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From an approach that is both semiological and ethnological, two phases of nation-building in Kazakhstan are analyzed: the erratic production of official symbols and the ordinary vectors of their appropriation by people. Astana, the new capital, serves as a prism for understanding independence and its aftermath. Encompassing several historical or territorial symbols, the country’s urban center has gradually become the major landmark for a sense of identity. But this process has not unfolded in a linear fashion. This review of the symbols most frequently used with reference to the national community also takes into consideration material objects typical of the capital city. Light is shed on how a national identity is subjectively reproduced through official and ordinary celebrations. The conditions underlying the emergence of this identity are observed in vivo, unlike in classical studies on nation-building, which analyze the past.