Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the red lines in its relationship with Russia have been unclear for Kazakhstan. If earlier Kazakhstan holding military drills with NATO would not have angered Russia, now Moscow sees itself as being at war with the West and may act much more aggressively.
All eyes will be on the China-Russia strategic partnership, but the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Central Asian members have greater confidence and bargaining power than ever before—and Beijing knows it.
What kind of country would Kazakhstan or Ukraine be if, back then, they had tried to push their way into the nuclear club?
The nuclear testing component left a devastating legacy in Kazakhstan because for 40 years the military tested nuclear weapons, both in the atmosphere and later underground.
Above all, what made this unique and sensitive operation possible was the fundamental trust between the governments of Kazakhstan and the United States. With only a couple of years’ worth of diplomatic relations, the two countries dealt with serious political, technical, security, and logistical challenges.
The region is dependent on Russia but wary of endorsing Moscow’s actions.
Despite close economic ties with Russia, not a single Central Asian country has endorsed President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine.
What are the lessons and the likely consequences of the recent crisis in Kazakhstan for the country itself, for Central Asia, and for Russia’s role in the region?
The untold true story of how the obscure country of Kazakhstan said no to the most powerful weapons in human history.
In a complex, changing, and increasingly contested world, the Carnegie Endowment generates strategic ideas and independent analysis, supports diplomacy, and trains the next generation of international scholar-practitioners to help countries and institutions take on the most difficult global problems and safeguard peace. Join our mailing list to become part of our network of more than 150 scholars in 20 countries.
Sign up to receive emails from Carnegie!