Staying in power forever is difficult for any authoritarian ruler. The downfall of a leader who was viewed as a model for tyranny may have served as a warning to heads of state plotting long-term dictatorships.
Former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced he has retired completely from politics in the Central Asian country where he reigned for more than 30 years since the last days of the Soviet Union.
Anti-government protests that broke out earlier this month prefaced his move. Nazarbayev became the target of people protesting soaring fuel prices.
