June 22, 2022

A Humiliating Lack of Recognition


A Humiliating Lack of Recognition

"In general, it has been calculated that if the right of nations to self-determination is actually realized throughout the globe, then instead of the 193 states that are now members of the UN, more than 500 or 600 states will emerge on Earth. Of course, it will be chaos. For this reason, we don’t recognize Taiwan, Kosovo, South Ossetia, or Abkhazia. Apparently, this principle will be applied to the quasi-states, which, in our view, Luhansk and Donetsk are."

– President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at a recent forum with President Putin

On June 17, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with President Putin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. While there, the presidents fielded questions from reporters, one of which was directed toward Tokayev regarding the Russian war with Ukraine

Tokayev's response revealed that Kazakhstan would not recognize the independence of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, two ostensibly pro-Russia regions in eastern Ukraine whose independence is central to Russia's justification for the invasion. Tokayev's statement was startling to Putin, causing him to stumble and to hesitate on his own answer. 

This was not the only offense that Putin received during the forum, as Tokayev also refused to accept the award of the Russian order of Alexander Nevsky. The very next day, Putin suspended a Kazakh oil shipment via the Russian port in Novorossiysk.

The change in relations between the two leaders is even more shocking, considering that at the beginning of the year Moscow came to Tokayev's aid when protests erupted in Kazakhstan and Tokayev nearly lost power.

 

You Might Also Like

Searching for Nazis
  • June 05, 2022

Searching for Nazis

Putin says he invaded Ukraine to root out Nazis. Zelensky compares the defense of Ukraine to the heroism of the 1940s. Can both be right? No. No, they can't.
Long Range Effects
  • June 09, 2022

Long Range Effects

Putin claims that US-provided weapons to Ukraine have made no impact against the invasion.
A Collaborative Effort
  • May 26, 2022

A Collaborative Effort

The US Department of Defense is coordinating with nearly 50 countries to provide military aid to Ukraine.
Hungary on Alert
  • May 29, 2022

Hungary on Alert

Hungary has moved into a state of emergency, due to the conflict in Ukraine. 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955