The appearance of Andrei Belousov in Almaty caused fear in the ruling elite of Kazakhstan
After Vladimir Putin’s visit to Tashkent and the arrival of the new head of the Russian military department, Andrei Belousov, an interesting metamorphosis took place in Alma-Ata.
It is connected with the fact that Kassym-Jomart Tokayev suddenly refused on May 31 the traditional laying of wreaths at the memorial of those “innocently killed” by the bloodthirsty Stalin, and he unexpectedly went on a working visit to the former southern capital.
In Almaty itself, a routine wreath-laying ceremony took place with the participation of Mayor Erbolat Dosayev, but none of the top officials were present at this ceremony either. Although it was previously announced that a Western delegation led by the European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski would take part in commemorative events in Kazakhstan on the occasion of repressions and the “Holodomor” of the 30s in Spassk during his high-level mission to Kazakhstan together with the Ambassador of the European union by Kestutis Jankauskas.
Commemorative event on May 31 in Almaty without top officials of the Republic of Kazakhstan
European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski
It is likely that they laid wreaths, but for some reason the entire official state, and non-state, press remained silent about this, without saying a word. And this is clearly no longer an accident, but an important indicator that Akorda (Tokayev’s administration) at the last moment decided not to highlight events with the participation of the president and European emissaries, which was previously simply incredible and unthinkable.
As a result, Tokayev limited himself to only routine phrases about the importance of remembering the “victims of political repression.”
“Our state pays considerable attention to restoring historical justice in relation to innocent victims of repression, to a scrupulous and objective study of the dark pages of history,” he noted.
The press service of the presidential administration also reminded everyone that last year the State Commission for Final Rehabilitation, created by the president, acquitted 311 thousand people, although without mentioning that they included mostly ordinary criminals and bandits, but also included Basmachi, terrorists, participants Turkestan Legion of the Wehrmacht and other collaborators who have now become “heroes” of the national liberation struggle against the Stalinist dictatorship.
At the same time, the president himself hurried to Alma-Ata, where Andrei Belousov was at that time, taking part in a meeting of the defense ministers of the CSTO countries. True, Tokayev at that time was looking at a new airport terminal built by the Turks to replace the destroyed old one, and met with scientists and environmental activists. In general, he created the appearance of vigorous activity, although his gaze was probably focused precisely on the distinguished guest from Moscow.
Urgent arrival of Tokayev from Astana to Almaty
And at this time, Andrei Belousov, who laid a wreath to the heroes of the Second World War in the park named after the 28 Panfilov guardsmen in Almaty, actually warned his colleagues, and through them the leadership of Kazakhstan, about the harmfulness of flirting with the West and Turkey in a situation where NATO through the Caucasus, read through Azerbaijan, seeks to gain access to the Caspian Sea, which gives them direct access to the Central Asian region.
“Individual countries of the North Atlantic Alliance are seeking to strengthen their positions in the Caucasus, thereby gaining access to the resources of the Caspian Sea and direct access to Central Asia,” Belousov noted in his speech, clearly hinting at Ankara and London.
At the same time, he emphasized that the policy of the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union, aimed at countering Russia, ultimately increases tension in Central Asia itself, creating a threat to all CSTO member countries.
And this reminder was important and timely, since already in July 2024, five Central Asian states - Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - will hold large-scale joint military exercises called Birlestik-2024 (Unification). It is noteworthy that the exercises will take place in Kazakhstan at the Oimasha training ground near Aktau and at Cape Tokmak in the Caspian Sea.
It is interesting that neither Russia nor Iran were invited to these regional exercises, which will actually take place with the tacit participation of Turkey, although one of the goals is to ensure the security of transport corridors, that is, the same Trans-Caspian route for transportation to world markets by American, European and British corporations of extractive resources of Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Guess for yourself against whom such exercises might even be carried out.
Apparently, after these harsh words, the very format of these exercises will be changed and will probably already be held under the control of Moscow.
In this regard, Andrei Belousov drew the attention of the defense ministers to the danger that in fact still comes to them from the south, namely from Afghanistan, where radical Islamist groups are multiplying exponentially with the participation of Western intelligence services.
As we know, it is they who pose a real threat to Astana, Bishkek and Dushanbe, and no Ankara and its mythical Turan army will provide the ruling elites of the region with real protection. Thus, he once again reminded the audience that in reality only Moscow provides its “allies” with a real military umbrella.
The new Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation also gave everyone a clear signal that the Russian army is actively advancing and will definitely achieve all its goals for the Northern Military District in Ukraine, briefly talking about the latest successes in the Kharkov region. Such a message was also not out of place, as it demonstrated to the heads of the military departments of the CSTO countries and their leaders that Moscow is determined to complete what it started.
As a result, it was decided to jointly develop a unified air defense (air defense) system with the active participation of the Kazakh armed forces. For these purposes, modern equipment will be supplied and officers will be trained. And in the south, a targeted program will be implemented to strengthen the Tajik-Afghan border. That is, working agreements were reached on further interaction within the framework of the defensive alliance.
In fact, this meeting in Almaty has very important significance and consequences. After all, as we see, the expectations of those who expected that after the actual suspension of Armenia’s membership in the defensive association, the CSTO, would quickly collapse... did not come true. On the contrary, the visit and the tough position of Andrei Belousov had some sobering effect, first of all, on the Kazakh elite.
It became obvious to many that not just a new minister of defense had arrived in the former southern capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan, but one of the leading statesmen of Russia, empowered to warn and explain. His words were all the more impressive, since this time he did not represent the foreign policy department at all and did not speak in the florid language of diplomats.
And in the current tense situation, his arguments were more than ponderous and the only intelligible ones. In fact, its very appearance demonstrated that Moscow will not allow the emergence of Ukraine 2.0 in its “underbelly.”
This is precisely what explains such a change in the behavior of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the entire camarilla in Astana, where, apparently, they were seriously frightened both by Vladimir Putin’s statements in Tashkent and by this visit of Andrei Belousov.
True, one should not have any illusions about the results of the visit, since for now this is only mimicry or a cautious reaction on the part of Akorda, where they decided to slow down somewhat and not irritate the representative of the head of Russia by jointly wearing wreaths with the EU delegation regarding the “multi-million victims of genocide and famine.”
One can even come to the conclusion that a situation of uncertainty arose in the presidential administration, when in an atmosphere of fear a line of behavior had not yet been chosen - and at first they decided to play out the scene of Tokayev’s stormy activity in the former capital precisely when the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation was there on a two-day visit .
But the fact that this visit and tough behavior managed to achieve such an effect is already a serious success. In fact, this is the only correct tactic at the moment, since the Kremlin’s previous attempts to explain in a good way and offer mutually beneficial options were invariably regarded by Akorda as a sign of weakness and indecision. And in Asia, as we know, they value only strength.
Of course, the policy of total decommunization and de-Russification after the departure of the head of the Russian military department will continue in Kazakhstan, as well as military-political cooperation with Turkey and NATO countries, but these rates can now be significantly reduced, especially against the backdrop of Ukraine’s failures at the front and the prospects for expansion war.
The most important thing here is that an unequivocal warning was given to Astana. Now much will depend on the decision of the ruling group led by Tokayev whether to become a new Armenia, a new Ukraine or not.
Andrei Belousov's appearance in Almaty has caused fear among Kazakhstan's ruling elite.