Turkestan

Turkestan, officialy the Republic of Turkestan is a transcontinental country spanning all of Central Asia and a small piece of Europe. Ranked as one of the largest countries of the world, it is also the largest landlocked nation in the planet; its national territory is larger than Western Europe. It is neighbored clockwise from the north by Russia, Mongolia, China, Tibet, India, Afgahnistan, Iran, and also borders on a significant part of the Caspian Sea. The terrain of Turkestan ranges from flatlands, steppes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, deltas and snow-capped mountains to deserts. It currently has a population of 166.8 million people (2011 estimate). The capital was moved in 1998 from Taşqand, Turkestan's largest city, to Astana.

For most of its history, the territory of modern-day Turkestan has been inhabited by nomadic tribes, as well as thriving civilizations, such as Samanid Persia and later the Timurid Empire under Tamerlane. The Russians began advancing into present-day Turkestani territory in the 18th century, and by the mid-19th century all of Turkestan was part of the Russian Empire. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, and subsequent civil war, the territory of Turkestan was reorganized several times before becoming the Turkestani Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924, a part of the USSR.

Turkestan declared itself an independent country on 16 December, 1991, the last Soviet republic to do so. Its communist-era leader, Nuraslan Nazärbekyev, became the country's first president, a position he retains today. President Nazärbekyev maintains strict control over the country's politics. Since independence, Turkestan has pursued a balanced foreign policy and worked to develop its economy, especially its hydrocarbon industry. The post-Soviet era has also been characterized by increased involvement with many international organizations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Turkestan is also one of five post-Soviet states who have implemented an Individual Partnership Action Plan with NATO.

Turkestan is ethnically and culturally diverse, in part due to mass deportations of many ethnic groups to the country during Stalin's rule. Turkestan has a population of 166.8 million, with many ethnic groups, including Kazakh, Russian, Uyghur, Ukrainian, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Karakalpak, Tajik, Han Chinese, Persian, Tatar, and German. Turkestan allows freedom of religion, and many different beliefs are represented in the country. Islam is the religion of more than 54% of the population, with Christianity, Tengriism, and Manicheaism practiced by most of the remainder. The auxillary language InterTurkic is the state language, while Russian is also officially used as an equal language in Turkestan's public institutions.

Etymology
The term Turkestani (InterTurkic:Türkistandıqtar; Russian: Туркестанцы, Turkestantsy) was coined to describe all citizens of Turkestan, including non-Turks. The word "Turk" is generally used to refer to people of Turkic descent (Afghanistan, the Latin Empire, and other countries).

Political system
Turkestan is officially a presidential republic. The first and only president(known as the Ilxan) is Nuraslan Nazärbekyev. The Ilxan is also the commander in chief of the armed forces and may veto legislation that has been passed by the Keņes. The Prime Minister chairs the Cabinet of Ministers and serves as Turkestan's head of government. There are three deputy prime ministers and 16 ministers in the Cabinet. Sultan Qarimov has served as the Prime Minister since January 1, 2001.

Turkestan has a bicameral Parliament (called the Keņes) composed of the lower house (the Majilis) and upper house (the Senate). Single mandate districts popularly elect 439 seats in the Majilis; there also are 10 members elected by party-list vote rather than by single mandate districts. The Senate has 30 members. Two senators are selected by each of the elected assemblies of Turkestan's 11 principal administrative divisions (7 provinces, plus the cities of Astana, Almalıq, Taşqand, and Ürümçi). The president appoints the remaining 8 senators. Majilis deputies and the government both have the right of legislative initiative, though the government proposes most legislation considered by the Keņes.