When we were engaged in the problems of survival we had no time to have anything to do with culture.

The book takes a generally pro-Nazarbayev stance asserting in the introduction that he is mostly responsible for the success of modern Kazakhstan. He supported Russian President Boris Yeltsin against the attempted coup in August 1991 by Soviet hardliners. The subsequent trial of demonstrators uncovered mass abuse and torture of detainees.

suɫˈtan ɐˈbʲi. vʲɪt͡ɕ nə. jɪf]; born 6 July 1940) is the President of Kazakhstan having served since before the nation's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.