His most influential work, AZ-and-IA (Russian: АЗ и Я. Книга благонамеренного читателя), was published in 1975.

His other works include: Suleimenov again became a worldwide name in 1989, when he led the establishment of the international environmental movement Nevada-Semipalatinsk.

After independence, Suleimenov established the People's Congress of Kazakhstan party in 1991 and served as the speaker of Parliament from 1993 until 1994.

While at the Parliament, he rose to the position of opposition leader, engaging in several political struggles with President Nursultan Nazarbaev.

In 1995, to preempt his potential candidacy, Nazarbayev brokered a deal, and Suleimenov was appointed as Kazakhstan's ambassador to Rome.