The Russian president had already suggested that any of the countries of the former Soviet Union could be the target of an invasion like the one in Ukraine. Now, fears are growing that Moscow could attack Kazakhstan after the war with kyiv.
According to the Telegraph newspaper, Russia’s chief prosecutor, Igor Krasnov, indicated that he was “regularly informed that, with the support of Ukrainian non-governmental organizations,” a “Active Russophobic” activity develops in Kazakhstan – country that believes it is helping to develop anti-Russian sentiment.
Kazakhstan and Russia share one of the longest land borders in the world. The two countries were considered allies, but with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the union may have come to an end.
The Kazakh president, Kassym Jomart Tokayev, considered earlier this month that the pro-Russian regions in eastern Ukraine, Donetsk and Lugansk, which make up Donbass, were not independent states, nor were they under the control of the Kremlin. At the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Putin responded some twenty minutes later: all the countries of the former Soviet Union are “historic Russia.”
The British Telegraph reports that Kazakh government officials publicly downplay any break with the Kremlin, but privately express concern. He too Kazakh civilians are concerned that Putin may turn his attention to the country.as soon as they achieve the objectives they have in Ukraine.
Yes, we can definitely be next,” Chingiz, a former baker, told the Telegraph. “We have a small army … It would not be good,” he added.
Kazakhstan has about 3.5 million Russians in its population. Many of these citizens live in the north of the country, where pro-Russian sentiment is reinforced by Kremlin television propaganda. The British newspaper also advances that thousands of Russians who are against the the war fled from Moscow and St. Petersburg to Almaty, the former capital of southern Kazakhstan, or Uralska region 70 kilometers from the Russian border.
Source: Observadora
