Skip to main content

Eurasianet

Main Menu

  • Regions
  • Topics
  • Media
  • About
  • Search
  • Newsletter
  • русский
  • Support us
X

Caucasus

Armenia
Azerbaijan
Georgia

Central Asia

Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan

Conflict Zones

Abkhazia
Nagorno Karabakh
South Ossetia
Transnistria

Eastern Europe

Belarus
Moldova
Russia
The Baltics
Ukraine

Eurasian Fringe

Afghanistan
China
EU
Iran
Mongolia
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
X

Arts and Culture

Economy

Politics

Kazakhstan 2022 unrest
Kyrgyzstan 2020 unrest

Security

Society

American diplomats in Central Asia
Arts and Culture
Coronavirus
Student spotlight
X

Visual Stories

Audio
Video

Blogs

Tamada Tales
The Bug Pit

Podcasts

Expert Opinions
The Central Asianist
X
You can search using keywords to narrow down the list.

As Ukraine Splinters, Kazakhstan Mulls Criminalizing Calls for Separatism

Paul Bartlett Apr 8, 2014

As leaders across the former Soviet Union watch another predominantly Russian-speaking region of Ukraine demand independence this week, Astana is mulling legislation that would jail anyone who calls for separatism in Kazakhstan. Under a proposed amendment to the criminal code, Kazakhstanis could get 10 years in prison for making "illegal and unconstitutional calls for changes to the territorial integrity of the Republic of Kazakhstan,” Arman Ayaganov of Kazakhstan's Prosecutor General's office told journalists April 8, Tengrinews reports. "The article refers to serious [offenses] and the first part provides a maximum penalty of imprisonment for up to seven years. If these same actions would be performed by a person using his official position, up to 10 years," Ayaganov added.The amendment would cover calls for separatism or independence made in the media, including the Internet – and thus, it seems, on social media platforms like Facebook. In February, Russian nationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky sparked outrage in Astana by suggesting Russia should reabsorb Central Asia.Kazakhstan is home to a sizeable ethnic Russian minority (22 percent of the population), mostly concentrated in the north along the 7,000-kilometer border with Russia. Though Astana supported Russia's annexation of Crimea last month, officials are nervously monitoring domestic developments. They’re fearful of the precedent Russian President Vladimir Putin set when he signed legislation welcoming Crimea into the Russian Federation on March 21 after a referendum widely condemned as a sham. Calls for independence in Donetsk and other areas of eastern Ukraine this week are likely adding to anxieties. Kazakhstan's parliament has been discussing revisions to the criminal code since last fall. This sudden addition looks like a reaction to events in Ukraine. 

Paul Bartlett is a journalist based in Almaty.

Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all, and influenced by none.

Popular

Armenian border residents wary of opening up to Turkey
Arshaluis Mgdesyan
Chinese cars conquer Kazakhstan as Russian imports end
Almaz Kumenov
Caspian cul-de-sac: How Europe failed to diversify its gas supply
David O'Byrne

Eurasianet

  • About
  • Team
  • Contribute
  • Republishing
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact
Eurasianet © 2022