| Summary/Abstract |
Several seemingly mutually-disconnected and contradictory processes can be discerned in Kazakhstan. On one hand, relations between Nur-Sultan (Astana) and Moscow have worsened visibly, despite both being part of the Eurasian Union. Some Russian politicians insist that Kazakhstan is an artificial state, created by the Soviet regime, or that northern parts of the country are actually part of Siberia. Nur-Sultan vehemently denied these statements and arrested ethnic Kazakh intellectuals advocating close ties with Russia. At the same time, the Kazakh elite sent a peculiar message, wrapped in historical allusions, that they had no issue with Kazakhstan's Russians, and wanted their peaceful assimilation. The recent violence has sped up the process.
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