Privacy in Kazakhstan is guaranteed under Article 18 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 1995 (official English translation), which was en-acted following Kazakhstan's independence from the Soviet Union and transition to a free market economy. The Constitution states that “everyone shall have the right to inviolability of private life, personal or family secrets, protection of honor and dignity,” and “the right to confidentiality of personal deposits and savings, correspondence, telephone conversations, postal, telegraph and other messages.”