The Perennial Partnership: The Global Economic Crisis and Russian-Kazakh Relations

Making up nearly 90 percent of the total area of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Russia and Kazakhstan are also two of the ten largest states in the world. Both have huge oil and gas reserves, considerable industrial and agricultural potential, and developed transportation infrastructures. Their more than 7,500-kilometer common border is the world’s longest unbroken international frontier. While Russia and Kazahkstan are among the main initiators of reintegration efforts in the post-Soviet space, Kazakhstan tries to conduct a balanced policy that does not rely too heavily upon any external center of power. Taking this into account, Russian-Kazakh relations are important not only for the two states but also for others seeking to solve common regional security issues, strengthen economic and political influence in Central Asia, and utilize transnational transportation networks. […]

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