History of Kazakhstan
A week after the election, Nazarbayev became the president of an independent state when the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed documents dissolving the Soviet Union. He quickly convened a meeting of the leaders of the five Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), raising the possibility of a Turkic confederation of former republics as a counterweight to the Slavic states of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus in whatever federation might succeed the Soviet Union. This move persuaded the three Slavic presidents to include Kazakhstan among the signatories of a recast document of dissolution. Kazakhstan's capital lent its name to the Alma-Ata Protocol, the declaration of principles of the Commonwealth of Independent States. On 16 December 1991, five days before the declaration, Kazakhstan became the last of the republics to proclaim its independence.
Kazakhstan Basketball Championship
Kazakhstan is a member of FIBA Asia, as the country lies partly in Asia, and Kazakhstan Championship sides have played in its competitions such as the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, however the country also partly lies in Europe, and the league's teams have participated in FIBA Europe competitions such as the FIBA EuroChallenge and the FIBA Europe Cup as well. The league's clubs therefore are also eligible to, and often do compete in, Eastern European regional leagues such as the Baltic League and the VTB United League, which also operates as the top-tier national domestic league for Russia.