ASTANA: KAZAKHSTAN'S ILLUMINATI CAPITAL
Astana, Kazakhstan's first new capital of the 21st century, has been welcomed by many as a revolution in social architecture. Rising from the barren northern steppe, this surreal capital represents billions upon billions of investments fueled by petrodollars and boasts some of the most radical, revolutionary designs the world has ever seen.
However, not everyone is lining up to welcome this city of the future. Critics and conspiracy theorists from around the globe have drawn attention to the rich occult symbolism deeply rooted in Astana's aesthetics… and many herald it as the 'Illuminati Capital of the World.'
ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN
Earlier this year, I spent the better part of a month in and around Astana. At that time, I had never heard of the Illuminati theory and the city did not strike me as the capital of the New World Order.
Yet there is definitely something odd about Astana. While the central and business districts are painstakingly designed by some of the world's most prestigious architects, this 15-year-old capital still seriously lacks in residential areas. Even now, many government officials commute by plane from the old capital Almaty. The result feels like walking through the most detailed futuristic ghost town imaginable, or a deserted set for a 1970s sci-fi movie.
VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YupHXNgaFX4
Astana's rich symbolism and distinctive structural design raise some questions… best answered by placing lightning effects over images of the city's more significant landmark buildings, as shown extensively in this clip by xlivescom.
As this report continues, I will address points raised in this video clip; not because xlivescom approaches a reliable source of information, but rather because this video offers a concise summary of the dozens of Astana-Illuminati theories scattered across the Internet [1].
If you didn't make it to the end of the video, don't worry—I’m sure you got the gist. While this feature certainly highlights some of the city's strange features, there is very little here that cannot be better understood when considering Astana's history and context.
THE WHITE GRAVE
Kazakh culture’s roots lie in nomadic traditions, and most permanent settlements only began to emerge relatively recently. In 1824, a group of Siberian Kazakhs traveling the Central Asian steppes stopped on the banks of the Ishim River and built what would later become a significant fortress defending central southern Russia. They named it 'Akmolinsk': a word literally translated as 'White Grave'—a term for a Sacred Temple.
The town grew in the 20th century, and Akmolinsk served as an important railway depot during the Russian Civil War. Under the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan became an industrial center; factories, chemical plants, mining towers, missile silos, and a series of notorious gulags were built across the country.
Perhaps the most ruthless of these camps was located in Akmolinsk and was known as ALZHIR: 'Akmolinsk Camp for the Wives of Traitors to the Motherland.'
Kazakhstan gained independence after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1990; a year later, they began extracting oil in the southern Caspian region.
The decision to move the country's capital from the heavily Soviet-influenced Almaty to the small northern town now known as 'Ak Mola' was taken by many as a gesture of defiance by the Kazakh government… official reasons included Almaty's risk of seismic activity, proximity to volatile external borders, and limited space for expansion.
The move was formalized on December 10, 1997; and the town of Ak Mola adopted the title 'Astana,' meaning 'Capital' in Kazakh.
THE GREAT ARCHITECT
Returning to the suspicions raised by xlivescom in the video above, perhaps the strongest recurring theme is the 'sun worship' motif. A casual observer might rightly compare the appearance of the Bayterek Tower to some kind of sun altar, but this would be a gross misunderstanding of the monument’s true meaning.
Bayterek is Astana’s most enduring symbol, based on an ancient Turkic folk tale.
Like many of Astana’s symbols, the tower was designed by the famous British architect Sir Norman Foster. The golden sphere represents an egg, and the column represents the 'tree of life.' This symbolism comes from the story of Samruk, the 'magical bird of happiness': a legendary creature common to Persian, Iranian, Armenian, Byzantine, and various Turkic traditions.
Personally, I have no problem with sun worship—as among all things you might deify, the sun seems a fairly natural choice. Sun worship predates any other belief or doctrine in human cultural history, and sun and eagle emblems serve as important historical symbols of the Kazakh race. Conspiracy theorists want us to believe the sun is a symbol of Lucifer and the ultimate occult icon; but the sun nourished all life on this planet long before Christians invented the concept of 'Lucifer.'
