Kazakhs hope for the best after Nazarbayev resignation Kazakhs in Astana praise the "peaceful transition" following the shock resignation of the country's long-time ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev. The head of Kazakhstan's senate, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, was sworn in as interim president, and immediately proposed renaming the country's capital after his predecessor. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES in the streets of Astana