Since Russia fell into the fire pit of the Ukraine war, many people have noticed that Central Asia, which has always been regarded as the "backyard" by Moscow, has begun to experience a wave of "de-Russification".
The five "Stan countries" in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, the word "Stan" are omitted) are all active, hoping to take the opportunity to strengthen their national independence and get rid of Moscow's control over them. control, and refused to support Russia in the Ukraine war.
Some countries even changed their previous submissive attitude towards Moscow, and began to say some nasty words in front of Putin that made Russians very uncomfortable.
At the end of December last year, Putin held an informal summit of leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States in St. Petersburg. To demonstrate the unity of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Putin prepared a souvenir for each leader, including himself: a golden ring.
But among the 8 Commonwealth of Independent States (including 5 stans) participating in the meeting, except for Putin's good buddy, Belarusian President Lukashenko, other leaders refused to wear it on the spot.
Why do the Commonwealth of Independent States (including 5 stans) want to "rebel against Putin"?
The answer is that complex is very complicated, but simple is also very simple.
To put it simply, the war launched by Russia to annex Ukrainian territory under the pretext of "demilitarization and de-Nazification" has aroused the fear of the CIS countries. The CIS countries are generally worried that the land of Ukraine Both power and strength have been embezzled by Russia, will it be your turn next?
Kazakh President Tokayev (right) met with CSTO Secretary-General Zas at the presidential palace.
(Photo courtesy of Kazakh Presidential Palace)
After all, there are more or less Russians living in all stan countries, there are Russian gathering areas in the country, and they are inextricably linked with Russia.
Russia will dare to use some excuses to attack Ukraine today. Who can guarantee that the same "story" will not be copied next time and pasted on other CIS countries?
Among the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Russia is the dominant one. In the past, everyone was attached to it because they were afraid of it. The flames of war cannot be extricated from themselves. Other countries that are worried about following Ukraine's footsteps are naturally unwilling to continue living in Russia's shadow, and of course they must alienate Russia.
In fact, not only these stan countries are "de-Russizing", but other countries are also taking advantage of the opportunity to pry Russia's territory.
At the SCO Samarkand summit last year, Turkey reached out into Central Asia. The picture of Erdogan sitting firmly among the countries and guiding the world at that time impressed many people deeply.
In recent days, US Secretary of State Blinken went to Central Asia again, visited Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and held the fourth "C5+1" (that is, the five Central Asian countries plus the United States) ministerial meeting with the foreign ministers of the region.
Blinken's intentions can be seen on his knees.
US Secretary of State Blinken (Reuters)
In addition, a big country in the East is not idle. The China-Kyrgyz-Uzbekistan Railway, which has been stagnant for 25 years due to Russia's opposition, finally signed an agreement last year and started to start construction.
I have written about the significance of the China-Jiwu Railway, so I won’t go into details here.
Among the above-mentioned countries, the "de-Russification" of one country is particularly eye-catching, and that is Kazakhstan, the largest landlocked country in Central Asia.
In the past year, the new Kazakh President Tokayev has not only repeatedly accused Russia of being arrogant and rude to the former CIS countries in public, which is very disrespectful to Putin, but has also accelerated the process of "de-Russification" at the national policy level.
For example, Kazakhstan formulated the Caspian Sea Transport Corridor plan last year, intending to fundamentally adjust the energy transport pattern of the country that has long relied on Russia.
This time Blinken visited the Central Asian countries, and Kazakhstan was also the first stop.
At the Shanghai Cooperation Summit held in Kazakhstan last year, President Tokayev of Kazakhstan personally went to the airport to welcome the Chinese leader. There were singing and dancing on the scene to welcome Putin. When it was time to go to Putin, the scene was deserted and there was only one deputy prime minister to pick him up.
Kazakhstan has become the most active country in "de-Russization" in Central Asia. In addition to the common psychological drive of Central Asian countries, there are also some special reasons.
One of the stimulating factors was an interview after the Crimean crisis in 2014. At that time, some Kazakhs asked Putin whether Kazakhstan would be occupied like Ukraine in the future. The positioning is exactly the same), and he also added that "Kazakhs are valuable in the Russian world" and "Kazakhs are a Russian-speaking country in the full sense."
Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the top FSB on February 28.
(Reuters)
Putin's words directly stimulated Kazakhstan's security awareness. Because there is a large Russian-speaking area in the northern part of Kazakhstan bordering Russia, they have since publicly called for alienation from Russia to prevent Russia from encroaching on the territory and following Ukraine's footsteps.
After the outbreak of the Russo-Ukraine war this year, seeing the pro-Russian areas of Ukraine being successively occupied by Russia and designated as Russian territory, Kazakhstan was even more frightened.
Another reason is the Kazakh riots that occurred early last year.
In January last year, because of the oil price issue, riots occurred in Kazakhstan against the family of the former president. The Russian "CSTO" immediately dispatched thousands of Russian peacekeepers to Kazakhstan to help Kazakhstan put down the riots.
Ordinary people may think that Tokayev used his strength to remove the power of the former president's family during the riots and took control of the country. As a beneficiary of the riots and the suppression of the riots, Tokayev should thank Putin of Russia.
However, in Tokayev’s view, Russia’s deployment of troops into Kazakhstan to quell the riots under the framework of the CSTO is definitely a signal worthy of vigilance. The risk of military intervention under the framework even repeats the scene when the Soviet Union sent troops to invade the capital of Czechoslovakia to suppress the Prague riots (known in history as the "Prague Spring").
May I ask which country or regime is less vulnerable to such a huge external security risk?
Especially when faced with a country that Russia has repeatedly invaded other countries and is obsessed with regional hegemony and territorial expansion.
In view of this, it is not surprising that Kazakhs are at the forefront of the wave of "de-Russification" in Central Asia.
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