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Republic Square (Respublika Alañy) is Almaty's principal civic square, dominated by the Independence Monument — a golden warrior on a winged snow leopard atop a tall stele. The sprawling square is flanked by government buildings and the former presidential residence.
The square was the site of the December 1986 Jeltoqsan protests — the first major anti-Soviet demonstration in the USSR — making it a potent symbol of Kazakh independence. The Independence Monument was erected in 1996.