Kazakhs were encouraged to speak Russian, which is written in Cyrillic script, during Soviet times but since independence in 1991, the country has seen the Kazakh language as a national symbol.

• 前苏联时代鼓励哈萨克人使用由西里尔字母组成的俄语。但是自从1911年独立之后，哈萨克斯坦就将哈萨克语视作一种国家象征。