Question: Which president 's departure preceded the renaming of the Central Asian city with a population of 1,006,574 ?

text: Central Asia
Major cultural , scientific and economic centres -- Cities within the regular definition of Central Asia and Afghanistan
vte Largest cities or towns in Central Asia [ 52 ] [ 53 ] [ 54 ] [ 55 ] [ 56 ] [ 57 ] [ 58 ] Rank Country Pop . TashkentAlmaty 1 Tashkent Uzbekistan 2,425,000 BishkekNur-Sultan 2 Almaty Kazakhstan 1,703,481 3 Bishkek Kyrgyzstan 1,027,200 4 Nur-Sultan Kazakhstan 1,014,015 5 Ashgabat Turkmenistan 727,000 6 Shymkent Kazakhstan 683,273 7 Dushanbe Tajikistan 679,400 8 Namangan Uzbekistan 597,000 9 Samarkand Uzbekistan 530,000 10 Karaganda Kazakhstan 501,173
Central Asia is a region which stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. The region consists of the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It is also colloquially referred to as the stans as the countries generally considered to be within the region all have names ending with the Persian suffix -stan, meaning land of. In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, Central Asia was predominantly Iranian, populated by Eastern Iranian-speaking Bactrians, Sogdians, Chorasmians and the semi-nomadic Scythians and Dahae. After expansion by Turkic peoples, Central Asia also became the homeland for the Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tatars, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, and Uyghurs; Turkic languages largely replaced the Iranian languages spoken in the area. Central Asia has historically been closely tied to its nomadic peoples and the Silk Road. It has acted as a crossroads for the movement of people, goods, and ideas between Europe, Western Asia, South Asia, and East Asia. The Silk Road connected Muslim lands with the people of Europe, India, and China. This crossroads position has intensified the conflict between tribalism and traditionalism and modernization. From the mid-19th century until almost the end of the 20th century, most of Central Asia was part of the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union, both Slavic-majority countries, and the five former Soviet -stans are still home to about 7 million ethnic Russians and 500,000 Ukrainians. Central Asia (2019) has a population of about 72 million, consisting of five republics: Kazakhstan (pop. 18 million), Kyrgyzstan (6 million), Tajikistan (9 million), Turkmenistan (6 million), and Uzbekistan (33 million).
City Country Population Information
Nur-Sultan Kazakhstan 1,006,574 ( 2017 ) The capital and second largest city in Kazakhstan . After Kazakhstan gained its independence in 1991 , the city and the region were renamed from Tselinograd to Aqmola . The name was often translated as White Tombstone , but actually means Holy Place or Holy Shrine . The White Tombstone literal translation was too appropriate for many visitors to escape notice in almost all guide books and travel accounts . In 1994 , the city was designated as the future capital of the newly independent country and again renamed to the Astana after the capital was officially moved from Almaty in 1997 . In 2019 the city was renamed one more time to Nur-Sultan to honor the resigned president
Almaty Kazakhstan 1,713,220 ( 2017 ) It was the capital of Kazakhstan ( and its predecessor , the Kazakh SSR ) from 1929 to 1998 . Despite losing its status as the capital , Almaty remains the major commercial center of Kazakhstan . It is a recognized financial center of Kazakhstan and the Central Asian region
Bishkek Kyrgyzstan 1,027,200 ( 2019 ) The capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan . Bishkek is also the administrative center of Chuy Region , which surrounds the city , even though the city itself is not part of the region , but rather a region-level unit of Kyrgyzstan
Mazar-e Sharif Afghanistan 375,181 ( 2008 ) The fourth largest city in Afghanistan and the capital of Balkh province , is linked by roads to Kabul in the southeast , Herat to the west and Uzbekistan to the north
Dushanbe Tajikistan 780,000 ( 2014 ) The capital and largest city of Tajikistan . Dushanbe means Monday in Tajik and Persian , and the name reflects the fact that the city grew on the site of a village that originally was a popular Monday marketplace
Ashgabat Turkmenistan 1,032,000 ( 2014 ) The capital and largest city of Turkmenistan . Ashgabat is a relatively young city , growing out of a village of the same name established by Russians in 1818 . It is not far from the site of Nisa , the ancient capital of the Parthians , and it grew on the ruins of the Silk Road city of Konjikala , which was first mentioned as a wine-producing village in the 2nd century BCE and was leveled by an earthquake in the 1st century BCE ( a precursor of the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake ) . Konjikala was rebuilt because of its advantageous location on the Silk Road , and it flourished until its destruction by Mongols in the 13th century CE . After that , it survived as a small village until the Russians took over in the 19th century
Bukhara Uzbekistan 237,900 ( 1999 ) The nation 's fifth-largest city and the capital of the Bukhara Region of Uzbekistan . Bukhara has been one of the main centers of Persian civilization from its early days in the 6th century BCE , and , since the 12th century CE , Turkic speakers gradually moved in . Its architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art
Kabul Afghanistan 3,895,000 ( 2011 ) The capital and largest city of Afghanistan . The city of Kabul is thought to have been established between 2000 BCE and 1500 BCE . In the Rig Veda ( composed between 1700-1100 BCE ) , the word Kubhā is mentioned , which appears to refer to the Kabul River . During the 1970 's Kabul was called the Paris of Central Asia
Kokand Uzbekistan 209,389 ( 2011 ) Kokand ( Uzbek : Qo'qon / Қўқон ; Tajik : Хӯқанд ; Persian : خوقند ; Chagatai : خوقند ; Russian : Коканд ) is a city in Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan , at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley . It has a population of 192,500 ( 1999 census estimate ) . Kokand is 228 km southeast of Tashkent , 115 km west of Andijan , and 88 km west of Fergana . It is nicknamed City of Winds , or sometimes Town of the Boar
Samarkand Uzbekistan 596,300 ( 2008 ) The second largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Samarqand Region . The city is most noted for its central position on the Silk Road between China and the West , and for being an Islamic center for scholarly study . It was here that the ruler Ulugh Beg ( 1394-1449 ) built a gigantic astronomical observatory
Tashkent Uzbekistan 2,180,000 ( 2008 ) The capital and largest city of Uzbekistan . In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times , the town and the region were known as Chach . Tashkent started as an oasis on the Chirchik River , near the foothills of the Golestan Mountains . In ancient times , this area contained Beitian , probably the summer capital of the Kangju confederacy
Kandahar Afghanistan 557,118 ( 2015 ) The second largest city in Afghanistan and the capital of Kandahar province . The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements
Osh Kyrgyzstan 243,216 ( 2009 ) The second largest city of Kyrgyzstan . Osh is also the administrative center of Osh Region , which surrounds the city , even though the city itself is not part of the region , but rather a region-level unit of Kyrgyzstan