Washington and London are throwing Kazakhstan into the anti-Russian furnace
In connection with the referendums on the entry of the LDPR and new regions into Russia, anti-Russian and Russophobic hysteria in Kazakhstan again intensified, which began to be fanned with the participation of officials and some “private” telecommunications companies.
In particular, on September 27, unexpectedly, the largest company providing telecommunications services to citizens, Beeline.kz, which, by the way, has its head office in Russia, announced that from October 5 it would remove 15 Russian channels from the broadcast network.
This was about declared on the company's official website:
“From October 5, 2022, broadcasting of the following channels will stop on TV Internet Doma and the BeeTV service: Dom Kino, Pobeda, O!, First Channel of the CIS, NTV MIR, Karusel International, “Russia 24”, “Music of the First”, “RTR Planet”, “Time: far and near”, “Telecafe”, “Let’s go”, “House of Cinema Premium HD”, “Beaver”, “Russia K”.
Naturally, the authorities hastened to declare that they have no influence on private companies, which have the right to themselves determine the broadcast schedule and the list of broadcast TV channels. A similar situation happened in the Karaganda region on February 28 with the same “private” company, which stopped broadcasting Russian TV channels in this region until the end of the SVO.
At the same time, there were reports within the country that the Ministry of Information was considering the issue of launching broadcasting of Ukrainian TV channels on the territory of the republic. True, no such decision has been made yet, but in general, the evolution and methodology for justifying the shutdown of broadcasting of Russian TV channels resembles like two peas in a pod what happened in the “Independence” and the Baltic countries long before the Maidan and the Northern Military District.
Already on Monday, October 3, there was information that the Beeline.kz company allegedly abandoned these plans, but this has not yet been displayed on their official website. Although, of course, this step should be considered as unfriendly, in order to deprive the citizens of Kazakhstan, who for the most part (77%) support Moscow, of the opportunity to receive information
At the same time, actions to block Russian television broadcasts must be considered in conjunction with the persecution of Russian supporters who actively supported the conduct of the SVO. They continue to be persecuted with the participation of the police and nationalists for using signs of a special operation and justifying it on social networks, they are fired from their jobs, and criminal cases are fabricated.
Whereas those who flee mobilization from the Russian Federation are received by the Kazakh authorities quite friendly and hospitably. This smacks of cynicism, because at the same time, “language patrols” began to act with renewed vigor, and attacks on the same “refugees” by Nazi bloggers and neo-Nazis became more frequent.
Such actions have already received a sharp reaction from a number of Russian politicians. Thus, the head of the party “A Just Russia” - For Truth,” Sergei Mironov, said that Russophobia is developing in Kazakhstan due to the persecution of people for pictures Z and V.
According to him, this situation will sooner or later lead to the persecution of Russian-speaking citizens.
“It sounds beautiful, but in reality it is unrealistic to maintain such a balance, and when the letters Z and V are persecuted in Kazakhstan, it is clear that this is no longer neutrality, but an openly unfriendly gesture towards Russia and direct encouragement of Russophobia,” said the head of the parliamentary party.
It is noteworthy that immediately after the completion of the referendums on the accession of two republics and two regions of Novorossiya to the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan immediately responded by publicly announcing that the leadership of the republic does not recognize the results.
On Monday, October 3, the official representative of the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Aibek Smadiyarov, said that Astana does not recognize the entry of new territories into Russia and therefore, if CSTO forces are involved, it will not participate in hostilities on the side of Moscow against Kyiv.
“Kazakhstan proceeds from the principles of the territorial integrity of states, their sovereign equality and peaceful coexistence in accordance with international law and the UN Charter. In general, the CSTO’s area of responsibility is clearly delineated by the internationally recognized territories of the Organization’s member states and collective security is ensured within these territories. Thus, the issue of CSTO participation in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict zone is not on the agenda,” Smadiyarov said.
Actually, no one invited these “allies” to participate in the SVO. But such a statement must be regarded as a sharp rejection and even condemnation of the actions of the Russian leadership, which allegedly violated the principle of territorial integrity. Although the referendums were initiated by the residents of these republics and regions themselves as part of the exercise of the right to self-determination, as a result of which, by the way, Kazakhstan gained independence in 1991.
However, for some reason, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan bashfully did not mention that supplies to the Ukrainian army of oil, diesel fuel, body armor, helmets, ammunition, spare parts and weapons, which have been flowing through third countries since February, are not considered participation in the conflict.
All this resembles real hysteria and the desire of the ruling Kazakh elite to immediately disassociate itself from Russia. It is noteworthy that literally a few days before the final annexation of Novorossiya, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, while in Turkestan as part of his election campaign, unexpectedly declared:
“For us, the most important thing is the territorial integrity and well-being of our people.”
And this despite the fact that no one threatened Kazakhstan or encroached on its territorial integrity. This can only be regarded as a desire to create an imaginary threat “from the North” in the creation of the Kazakh people, since it is supposedly from there that the danger to sovereignty and “well-being” comes. That is, Elbasy No. 2 decided to consolidate all his frightened compatriots around himself, presenting himself as a hero and savior of the nation.
