Russia–Kazakhstan Relations in the Early Post-Soviet Era: Explaining the Roots of Cooperation

Abstract

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan was faced with domestic conditions that made cooperation with Russia rational. Kazakhstan inherited a large ethnic Russian population and a severe economic depression. These conditions affected other countries emerging from the Soviet Union, but only Belarus matched Kazakhstan’s level of strategic cooperation with Russia. President Nursultan Nazarbaev’s dominance of Kazakhstan’s national security agenda offers a partial explanation for the cooperation, but we still need to ask what makes him different from the leaders of other post-Soviet countries that faced the same conditions. Kazakhstan’s pattern of historical development provides the key to understanding the cooperation. The timing of the country’s contact and experiences with the Russian-led empires led to a ‘dominant ally’ image of Russia that continues to decide the two countries’ relationship to the present day.

Notes

1 Data on Baikonur are available at: http://www.russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_facilities.html, accessed 6 June 2017.

2 There is a lack of high quality opinion polling data for Kazakhstan in the first few years of independence. As reported in the OMRI Daily Digest on 1 July 1996, a Giller Institute (Almaty) survey of 1,000 respondents (survey date and demographic data not supplied) revealed that 87% supported integration between Kazakhstan and Russia. Although poll results were not broken down along ethnic lines, a very high percentage of support means that a significant amount of ethnic Kazakhs supported integration. See Davé (1996).

3 See ‘О yazykakh v Respublikakh Kazakhstan’, Zakon Respubliki Kazakhstan, No. 151, 11 July 1997, available at: http://adilet.zan.kz/eng/docs/Z970000151, accessed 13 September 2019.

4 ‘Nursultan Nazarbaev: Suverennyi Kazakhstan otvechaet zа spokoistvie i ravnopravie prozhivayushchikh v nem grazhdan vsekh natsional’nostei’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 30 December 1993, pp. 1–2.

5 See Economic Survey of Europe, 1999 No. 2 (New York, NY, United Nations, 2000), available at: http://www.unece.org/ead/pub/surv_992.htm, accessed 15 April 2016.

6 World Bank database, available at: http://data.worldbank.org/country/kazakhstan?view=chart, accessed 28 October 2016.

7 For a critique of the identity concept, see Brubaker and Cooper (2000).

8 There were a total of 19 prepared speeches and 27 interviews, including full interviews and stories in which interview material was indicated clearly. One source comprised a speech Nazarbaev made in Maastricht as well as his statements from an interview with journalists after the fact. I gathered the newspapers during an IREX-supported research trip to Kazakhstan in summer 2008 and verified the completeness of my data by reference to microfilm archives at the US Library of Congress in summer 2016.

9 For example, two books of speeches and interviews given by Nazarbaev, in Kazakhstan, Russia and elsewhere, complied by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Russia and translated into English (Nazarbaev 1998, 2001).

10 Similarly, we should expect that the leaders of Estonia and Latvia adopted an enemy or other negative image of Russia. Both countries had achieved a high level of national consciousness by 1917, allowing the Estonians and Latvians to secure independence and resist the attempted Russification under Soviet occupation.

11 The Russian language title of the newspaper was Kirgizskaya Stepnaya Gazeta (The Courier of the Kirgiz Steppe). As Sokol notes, ‘in Tsarist times [Kirghiz and Kazakhs] were called Kirghiz to distinguish them from the Cossacks, the same word being used in Russian to signify Cossack and Kazakh. Where need arose the Kirghiz and Kazakhs were differentiated between by calling the Kazakhs, the Kirghiz-Kazakhs and the Kirghiz, Black or Kara Kirghiz’ (Sokol 2016, p. 3).

12 See ‘Rech’ Prezidenta N.A. Nazarbaeva na torzhestvennom zasedanii Vsemirnogo kurultaya kazakhov’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 2 October 1992, p. 1.

