"Your Excellency, Mr. Vladimir Putin." This is how the Russian president was welcomed in Astana.

Massive banners proclaiming, “Your Excellency, Mr. Vladimir Putin, welcome to Astana!” adorn the streets. The tricolor is visible everywhere, even in the sky: six military planes create white, blue, and red stripes over the airport—this is how the capital of Kazakhstan welcomes the president of a neighboring country.

“They have gone overboard,” wrote a Facebook user from Astana, sharing a photo of the streets decorated with Russian flags. Posts highlighting the abundance of the tricolor on the day of Putin's arrival flooded Kaznet. The greeting that included the phrase “Your Excellency” outraged some users.

Kazakh political scientist Gaziz Abishev explained in his telegram channel that Putin's visit is state-related, hence the grand reception, and the phrase “Your Excellency” is a standard form of address for high-ranking representatives of foreign states.

Similar greetings have been displayed in Astana, but in Kazakh (“Жоғары мәртебелі”) and in the native languages of visiting leaders on official visits. However, these did not generate much excitement. Perhaps the heightened attention to this greeting this time is due to the guest's identity.

Putin is effectively in international isolation. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, American officials and most European leaders ceased communication with him, and The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of war crimes.

— Putin's image has suffered significantly. Akorda has done everything to revive it, playing to what the Kremlin and Putin personally need, — believes political scientist Dimash Alzhanov. — State visits can indeed be ceremonial, but hanging billboards [with the words “Your Excellency”]—diplomatic etiquette implies such addressing, but in correspondence or during formal meetings—and other things [in Kazakhstan] are done to emphasize the status of the invited person.

Putin's plane landed on the evening of November 27. At the foot of the ramp, he was greeted by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. An honor guard was assembled at the airport. Children waving flags of both countries welcomed Putin and members of the official Russian delegation.

The president's press service reports that artist Asel Sabyrzhanqyzy (Assol) presented the presidents with an unfinished painting she began working on since Putin's departure to Astana. She invited Tokayev and Putin to “participate in painting the canvas.” They added a few strokes with dark paint. The painting depicts Tokayev's residence, Akorda, and the Moscow Kremlin.

The ceremonial part continued at Akorda. Tokayev welcomed Putin as he arrived by car at the building of his residence. After introducing the members of the delegations and playing the national anthems, negotiations began in both narrow and extended formats.

— First of all, I want to thank the president for such a ceremonial meeting. Kassym-Jomart Kemelovich, — Putin began, almost flawlessly pronouncing the name and patronymic of the president of Kazakhstan, — we meet regularly and have somehow become accustomed to mmm... a working atmosphere.

— This ceremonial setting is somewhat unusual, — added the Russian leader with a smile.

During the meeting, Putin invited Tokayev to an informal CIS summit in St. Petersburg in December and to the military parade on May 9 in Moscow.

Parades on Red Square to commemorate the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 are held annually. While two decades ago dozens of foreign leaders attended the event in the Russian capital, in recent years, only a few high-ranking guests have arrived. Tokayev attended the parade in Moscow this year and last year (Kazakhstan has not held parades since 2019: initially, the cancellation was attributed to pandemic-related quarantine measures, and later to the need to economize).

Astana and Moscow report that the agenda for the Kazakhstan-Russia negotiations on November 27 includes “issues of further development of strategic partnership and alliance in various areas.”

Tokayev stated during the negotiations that Kazakhstan and Russia have intensified cooperation in recent years.

— The agenda of your visit is quite extensive. In anticipation of the visit, members of the governments worked, discussing all the issues on the agenda. Today we will adopt very important documents—20 agreements that will undoubtedly provide a powerful additional impetus for the further development of our good neighborliness and cooperation, — quotes Tokayev's press service.

— The mutual volume of cooperation is increasing: it is already close to 30 billion dollars. Despite all the difficulties of today, this interaction is only expanding and becoming more interesting and mutually beneficial for both sides. We talked not only about industry and finance, but tomorrow we will also discuss such a crucial aspect today as security, — already within the framework of the CSTO, — said Putin, announcing a session of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which will take place in Astana on November 28.

On the day of the Russian president's visit, the state newspaper “Kazakhstan Pravda” published an article by Putin, while the Russian “Izvestia” printed a publication by Tokayev.

In his article, Putin expresses gratitude to Tokayev for supporting the Russian language.

“We are, of course, grateful to the leadership of the Republic of Kazakhstan, personally to Kassym-Jomart Kemelovich for the careful attitude towards the Russian language and for the important initiative to establish the International Organization for the Russian Language, the activities of which will promote its advancement as a means of interstate and interethnic communication,” — states the article authored by Putin.

There are thousands of schools in Kazakhstan that offer education in the Russian language. According to Putin, three more will soon open in Kyzylorda, Taraz, and Turkestan—cities in the south of the country where the majority of the population is Kazakh.

Shortly before Putin's arrival, the Mazhilis approved the ratification of an agreement on the international organization for promoting the Russian language. The initiative to create this structure originated from Tokayev in 2022.

In expert circles, Tokayev's proposal and subsequent actions are viewed as a diplomatic gesture aimed at appeasing Russia and an attempt by Astana to avoid a fate similar to Ukraine's. When Moscow invaded the neighboring country in 2022, it claimed to be protecting the rights of the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine.

In his article in “Kazpravda,” Putin wrote about economic cooperation, the growth of trade turnover, and investments. He emphasized the readiness of the Russian state corporation “Rosatom” to cooperate with Kazakhstan, which last month held a referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant. According to official data, more than 71 percent of voters approved the construction of the NPP.

“The Russian state corporation, which possesses unique competencies and technical solutions often without global analogs, is ready for new large-scale projects with the Kazakh side,” — wrote the president of Russia.

According to the government of Kazakhstan, applications for construction are being considered from companies from Russia, China, France, and South Korea. Tokayev expressed the opinion on the day of the referendum that the NPP should be built by an international consortium.

In his article in “Izvestia,” Tokayev reported on “large-scale joint activities in energy,” including involving Russia in the construction of coal-fired thermal power plants in three cities of Kazakhstan and modernizing the Ekibastuz GRES.

Neither Tokayev nor Putin mentioned Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, which has been ongoing for nearly three years, in their articles.

The Russian president emphasized that Astana and Moscow “share similar positions regarding the key role of international law in interstate relations and the necessity of considering the interests of all countries in matters of global security, stability, and sustainable development.”

The president of Kazakhstan concluded his article by assuring that Kazakhstan has been and remains “a reliable strategic partner and ally of Russia in this conflict-ridden and tumultuous period of history.”