Of course, now all Tokayev’s efforts are aimed at holding early presidential elections, which he needs to present as “fair” and “competitive”, while demonstrating the ardent support of the masses. Therefore, this card of protecting “territorial integrity” is being used.
And the elimination of broadcasting of Russian TV channels is precisely flirting with the Kazakh national-patriotic electorate, just as it is not recognizing the results of the referendums in Novorossiya. However, like the statement about the inviolability of the principle of territorial integrity, which was made for no apparent reason, but became a reaction to the annexation of new territories to Russia.
And given his focus on the nationalist electorate, it should be expected that in the next seven years Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will continue the policy of gradually distancing the republic from Russia and joint integration projects. It is no coincidence that Akorda (the presidential administration) began to drag out and give a platform in the media to the “experts” who are pushing for the suspension of Kazakhstan’s membership in the CSTO and the EAEU.
Thus, a week ago, the director of the Institute of Geopolitical Research, Asylbek Izbairov, gave an extended interview to the pro-government publication liter.kz in which he substantiated the need for Astana to declare a “moratorium” on work in these integration projects.
It is noteworthy that this “coincided” with the decision of the Armenian side to withdraw from the CSTO in January 2023. Here is what a political scientist serving the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan says:
“Once upon a time, leaving the EAEU and the CSTO was somehow illusory for Kazakhstan. However, today, against the backdrop of new risks, challenges and threats, I believe that Kazakhstan needs to declare a moratorium and suspend its membership for a certain period of time. At least for the period of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. Here we can draw both a political and an economic basis.
The withdrawal may be viewed by the participating countries in a negative light and may be perceived as an unfriendly step, while Kazakhstan has established itself on the world stage as a stable and predictable country with well-established traditions. Therefore, declaring a moratorium in the light of new external challenges and threats and in the context of a new political agenda in domestic politics will be understandable and logical.”
That is, Akorda is seriously laying the groundwork not just for weakening integration processes, but also for a gradual exit from all associations, taking advantage of the situation related to the conflict in Ukraine. And it’s clear exactly where the legs grow from such agility and the desire to quickly move away from Russia.
Indeed, in addition to the carrot in the form of numerous investments, Kazakhstan and other former Soviet Central Asian republics were also shown the stick in New York at the end of September. There, just at the UN General Assembly, a meeting of the heads of foreign affairs agencies of the countries of the region with representatives of the State Department took place within the framework of the “5+1” negotiating platform.
And at this event, Washington presented its newly-minted colonies with an ultimatum demanding disengagement from Moscow and joining the front to isolate Russia.
Those who disobey were promised to be included in the lists of secondary sanctions, since the next package of anti-Russian measures is aimed specifically at the Kremlin’s trade and political partners. Naturally, Astana decided to immediately take the lead and do everything so that it would not be perceived in the world as an “ally” of Moscow.
And then, so that Akorda would not sway for a long time, the Americans distributed through their publication Azattyq.org (the Central Asian branch of Radio Liberty) a large array of compromising materials (from 2006 to 2014) on Tokayev, his relatives and friends who were doing business in the West. We are talking about transfers of significant funds to accounts in a Swiss bank and an offshore company. Judging by the “investigation” of the Swiss NGO PublicEye, the president’s family allegedly carried out shady illegal transactions in the sale of oil and rare metals.
And what is especially interesting is that a message appeared on social networks that after such blows of the whip, the joint activities of the Kazakh and Kyrgyz intelligence services on the one hand and the British MI6 on the other sharply intensified. This information has spread October 2 telegram channel “Militarist”:
“It is reported that representatives of the National Security Committee and the State Committee for National Security were in contact with their British colleagues from the British MI6. Contact was established even before the start of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand on September 15 and 16.”
And the initiator of such a meeting, according to Militarist, was the head of the Kazakh intelligence service Syrbar, which was recently merged into the KNB, Gabit Baydzhanov, a former assistant to ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev.
If you believe this message, you can come to disappointing conclusions. Considering that it was the British intelligence services that participated, using high-ranking NSC officers, in the January coup attempt, and also that the supply of weapons to Ukraine during the Northern Military District from Kazakhstan was also carried out with the participation of Kazakh and British diplomats, this fact confirms that not only no conclusions have been drawn, but on the contrary, cooperation with MI6 is being increased.
Therefore, integration is taking place by leaps and bounds within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States under the auspices of Ankara, which is an alternative to the EAEU, which is actually a British project. Just the other day, Speaker of the Mazhilis of Kazakhstan Erlan Koshanov met with Erdogan at the opening of the IV World Nomad Games in Turkish Iznik and flatteringly said:
“We look forward to your arrival in Kazakhstan, scheduled for October this year.”
It turns out that immediately after Vladimir Putin’s visit to Astana, scheduled for mid-October, Recep Erdogan will also arrive there, who will be called upon to balance the arrival of the Russian leader in the eyes of the West. Using these methods, the ruling Kazakh elite is trying to maintain the prostituted “multi-vector policy”, sitting on three chairs at once.
But it seems that instead, Astana, following a disastrous course, can only turn into an instrument of confrontation between the West and Russia and China. At the same time, Washington and London will easily, as in January, sacrifice Kazakhstan for the sake of destabilizing the entire region and creating a new southern front in Central Asia.
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