In towns and cities across the oil-rich nation of 16.4 million, small groups of the disparate opposition are calling for a boycott of a snap presidential election on April 3, while three hopefuls challenging Nazarbayev smile down from posters.

But a short drive from Kazakhstan’s biggest city, Almaty, there is no sign of pluralism. Nazarbayev is revered and his authority is clearly dominant after two decades of rule that have kept a tight lid on dissent.

A painting at the school where the leader of Kazakhstan once studied depicts Nazarbayev’s long reign as the will of Allah.

“When Nursultan was a little boy, his grandmother saw a dream in which he was riding a white horse in heaven amongst white clouds,” said headmistress Gulzhan Medeuova.

Legend has it Nazarbayev’s grandmother made a sacrifice to Allah next morning, asking him to make her grandson “wise and spiritually rich to serve his people.”

“This dream came true, and Nursultan Abishevich indeed had to assume this heavy burden of responsibility and head our nation,” Medeuova said. “After 20 years, Kazakhstan has turned into a strong state.”

Children at Nazarbayev’s school, now renovated and packed with hi-tech equipment, study “The Life and Deeds of the First President.” A genealogical tree, another cherished museum exhibit, tracks Nazarbayev’s clan back to a national hero.
 

Nazarbayev, a 70-year-old former steelworker who rose through the ranks of the Communist Party, has ruled his resource-rich nation five times the size of France with a combination of fast market reforms and authoritarian methods.

Courting the West and maintaining cordial relations with giant neighbors Russia and China, he has overseen a massive influx of foreign direct investment which has fueled the country’s economic boom and boosted the nation’s well-being.

Enjoying the official title “Leader of the Nation” and allowed by law to be elected for an unlimited number of terms, Nazarbayev has also faced a barrage of criticism for crackdowns on free media and political opposition.

Astana tells its critics it wants to avoid the hasty changes that have led to chaos in some other ex-Soviet states. Nazarbayev has repeatedly stressed that he treasures stability above all his majority Muslim country.

Apparently confident of victory, Nazarbayev has said he will abstain from nationwide election campaigning. In his native village of Shamolgan, now renamed Ushkonyr, his huge posters are ubiquitous and his mantra of stability is on everybody’s lips.

“People live in peace and harmony. We all will vote for Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev, because there is no alternative to him and he does everything right,” said unemployed Gulshat Abilkhairova, 50, a mother of three and grandmother of two.

Some analysts say Nazarbayev, mindful of the rising ambitions of his inner circle rather than of the weak opposition, has called an early election to win time to decide on his eventual successor.

“Yes, his age is beginning to tell and he must groom a successor,” said Medeuova. “He has no sons, but he has nephews and he has disciples with whom he built a new Kazakhstan.”