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The imposed diaspora: how Russians in Kazakhstan survived the riots

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The imposed diaspora: how Russians in Kazakhstan survived the riots

20.01.2022

Elnar Bainazarov

Since the beginning of the unrest in Kazakhstan, some media and Telegram channels have speculated about the threat to Russians living in the Republic. Allegedly, the introduction of CSTO forces would put them in danger due to the rise of Kazakh nationalism. Izvestia talked to Russians living in the country to find out how the January events had affected their relations with Kazakhs. Interviewees claimed that the introduction of CSTO peacekeepers had no effect on interethnic dialogue because the Russians living in the Republic were not associated with Russia - they were locals. However, according to Izvestia's interlocutors, there is still intolerance at the mundane level.

Bits and pieces in YouTube

"Russians are gastarbeiters because they don't know the language of the country where they live." These are the posters that the video-blogger Kuat Akhmetov has used to walk around the stores in Almaty and other cities of Kazakhstan since August 2021 and demanded that shop assistants spoke to him in the Kazakh language. If any shop assistants refused, the young men from Akhmetov's group made them record an apology on camera.

The guys called their raids language patrols; the nationalists recorded and uploaded each raid to YouTube. It is noteworthy that the names of the videos on the channel are in Russian but with a lot of mistakes.

The raids continue even now. The last video was posted on January 14, although it does not feature the usual apologies - a woman comes to a state institution and is outraged that the anti-coronavirus instructions and the evacuation plan for the building are provided in Russian.

Photo credit: Vot Tak screenshot

Kuat Akhmetov's channel with 32,300 subscribers is still not blocked either in Russia or in Kazakhstan despite numerous complaints from Russian politicians (in August, the Republic initiated criminal proceedings against the owners of the channel pursuant to the article "Inciting social, ethnic, tribal, racial, class, or religious hatred"). Rossotrudnichestvo did not respond to Izvestia's inquiry.

In addition to the language patrols, the tension to Russian-Kazakhstan relations also increased due to statements made by the Republic's new Minister of Information and Communications Askar Umarov when he had served as director of the Kazinform agency‎.

"Don't forget that you are an imposed diaspora here, not autochthons, and be thankful that your rights are respected and no one persecutes you as colonizers, like in other countries." According to the media reports, that was how Umarov addressed Russians living in Kazakhstan about 10 years ago.

Photo: Askar Umarov

According to Stanislav Pritchin, senior researcher at the Center for post-Soviet Studies of IMEMO, RAS, the very fact that Umarov has been appointed to the ministerial post indicates a serious staff shortage in the Republic.

It's not that an unconcealed Russophobe was deliberately appointed to this post. The current president simply doesn't have much of a replacement bench, given the huge split in the elite," the expert told the Izvestia‎.

The Izvestia tried to obtain a quick comment from Askar Umarov regarding his attitude toward the Russian diaspora and his statements via social media but received no reply.


Russophobia is surely there.”

The Russian residents of Kazakhstan, or those whom Askar Umarov has called "the imposed diaspora," told Izvestia that supporters of nationalists like Kuat Akhmetov are in the minority. Mostly, people do not encounter manifestations of nationalism in the north of the country.

“I did not notice any Russophobia. The people I communicate with also did not feel any pressure. You know, we do not distinguish between ethnicities. And the introduction of CSTO was well received. The Kazakhs themselves wrote on Odnoklassniki that it was a forced measure and that the president was right to invite CSTO. Of course, there are those who feel scared calling this an invasion, and are afraid that the Russians will settle there; such opinions were also voiced. But there was nothing criminal and no Russophobia," Svetlana from Pavlodar, one of the Russian centers in northern Kazakhstan, emphasized in her conversation with Izvestia.

Photo credit:  Alma Ata Michael Grau 

Generally speaking, Russians are the second largest ethnic group in Kazakhstan. In 1991, there were 6.2 million Russians (40% of the population) in the Republic but by early 2021 their number dropped to 3.4 million (18% of the population). Most Russians live in the north, in the cities of Pavlodar, Petropavlovsk, Kostanay, and Kokshetau.

According to last year's census (the third in the Republic's 30-year history), spoken Russian in Kazakhstan is understood by 94% of the population (Kazakh is understood by 74%).

