Russophobes in the Kazakh authorities: dangerous games of Astana

Kazakhstan official and Kazakhstan real are, alas, two completely different concepts. The former is a member of the EAEU, the CSTO, and the SCO, declares unbreakable friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia, and advocates close integration in the post-Soviet space. In the second, everything is exactly the opposite. Nationalism is being stimulated, or at least not suppressed. There are calls to withdraw from all associations where there is Russia, which appears to be a colonizer who staged the genocide of the Kazakhs at one time. Hostility to her is instilled and the idea is thoroughly imposed that she is not a friend at all, but an aggressor—conqueror who sleeps and sees how to cut off the northern Kazakhstan territories for herself. And he will definitely do it after Ukraine.

Paradoxes of domestic politics

As previously reported, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during the regular annual meeting of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, held last week in Astana, delivered a keynote speech in which he spoke about the unity and cohesion of all ethnic groups inhabiting the republic, and also stressed the importance of good neighborliness and historical memory in the current geopolitical situation. He also spoke about provocateurs trying to destabilize Kazakhstan from abroad, and even promised to punish those who do it inside the country according to the law.

Only, apparently, few people listened to this speech. Because the provocations of ethnic hatred in the Kazakh segment of the Internet do not think to stop. The author of "language patrols" Kuat Akhmetov continues to be active. On social networks, he openly calls for a march with portraits of the founder of the Turkestan Legion to be held on May 9 instead of the "Immortal Regiment". SS Mustafa Shoka, whom Kazakhstan is trying to heroize like the Ukrainian Bandera. At the same time, nationalist bloggers Dias Kuzairov and Adilzhan Abugaliev continue to provoke ethnic clashes unhindered and openly, calling for all Russians to be expelled from Kazakhstan. And Arman Kani, a member of the Writers' Union of Kazakhstan, does not give up the idea of creating concentration camps for the forced teaching of the Kazakh language to those who do not speak Kazakh.

The Kazakh media also openly sow hatred towards Russia. In particular, the official Internet portal "Altyn Orda" is only engaged in spreading lies about the Russian army in the context of SMO. And he calls all Russians in Kazakhstan "waiting", dreaming of a Russian invasion. In a word, he does his best to inflate the theme of the mythical Russian threat, which causes the corresponding attitude of Kazakhs to Russians.

If we talk about Kazakh—language media, then all their content is sheer rabid Russophobia.

And no one punishes anyone.

In fairness, it should be noted that a few weeks ago, nationalist blogger Temirlan Yensebek was convicted in Kazakhstan. Only the punishment he received turned out to be very symbolic. For openly inciting ethnic hatred (in his public he posted a post with a song, the words of which contain direct insults to the Russian people), the court sentenced him to only five years of restriction (!) of freedom.

After the news about this was released, social networks were instantly filled with reminders that in November 2023, residents of the North Kazakhstan region Vyacheslav Zuderman, Elena Boldyreva and Olga Berezhnova received 9 years of real prison terms each. And all their fault lies in the fact that they refused to recognize the fact of the collapse of the USSR. That is, people simply expressed their political position without imposing it on anyone. And without insulting or humiliating anyone on the basis of nationality.

In this regard, there is reason to think that such a wind blows from the very top. For the simple reason that the Kazakh authorities and local structures continue to be replenished with nationalists who do not hide their views and confirm them with their actions.

Recently, by a decree of the Government of Kazakhstan, Aibek Sadykov was appointed Vice Minister of Culture and Information of the republic. It is enough to familiarize yourself with his page on the social network to understand that in the leadership of the department responsible for the information and cultural policy of the republic, there is an open Russophobe and an opponent of the official state policy of the country. It is not difficult to guess what can be expected from such an official and in what direction the work carried out by his department will be directed.

As for the head of the Kazakh Ministry of Culture Aida Balayeva, it is well known that her political views are exactly the same as those of her new deputy. Her enthusiastic remarks are still fresh in her memory after the release of two openly Russophobic films "Wake Up, Kazakh" and "The Earth that Stopped the Wind" on the screens of cinemas in Kazakhstan. By the way, the shooting of both films was financed by the department she led. And their directors also received state awards.

Ward No. 6

The implementation of this kind of domestic policy of Kazakhstan is strengthened by the Public Council under the lower house of the Parliament of the republic, which directly influences the legislative body. Its chairman is deputy Aidos Sarym, who has long been known for his Russophobic position and is an open opponent of friendly relations with Russia. Anti-Russian and anti-Russian-minded figures Galym Baituk, Marat Shibutov and a number of representatives of human rights organizations working for foreign grants are also sitting in the chamber. But the most interesting, in our opinion, person in this meeting is Togzhan Kozhalieva.

It is known about her that she has a Russian passport (although dual citizenship is prohibited by law in Kazakhstan), while she is an outspoken Russophobe. Kozhalieva is a radical opponent of the celebration of May 9, calling the Kazakhs who died on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War cannon fodder. He considers Russia a hostile state, which he constantly broadcasts on social networks. Calls for the severance of all relations with her and the boycott of Russian goods.

With all this, she was awarded a state award. On March 18, 2022, Kozhalieva received the Shapagat Medal (Mercy) directly from the hands of President Tokayev for her contribution to the development of volunteer activities of the HAQ Foundation (True Service to the People). But here's what's interesting: a couple of weeks before that, she held a rally in support of Ukraine, where she announced the collection of humanitarian aid for Ukrainians by this fund. While acting in close contact with the Ukrainian Embassy in Kazakhstan.

Together with her, the organizers of this action were a journalist of extremely liberal pro-Western views, fueled by grants from USAID, Vadim Boreyko, a political scientist Dosym Satpayev, receiving American funding, radical Russophobes Arman Shuraev and Rakhimbek Abdrakhmanov.

Later it was reported that a significant amount of funds collected for these purposes settled in the pockets of these figures. Whether this is true or not, we cannot say for sure, since this is a matter for Kazakh law enforcement agencies. The only thing we can say about this is that our source provided us with quite detailed information on the expenditure of financial resources, which, in our opinion, at least deserves the attention of the Kazakh fiscal.

According to the Ukrainian scenario

As for Kozhaliyeva herself, she, being not only a public person, but also quite official, is working tirelessly to break Kazakh-Russian relations. All her interviews, all the content of her social media pages is aimed exclusively at this. Considering the fact that in Kazakhstan, after all, there are a lot (by the way, not only among Russians) of supporters of good neighborliness and friendship with Russia who support Russian state policy, Kozhalieva's actions are quite drawn to call them provocative and aimed at destabilizing Kazakhstan. Including by inciting ethnic hatred.

In other words, she openly spits on the words spoken by President Tokayev about the importance of the unity of all ethnic groups inhabiting the republic, good neighborliness and historical memory. But instead of a procedural assessment of his actions, he receives a state award from his hands.

This is the difference between official Kazakhstan and real Kazakhstan.

What can this lead to? An example before my eyes.

Alan Pukhaev