President Nazarbayev granted 'Leader of Nation' Title Anyway

    By Alexey Nikolskiy
    Under a new law adopted by both houses of parliament and signed by the prime minister, President Nazarbayev will now enjoy life-long immunity from prosecution, with any falsifications said or written about his life story now becoming criminal offences.
    President Nursultan Nazarbayev was granted the title of "Leader of the Nation," by the country's lawmakers, giving him a wide range of privileges after he resigns as president.
    The law was passed unanimously by both houses of parliament.
    However, Nazarbayev had expressed opposition to the new legislation, saying the main provisions of presidential immunity were already included into the constitution.
    Now Nazarbayev cannot be detained, arrested, be brought to trial on criminal or civil charges for activities engaged in while he was acting as president.
    Nazarbayev has ruled the Central Asian state for almost 21 years, as first secretary of the Kazakh Communist Party from 1989, and since the breakup of the Soviet Union, as president of Kazakhstan.
    Certain lawmakers proposed earlier to create a museum dedicated to the first Kazakh president and to build a monument to Nazarbayev in Astana, according to Ria Novosti.