On 7/29/2024 at 5:58 PM, RuamRudy said:

 

An appropriate peace-deal might be for Russia to withdraw immediately from all occupied territory in Ukraine including Crimea; pay billions in reparations to Ukraine; send Putin and his cronies to the Hague in chains.

You must have great dreams. They seem much better than reality.

21 hours ago, placeholder said:

And there's this:

China warns against meddling in Kazakhstan ahead of Putin meeting

Chinese President Xi Jinping has kicked off a visit to Central Asia with a no-nonsense statement of support for the territorial integrity of his first host country, Kazakhstan.

It sounded like an assertive statement of intent from Beijing, coming just before Xi meets Russian President Vladimir Putin this week in a face to face that the world is watching closely.

Russian-ally Kazakhstan has been shaken by the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, while facing down saber-rattling from Russian nationalists angry at what they deem Kazakh disloyalty over the war.

https://eurasianet.org/china-warns-against-meddling-in-kazakhstan-ahead-of-putin-meeting

 

Probably because of considerations like this:

Kazakhstan’s Border With Russia Is Suddenly an Open Question Again
Moscow has long claimed parts of northern Kazakhstan. The country’s current turmoil makes those claims a lot more relevant—and troubling.

Amid nationwide protests rocking Kazakhstan this week—which have already resulted in bloodshed, political turmoil, and the end of former dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev’s cult of personality—the country is going through an unprecedented shift.
But as Kazakhstan continues to roil and as troops from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led military alliance, flood the country to “stabilize” the situation, one potential outcome is suddenly very relevant yet still overlooked: state fracture. Specifically, the potential for a revanchist Russia to use Kazakhstan’s domestic turmoil as a pretext to seize a swath of northern Kazakhstan, which Russian nationalists have long coveted and ethnic Russian populations in the region have long toyed breaking off from.

https://archive.ph/KYS31#selection-971.0-979.370

 

Kazakhstan is a fascinating country - massive in size and abundantly rich in natural resources but tiny in population and bracketed by two of the least trustworthy superpower neighbours one could wish for. 

 

It's interesting to note that Astana really only owes its prominence as a city to its location in the north East of the country. Previously this area was pretty sparsely populated but Nazerbayev felt that it was vulnerable to Chinese occupation so he decided to build a city there and relocate the capital from Almaty. That seemed to spark a rush for Norman Foster inspired architectural abominations in both locations. 

 

But my feeling is that the young are increasingly modern facing in attitude. Whether that comes from China or the West is not really important to them, I think, but Russia is definitely seen as a relic of the bad old days. 

 

It's worth noting that the riots you mention on your second article were all of internal origin and the government of the day (early 2022) did ask Moscow to assist. There is still resentment about those events today, and while the new president is trying to show that he is cleaner than the old guy, I am not sure many are buying it.