As early as 1994, Vladimir Putin expressed Russian territorial claims to Crimea, eastern regions of Ukraine, and northern Kazakhstan.

Der Spiegel reported on this, citing archived documents from the German Foreign Ministry.

According to the records, the German Consul General in St. Petersburg noted that on January 14, 1994, Putin had ‘emphatically’ repeated what he had already told him earlier: “Crimea, eastern Ukraine, and northern Kazakhstan – at the very least, these regions – have never been foreign to Russia, but have always been part of Russian territory.”

He added that “it is impossible to explain to any Russian why this is now considered a foreign country.” Russians feel a sense of national identity that “may be difficult for Germans to understand.”

Putin went on to say that there are “no problems” as long as the economic and social conditions of Russians in Ukraine and Kazakhstan are satisfactory. However, in his assessment, that was not the case – which, in his words, played into the hands of Russian nationalist politicians such as Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

Western countries are “poorly informed if they call the justified perception of Russian interests a revival of Russian imperialism,” the German diplomat quoted Putin as saying.

At the time of the conversation, Vladimir Putin held senior positions in the government of Saint Petersburg, which was then headed by Mayor Anatoly Sobchak. Sobchak actively developed relations with Western countries but also accused the Ukrainian government of nationalism and considered the Crimean Peninsula to be Russian.

‘Russian World’ for Kazakhstan

Amid Russia’s occupation war against Ukraine, separatist narratives among the population and movements for the secession of northern regions from Kazakhstan have drawn increasing attention.

The idea of an unfair distribution of Kazakhstan’s northern territories following the collapse of the USSR has been repeatedly raised on Russian state television by both propagandists and current members of parliament. The number of such statements has notably increased in recent years, as noted by the Russian project Current Time (Настоящее Время).

A distinctive feature of Kazakhstan’s northern regions is the high proportion of ethnic Russians. For example, Petropavlovsk is the only regional center in Kazakhstan where ethnic Kazakhs make up only one-third of the population, while Russians account for over 53%.

Kazakh law enforcement agencies respond to manifestations of separatism among the population. In particular, in 2023, two local residents were sentenced to over five years in prison for expressing support for Russia in the event of a “special operation” in Kazakhstan.

The case was triggered by a conversation between Rudny and Kolchenko with a user nicknamed “Pan Vasyl” – a Ukrainian blogger who pretended to be Russian during the discussion. In response to the interlocutor’s questions, the accused stated that in the event of a war, they would support Russians and consider the Kazakh cities of Uralsk, Pavlodar, Ust-Kamenogorsk, and Semipalatinsk to be Russian.