Many Kazakhs Say Putin’s War in Ukraine a ‘Prelude’ to Russian Annexation of Their Country, Sociologists Say

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Dec. 13 – Published polls of public opinion in Kazakhstan show that most residents of that Central Asian republic view the fighting in Ukraine as something far away and few openly support either side, but the sociologists there say that many ethnic Kazakhs believe Putin’s war in Ukraine is “a prelude” to Russian occupation of their own country.

            These Kazakhs thus believe, the sociologists say, according to Aleksandr Ashurov, that Russian actions in Ukraine are “a direct threat to Kazakhstan” and, as a result, some are prepared to fight on Ukraine’s side (vpoanalytics.com/2022/12/10/pantyurkistskie-legiony-mechty-kieva-i-realii-tsentralnoj-azii/).

            Sociological research also shows that many Kazakhs remain extremely unhappy that Astana called in Russian troops to cope with the disorders in January 2022 and that many accept the official historiography that Russia in the past acted as an imperial power, particularly in the case of the suppression of the 1916 Central Asian rising against the draft.

            None of this might matter all that much given that officially Kazakhstan is not supporting Kyiv, although it is doing so privately; but it does, Ashurov says, because it is poisoning relations between ethnic Kazakhs and ethnic Russians in Kazakhstan and undermining ties between the two countries.