The first prime minister of independent Kazakhstan, Sergei Tereshchenko, has died at the age of 71 of unspecified causes. Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev on February 10 expressed condolences to Tereshchenko's family and friends, praising his contribution to Kazakhstan's reforms and its statehood. The Russian-born Tereshchenko led Kazakhstan's government in 1991-94. He led the state commission on the introduction of the Kazakh national currency, the tenge, into circulation in 1993. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.