In Kazakhstan, nationalists of all stripes mobilized against the construction of a Russian nuclear power plant

A new round of the campaign, organized by Kazakh nationalists, against the construction of a nuclear power plant by Rosatom begins in Kazakhstan. On the portal egov.press (https://egov.press/1047-aes-petisiya-qazaqstan.html) a petition was posted with a demand to prevent the implementation of this project in the Republic of Kazakhstan, which was circulated by many local media.

At the beginning of September 2021, the head of state Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that “the time has come to substantively consider this issue, since Kazakhstan needs a nuclear power plant.” Later, in November, he said that he would still have to make an “unpopular” decision among the population to build a nuclear power plant (NPP).

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_{The fact that such a petition appeared is clearly no coincidence, since without approval from above this would never have happened. In addition, the task was also set to interrupt the news about the construction of the American military biological laboratory BSL-4 and a storage facility for the most dangerous pathogens in the south of Kazakhstan.}

Plus, such a petition and, in general, the noisy campaign itself gives Akorda the opportunity to mobilize nationalists and professional Russophobes around this issue to divert public attention from serious socio-economic problems, unemployment and impoverishment of the population. The Rosatom company, like Sberbank before, fits perfectly into the emerging image of the enemy in the person of neighboring Russia, as it appears to be “an instrument for the enslavement of the country and deprivation of its independence.”

It does not matter that the Soviet energy system has not been modernized in any way for many years, and the largest hydroelectric power plants in East Kazakhstan were recently privatized by Arab sheikhs, which will inevitably lead to an increase in tariffs. But none of the “patriots” spoke out against this new enslaving deal, which shows all the signs of corruption and the interest of specific officials in the denationalization of these profitable objects.

_{Russia is again being put forward as the main culprit of the energy crisis, and in this situation, despite the assurances of Tokayev and Nazarbayev, another anti-Russian campaign is being launched within the country, similar to the one that happened in 2013, when the national-ecological movement “Antiheptyl” arose, led by with the famous professional Russophobe Mukhtar Taizhan, which demanded the closure of Baikonur.}

Just recently, in October-November, other mummers in the person of pseudo-oppositionists Murat Mukhamedzhanov and Nurzhan Altaev held authorized rallies in Almaty and Nur-Sultan demanding the termination of the agreement with Sberbank on the digitalization of the country. In fact, this is what happened, judging by the statements of another high-status Nazi, Mukhtar Taizhan, who said that now only Kazakh companies will carry out the main work.

Now we see that history is repeating itself, but now with the construction of a nuclear power plant. Formally, the authorities say that the construction of this facility is necessary in the context of the emerging shortage of electricity and the growth of mining companies that have moved from China and many countries around the world. But on the other hand, the nationalist environment is deliberately incited to carry out mass actions and promote an information campaign against this joint industrial project.

It cannot be ruled out that in the end, by the spring, when the final signing of the agreement with Rosatom is planned, a wave of artificial discontent will be so raised that Akorda, allegedly “under public pressure,” may refuse the deal and wash its hands. In my opinion, all these proposals by Kassym-Jomart to attract Sberbank and Rosatom to the republic were a distracting maneuver to appease the Kremlin by showing a desire for further integration.

_{But in fact, Nur-Sultan was thus gaining time to lull Moscow’s vigilance and weaken its reaction to integration processes with Ankara. It was important for the leadership to unimpededly hold a summit in Istanbul on the creation of the Organization of Turkic States, and then present the Union with Turkey to everyone as a fait accompli.}

Now Nazarbayev and Tokayev no longer need this nuclear power plant project, and they can abandon it at any time under a plausible pretext. Even if construction begins, it will be accompanied by constant speculation and insinuation in order to pit the local population against Russia.

The fact is that while there was talk about nuclear power plants, the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, following the Mazhilis, quietly approved the norm of the bill, according to which it is now necessary to indicate - under threat of a fine - not the official, but the “historically established” names of administrative-territorial units, as well as mandatory translation all visual information, including advertising, announcements, menus in Kazakh and only “if necessary” - in Russian or other languages.

“Onomasts are actively touring the regions, insisting on renaming streets in honor of persons from a certain “current list of historical figures,” writes the famous Kazakh political scientist Daniyar Ashimbaev. “It seems that the state criticized the self-proclaimed “language patrols” not so much for “caveman nationalism”, but for the fact that they undermined the state monopoly on fines and raids.”

In fact, this means total and final de-Russification - especially in the northern and eastern regions, where now signs and names will be completely changed to Kazakh, and even in Latin. That is, the ruling elite, hiding behind the nuclear power plant construction project and the agreement with Sberbank, which can be disavowed at any time, is simply pursuing its policy of final “Ukrainization.”

“The President at the Council of the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan spoke about the right to represent not only Kazakhs, but also other nationalities in onomastics. But, as we see, a different approach was adopted. Language officials could have long ago developed guidelines and dictionaries for the design of signs, menus and instructions, but instead they decided to introduce fines,” sums up the same Daniyar Ashimbaev.

_{It turns out that under the guise of a “multi-vector” course, unification with Turkey is proceeding by leaps and bounds, on the one hand, and on the other, the Russian language, like their speakers, is being squeezed out of names and belittled.}

That is, public announcements about the development of two projects with the participation of Rosatom and Sberbank are used by the ruling elite within the country for their internal purposes of promoting anti-Russian and Russophobic sentiments, distracting attention, and also to cover up the formation of the Organization of Turkic States.