader who resigned this week.

The order to change the city’s name from Astana was issued on Saturday by the interim president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who took power after Nursultan Nazarbayev resigned on Tuesday.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (R) and Nursultan Nazarbayev shake hands after the former’s inauguration ceremony. Photograph: AP

Nazarbayev has led the oil-rich country since the fall of the Soviet Union, first as its communist leader, then as president after independence.

The 78-year-old announced his resignation in a surprise public address on national television on Tuesday evening. “I have taken a decision, which was not easy for me, to resign as president,” Nazarbayev said, noting he was the “first president of independent Kazakhstan”.

He said he would continue as chair of the country’s powerful security council, and the leader of the Nur Otan party, which dominates parliament.

The resignation came weeks after he dismissed the government.

In 1997, Nazarbayev moved the capital from Almaty, turning a provincial town noted for severe winters into a showcase of modernist architecture, including an observation tower where visitors are invited to touch a handprint of the leader.

Small protests took place in Almaty and other cities after the name change was proposed.