Kazakhstan: the Invisible Power of Central Asia

With the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991, fifteen new states joined the international conjuncture. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev, who took office as the President of the USSR and largely ended the Cold War with the USA, implemented the policies of Perestroika (restructuring) and Glasnost (openness) in order to prevent the dissolution of the USSR. As a matter of fact, these efforts of Gorbachev, who wanted to prevent disintegration by adopting a more flexible administration with these policies, did not yield results; fifteen republics emerged with the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, independence movements had already started to increase within the union. After the dissolution of the USSR, fifteen republics began their efforts to become nation-states. Since then, the eyes of the world have turned to the Caucasus and Central Asia. Kazakhstan, which has a large area within the Central Asian geography, is a country closely followed by the Russian Federation, Western Europe and the United States.

Post-Independence Relations between the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan

The Caucasus and Central Asia are important geopolitical regions for the Russian Federation today, as they were during the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan has been the most important country for the Russian Federation in Central Asia. Before 1991, Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union as the “Kazakhstan Soviet Socialist Republic”. The Russification policies implemented during the Tsarist era were also tried to be implemented in Central Asia; this policy strengthened the independence movements in Central Asia and the Caucasus. In 1991, the independence struggles that engulfed the entire Caucasus and Central Asia were also effective in Kazakhstan, and after the dissolution of the Union, it continues its existence as the Republic of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan, which has a large area in terms of land area, is also a very rich country in terms of underground resources; it has been a country that both Russia has always wanted to control and attracted the attention of the West.

Since Kazakhstan is rich in natural resources and is an important country in Central Asia, it is a country that the Russian Federation wants to keep relations warm. Another important point in the relations between Kazakhstan and Russia was the signing of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) agreement, which was created on December 8, 1991 after independence. Kazakhstan was the first CIS state with which Russia signed a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in May 1992.[1]

Kazakhstan has not preferred to pursue a unilateral policy in its foreign policy relations after this date; it has aimed to implement a multilateral foreign policy that adopts an equal distance approach to all countries. In 1991, Nursultan Nazarbayev, the founding president of Kazakhstan, envisaged modernization in order for Kazakhstan to integrate into the international environment.

However, this modernization did not take the form of a direct implementation of Western traditions and systems in Kazakhstan; it brought about a modernization while adhering to traditions.

Relations with Russia

Undoubtedly, the biggest reason for Kazakhstan’s economic, political and military structure being at the best level among the Central Asian countries, with which the Russian Federation has the most cooperation in Central Asia, is the good relations established with Russia. An important determinant of Russia’s relations with Kazakhstan in Central Asia is the signing of a military cooperation agreement and the issue of military bases. Since the USSR period and even since the tsarist period, Russia has created a security belt in Central Asia, especially in Kazakhstan. The aim here has been to prevent China from becoming active in the region and to control the region. For this purpose, military bases were placed in this geopolitically and geostrategically important region. In addition to military bases, the Russian Federation has established a “near abroad doctrine” for Kazakhstan in order to increase and maintain its influence in the region. Another important development between Kazakhstan and Russia has been in the field of energy. Kazakhstan, like Turkmenistan, signed a joint declaration with Russia, declaring that it would market Caspian oil through Russia.[2] Kazakhstan’s taking the Russian side on the Caspian oil issue was generally criticized and it was stated that this would have negative consequences for Kazakhstan. In 2000, in parallel with economic developments, Kazakhstan formed the “Eurasian Economic Community” with Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and the Russian Federation.

Post-Soviet Process

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a military cooperation agreement was signed between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Russia established seven large military bases in strategically important regions in Kazakhstan and protected its basing rights here with this agreement. Another manifestation of military cooperation between the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan is the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) signed in 2002. The agreement was signed with six countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the parties established an intergovernmental military alliance.

Kazakhstan, which covers a historically important geopolitical and geostrategic region, has been the most economically, politically and militarily developed country among the Central Asian republics after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan’s pragmatic post-independence relations with the Russian Federation and the adoption of a multilateral foreign policy have undoubtedly contributed to this development. Having the only nuclear power in Central Asia and being rich in underground resources increases Russia’s sensitivity to the region and it does not want the West, which does not have enough natural resources, to approach this region.

After the collapse of the USSR, the United States, China and Western Europe, taking advantage of Russia’s lack of dominance in the region as an advantage, have been paying more attention to Central Asia and as a result, an environment of power struggle has emerged in Central Asia.

Turkey-Kazakhstan relations: From common historical ties to Political, Economic, Military cooperation

After Kazakhstan, which was part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), declared its independence in 1991, Turkey was the first country to recognize the Republic of Kazakhstan. The fact that Kazakhstan and Turkey have common historical and cultural ties has contributed to the development of good relations between the two countries. The fact that Kazakhstan is the most economically, politically and militarily developed country among the Turkic Republics also determines the extent of Turkey’s relations with Kazakhstan. In terms of political relations, relations between Kazakhstan and Turkey are generally good. In order for Turkey to be an effective country in Central Asia, it needs to improve its political dialog with Kazakhstan and implement policies accordingly.

One of the most important problems Kazakhstan had to solve after its independence was to prevent the assimilation of traditional structures and cultures, as it is the region with the highest Russian population density compared to other Central Asian countries. To this end, Kazakhstan’s founding president Nursultan Nazarbayev established Kazakh as the country’s official language after independence. Another important development is the “Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking Countries” founded between Turkey and Kazakhstan in 2010.

