Within what expansionist Russia considers as its "sphere of influence" lies the resource-rich, but sparsely populated former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan in central Asia. There's a political upheaval going on there, with demonstrations against the pro-Russian government of President Kassim-Jomart Tokayev as a result of higher prices and political ossification from years of one-party rule. Earlier today, Tokayev gave his security forces a "shoot to kill without warning order" against protesters.
Unfortunately for democracy, Kazakhstan is part of a pseudo-NATO pact with Russia, called the Collective Security Treaty Organization, along with such Russian client states as Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. In reality, the pact provides a cover for Russia to intervene in these countries when it feels its interests are threatened, including internal threats to its Russia-friendly governments on its borders:
"Chaotic and violent scenes persisted in the resource-rich Central Asian country of 19 million, as the first 'peacekeeping' troops from a Russia-led military alliance arrived following the leader’s request for foreign intervention to deal with widespread protests over a decrepit political system and dramatic energy price hikes.
Russian paratroopers helped local forces clear out the protesters occupying the airport so that round-the-clock flights could bring in some 2,500 troops from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)."
"In contrast to this portrait of the demonstrators as hardened militants, several thousand demonstrated peacefully in the city of Zhanaozen, one of the first hotspots of the riots, on Friday. They issued the most specific list of demands to date, asking for a change in power, freedom for civil rights activists, and a return to a 1993 version of the constitution, which is considered to have a more democratic tone and a clearer division of power than the current one."
Can't have "a more democratic tone" on Russia's border, can we? Russian thug Vladimir Putin sees these movements as threats to his power and influence:
"Moscow has in the past deployed peacekeepers to countries that Putin fears are slipping out of his political orbit, which extends to many former Soviet states. Leaders in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine have previously complained that such troops prop up pro-Russian separatist forces."
Putin's ultimate goal is a re-integration of these client states into Russia, and reestablish the geographic "footprint" of his much beloved and mourned Soviet Union. This is more evidence of that.
BONUS: Observers think the situation works to Ukraine's advantage, since Putin can't afford a crisis on two fronts.
(photo: Troops man perimeter of main square in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Mariya Gordeyeva / Reuters)
