Zhandarbek Malibekov, Honored Architecture of Uzbekistan, by creation of the Emblem of Independent Kazakhstan forever inscribed his name in our history. Yesterday, at the meeting of the Commission on the State Symbols under the Akimat in Astana, he presented the amended version and the standards for representation of the Emblem of the Republic of Kazakhstan as well as shared his memories about 1992.

How have you come to the idea of what the Emblem of the Republic of Kazakhstan should look like and what it had to symbolize?

— I worked on the creation of the Emblem in 1992, when the course of the national policy was not defined clearly and the main postulates of our statehood were not formulated. Being the son of my nation I could not stand aside. After the announcement of the competition for working out the National Emblem of the Republic of Kazakhstan, I spent almost one and a half month to find ideas and image. I looked at emblems of other states, what they contained and what reflected. I started thinking what special was about Kazakh people, which traditions we had, what was our history. As an architecture, I came to an idea that yurt is a fundamental architectural construction, which our nation had during thousands of years. Let your shanyrak be high, let your house be spacious, let your threshold be strong (Пусть будет высоким твой шанырак, пусть будет просторным твой дом, пусть будет крепким твой порог) — these concepts are reflected in our Emblem. Thus, I took some elements of traditional yurt, which was three thousand years old. I learned a lot from the history of the «Golden Man» as well. The time of the «Golden Man» is a flowering of statehood and culture of our ancestors. I also turned to the sad history of Aktaban shubyryndy (Актабан шубырынды) when all Kazakh people united to save and fight the enemy. Then I comprehended the formation of modern Kazakhstan, where destinies of dozens of nations were combined.

Today not all people realize the meaning of the shanyrak (шанырака) on the Emblem. It is a fireplace for more than one hundred nationalities, living in the Republic. Shanyrak is lifted up by uiks (уики) which symbolize nations living here; this is all we, leading our country to the prosperity.

Tulpars (Тулпары) on the Emblem are not just a horse; they are the mythological perception of the horse’s significance for Kazakhs. Some do not like «horned horses on the Emblem». By the way, these horses are not a fiction, in ancient times they really was hound on our land. The hornes of Tulpars, consisted of seven rings, have spiritual meaning — if you do not know your origin, then you are without family (если не знаешь свое происхождение, значит ты без рода). We are impregnated by steppe culture and, as I always repeat, we should research it.

Did N. A. Nazarbayev make any corrections in your draft of the Emblem?

— Before the adoption of the Emblem President himself added a five-pointed star, had told that it did not have any religious meaning and did not relate to the Soviet Union. Kazakhs have such proverb as «Everybody has his own star» (у каждого человека есть своя звезда). N. A. Nazarbayev defined that our independent state had its own way of development, which is symbolized by the star on the Emblem.

What changes in the Emblem’s image have you presented today for the Commission?

— According to the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan standards for the National Symbols should be corrected every five years. As I knew about the future correction of the Emblem, I proposed some amendments, for example on the colour and some details as well as on the description of the meaning. What is published today does not accord to any standards; everybody disfigures the Emblem and its symbolic meaning in various ways. On the poster, which I once had bought at the bookstore, I red such description: «Our Emblem reflects the nation which is cunning like a fox and strong like a leopard». However, it is impossible for the whole nation to be sly like a fox. It is written by those who are totally far from understanding of the significance of the Emblem.

Amendments to the Standards on Representation of the Emblem of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Before correction we took into account everything including the color, every detail and size. In the new version of the Emblem the inscription «Kazakhstan» will be picked out and more clearly.

Ludmila VYKHODCHENKO

translated by  I.KUZMENKO