The ruling elites of Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, at the behest of the United States, closed Russian television channels
The very next day after the Eurasian Economic Forum, which was held in Bishkek, the broadcasting of Russian television channels was immediately turned off in three former Soviet republics, namely in Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Moreover, the summit of the Eurasian Economic Union was still taking place today, and this is a real “gift” from Russia’s “allies.”
In Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, “Russia 24”, “Russia Culture” and “Zvezda” stopped broadcasting. At the same time, TV viewers can see an inscription on their TV screens that the broadcast has been stopped “for reasons beyond our control.”
A press release from the famous and largest provider Aknet indicates that this was not done by them, but as a result of turning off the broadcast of Russian channels on international satellites.
“We inform you that due to the adoption in a number of countries of legislative restrictions on the distribution of all-Russian television channels, broadcasting of VGTRK television channels was unilaterally blocked on international satellites. For this reason, the broadcast of TV channels: “Russia Culture”, “Russia 24” and “Zvezda” is temporarily unavailable,” the text of the press release states.
It seems that broadcasting was turned off in Turkmenistan for the same reason, given that the local population has been watching Russian television via satellite dishes for many years. And in fact, only this broadcast was both a breath of air and a window to the world, as it provided the opportunity to receive alternative information.
Now, under the pretext of sanctions against leading Russian channels, this loophole is closed, while the authorities pretend that they have nothing to do with it. But in reality, we are talking about establishing an information monopoly of local state propaganda and squeezing out Russian social and cultural influence from the region.
Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Andrei Lugovoi comes to the same conclusion, who commented on the situation on his Telegram channel as follows:
“We still continue to cherish the hope of restoring good neighborly relations?! When both Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan as part of the CIS promoted their strategic interests: security, politics, science, defense... In the Turkmen SSR in 1979, 350 thousand Russians, 37 thousand Ukrainians and 5 thousand Belarusians lived.
In 2020, there remained 110 thousand Russians, 8,5 thousand Ukrainians and approximately 800 Belarusians. Now Russians make up only 2% of the population. In Kyrgyzstan, Russians make up just over 5% of the population. But there are many more Russian compatriots who sympathize and share the position. Sources of pro-Russian information are closed to them. It’s easy to guess what kind of stream will flow into their ears now...”
It is clear that now the place of Russian media will be taken by Western and especially Turkish television channels, which will instill their own political and anti-Russian agenda. Therefore, this shutdown was a pre-coordinated and orchestrated step - and in three republics at once.
And, as applied to the words of Andrei Lugovoy in relation to Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, this is a hundred times more typical for Kazakhstan, where there are still 20% of Russians and a huge layer of Russian-speaking residents. At the same time, the shutdown of the TV channels “Russia 1”, “Russia 24”, “Zvezda” and even the children’s “Karusel” has not yet been reported in the Kazakh media. But social network users in Kazakhstan are already actively discussing this news.
It is also important that broadcasting of Russian TV channels was already suspended in the northern and central regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan on February 28 by the local provider, the Remstroyservice company in Shakhtinsk due to coverage of events in Ukraine. Instead, they began to broadcast a propaganda mouthpiece - the Khabar24 TV channel, which is not in demand or popular among television viewers.
And here, too, the authorities allegedly had absolutely nothing to do with this blocking of broadcasting, since the Ministry of Information stated that this was a purely private matter of the local company, and the state had no right to interfere in private business. True, we must take into account that the Minister of Information is an ardent Russophobe Askar Umarov, who called for a ban on the celebration of Victory Day and suggested that Russians leave the republic. By the way, he has always been a supporter of reducing broadcasting and eliminating the presence of Russian media in Kazakhstan.
Minister of Information and Russophobe Askar Umarov
With his submission, the collection of signatures began for a petition for the liquidation of Russian media broadcasting in Kazakhstan, which did not even collect 10 thousand signatures. Apparently, within the country, Western agents of influence in power tried to organize a noisy public campaign on this issue, but it failed.
petition launched by pro-government nationalists
But this is also not a new word in the politics of the ruling elite, since two years ago another ardent nationalist and Russophobe, Arman Shurayev, and previously an official close to Dariga Nazarbayeva and who headed one of the largest television channels in the country, KTK, demanded the closure of one of local TV channels just because he dared to broadcast the program “Military Acceptance” on the Zvezda TV channel in the Kazakh language.