Nonetheless, comparisons that can be made between Astana’s city center and the layout of a traditional Masonic temple are, to say the least, intriguing.
The Ak Orda Presidential Palace lies to the east of the city center, occupying the same position as the seat of the Grand Master. Flanking President Nazarbayev’s palace are massive golden columns that correspond exactly to the twin columns named 'Joachim' and 'Boaz' standing on either side of a Masonic temple.
Many Masonic rituals require initiates to pass between these columns, and those with a bit of imagination might suggest that placing golden columns on both sides of Astana’s central Nurzhol Boulevard allows for large-scale occult workings [2].
In a Masonic temple, the eastern station is occupied by the Grand Master (whose wisdom is often associated with Divine Light), while the western position belongs to the Senior Warden. Their duties include presiding over the Lodge during working hours, and this position’s spirit is said to represent the Moon, reflecting Divine Light as the Moon reflects the Sun [3].
It is difficult to draw a parallel between the apparent sun symbolism of Bayterek Tower and the lunar associations characterizing the corresponding Masonic lodge position. Of course, that is unless we look further west… If we consider Bayterek as the midpoint of the temple, at the far western end of Astana’s central plaza we find the Khan Shatyr entertainment complex. I’m not sure it’s easier to compare this with the Masonic position of the Senior Warden. Perhaps it is fairer to conclude that this Masonic parallel is superficial and aesthetic rather than intended to serve as a functional reconfiguration.
An aerial photo of Astana’s center, labeled above, more clearly shows the linear orientation and layout of the Far Eastern Bayterek Tower, Nazarbayev Palace, and the Pyramid of Peace. The graphic below is taken from David Icke’s website.
Another important point to consider is that the similarities between Astana’s city center and a Masonic temple might be nothing more than an eccentric, provocative design: a brief investigation into Masonic history reveals that the Craft was heavily persecuted by the Soviets; and remains illegal in much of the Islamic world to this day. I do not see this catching on in Kazakhstan, a predominantly Muslim country still struggling to shed the ghosts of its recent communist past.
THE EYE IN THE PYRAMID
This brings us to one of the most striking buildings on Astana’s skyline, the 77-meter-high pyramid known as the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation.
Theorists like xlivescom tend to embrace this single structure more than others when presenting Astana as the ultimate Illuminati capital. They claim the pyramid is “more than a tourist attraction, a representation of the initiates’ philosophy.” More connections are drawn between the pyramidal design and the teachings of figures such as Pythagoras and even Manly P. Hall. While these include some interesting observations, it does not necessarily follow that Astana’s Palace of Peace and Reconciliation (sometimes translated as the 'Palace of Peace and Accord') was built to embody these same esoteric ideals.
As a design concept, it felt no stranger to me than the Louvre in Paris or the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas… yet countless websites already debate an Illuminati agenda behind these buildings as well. It seems unacceptable to believe an architect chose a pyramid design solely for dramatic effect.
The interior of the palace, where the Kazakh congress gathers around a circular 'sun table,' also causes much speculation. Directly beneath it lies the city’s new opera house, and xlivescom suspiciously notes that the former is much more 'enlightened' than the latter. Perhaps this truly symbolizes the path of religiosity walked by the Kazakh elite… or maybe theaters just work better when the house lights are off. You decide.
The pyramid’s apex is adorned with dove motifs. If you watched the video to the end, you will already know that these doves represent peace resulting from the unification of world governments and religions in the new world order. You will also notice that the sun image appearing on the glass ceiling represents not the real sun but the Devil.
As for the All-Seeing Eye in this pyramid, President Nursultan Nazarbayev himself appears like an unexpected Illuminati pawn. This old-school Soviet joined the Kazakh Communist Party in 1962 and rose to the position of First Secretary in 1989. Today, he stands as Kazakhstan’s first and only democratically elected president.
Many criticisms have been leveled at Nazarbayev’s seemingly unshakable rule; a 2004 report by Transparency International declared Kazakhstan to be plagued by “widespread corruption,” and civil activists both inside and outside Kazakhstan have cited examples of “human rights violations.”