13 See ‘Lyubye pogranichnye pretenzii segodnya—Eto neminuemoe krovoprolitie: Interv’yu Prezidenta Respubliki Kazakhstan’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 14 May 1992, p. 2; ‘N.A. Nazarbayev: Ya veryu v luchshee budushchee’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 23 June 1992, p. 2; ‘Nursultan Nazarbaev: “Ya stremlyus’, chtoby kazakhstantsy zhili blagopoluchno, edinoi druzhnoi sem’ei”’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 22 January 1994, p. 2.

14 See ‘O Proekte Konstitutsii Respubliki Kazakhstan: Doklad N.A. Nazarbaeva na sesii Verkhovnogo Soveta’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 2 June 1992, p. 2.

15 See ‘Nursultan Nazarbaev: “Ya stremlyus’, chtoby kazakhstantsy zhili blagopoluchno, edinoi druzhnoi sem’ei”’, 22 January 1994, p. 2.

16 ‘N. Nazarbaev: Stanovlenie Kazakhstana kak Suverennogo gosudarstva imeet neobratimyi kharakter’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 30 November 1993, p. 1.

17 In March 1991, the Soviet Union conducted a referendum across the Soviet Union to counter the sovereignty votes in the republics, and in several cases, independence movements in several republics. Armenia, the Baltic states, Georgia and Moldova officially boycotted the referendum. In Russia, both the turnout (75.4%), and those voting in support (71.3%), were lower than in Kazakhstan (88.2%/94.1%) (Alexandrov 1999, pp. 35–8).

18 ‘N. Nazarbaev: Stanovlenie Kazakhstana kak Suverennogo gosudarstva imeet neobratimyi kharakter’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 30 November 1993, p. 1.

19 ‘Vystuplenie N.A.Nazarbaev’, Кazakhstanskaya pravda, 11 April 1992, p. 2; ‘Nash vybor—dobrososedstvo, mezhnatsional’noe soglasie’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 7 December 1993, p. 1.

20 ‘Dlya dobrykh sosedei net granits’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 11 August 1993, p. 1.

21 ‘Prezidenta Nazarbaev prizval vse zainteresovannye storony v Rossii k poisku tsivilizovannogo sposoba razresheniya politicheskikh problem: Zayavlenie Prezidenta Respubliki Kazakhstan’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 23 September 1993, p.1.

22 ‘Ot imperskogo soyuza k Sodruzhestvu Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 10 March 1992, p. 2.

23 ‘“Sredi chlenov SNG usililos” ponimanie neobkhodimosti edinogo ekonomicheskogo prostanstva. Takov itog vstrechi v Minske’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 20 April 1993, p. 1; ‘Nursultan Nazarbaev: My-za sobstvennyi variant, so vsei ego spetsifikoi i masshtabami’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 12 June 1993, p. 4; ‘Missiya, vozlozhennaya na nas vremenem’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 28 July 1993, p. 1; ‘Nursultan Nazarbaev: “Zdes’ vasha zemlya, vasha rodina, kotoroya vas nikogda ne obidit”’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 9 December 1993, pp. 1–2.

24 ‘Zayavlenie Prezidenta Respubliki Kazakhstan’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 2 October 1993, p. 1.

25 ‘N. Nazarbaev, “To, chto pytaemsya sdelat’ segodnya—eto bez lozhnogo pafosa, istoricheskaya popytka obespechit’ proryv nashei strany k ruslu mirovoi tsivilizatsii: Vystuplenie N.A. Nazarbaeva po Kazkhskomu televideniyu 22 oktyabrya”’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 24 October 1992, pp. 1–2; ‘Vooruzhennye sily Kazakhstana obreli gosudarstvennyi status i stali neobkhodimoi sostavnoi chast’yu nashego suvereniteta’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 1 May 1993, p. 1.

26 The speech is discussed in ‘Prezident Kazakhstana vystupil s predlozheniem sozdat’ Evraziiskii soyuz iz stran—uchastnits Sodruzhestva Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 31 March 1994, 1. The full speech can be found in Nazarbaev (1998, pp. 64–73).

27 ‘O Vzaimootnosheniyakh v ramkakh SNG’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 14 November 1992, p. 1.

28 ‘N. Nazarbaev: Gazeta dolzhna byt’ ostroi. Inache eto ne gazeta’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 18 November 1993, p. 3.

