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

Massive banners reading "Your Excellency, Mr. Vladimir Putin, welcome to Astana!" adorn the streets. The tricolor flag is everywhere: six military aircraft "paint" white, blue, and red stripes in the sky above the airport as the capital of Kazakhstan welcomes the president of the neighboring country.

"They went overboard" — wrote a Facebook user from Astana, posting a photo of the streets decorated with Russian flags. Posts about the abundance of the tricolor flooded Kaznet on the day of Putin's arrival. The greeting with the phrase "Your Excellency" outraged some users.

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

Similar greetings, but in Kazakh ("Жоғары мәртебелі") and in the native languages of leaders visiting on state visits, have already been displayed in Astana. However, they did not attract much attention. Perhaps the heightened interest in this greeting 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 greatly. Akorda did everything to revive it, catering to what the Kremlin and Putin personally need, — believes political scientist Dimash Alzhanov. — State visits can indeed be ceremonial, but putting up billboards [with the words "Your Excellency"] — diplomatic etiquette implies such address, but in correspondence or during formal meetings — and other things [in Kazakhstan] were done to emphasize the status of the invited person.

Putin's plane landed in the evening of November 27. Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev greeted the guest at the foot of the stairs. An honor guard was lined up 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 Sabyrzhankzy (Assol) presented the presidents with an unfinished painting that 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 met Putin, who arrived by car, at the building of his residence. After introducing the members of the delegations and performing the national anthems, negotiations began in a narrow and expanded format.

— I want to thank the president for such a ceremonial reception. Kasym-Zhomart Kemelovich, — Putin began his speech, almost flawlessly pronouncing the name and patronymic of the president of Kazakhstan, — we meet regularly and have somehow gotten used to mmm... a working atmosphere.

— This ceremonial setting is somewhat unusual, — the Russian leader added 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 commemorating 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 (parades have not been held in Kazakhstan since 2019: initially, the refusal was explained by the pandemic quarantine, and later by the need to save funds).

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

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

— The agenda of your visit is quite extensive. In the run-up to the visit, members of the governments were working, discussing all the issues on the agenda. Today we will adopt very important documents — 20 agreements that will undoubtedly give an additional powerful impetus to 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 challenges 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 component as security — 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 "Kazakhstanskaya Pravda" published an article by Putin, while the Russian "Izvestia" printed a publication by Tokayev.

In the 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 Kasym-Zhomart Kemelovich, for their 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,” — the article authored by Putin states.

Thousands of schools with Russian language instruction operate in Kazakhstan. Three more, according to Putin, will soon open in Kyzylorda, Taraz, and Turkestan — cities in the southern part of the country where the majority of the population is Kazakh.

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

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

In the article in "Kazpravda," Putin wrote about economic cooperation, the growth of trade and investment. 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, possessing unique competencies and technical solutions that often have no global analogs, is ready for new large-scale projects with the Kazakh side,” — wrote the president of Russia.

According to the Kazakh government, applications for construction are being considered from companies from Russia, China, France, and South Korea. Tokayev stated on the day of the referendum that the nuclear power plant should be built by an international consortium.

In the article in "Izvestia," Tokayev spoke about "large-scale joint activities in energy," including involving Russia in the construction of coal-fired thermal power plants in three cities of Kazakhstan and the modernization of the Ekibastuz GRES.

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

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

The president of Kazakhstan concluded the article by assuring that Kazakhstan has been and remains "a reliable strategic partner and ally of Russia during this tumultuous period of conflicts and cataclysms in history."