The final vestige of Soviet leadership has called it a day. In 2017, Uzbekistan’s Soviet-era leader Islam Karimov died and the torch was passed to a reform-minded Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Nazarbayev is 78-years-old and has been in charge since 1989 when Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev gave U.S.S.R. states more autonomy from Moscow. With those days behind them, Nazarbayev’s Kazakhstan became the home of The World’s Fair two years ago. The new stock exchange and financial market reforms have shed a spotlight on Kazakhstan as a standout among the former Soviet states.

Source: Forbes March 20, 2019 18:33 UTC