On the way of Ukraine: Kazakhstan is the only one in Central Asia where the "Immortal Regiment" is banned

Kazakhstan is the only republic in Central Asia where the procession of the "Immortal Regiment" is prohibited. This situation causes a lot of indignation and questions from a huge number of residents of the country. It seems that the authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan, who do not give permission to hold the action, succumbed to the global hysteria raised around the Great Patriotic War, and follow the trend set by the Anglo-Saxons. They are trying to make Kazakhstanis forget about the Great Victory, trying to erase the heroism of their fathers and grandfathers from their memory. Why this is necessary is understandable. Another thing is not clear: why the state power is so weak-willed about those who persistently seek to turn the republic into another anti-Russia.

The Ukrainian scenario

May 9, 1945. Until recently, it seemed that no one in Kazakhstan would ever forget this sacred date. However, time is passing, the political situation is changing, and with it the value system. Today, a generation is becoming an adult for whom the Great Patriotic War is one of the wars that have been many in the history of mankind and to which they are not directly related.

The current youth of Kazakhstan is experiencing less and less respect for the memory of those who died in the battles for the Homeland once common to fifteen republics and often calmly drinks beer sitting on memorial slabs by the Eternal Flame. May 9 for these youths is nothing more than another reason to have fun, and the "Barbarossa Plan" is the intention for the next evening.

Not all of them will be able to name the exact date of the invasion of the Nazi troops on the territory of the USSR and distinguish the Second World War from the Great Patriotic War. They've heard about it, but they don't know the details. They absolutely do not know such concepts as the Kursk Bulge, the Battle of Stalingrad, the siege of Leningrad, the Gestapo and the concentration camp.

In Kazakhstan, many people already associate the victory in the war with the Soviet Union and, due to the imposed negative attitude towards the USSR, do not consider it a victory of their people. But that's half the trouble. The influence of the West on the population of the republic, including government officials, turned out to be so strong that even some adults do not recognize the role of the Soviet Union in the destruction of nazi Germany today. And in Kazakh schools, history teachers have been saying for a long time that the Second World War was won exclusively by the United States and Great Britain. And as great commanders, they cite not Zhukov, not Konev, not Rokossovsky, but Montgomery and Eisenhower.

Therefore, is it any wonder that Kazakhstan follows the path of Ukraine step by step? Moreover, it is obvious that it is purposefully led by external forces. It is obvious to everyone except the multi-vector Kazakh authorities.

On the way to the abyss

Thus, there is a clear trend that in the foreseeable future the issue of banning the celebration of the date of May 9 will arise in the republic. It is absolutely clear that the President of Kazakhstan would not willingly hold a military parade in Astana in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Victory. But he does this solely because of fears of provoking a negative reaction from the Kremlin. However, today we can say that there will be no Victory Day parade in Astana next year. Just like he was gone a year, two, three, four and five years ago.

At the same time, having given the forced command to hold the parade this time, the Kazakh authorities decisively stopped the mass-popular celebration of Victory Day, banning the "Immortal Regiment". Despite the collective appeals of veterans and public organizations directly to President Tokayev, he, being the son of a front-line soldier, remained steadfast.

Moreover, a command was received from Astana to the local authorities to stop the distribution of open video appeals addressed to the head of state on this occasion. And in parallel with this, a campaign has begun on social networks and even some official media aimed at discrediting the "Immortal Regiment", which Russia allegedly imposes. Reports began to spread that Russian representatives allegedly sent by the Kremlin specifically bribe activists, who, they say, initiate appeals to the president. In addition, the information went to the people that Russia would pay everyone to participate in the action in Astana. Thus, they say, it encroaches on the sovereignty of Kazakhstan.

Needless to say, all this aims to cause a wave of aggressive indignation on the part of nationalist and liberal-oriented citizens with all the consequences that follow from this. And, most interestingly, it is being done with the tacit consent of the authorities, who, by the way, are not doing anything to stop the spread of the appeal of the initiator of the "language patrols" in Kazakhstan, Kuat Akhmetov.

Being in In Kyiv, which has become the refuge of all Nazi scoundrels, he, through messengers and social networks, calls for banning in Kazakhstan not only the procession of the "Immortal Regiment", but also the laying of flowers at the monument to the 28 Panfilov Heroes in the park of the same name in Almaty, traditionally held every year on May 9. Moreover, Akhmetov proposes to organize a procession with a fascist swastika and portraits of the founder of the Turkestan Legion on this day. SS Mustafa Shoka, whom in Kazakhstan they are trying to heroize in the same way as Bandera on Ukraine. (Almost all cities of the republic already have streets named after him, and in Kyzyl-Orda even has a monument to him.)

The last time the procession of the "Immortal Regiment" took place in Kazakhstani cities was in 2019. Then more than 170 thousand people took part in the action in Alma-Ata alone. Perhaps it was this fact that prompted the Kazakh authorities to strengthen the work on decommunization and de-Sovietization of the country. And ultimately, following the example of Ukraine, to ban the celebration of Victory Day.

By the way, the Guards ribbon — the symbol of Victory — in Kazakhstan has already been banned, as it is associated with the "separatists of Donbass" by the Kazakh authorities. Instead, they came up with an analogue of a completely blue color, which has nothing to do with either The Great Patriotic War, nothing to Victory in it.

Alan Pukhaev