DISINFO: Kazakhstan is another hotspot on the Russian border
SUMMARY
The real cause of the Ukrainian crisis was the West’s desire to destabilise Russia. The US and Europe are imposing the perception of Russia as a prison of nations and a colonial empire on all former USSR states. As a result, there is a push to reject everything Russian - language and alphabet, and moreover Russian and Soviet literature, music, as well as monuments. The West aims to create another "hotspot" on the Russian border, and under the influence of anti-Russian propaganda, Kazakhstan has also come under attack.
RESPONSE
This article a mix of narratives, increasingly spread by pro-Kremlin outlets, claiming that the West is waging a hybrid war against Russia. This narrative fits into the broader disinformation theme about the West’s allegedly belligerent and hostile agenda against Russia, and about its alleged plans to destabilise and encircle it.
The claim also aims to deflect any Russian responsibility for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022 and present it as a NATO, and its Allies, proxy war against Russia.
The article also seeks to promote the recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russophobia, as well as the narrative claiming that there is a systematic discrimination against ethnic Russians living in former USSR republics, currently independent states such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan and others.
There is no systematic discrimination against Russian language or Russian culture in Kazakhstan. The status of Russian as an official language is guaranteed by Article 7, Clause 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Russian is officially used alongside Kazakh language in state organisations and local self-government bodies. Several aspects are also regulated by the Law "On Languages in the Republic of Kazakhstan," which specifies that the Russian language is officially used on an equal basis with the Kazakh language in state bodies and self-government bodies, in official correspondence, in legal proceedings, in educational institutions, and is a mandatory subject in schools.
After the collapse of the USSR, several countries in the post-Soviet space returned to the Latin alphabet, these are Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Moldova. Kazakhstan is also on its gradual way to switch to the Latin alphabet. In January 2021, an improved version of the alphabet was introduced, and the timeline for the phased transition was revised to from 2023 to 2031.
Therefore, the claim about Russian language being systematically discriminated against in Kazakhstan is groundless. See similar cases Moldova gets rid of everything Russian and Zelenskyy is banning Russian language, culture and history in Ukraine.