Kazakhstan is a country.
Almaty [ ˈælməti ] ( Алматы , Almatı [ ɑlmɑˈtə ] Алматы ) , formerly known as Alma-Ata [ ˌælmə.əˈtɑ : ] and Verny ( Верный / Verný ) , is the largest city in Kazakhstan , with a population of 1,703,481 people , containing 9 % of the country 's total population . Kazakhstan . Respublika Kazakhstan ) , is a transcontinental country in northern Central Asia and Eastern Europe . The current President , Nursultan Nazarbayev , has been leader of the country since then , and is characterised as authoritarian , with a government history of human rights abuses and suppression of political opposition . Nursultan Äbishuly Nazarbayev ( Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев , Nursultan Äbişulı Nazarbayev [ nʊrsʊlˈtɑn æbəʃʊˈlə nɑzɑrˈbɑ.jɪf ] Нурсултан Абишевич Назарбаев , Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev [ nʊrsʊlˈtan ɐˈbʲiʂɨvʲɪtɕ nəzɐrˈbajɪf ] born 6 July 1940 ) is the President of Kazakhstan . Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country by area and the largest landlocked country .