Kazakhstan Celebrates Centenary of Sagadat Nurmagambetov, Founding Architect of National Army
On May 25 Kazakhstan celebrates 100 years of Sagadat Nurmagambetov, the first Defense Minister of sovereign Kazakhstan, who laid the foundations of the national army force. His dazzling military career spanned over a remarkable epoch, from World War II to the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the establishment of an independent Kazakhstan’s national army.
Nurmagambetov was born in 1924 in Enbek village of the Akmola Region. His upbringing was challenging, as he lost his father at a young age, and later, his mother to the famine of 1932. At the tender age of eight, Nurmagambetov found himself under the care of his older brother Sagit. When World War II erupted, Sagit enlisted in the army in 1942 and tragically lost his life while defending Pskov city during the early stages of the conflict.
