nationalist group; the Socialist Party of Kazakhstan (SPK), founded in 1991, the Kazakhstan Peasants' Union, an agrarian party, and the People's Congress Party of Kazakhstan, a party that advocates civil peace. The Communist Party of Kazakhstan (CPK) was banned in 1991 but then granted legal status in March 1994. However, it is an important political force in Kazakhstan today. Smaller parties in Kazakhstan include Alash, a movement promoting radical Kazakh nationalism, and the Slavic Movement-Lad, an organization that represents Slavic communities.Military power between the two nations is relatively similar as well, both have armies comparable in size and stature. In Belarus, Military service is compulsory for all males for 18 months beginning at the age of 18. In 1998 the Belarusian army was composed of 43,350 troops and the air force had approximately 22,450 servicemen. In addition to the regular army, Belarus maintains a border guard with about 8,000 members. Belarus has a nuclear arsenal which consists of more than 500 strategic and tactical nuclear warheads that it inherited when the USSR was dissolved in 1991. In 1992 Belarus signed a protocol in which it agreed to implement the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) and to adhere to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. In December 1996, Belarus completed the process of deporting its nuclear warheads to Russia, where they were to be dismantled.Prior to independence, Kazakhstan had no armed forces separate from those of the Soviet Union. In 1992 Kazakhstan established a national defense force also, in 1996 a small navy was instituted. By 1998 the country had an army of 46,800 personnel, an air force of 19,000, and a navy of roughly 100 servicemen. The armed forces also include three paramilitary units—the Republican Guard, security troops of the Ministry of the Interior, and border guards. A two-year term of military service is mandatory for all males when they re...
