Before it was a country, it was a declaration.

On October 25, 1990, as the Soviet Union was cracking apart, the parliament of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic adopted a Declaration of State Sovereignty. It asserted the republic's authority over its own land, resources and laws, a decisive step on the road to full independence the following year.

Today Kazakhstan, the largest landlocked country in the world, celebrates October 25 as Republic Day, a reminder that the map of Central Asia was redrawn not only by armies but by votes and documents.

Which modern country's birth story do you find most surprising?

#TheHistoryDecodedChannel