Wariness about War Talk in Kazakhstan: February Following January in Kazakhstan

• In Event: Shifting Sands: The Rippling Effects of the Russo-Ukrainian War in Central Eurasian Political Talk

Abstract

Though the Kazakhstani government recently permitted a small demonstration on the second anniversary of the war, it has carefully policed public discourse. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 began only a month after the January unrest in several cities of Kazakhstan – unrest quelled with the help of Russian security forces. Since then, Kazakhstan has attempted to maintain good relations with both Russia and Ukraine. Tokayev’s government has treated public protests, including war talk, as threats to the delicate equipoise of the government’s foreign relations and to domestic stability. This paper will trace both the discourse and state responses.

Author

• Gardner Bovingdon, Indiana U Bloomington