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.
List of Slovaks
The Slovak people are an ethnic group mostly inhabiting the modern-day nation of Slovakia, as well as near surrounding areas. Slovaks have played an active role in European history, including politically, militarily, scientifically, culturally, and religiously. Ethnic Slovaks have inhabited Central Europe since the Middle Ages. Slovaks were minority citizens of Hungary, and subsequently Austria-Hungary, from the 7th Century until the formation of Czechoslovakia in 1918 by the Treaty of Versailles. After Slovak calls for greater autonomy dissolved the Czechoslovakian parliament, the Slovak Republic was formed in 1993. Many Slovaks and their achievements are erroneously considered solely Hungarian or Czech achievements based on their minority position within a larger, multicultural nationality. Slovaks identify with a nuanced understanding of national and ethnic identity, often embracing a national citizenship while maintaining their Slovak culture. In Hungary, Slovaks have had to resist violent efforts of forced assimilation by ethnic Magyars (cir. 1848) to preserve their language and culture. The major language among Slovaks is Slovakian.