"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 flutters in the air as six military jets "draw" white, blue, and red stripes above the airport — this is how the capital of Kazakhstan welcomes the president of a neighboring country.

A Facebook user from Astana commented, “They have gone overboard,” sharing a photo of streets decorated with Russian flags. Posts highlighting the abundance of tricolor flags on the day of Putin's arrival flooded Kaznet. 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 affair, thus the pompous reception, and the phrase “Your Excellency” is a standard form of address for high-ranking representatives of foreign states.

Similar forms of address, but in Kazakh (“Жоғары мәртебелі”) and in the native languages of visiting leaders on state visits, have already been displayed in Astana. However, they did not cause a stir. Perhaps the increased attention to the greeting this time is due to the guest's identity.

Putin is essentially 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 has done everything to revive it, playing to what the Kremlin, and Putin personally, needs, — says political scientist Dimash Alzhanov. — State visits can indeed be ceremonial, but hanging billboards [with the words “Your Excellency”] — diplomatic etiquette implies such an address, but in correspondence or during formal meetings — and other elements [in Kazakhstan] have been done to emphasize the status of the invited person.

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

The presidential press service reports that artist Asel Sabyrzhanqyzy (Assol) presented the presidents with an unfinished painting, which she began working on from the moment Putin departed for Astana. She invited Tokayev and Putin to "participate in the creation of 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 delegation members and performing the national anthems, negotiations began in both narrow and expanded formats.

— I want to thank the president for such a ceremonial reception. Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich, — Putin began his speech, almost without hesitation pronouncing the name and patronymic of the president of Kazakhstan, — we meet regularly and have somehow gotten used to, hmm... a working atmosphere.

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

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 come. 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, then to the need to save funds).

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

During the negotiations, Tokayev stated 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 together to discuss all the issues on the agenda. Today we will adopt very important documents — 20 agreements that will undoubtedly give a significant boost to the further development of our good-neighborliness and cooperation, — quoted Tokayev's press service.

— The mutual volume of cooperation is increasing: it is already approaching 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 discussed not only industry and finance, but tomorrow we will also talk about such a critical component 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 to be held 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 Kemelevich, for their careful attitude towards the Russian language and for the important initiative to establish the International Organization for the Russian Language, whose activities will promote its advancement as a means of inter-state and inter-ethnic communication,” — states the article authored by Putin.

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

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

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

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

“The Russian state corporation, possessing unique, often unparalleled competencies and technical solutions, is ready for new large-scale projects with the Kazakh side,” — wrote the president of Russia.

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

In his article in "Izvestia," Tokayev spoke about "extensive joint activities in the energy sector," including involving Russia in the construction of coal-fired power plants in three cities in Kazakhstan and upgrading the Ekibastuz GRES.

Neither Tokayev nor Putin mentioned in their articles Russia's military invasion of 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 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 cataclysmic period of history.”