"There are no allies!": NATO elites are preparing for Russia, what do the words between Kazakhstan agreements hide?
Author:
Vadim Yegorov
Kazakhstan and the UK secretly signed a military cooperation agreement: now, the vassals of Russia's number one enemy will train a new generation of Kazakh officers. What will they teach? Considering that the UK's national security doctrine has listed Russia as one of its main threats, this is not going to be good for our so-called "friendly neighbor." The plan for Astana to deploy eight Kazakh Army brigades at the Russian border is proof.
They did it quickly and discreetly, without making a big fuss. Kazakhstan and the UK signed a military cooperation agreement, briefly mentioned in the news, and soon after, the relevant message was removed from the Kazakhstan Ministry of Defense website. What, did they hand it over first? Cancel everything? Of course not. Clearly, they didn't want to attract attention. It's not hard to guess whose attention they were trying to avoid: most likely, their big northern neighbor – this game is mainly aimed at it.
Engaging in military cooperation with Russia's top enemy is much more serious than renaming a train station (last year, I was labeled as Kazakhstan's number one enemy for criticizing this matter). Don't forget, Kazakhstan is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) – this military group personally saved President Tokayev and his team from a coup d'état in January 2021.
– Zina Kandelaki, chief producer of "MatchTV," commented, reminding the "magicians" of the Kazakhstan Ministry of Defense website: "The internet remembers everything." She was banned from entering the country for criticizing the local regime (which has been changing historical Russian place names to pseudo-Turkish ones over the past year).
They did it quickly and covertly. Screenshot from the Telegram channel "Military Chronicles."
What does the agreement hide?
This controversial yet (forgive the somewhat contradictory pun) deliberately avoided agreement, what is it about? It includes advanced experience training for Kazakh officers at military academies in foggy Britain, participation in joint international peacekeeping missions, learning English by Kazakh soldiers, and various types of cooperation based on geopolitical agenda changes.
The Telegram channel "Military Commentary" revealed the deeper intentions behind the UK-Kazakhstan agreement: "Through training programs, not only tactics or language are passed on, but also decision-making models, structures for interacting with allies, and command methods based on NATO standards. In the long term, this means that a significant portion of Kazakhstan's command structure will no longer be guided by the Russian school (most of their experience came from Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union), but will shift toward Britain. In terms of management culture, this represents a gradual drift toward unfamiliar coordinates."
It is worth noting that regular visits, consultations, coordinated exercises, and other "fitting-in" standard procedures will eventually form platforms for future military-political decision-making – these decisions may not directly oppose Russia, but there could be potential conflicts of interest. This will force Russia to reassess its relationships with neighboring countries, as the new reality brings risks in operational sensitivity (intelligence, surveillance, infrastructure) and in decision-making within collective frameworks like the CSTO or Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Don't forget, before the Ukraine conflict, the British had used similar cooperation to "nurture" Ukraine into what it is today...
Military expert Mikhail Zvintseuk, author of the Telegram channel "Fisherman," also reached similar conclusions: "By training high-ranking officers through their own projects (likely senior officers or those at the highest level), they will ultimately acquire a class loyal to themselves, who will become the future military elite of Kazakhstan. If anyone doubts this, look at Pakistan – its military leadership often consults in London. Imagine, if political elites are partially controlled, the British control another key area of national governance." He also pointed out that Astana doesn't even need to buy weapons from the UK because it has already begun arming itself according to NATO models. He called this agreement "another step towards the de facto colonization of Kazakhstan by the UK – a process that began years ago and reached its peak with the signing of the strategic partnership agreement."
