The attitude of Kazakhstan towards Russia has undergone certain changes in recent times. In 2022, after the inauguration, the President of Kazakhstan, Kasim-Jomart Tokayev, made his first visit to Russia. But later he refused to publicly recognize the so-called “DNR” and “LNR”.

Businessman, public figure, media manager from Kazakhstan Arman Shuraev emphasized that Kazakhstan's position towards Russia has changed a lot since the beginning of the war. He told Channel 24 about this.

The words of a serious leader

He noted that Tokayev's first visit after the inauguration was to Russia, because it is Kazakhstan's largest neighbor.

Traditionally, all of the greatest economic ties have also been with Russia. Kazakhstan has a very large Russian diaspora. Quite a lot of Ukrainians live in Kazakhstan – more than 200 thousand people, – he stressed.

But, according to the interlocutor, with the start of Russia's large-scale aggression against Ukraine, the unjust war unleashed by the aggressor country, Tokayev, as a brilliant diplomat, is trying to distance himself from Putin and his aggressively fascist policy.

How relations between Kazakhstan and Russia have changed since the beginning of the war: watch the video

The public figure recalled how last year at the Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Tokayev said that Kazakhstan would not recognize the quasi-state formations of the so-called “DPR” and “LPR” and would not help Russia circumvent sanctions.

“When Tokayev said this, he was two meters away from Putin. And therefore, his words sounded like a statement of a very serious leader. He said this not in an interview with a journalist, but in front of a large audience, which consisted of 80% of Putin's minions,” stressed Arman Shuraev.

Relations between Kazakhstan and Russia: important

• Russian opposition journalist Igor Yakovenko believes that Tokayev is in a situation where it is impossible for him to defiantly cut ties with the Kremlin. He noted that Kazakhstan has a large land border with Russia, which is not guarded at all. Tokaev doesn't want to create problems for himself. However, he will move further and further away from Putin.
• Western media drew attention to the fact that Kazakhstan began to noticeably move away from Russia's sphere of influence e. He deepened ties with China, Turkey and Europe. Moreover, Kazakhstan hosted hundreds of Western companies that left the Russian market, and also froze a number of projects with Russia due to sanctions and withdrew from the CIS agreement on the currency committee.