Kazakhs demand authorities block Russian media to prevent military recruiting

ALMATY -- Kazakhs are urging their government to crack down on Russian propaganda after authorities acknowledged that posts on social networks have been calling for Kazakhs to fight in Ukraine.

The Prosecutor's Office of Kostanay, a northern Kazakh province bordering Russia, said in a statement on June 29 that propaganda regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been growing on social networks.

Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022.

The materials contained "intentional provocative statements and demonstrably false information with signs of inciting ethnic hatred, and insults to the national honour and dignity of citizens", as well as "separatist appeals regarding the territorial integrity of our country", the statement said.

"Moreover, in our region we have documented attempts to recruit the local population to the Russian Federation in order to take part in the armed conflict in Ukraine," the Prosecutor's Office said.

The Prosecutor's Office urged the population not to succumb to provocation.

The office noted that fighting in another country, inciting ethnic hatred and making "appeals to violate the integrity of Kazakhstan and the inviolability and inalienability of its territory" are a crime that is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Disseminating demonstrably false information that presents a threat to public order or substantial harm to public or state interests is punishable by up to seven years' imprisonment, it added.

Both the Russian military and the Wagner mercenary group have long sought Central Asians to fight and die for Moscow's interests.

Youth from countries in Central Asia who are fit for military service and proficient in Russian are being recruited to sign contracts with Russian armed forces.

Immigrants from Central Asia who have received Russian citizenship also are being drafted.

In Kazakhstan, participation in armed conflicts abroad -- unless as part of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces -- is a crime that carries a sentence of up to nine years in prison.

Based on media reports, the Wagner Group has concentrated its recruitment efforts in the northern provinces of Kazakhstan, which border Russia.

Google search statistics show that in Kazakhstan, Wagner attracts the most interest from internet users in North Kazakhstan, Karaganda, Kostanay, Akmola and East Kazakhstan provinces, RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)'s Kazakh service reported in April.

'Zombie channels'

The Kremlin has stepped up its propaganda in northern Kazakhstan in order to widen its influence among the population, say observers.

"Moscow is consequently killing two birds with one stone," Dauren Ospanov, a former Kazakh military officer, told Caravanserai.

"They're engaging in brainwashing, which brings them more supporters in northern Kazakhstan and strengthens those people's support for the so-called 'special military operation'," he said, referring to what the Kremlin calls its invasion of Ukraine.

"At the same time, they're getting volunteer mercenaries who believe that they're going to fight Nazis."

"So many young Kazakhs have had their lives and futures ruined," he added.

"After all, Moscow sees mercenaries -- especially those from the former Soviet Union -- as nothing more than cannon fodder that they've sent to slaughter instead of their own elite soldiers."

Kazakh intelligence agencies need to escalate their fight against Russian propaganda and the recruitment of young men, Ospanov said, adding that what is happening now is a "growing threat to Kazakhstan's national security".

"First of all, it's time to block the broadcast of Russian zombie channels in Kazakhstan," he said.

Before anything else, Russia must be deprived of the propaganda instrument it uses to exert influence in Kazakhstan, Sanjar Iskanderov, spokesman of the Almaty-based publisher Drakkar, said.

"Recruiting became possible thanks to the daily information stream coming from Russia and transmitted through [Russian] state television channels and news sites that promote the Kremlin's agenda and brainwash Kazakhs," he told Caravanserai. "These mercenaries are actually victims of Russian propaganda."

Kremlin propaganda poses a grave threat to Kazakhstan's sovereignty, and its influence is not limited to recruiting, said Iskanderov.

He pointed out that separatist incidents in the northern part of the country earlier this year also stemmed from the Kremlin's ideological indoctrination.

"The Kazakh authorities understand full well that this is a problem, but they're not blocking the stream of propaganda because they're afraid of spoiling relations with Moscow," Iskanderov said.

Kazakh media for their part have long shone light on Russia's illegal recruitment.

In May, journalists backed Marat Kolkobayev, the deputy chairman of the National Security Committee (KNB), into a corner.

"Kazakh men are being recruited. But Kazakhstan can't protect its own citizens. Is the KNB monitoring this, and do you have connections in Russia's penitentiary system?" they asked Kolkobayev.

The KNB is not working with Russia's correctional system and those recruited will be prosecuted, Kolkobayev replied.