in 1991, defending her thesis for a candidate degree in historical sciences at the Moscow State University. In 1998, Nazarbayeva defended her thesis for Ph.D degree in political sciences at the Russian Academy of State Service. Career Nazarbayeva became the vice president of her mother Sara Nazarbayeva's Bobek Children’s Charity Fund. In 1994, Nazarbayeva became the vice president of the Television and Radio of Kazakhstan Republican Corporation. In 1995, the Khabar TV channel was created. The organizations associated to Nazarbayeva purchased the Europa Plus Radio Station, KTK and NTK television companies and popular newspaper Сaravan. TV-Media and Alma-Media companies were established to manage the new media holding. In 1998, Khabar was transformed into a closed joint-stock company, and Nazarbayeva became President of the Company, and in 2001, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors. Since the late 1990s, Nazarbayeva has regularly appeared on Kazakh TV as a singer. Her repertoire includes Kazakh folk songs, Russian romances, opera arias and songs by Joe Dassin. In 2011, Nazarbayeva gave a recital “Salem, Russia” in Moscow on the new stage in the Bolshoi Theater, and the Organ Hall of Astana. A Russian company Universal Music filmed her concert performances at various venues for the musical television movie My Star. The two-part film was presented in 2012. In 2013, she gave a concert, co-organized by Count Pierre Sheremetev, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, with the Orchestre Lamoureux directed by Dmitry Yablonsky and the Sazgen sazi group directed by Baghdat Tilegenov, and with some artists as the pianist Timur Urmancheev, Sundet Baigozhin or Medet Chotabaev. Political career Chair of the Asar (2003–2006) In October 2002, Nazarbayeva became the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Choice of the Young People block; it was proposed to create the Congress of Youth of Kazakhstan at the first conference of the block. In October 2003, Nazarbayeva organized and became the leader of the Asar Republican Party. In a few months, more than 167,000 applications were collected from those wishing to join Asar; 139,000 applications were processed and authenticated, and 77,000 signatures were submitted to the Ministry of Justice for registration. In December 2003, the party was registered. According to the results of the elections to the Mazhilis in 2004, the party polled 541,239 (11.38%) votes on a party list basis and ranked the third; Nazarbayeva became a member on the party list in the Mazhilis,