Kazakh Tenge (KZT; symbol лв). Notes are in denominations of лв 10,000, 5,000, 2,000, 1,000, 500 and 200. Coins are in denominations of лв 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1.
Until the 1950s Astana (Aqmola), was a tiny mining town. Then Nikita Khruschev announced his Virgin Lands scheme to turn 250,000 sq km of Kazakhstan steppe into wheat fields.
By tradition, Kazakhs are Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi school. The Kazakhs adopted Islam gradually, with complete conversion only in the early 19th century.