Celebrations opened in Astana on February 4, 2004, to mark the 50th anniversary of the development of virgin and fallow lands in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstani authorities invited veterans of the virgin land effort from Russia and other countries. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev attended a gala meeting. Jubilee medals marking “50 Years of the Development of Virgin Lands” were conferred on a hundred Russian citizens.
Mr Putin sent a greeting telegram to participants of the celebrations.
It said, in part:
“The development of virgin and fallow lands added a glorious chapter to the history we share. People of many nationalities joined in a common cause half a century ago to make our Fatherland richer and give it more grain. The Kazakh economy made a stride forward at that time to modernise its infrastructure. Thanks to this, Kazakhstan remains to this day among the world’s major grain producers.
Common work in the virgin lands linked many people, strengthened the historic fraternal ties between Russians and Kazakhs, and laid the foundations of the present-day bilateral strategic partnership.”