Historical Sketch

The Kazakh territories had been organized into different khanates since the 18th century. During the 19th century, Russia gradually absorbed them into the Steppe governorate. In the Soviet era, an Autonomous Soviet Republic was created as separate entity within the Russian Federation. Until 1925, there was no distinction between Kazakh and Kyrgyz peoples, both were called Kyrgyz, the latter with the addition "Kara (blue)" Kyrgyz. within Russia in 1920, renamed Kazakhstan in 1925 (until then, no distinction was made between Kazakh and Kyrgyz). The Soviet territorial reform of 1936 elevated Kazakhstan to a separate Socialist Soviet Republic. In 1991, Kazakhstan withdrew from the USSR and declared independence.

Monetary History Overview

For the first two years of independence, Kazakhstan continued using the Russian currency. Initially, the country even planned to join into a monetary union with Russia and other successor states of the USSR, but this never came into being. In November 1993, the central bank began operations, and the Kazakh Tenge was introduced as national currency. At the changeover, a 50% devaluation was carried out. The Tenge lost 95% of its value within the next 18 months and, after a short stabilization, another 50% in 1999. Due to a more favourable economic development the currency could be kept stable for the next one and a half decades. In August 2015, the Tenge was devalued by more than 25%, which triggered further decline until end of the year. Since then, the Kazakh currency has continued depreciating.

Kazakhstan joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 15.07.1992.

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