While the Nazarbayev family has been investigated in the past for allegations of money laundering, bribery, and assassination, former Kazakh government ministers claim Nazarbayev accepted millions of dollars in bribes and secretly transferred at least $1 billion in oil profits into a personal account. None of these allegations have been proven, and Nazarbayev continues to gain international reputation for his work on dismantling former Soviet nuclear weapons and pushing for more women in government and politics.
It is worth noting that the previous allegations could be no more than the theoretical modus operandi of the Western Illuminati. Rather than a sophisticated and secret cartel controlling society through finance and media worlds, Kazakhstan’s perceived problems might be more accurately predicted by referring to the “Soviet bully-boy mentality”; this extravagantly wealthy capital built by a charismatic yet also tyrannical leader figure finds a closer parallel not in the West but in the East—for example, the North Korean capital Pyongyang.
A NEW WORLD ORDER
At this point, a very good question to ask is: why would a secret ruling elite spend so much time and money designing a capital that so openly and lavishly reveals their aims? But, as is often the case, conspiracy theorists have an answer for that too.
The Externalization of the Hierarchy was the title of a 1957 book by British writer and theosophist Alice A. Bailey; put very simply, 'externalization' is the process by which those controlling the world from behind the scenes gradually prepare the masses for the future through increasingly obvious signs [4].
I never climbed to the top of Bayterek, nor did I step inside the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation. However, I spent a lot of time getting to know the people of Astana and seeing their city as they do.
I visited various museums, restaurants, and bars, and explored the wide green park beside the Ishim River. The city has a lively nightlife, and much of the expat culture in Astana revolves around the 'Guns N' Roses Pub-Grill.' The city’s modern entertainment complex is located inside Khan Shatyr, or the 'Khan’s Marquee.' This vast, semi-transparent tent-like structure covers an area larger than 10 football stadiums, with multiple floors of shops, entertainment venues, and sports facilities. On the top floor of Khan Shatyr, you will find a tropical beach complete with real sand, convincing palm trees, and a wave machine.
I even had the chance to attend a performance of the Kazakh National Ballet’s 'Coppélia'; the story of a young man hopelessly in love with an automaton created by a ruthless inventor, increasingly abstracted from the real world around him. (Don’t worry, I didn’t miss the irony—this is Monarch Programming at its best.)
There is much to love about Kazakhstan, and I genuinely warmed to the Kazakh people. In my view, the seemingly obvious and frequently reported Illuminati symbolism of Astana is nothing more than the superficial polish of an adventurous modern capital: Astana is what happens when an eccentric and powerful ruler hires a team of world-renowned architects to build a capital with an unlimited budget.
Sir Norman Foster, Kisho Kurokawa, and other architects involved in this multi-billion-dollar project combined elements of Greek, Egyptian, and Arab design by leafing through history books for inspiration [5].
While Astana brings ancient mythologies to life and provides a canvas for some of the world’s most striking contemporary architecture… attributing this unique design to a secret society determined to establish a New World Order is utterly foolish.
NOTES
[1] Some sources for Astana-Illuminati theories can be found at Vigilant Citizen, Conspiracy Archive, and Illuminati Italia. Take some time to check these out as many are quite amusing.
[2] See, for example, Gloriana’s Occult Ritual – a fascinating account of the esoteric subtext of Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee pageant.
[3] I would like to thank Burning Taper for an excellent resource on Masonic symbolism.
(4) Well, I put it very, very simply. The concept of 'externalization of the hierarchy' is often used to illustrate the New World Order theory presented here, but Bailey’s original work (which she claimed was a transcription of ancient wisdom dating back to Atlantis) focused on a messianic hierarchy regaining form and essence until it clearly functions on the physical plane.
[5] Some people have deepened the analysis by looking in detail at the city’s structural layout and drawing parallels with Freemasonry’s 'sacred geometry.' Curious? You can check out this video and decide for yourself.
https://www.exutopia.com/dark-tourism-illuminati-capital/
TRANSLATION: This information originally published in English has been translated into Turkish using Google Translate.
PREPARED BY: YILMAZ KARAHAN