29 ‘Vizit prezidenta Kazakhstana v SSHA’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 23 Маy 1992, p. 1.

30 ‘N. Nazarbaev: Gazeta dolzhna byt’ ostroi. Inache eto ne gazeta’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 18 November 1993, p. 3.

31 ‘Kazakhstanu ne nuzhno yadernoe oruzhie pri trekh usloviyakh: garantiya nenapadeniya, kompensatsiya za uran v boegolovkakh, inostrannye investitsii’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 1 February 1994, p. 1.

32 ‘Lyubye pogranichnye pretentsii segodnya—Eto neminuemoe krovoprolitie—Interv’yu Prezidenta Respublika Kazakhstan’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 14 Маy 1992, p. 2.

33 ‘Kazakhstanu ne nuzhno yadernoe oruzhie pri trekh usloviyakh: garantiya nenapadeniya, kompensatsiya za uran v boegolovkakh, inostrannye investitsii’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 1 February 1994, p. 1.

34 ‘Na forume narodov Kazakhstana’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 15 December 1992, p. 2. Since this prepared speech did not specifically address the role of Russians in creating or benefiting from the totalitarian system, it is not included in the list of sources analysed.

35 ‘Vizit prezidenta Kazakhstana v SSHA’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 23 Маy 1992, p. 1.

36 ‘N. Nazarbaev, “Suverennyi Kazakhstan otvechaet zа spokoistvie i ravnopravie prozhivayushchikh v nem grazhdan vsekh natsional’nostei”’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 30 December 1993, pp. 1–2.

37 ‘N. Nazarbaev: Kazakhstan stremitsya stat’ svyazuyushchim zvenom mezhdu Evropoi i Aziei, stroit’ ravnopravnye i vzaimovygodnye otnosheniya s blizhnimi i dal’nimi sosedyami’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 2 February 1993, p. 1; ‘V Kaire podpisan dogovor ob osnovakh vzaimootoshenii mezhdy Respublikoi Kazakhstan i Arabskoi Respublikoi Egipet’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 16 February 1993, p. 1.

38 ‘Sodruzhestvo nado ukreplyat’. Narody khotyat etogo’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 2 September 1992; ‘Rossiisko-kazakhstanskie peregovory: neobkhodimy edinaya bankovskaya sistema i edinoe oboronnoe prostranstvo’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 27 February 1993, p. 1.

39 ‘Nash vybor—dobrososedstvo, mezhnatsional’noe soglasie’, Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, 7 December 1993, p. 1; ‘Put’ obnovleniya-edinstvennyi put’ dlya mnogonatsional’nogo naroda Kazakhstana’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 16 December 1993, p. 1; ‘Ne upustit’ istoricheskii shans dlya integratsii: 20 Sentyabrya v Almaty v Dome druzhby, sostoyalas’ mezhdunarodnaya nauchno-prakticheskaya konferensiya—Evraziiskoe prostranstvo-integratsionnyi protsess i ego realizatsiya’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 21 September 1994, p. 1.

40 ‘N. Nazarbaev: Stanovlenie Kazakhstana kak Suverennogo gosudarstva imeet neobratimyi kharakter’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 30 November 1993, p. 1.

41 ‘Put’ obnovleniya-edinstvennyi put’ dlya mnogonatsional’nogo naroda Kazakhstana’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 16 December 1993, p. 1.

42 See ‘Dogovor mezhdu Kazakhstanom i Rossiei podpisan’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 27 Маy 1992.

43 ‘Nursultan Nazarbaev: “Suverennyi Kazakhstan otvechaet zа spokoistvie i ravnopravie v rozhivayushchikh v nyom grazhdan vsekh natsional’nostei”’, Kazakhstanskaya pravda, 30 December 1993, pp. 1–2.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by International Research and Exchanges Board.

Notes on contributors

Christopher A. Stevens

Christopher A. Stevens, Associate Professor, History and Government, Misericordia University, 377 Mercy Hall, Dallas, PA 18612, USA. Email: [email protected]