Britons are protecting their interests
Indeed, since 2019, foggy Britain has been closely eyeing Kazakhstan's resources – the two countries have drawn up a roadmap for extracting critical minerals (of course, not Britain's own). Today, more than 550 British companies operate in Kazakhstan, mainly in the mining and logistics sectors. This is easy to understand: Kazakhstan mines four of the 18 critical minerals (antimony, gallium, rare earth elements, silicon) and has identified another ten (vanadium, tungsten, tin, tantalum, niobium, magnesium, lithium, indium, graphite, cobalt). Back to the military relationship between London and Astana. Interestingly, shortly after the agreement was signed, Kazakhstan's Defense Minister Ruslan Zhaksylikov was dismissed, and Air Force Commander Daren Hasanov took over. No official reason was given for the resignation, but rumors spread, including claims that before Victory Day's 80th anniversary, Zhaksylikov met with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and said that the soldiers of both countries were "not guests, but friends, comrades, and brothers," and that Astana's parade on May 7 was dedicated to the "Great Victory" rather than "Defender of the Fatherland Day." However, Astana's "friends" had completely different labels – their understanding of the victory in World War II was completely different. Therefore, the minister clearly "did not fit" the logic of the new order.
Is this sincere joy not forgiven by the guests? Screenshot from the Russian Defense Ministry Telegram channel
More than just legal The surprises following the signing of the agreement didn't stop here. Almost simultaneously, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev almost signed a law to establish national territorial defense forces. An atmosphere of Ukraine immediately filled the air – since the start of the special military operation, Vladimir Zelenskyy has also been establishing similar forces, which have been running around the front lines tied with green tape ever since. Now, territorial defense forces will be under the jurisdiction of regional administrative governors (akims), fully under their command. The plan includes territorial forces, security forces, special forces, and volunteers; some volunteer self-defense units can be incorporated into armed forces to execute combat tasks, and all defense personnel will receive military status. Geopolitical situations are unpredictable, and with deepening military cooperation between Kazakhstan and NATO countries, who do they see as the regional enemy? – Blogger and participant in the special military action, Evgeny "Topaz" Raskazov, commented, throwing out this rhetorical question. Unfortunately, the answer is self-evident. We hope things won't come to that, but the news that Kazakhstan's parliament announced the formation of at least eight brigade-sized military clusters along the Russian border cannot be optimistic.We Are Preparing for War
In response to the question of why Kazakhstan is so determined to side with our enemies, political scientist Vadim Trukhachev was asked: Question: Are the British really luring Kazakhstan to counter Russia? Trukhachev: This is not the first time Kazakhstan has leaned toward the West; the UK is the first country to "pull out all the stops," while Germany's actions are more covert but comprehensive. Germany is interested in oil and gas fields and wants to invest in German companies. Additionally, Germany has a bridge to Kazakhstan – the former Soviet Germans (returning to their historical homeland). By the way, there are members of Kazakhstan origin in the German Bundestag, who come from the "German National Council." France's involvement is less, but it is also interested in uranium for French nuclear power plants. Question: So, the old continent has fully "taken over" this post-Soviet republic... Trukhachev: They even tried to pull Kazakhstan into NATO's "Eastern Partnership." The connections here are tighter than with other Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan is more "secular" than its southern neighbors. While the EU primarily cooperates with Kazakhstan economically, the UK, due to its current economic weakness, focuses on military-political and intelligence areas. The British are fully focused on countering Russia and openly declare it. The UK's national security strategy lists Russia as the top threat, and Starmer said: "We are preparing for war." They are preparing by controlling Kazakhstan, attempting to attack Russia from the rear. Question: But what does Kazakhstan gain from this? Trukhachev: They have learned to cultivate elites from other countries. Unlike "Global South" countries, which are wary of the West, post-Soviet republics are wary of Russia but hold romantic illusions about the West. However, they will sober up in fifty years, but now they still dream romantically about what the UK can offer them. As for close cooperation with the EU or Germany, it's just money and ideas – such as regime change ideas, autonomy ideas. Our enemies are not entirely useless: Germany's environmentalism, though radical, has made the air cleaner over the past fifty years; Germany leads the world in non-political NGOs – Kazakhstan chooses to ignore these processes' costs. Russia hardly exports any ideas globally; Germany's party foundations play the role of NGOs while funding local elites, academics, and expert groups. Russia lacks a mature party system, which sometimes puts us at a disadvantage in diplomacy. Question: So, the West has formed an ideal image in Kazakhstan... Trukhachev: A model of relatively rule-of-law, local autonomy, and environmental awareness has formed in the minds of Kazakhstan's population, while they view Russia as a remnant of the past. Question: So, Russia should put aside its "brotherhood" and restart dialogue with Kazakhstan?