If you are in Europe or the US, you might have not heard that #Russian troops "intervened" in #Kazakhstan where the president gave orders to "kill without warning" today. #KazakhstanProtest #Kazachstan (wrong spelling, btw) 🧵
To sum it up, the poor revolted against the reign of Nur-Sultan Nazarbaev, the former president who stayed in power for 30 years, and his puppet, a current president. The army (more or less) sided with the people.
In response, and on the current Kazakh president's request, Putin sent "peacekeeping" paratroopers. Dozens are killed. Many political analysts are commenting on the dangerous situation. However, I have not seen anyone mention an important factor: Eurasianism.
From the beginning of his presidency, Putin, heartbroken by the fall of the Soviet empire, has been consistently pushing the concept of Eurasianism: the idea of creating a Eurasian State, that will stretch from Lisbon to Vladivostok, with the Russian nation at the core.
This doctrine has a rich history, worthy of several thrillers. Let's just say that it was first authored by prominent Russian linguists Prince Nikolay Trubetskoy, Roman Jacobson, and other emigre thinkers in the 1920s; developed by Lev Gumilev, a historian with a tragic fate;
and pushed for the last 30 years by a scandalously known fascist Alexander Dugin, a former aide of Putin, also nicknamed, "Putin's brain." It is tempting to go into the rabbit hole of the history of the movement (it includes the biggest KGB sting project, Trest;
at least three or four most prominent lyrical poets of the 20th century, in different capacities (Akhmatova, Gumilev, Tsvetaeva, Blok); Ghengis Khan; epiphanies in Gulag; cosmic energy; Nazi orgies in communist Moscow and so on and so forth.
I recommend reading Charles Clover's Black Snow, Red Wind for the full story.) For the purposes of this post, however, I will give you the history of Putin's maniacal obsession with Eurasia. Both Putin and Nazarbaev, who ruled Kazakhstan for 30 years, are fans.
Nazarbaev made a speech reflecting the ideas of "neo-Eurasianism" in 1994. Putin has been on it since 2000. One has to admit, that he's been consistent, persistent and transparent on this account and if you follow, the invasion of Kazakhstan two days ago is only a logical step.
I'm only following the geopolitical and ideological part here; oil and money are more obvious and you can read BBC, The Guardian of the NYT to get an idea. Oh, and in case you didn't know: Kazakhstan is the size of Western Europe,
has one of the biggest oil and gas reserves in the world, and used to be a part of the USSR. So here goes: In March 2000, Putin became the President of the Russian Federation. Oct, 2000, in his speech dedicated to the opening of Gumilyov University in Kazakhstan Putin said:
"Lev Nikolaevich Gumilyov is called by many the great Eurasian of our time. He is both a historian and an ethnographer, a poet, a man of encyclopedic knowledge. ... His scientific works became a vivid contribution not only to the development of historical thought...
but also to the confirmation of the ideas of the age-old community, the interconnectedness of peoples inhabiting the vast expanses of Eurasia: from the Baltic and the Carpathians to the Pacific Ocean. The instructive charge that Eurasian ideas carry is especially important today
when we are building truly equal relations between the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. ... We know that Nursultan Nazarbayev is an adherent not only of the idea, but also of the creation of the Eurasian Union of States.
I think that this proposal has not lost its relevance today... Today Russia and Kazakhstan, as well as Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan intend to transform the "Five" Customs Union into a full-fledged international organization - the Eurasian Economic Community...
I am convinced that the spirituality and sense of justice inherent in our peoples will accompany the creation of a civilized Eurasian community." (Source: eurasia.com.ru/docs/putin2.ht…)
In 2001, Putin announces: "Russia remains the core of the integration processes in the Commonwealth... We will continue the painstaking work of building the Union State with Belarus, and will stimulate the further development of integration processes in the CIS as a whole.
The signing of the Treaty on the Establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community is only the first significant step. We are ready to go further in this direction. (source: (kremlin.ru/acts/bank/3635…
In 2002, he notes that "Working with CIS countries is Russia’s main priority in foreign policy." (Source: en.kremlin.ru/events/preside…)
In 2003, Putin states: "And we will consistently increase co-operation within a Eurasian economic community"
In 2003, Putin states: "And we will consistently increase co-operation within a Eurasian economic community"
and creates the Collective Security Agreement Organisation "to provide stability and security over a significant part of the area of the former Soviet Union." Today, this organization sent its paratroopers to Kazakhstan to suppress protestors.
