“Old Man Get Out!” Kazakhstan’s Uprising And History…

The story behind Kazakhstan’s uprising: Bentleys in apartment buildings and Hummer taxi cabs!

IN THE NEWS:

“Old Man Get Out”

Verbal sparring between heads of state and diplomats makes for dramatic news. One such incident occurred just two weeks.

Regarding Russia’s troop presence in Kazakhstan, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “one lesson in recent history is that once Russians are in your house, it’s sometimes very difficult to get them to leave.” See WSJ, 1/9/22.

In response, Russia’s foreign ministry posted the following statement: “When Americans are in your house, it may be difficult to stay alive, not to be robbed or violated.” It should be noted that Russia’s troops are leaving Kazakhstan (see NYTimes, 1/13/22), which seems to negate Secretary Blinken’s statement.

As Professor Assel Tutumlu of the Near East University explains in our podcast conversation, for which she joined us from Turkey, Russia’s presence in Kazakhstan has more to do with preserving the rule of its fellow dictators in its geographic sphere of influence than protecting the peace. And as Kazakhs shouted “Old Man Get Out”, their uprising had more to do with…