Earlier this year Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, ordered his officials, on pain of dismissal, not to stage any festivities for his 70th birthday on July 6th. They should focus only on celebrating the city of Astana, which became the national capital in December 1997, but whose anniversary party Mr Nazarbayev later shifted to, by a remarkable coincidence, July 6th.rnThis year's was a big bash, attended by several heads of state, including the presidents of Russia and Turkey. But the state-owned press, braving Mr Nazarbayev's wrath, still managed to pay him tribute by publishing congratulatory letters sent by his peers, such as Bill Clinton, Nicolas Sar-kozy and Shimon Peres.
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