1970s. There is socialism in the Republic. All factories and plants, state farms and meat processing plants, shops and pharmacies belong to the state. Public opinion firmly stands on the position of the correctness of this way of the economy and its further eternal development.
1985 year. Perestroika begins. From tribunes it is declared that the socialist economy and authoritarian politics are practically bankrupt. Public opinion tilts towards the fact that it is impossible to live like this anymore. Democratization of society, pluralism of opinions, real election of parliaments begins. Private property becomes not an outcast, but a priority. The first cooperatives appear.
1990s. The beginning of mass privatization in Kazakhstan. Private property grows and penetrates almost all spheres of the economy. The only exception is the agricultural land. In 1998, for the first time, the Government introduces in Parliament a bill on the introduction of private ownership of agricultural land. However, after heated disputes and fierce resistance of deputies, the draft law is recalled and in the new Law “About Land” only state ownership of agricultural land is preserved. Public opinion firmly holds the position that land is a sacred value, and in no case can it be passed on to private businessmen who, in pursuit of benefits, will deplete it and leave descendants with a desert unfit for life.
2003. After several attempts by the Government, the Parliament finally adopts the Land Code, which for the first time introduced private ownership of agricultural land. Public opinion now tilts towards the fact that without private ownership of the production means, the agrarian business will not develop at a rapid pace.
2010s. The agrarian business is developing. Part of the agricultural land is transferred to private ownership. The new owners do not exhaust their land massively, no catastrophe occurs.
2016. For the first time, the idea of the need to allow the sale of agricultural land to foreigners is sounded. Public opinion is strongly against this. There are words about the sale of the Motherland and loss of sovereignty, about the fact that foreigners will deplete the land and leave our descendants a desert unfit for life.
2021. The Government is introducing in the Parliament a draft of the new Land Code, which allows private ownership of agricultural land for foreigners. By this time, relations in the economy have reached such a level that private ownership no longer causes rejection of the absolute majority of the population, the policy of openness towards other countries reaches such a level that foreigners are not perceived as enemies of Kazakhstan. Public opinion tilts toward the resolution of private ownership of agricultural land by foreigners.
2030. Market relations in Kazakhstan are developed nationwide. Democracy and individual freedom reach a level close to European. Kazakhstan is among the developed countries, on a par with the Eastern European states. Many citizens remember the times when the country banned private ownership of agricultural land for foreigners with a grin. Some citizens already cannot believe that there were times when private ownership of agricultural land was banned altogether.
Public opinion continues to change.
Life goes on.
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