It is noteworthy that the republic still has a fifth column in the passport - all documents have ethnicity specified. However, it cannot be selected - it is indicated on the basis of the ethnicity of the father or mother.

This fifth column causes a lot of problems when someone is applying for a job or entering an institution of higher education. Kazakhs are mostly selected for the Bolashak Programme, under which talented young people can go to study abroad. The fifth column is paid close attention for this purpose," Anna from Kostanay told Izvestia.

When asked if she faced any problems with employment, Anna explained: "Kazakhs try to hire Kazakhs, preferably from their own tribe". According to her, in the Republic, tribal ties still play a large if not a decisive role both in employment and in the family foundation.

Photo credit: Servicemen of the Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the CSTO in Kazakhstan. Photo: Russian Ministry of Defence / Facebook

Dmitry, a native of Almaty, is of the opposite opinion. He explained to Izvestia that there is no division into Russian or Kazakh communities as such in the country, everyone communicates with everyone.

Nothing has changed with the arrival of CSTO. Mostly everyone is grateful, and many people do not want the peacekeepers to leave, because they are afraid that the unscathed bandits will start rampaging again," Dmitry said.

At the same time, according to him, there are "inadequates who say that it was useless, the authorities could have done it themselves.” Nevertheless, there are not many of them, as Izvestia’s interlocutor mentioned‎.

In this case, the point is not about Russophobia but rather about the trampled national pride as they failed to provide security for their own citizens. But in fact, there is Russophobia, unfortunately, irrespective of these events," added the resident of Almaty.

He explained that Kazakhs call Russians "borschts " or "oryspais" among themselves, but this is more "just for a laugh". According to Dmitry, nationalism is rarely seen in everyday life. Although he shared one example: his relative once made a remark to a drunk Kazakh who was behaving inappropriately in the street. The man replied: "Here I am on my own land."

Photo credit: Alma Ata konevi/pixabay

Ibrahim lives in the south of the Republic and comes from a mixed family - his mother is Russian, and his father is Tatar. He told Izvestia that "Russians" are taken to mean everyone in Kazakhstan who are "not of Asian appearance".

Russians in Kazakhstan are not associated with Russia; they are locals. Therefore, the ethnic issue and relations between the Russians and Kazakhs have not changed in any way due to the introduction of CSTO peacekeepers. This is more of an internal issue, rather than a question of relations with Russia," Ibrahim explained.

However, the balance might change due to the way the "Russian media are speculating about this topic, 'protecting Russians,' who actually don't need it," emphasized Izvestia's interlocutor.

The republic's Ministry of Information and Communications did not promptly respond to Izvestia's inquiry.


Neutral Kazakhstan is to the advantage of Russia

According to the head of the MSU Information and Analytical center Daria Chizhova, it is very important to let Kazakhstan deal with its problems on its own without drawing undue attention to internal processes.

The expert explained to the Izvestia that there is a certain division within society - into Shala and Nagyz Kazakhs. Shala Kazakhs are those who know and prefer to use the Russian language, while Nagyz Kazakhs ("true Kazakhs") are those who condemn the former and believe that their position threatens the preservation of Kazakh culture.

Based on monitoring of the reactions to the peacekeeping mission, it cannot be said that all Kazakh-speakers were against it and all Russian-speakers were for it. The split within was based on political perceptions - there are those who believe that rapprochement with Russia is important for the country, and those who fear unnecessary rapprochement that might be detrimental to multivectorness", said the expert.

Kazakh-speakers and Russian-speakers may have different views on the Soviet past, on decommunization. However, these are discussions about the choice of a civilization vector between citizens of one country. But as political analyst Talgat Kaliyev, member of the National Council of Public Trust under the President of the Republic, told the Izvestia, this has nothing to do with Russia.

According to him, the problem of Russophobia in the North of Kazakhstan caused by the introduction of CSTO is "farfetched". At the same time, in his opinion, KassymJomart Tokayev's request for help from the organization will hardly make the Republic dependent on Russia. According to Talgat Kaliyev, it is to the advantage of Moscow that Kazakhstan preserves its neutral status and maintains equal relations with the West, China, and Russia.


Source: iz.ru

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