Kazakhstan experienced a serious economic crisis after 1991, which was minimized by the richness of its oil and natural resources. This feature of Kazakhstan has enabled the United States, the Russian Federation, China and Western Europe to carry out commercial activities in the region.

Relations between Turkey and Kazakhstan are not only based on shared history and cultural ties. At the same time, the integration of Kazakhstan into the international market after independence was also influenced by the commercial activities of Turkish companies in the region after the US.

In addition to economic relations, Turkey and Kazakhstan have started to take mutual steps in military cooperation in recent years. The most important of these was the establishment of the “Eurasian Organization of Law Enforcement Forces with Military Status (TAKM)” between Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Azerbaijan, which was signed in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2013. With the inclusion of Kazakhstan in this new organization, concrete steps have been taken to realize military cooperation between the important countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Kazakhstan’s Place in International Organizations:

Kazakhstan, which has managed to enter almost all international organizations since its independence, has managed to become a Turkic country that has made a name for itself in the world with this position. Attaching importance to versatility in its foreign policy, Kazakhstan has also managed to attract the attention of Western countries with its economic power.

In addition to its deep economic and political cooperation with Russia, Kazakhstan is a member of NATO’s Cooperation for Peace Organization. Astana, which assumed the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2010, is also the most important country in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Nazarbayev has attached great importance to integration efforts in the region and laid the foundations for many of the organizations established in this region. The Collective Security Treaty Organization, CICA (Conference on Cooperation and Confidence Building Measures in Asia), Central Asian Union and Eurasian Economic Cooperation Organization are the most important ones.

Together with Turkey, it has made significant contributions to the process of Summits of Heads of State of Turkic Speaking Countries. It is also active in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and held the chairmanship of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in 2011.

Kazakhstan owes its prominence in the international arena to these organizations. Thanks to these organizations, Kazakhstan has gained the position of an important country in its region.

The Place and Importance of Kazakhstan in Russia’s Eurasian Policy:

With the collapse of the USSR, the level of cooperation and interaction in the former post-Soviet space has significantly decreased. Central Asian countries sought new economic partnerships in line with their national interests and sought to integrate with the West. In line with this strategic trend, they distanced themselves from Moscow both economically and politically. The same was true for the Russian Federation. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia, struggling with economic problems, sought to sever ties with the former Soviet countries. However, in the last period of Boris Yeltsin’s rule, Russia turned towards this geography with the influence of the opposition and had to establish various cooperation organizations to re-establish political and economic ties.

The idea of Eurasianism, which gained momentum especially during the Putin era, is essentially a concept that emerged with the identity crisis in Tsarist Russia at the beginning of the 20th century and served the establishment of the Soviets intellectually. Many Russian scientists conducted studies to contribute to this idea, and with the establishment of the Soviets, the idea was transformed from theory to practice. In general, the idea argues that Russia is a unifying country between Western and Eastern cultures, and that while it feeds on both cultures, it is not bound to any one culture. It points out that Russia has a balancing role in Eurasia and that Russia has important responsibilities in this geography. Classical Eurasianism, which found itself during the Soviet era, appeared on the stage in the foreign policy of the Russian Federation as New Eurasianism after the collapse of the USSR. In this context, under Vladimir Putin, Russia, which solved its economic problems by paying its debts to the IMF and created a freer space in its foreign policy, adopted the ‘Near Periphery’ doctrine in order to cooperate with regional actors and survive, and then to create a pole on its own.

The idea of Eurasianism, which was also supported by Kazakhstan’s prime minister Nursutan Nazarbayev to increase cooperation in the post-Soviet region, especially in the economic field, was first expressed by Nazarbayev at Moscow University in 1994. Thus, Nazarbayev undertook the task of promoting the idea. According to Nazarbayev, the most important powers of Eurasia are Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkey. Kazakh foreign policy and economy, which are dependent on Russia, support the idea of Eurasianism. In order to support the realization of the Eurasian Union, a university was established in Kazakhstan in the name of Gumilev, a Russian historian interested in Turkic history and the founder of Classical Eurasianism. Based on this information, we can say that Nazarbayev’s Eurasianism is regional, not ethnic, and that he accepts Russia’s centralism.

Russia, which has been engaged in regional integration with Putin’s Near Periphery doctrine, is trying to prevent these countries from entering the US-centered Atlanticist structure. It is trying to achieve this through initiatives such as the CIS and by bringing the idea of Eurasianism to the forefront. On January 1, 2012, with the signing of the Eurasian Economic Area between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, Russia achieved its goal and took an important step towards preventing the US influence in the region. The EEA, which will transform into the Eurasian Economic Union by 2015, is said to follow the model of the European Union, but it is also said that the Union will be reminiscent of the Soviet Union.

Conclusion

Kazakhstan’s importance stems from its geopolitical position and its hydrocarbon resources. After gaining independence, Kazakhstan, which did not struggle with internal problems like other Turkic republics, has spent all its energy on development and gaining a good place in the modern world. Kazakhstan, which is the focal point of the competition between the US, China and Russia in this geography, plays an active role in international organizations and tries to have a say in the issues that concern the world. Nazarbayev, who has turned towards Eurasianism rather than the Atlanticist system based on the US, is preparing to assume important roles in the Eurasian geography together with Russia. Nazarbayev’s goal of increasing Kazakhstan’s GDP to 200 billion dollars by 2015 proves that the country is the invisible power of Central Asia.

Gözde TOP / Boğaziçi University Department of History

Sinem KARADAĞ / Maltepe University Department of International Relations and EU