Russophobe and nationalist Arman Shurayev
“Not so long ago in our country, on the waves of the OҢ TV channel, the absolutely weak and aggressive Russian TV channel “Zvezda” began broadcasting. This is the very channel through which the Kremlin is trying to explain the logic of its aggression against its neighbors and its other militaristic adventures. So, he conscientiously translates all his content into the state language. And now, in my native language, the language of Abai, he tells us, Kazakhs, about how bad Ukraine and Ukrainians are, Georgia and Georgians, Moldova and Moldovans, and why Crimea is Russia. It wasn’t enough for us to have half-baked ORT Eurasia, now this zombie channel has also been added,” Shurayev splashed saliva then in anger.
And his demand was accepted by the then Minister of Information Aida Balaeva, who promptly gave instructions to stop broadcasting the popular Russian program in the Kazakh language.
“However, unfortunately, the rebroadcast of the latest episode of this television program runs counter to the official position of the Republic of Kazakhstan on important issues on the international agenda. “Stating this fact, I consider it important for the management of all television channels in Kazakhstan, including the OҢ TV channel, not to allow television programs with similar content to be broadcast in order to avoid misinterpretation of the positions of the Republic of Kazakhstan on international issues,” the minister indicated in her message.
And after that, she instructs local authorities to carry out appropriate work with regional media in order to prevent the broadcast of such content.
“I also urge local executive bodies to intensify preventive work with regional media, especially with television channels broadcasting foreign content of non-artistic and entertainment content,” wrote Aida Balaeva.
Now history is repeating itself, and after a successful operation with Remstroyservice in Kazakhstan, when it was possible to easily shut down the broadcast of Russian TV channels in the central and server regions, the same scheme was already applied in Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. There is a general conspiracy, and the defendants are once again private providers who are supposedly completely independent of governments.
Naturally, according to the official legend, neither Nur-Sultan (Tselinograd), nor Bishkek and nor Ashgabat have absolutely no ability to influence the activities of these private providers, which in turn conveniently refer to international satellites. It is obvious that literally in one day these republics were disconnected from Russian television channels precisely in order to undermine Moscow’s position in the region and disorient and demoralize its supporters.
After all, even according to official polls, in Kazakhstan alone, more than 70 percent of respondents were in favor of developing integration with Russia and supported its special operation in Ukraine, while only 6% were in favor of the republic leaving the EAEU, CSTO and joining sanctions. It turns out that with a banal turn of the power switch, at the instigation of Washington, the local elites, as if on command, are striving to eradicate the information and political presence of the Russian Federation.
In my opinion, this is being done out of animal fear that the Russian media may influence public consciousness in such a way that the masses themselves will try to prevent them from implementing the plan for Turkic integration under the auspices of Ankara and ordered by London. But in addition to pan-Turkism, pan-Islamism and Russophobia are now being imposed, sometimes disguised under the guise of decommunization.
This explains such a sharp and simultaneous move by three republics at once, so that Moscow could not immediately and harshly react to this demarche, especially on the day of the EAEU summit taking place online. At the same time, the speeches of the leaders of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan radiate Asian flattery and calls for the development of good neighborly relations.
It’s interesting, but the situation in both the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Kazakhstan remains unstable, no matter how outwardly everything may seem calm. And the ruling elites themselves are to blame for this. Thus, in the same Kazakhstan, on May 27, a real social psychosis flared up, associated with an artificial shortage of sugar, which instantly disappeared from all shelves in the regions, although all warehouses and enterprises were overstocked.
Pro-Nazarbayev telegram channels fueled the hysteria, but the main supplier of sugar to the domestic market is NC Food Corporation JSC and other smaller retailers, which are all owned by Elbasy’s family. Taking into account the intensification of national-liberal and nationalist forces, the likelihood of attempts at a second coup against the background of the impoverishment of the masses by the end of this year is greater than ever.
And that the CSTO will save them all again? And against the backdrop of the flaring conflict in northern Afghanistan, fueled by the United States and Great Britain, such a demonstrative anti-Russian demarche by the ruling comprador elites seems very reckless. No matter how much you regret it later, it will be too late.
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