In 2004, Putn, once again, is at the Gumilyov Eurasian University in Astana, taking part in the international forum "Eurasian Integration: Trends of Contemporary Development and Challenges of Globalization."
"The Russian President was the second after Nursultan Nazarbayev, who in his speech touched upon a number of aspects of cooperation between the countries of the EurAsEC and the CSTO. The head of the Russian state was in good spirits and was joking.
'Gumilyov’s ideas are taking possession of the masses,' Vladimir Putin continued. 'Some experts argue that in the 14th or 15th generation, almost all people are relatives. I don’t know how it works on the global scale but in the Eurasian space of the former USSR we are certainly
relatives, and not in the 14th generation, but much closer,' the Russian president said." (Source: nakanune.ru/.../putin_v_as…)
"I understand that you can live according to the principles: why do I need geography - a cab will take you there, but any map will make it clear: Russia is in the very center of Eurasia," Vladimir Putin remarked, switching from a joking to a serious tone.
The same year, he mentioned in his annual address to the Federal Assembly: "Work on deepening integration in the Commonwealth of Independent States remains our priority, especially within the framework of the Common economic space, and the Eurasian economic community.
In 2005, Putin proclaims: "Also certain is that Russia should continue its civilizing mission on the Eurasian continent. (Source: en.kremlin.ru/events/preside…)
In 2006, Putin mentions The Union State with Belarus, the Eurasian Economic Community and the Common Economic Space again.
In 2006, Putin mentions The Union State with Belarus, the Eurasian Economic Community and the Common Economic Space again.
In 2008, while Putin is being a Prime Minister, his puppet Medvedev mentions the union.In 2010, Putin writes about "a harmonious economic community stretching from Lisbon to Vladivostok," in the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, a reference to the Eurasian theory.
In 2011, Putin is still the Prime Minister and he writes in his article "A new integration project for Eurasia: the future that is being born today" : "A crucial integration project, the Common Economic Space of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan (CES), will kick off on Jan 1, 2012.
This project is, without exaggeration, a historic milestone for all three countries and for the broader post-Soviet space.The road to this milestone was difficult and often torturous.... the CIS experience enabled us to launch a many-tiered,
multi-speed integration process in the post-Soviet space, and to set up much-needed institutions such as the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, the Eurasian Economic Community, the Customs Union and finally the Common Economic Space.
...I would like to note that this was the initial objective when the Eurasian Economic Community was set up in 2000. In the end, it was this rationale of close, mutually beneficial cooperation, and the understanding of the commonality of our strategic national interests that led
Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan to form the Customs Union. (full text: russiaeu.ru/.../article-pr…...) He continues in 2013, 2014, 2015... and in 2016...
In 2016, at St.Petersburg Economic Forum, Putin spoke of "greater Eurasia" and said: "In 2011, with Belarus and Kazakhstan, and relying on the dense network of cooperative relationships we inherited from the Soviet Union, we formed a common customs space,
and then upgraded it to the Eurasian Economic Union. The initiator of this project is here with us today, on this very panel. It is President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. We are deepening our integration gradually, and are removing obstacles to commerce and the movement
of investment, technology and workforce. We are implementing an industrial and technological cooperation programme already, and are forming a common service market incrementally. Common energy, oil and gas and financial markets will emerge by 2025. en.kremlin.ru/events/preside…)
In December 2016, it is confirmed that "Russia attaches great importance to the idea of building a multi-level integration model for Eurasia in the form of a Greater Eurasian Partnership. We are already discussing this idea on various international and regional levels."
And in 2021, the writing is on the wall: "Our common projects in the Eurasian Economic Union are aimed at ensuring economic growth and the wellbeing of our people. There are new, interesting projects here...
The Russian ideas of this broad, open association are already being put into practice, in part, via alignment with other integration processes." en.kremlin.ru/events/preside…
So should anyone be surprised at the Russian (and Belarusian) troops in Kazakhstan, protecting Nazarbaev's interests? Does anyone have a doubt that Eurasia is a new oil and gas mafia empire being built? Does anyone (except for Putin and Nazarbaev) think it is a good thing? 
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