"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 city. The tricolor flags are everywhere, including in the sky: six military aircraft "paint" white, blue, and red stripes above the airport — this is how the capital of Kazakhstan welcomes the president of a neighboring country.

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

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

Similar greetings, but not in Russian, rather in Kazakh ("Жоғары мәртебелі") and in the native languages of leaders visiting on state visits, have already been displayed in Astana. However, they didn't 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 a warrant for Putin's arrest on charges of war crimes.

— Putin's image has suffered significantly. Akorda has done everything to revive it, catering to what the Kremlin and Putin personally need, — believes political analyst Dimash Alzhanov. — State visits can indeed be ceremonial, but hanging billboards [with the words "Your Excellency"] — diplomatic etiquette implies such address, but in correspondence or during formal meetings — and other measures [in Kazakhstan] have been taken to emphasize the status of the invited guest.

Putin's plane landed on the evening of November 27. At the foot of the ladder, he was greeted by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. An honor guard was lined up at the airport. Children waving the 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 that she began creating upon Putin's departure for 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 as he 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 first and foremost for such a ceremonial welcome. Kassym-Jomart Kemelievich, — Putin began, almost seamlessly pronouncing the name and patronymic of the president of Kazakhstan, — we meet regularly and have somehow gotten used to the mmm... working atmosphere.

— Such a ceremonial setting is somewhat unusual, — the Russian leader added 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 arrived. Tokayev attended the parade in Moscow this year and last year (Kazakhstan has not held parades since 2019: initially, the cancellation was explained by the pandemic quarantine, then by the need for budget cuts).

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."

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, government members were working, discussing all the issues on the agenda. Today we will adopt very important documents — this is 20 agreements, which 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 nearing 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 an essential component as security, — already within the CSTO framework, — said Putin, announcing the 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 Kassym-Jomart Kemelievich, 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 contribute to its promotion as a means of intergovernmental and interethnic communication,” — says the article authored by Putin.

In Kazakhstan, thousands of schools operate with instruction 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 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 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, growth in 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, over 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. On the day of the referendum, Tokayev expressed the opinion that the NPP should be built by an international consortium.

In the article in "Izvestia," Tokayev mentioned "large-scale joint activities in energy," including attracting Russia to build coal-fired thermal power plants in three cities of Kazakhstan and modernizing the Ekibastuz GRES.

Neither Tokayev nor Putin mentioned in their articles the military invasion of Russia into Ukraine, which has been ongoing for almost 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 the article by assuring that Kazakhstan has been and remains "a reliable strategic partner and ally of Russia during this complex period of history filled with conflicts and cataclysms."