To commemorate the declaration of independence of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic from the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan celebrates Republic Day on October 25. This day is a public holiday in Kazakhstan. During the final stages of Soviet administration, the various republics that comprised the Soviet Union attempted to extend their level of autonomy. At the beginning of the 1990s, the Soviet Union agreed to relinquish its monopoly on political power. Following the footsteps of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, and other Soviet Unions, the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic declared its sovereignty on October 25, 1990. Subsequently, Kazakhstan achieved its independence on December 16, 1991, as the Soviet Union disintegrated.
