Kazakhstan's journey to independence in 1991 was a pivotal event that garnered significant attention in Western media. The dissolution of the Soviet Union was a complex and historic process, and Kazakhstan's declaration of independence was a crucial component of this broader narrative. In this article, we will provide a historical perspective on the coverage of Kazakhstan's independence in Western media outlets.
The Telegraph, a daily newspaper in Nashua, New Hampshire (US), reported that Kazakhstan became the 14th of the 15 Soviet republics to declare autonomy. A reporter Alan Cooperman wrote that Kazakhstan has become 14th of the 15 Soviet republics to declare sovereignty, defying the national legislature and banning nuclear tests on its territory in Central Asia.
“Kazakhstan’s parliament on Thursday declared sovereignty and ordered a halt to all nuclear test on its territory, stretching from the Caspian Sea to Chinese border, the independent Interfax news agency reported. The only republic that has not declared sovereignty from the central Soviet republic is Kirgizia…
… Kazakhstan’s parliament said its decisions would hold away in cases of conflict with national laws, and it claimed control over the republic’s national resources. Gorbachev has been trying to persuade the republics to negotiate a new treaty that would redefine and preserve the union as confederation of sovereign states. Kazakh lawmakers have indicated willingness to join such a confederation”, reported Alan Cooperman for The Telegraph.
Similar news articles or same coverage published in other media outlets as well. For instance, Daily news from Kentucky and The Norwalk Hour, a daily newspaper published in Norwalk, Connecticut reported same text, with only referring to Associated Press.
The Deseret news from Salt Lake City interviewed the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev. The article’s headline that published on 4th December in 1991 reads “Kazakh leader predicts poverty, grief if union collapses”.
“The president of the third largest Soviet republic – and the only one besides Russia not to have proclaimed independence predicts poverty grief and tears if the Soviet Union collapses into non-aligned, independent states.
But ironically Nursultan Nazarbayev president of the central Asian Muslim republic of Kazakhstan – says his state has the resources to survive well as an independent nation.
And if his republic is forced by events to become independent, he would insist on keeping all the Soviet nuclear arms now within his republic's borders-making Kazakhstan one of the world's largest nuclear powers”, reported Lee Davidson.
According to the Washington based journalist, prospect for an economic union treaty for a Soviet confederation and formulating future political cooperation among the republics look bleaker as time passed and individual republics push harder for total independence.
“If the union cannot hold together, Nazarbayev said, "Kazakhstan has everything for independent development. Everything"
For example, he said, his republic has 70 percent of the whole former USSR production of lead, zinc, titanium, magnesium and tin; 90 percent of phosphorus and chrome: 65 percent of silver, 30 percent of copper, up to 60 percent of molybdenum."
He added, "For the exported production from Kazakhstan, the USSR received 1.7 billion U.S. dollars every year. The republic didn't receive even 1 percent of this money. This is what I mean saying that Kazakhstan has everything for independent development."
If his Moslem republic does become independent, he will insist on keeping nuclear arms within its borders- rejecting Russian President Boris Yeltsin's push for total control of such weapons.
"In Kazakhstan, we have many hundreds of nuclear warheads. When I heard talks about shifting them to Russia, it was evident to me that those voices belonged to people who didn't understand the essence of the matter.
"Under any warhead, there is (a) big complicated underground complex. It is extremely hard to shift it to another place. The shifting will take 25-30 billions of rubles. Such rubles would be wasted... It is vitally necessary to share the common control over the nuclear button by all member of (the) new union. Control by just one is not acceptable."
Nazarbayev is also a reformer who ordered closed the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site which is especially pleasing to Truman and Downwinders”, wrote The Deseret news.
The newspaper reports that in Kazakhstan more that 500 bombs were exploded there since 1949, many in early open-air tests.
“About that action, Nazarbayev said. "I fulfilled a wish of the people. I consider that Kazakhstan has more than paid completely its duty to the country in the question of nation and testing nuclear weapons.
He said more that 500 bombs were exploded there since 1949, many in early open-air tests. "So, it's possible to say that Kazakhstan lived through hundreds of Hiroshimas. It is same with your people and the polygon (nuclear test site) of Nevada. It is also too, too clear that radiation affected seriously the health of the people." Nazarbayev said he plans to convert the test site into a scientific research center”, reported Lee Davidson.
Our next review is from The Prescott Courier on 22 December 1991. The news piece that titled “Commonwealth is born, Soviet Union is declared to dead” explained situation in USSR. According to the newspaper, eleven of the 12 former Soviet republics on Saturday proclaimed the birth of a new commonwealth and the death of the Soviet Union. An author of the news compares USSR to a mighty force that shaped the century and molded millions of lives through terror and reform, dreams, and disillusionment.
“The accords signed Saturday recognize the individual republics' independence and current borders, and the leaders promised a unified nuclear command. Russia will take over the Soviet seat on the U.N. Security Council, and the other states will also seek U.N.representation…
…"The Soviet Union has ceased to exist," Seidkazy Matsev, a spokesman for Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, told reporters after the signing of the accords”, reported The Prescott Courier.
According to the author of news article, among the most pressing international concerns, however, was the nuclear arsenal.
“The commonwealth moved quickly to offer assurances the vast arsenal would be under central control. Yeltsin said the presidents agreed to name former Soviet Defense Minister Yevgeny Shapeshnikov as interim head of a unified military command that would control all nuclear and conventional forces.
Asked by reporters how many nuclear "buttons" there would be under the new military command, Mataev, the Kazakh spokesman, replied: "There will be only one button,". There are an estimated 27,000 nuclear warheads in Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia and Kazakhstan”, reported The Prescott Courier.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains in its article about dissolution of USSR that Kazakhstan declared its sovereignty on October 25, in 1990. “The Kazakh legislature made amendments to the republican constitution yesterday that will considerably broaden the Central Asian republics’ economic independence”, said Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Between 1990 and 1991, Western media reported on various aspects: geopolitical significance, nuclear disarmament, economic transition, challenges of nation-building, cultural and ethnic diversity, impact on Central Asia, human rights concerns, and bilateral relations.
Kazakhstan's large landmass, vast energy resources, and strategic location made it of particular interest to Western media. Reports often discussed the country's role in the geopolitical balance of power, including its nuclear disarmament and its importance in the region.
Western media covered Kazakhstan's decision to voluntarily give up the nuclear weapons it inherited from the Soviet Union, which was seen as a significant step towards global nuclear disarmament. Kazakhstan's transition from a centrally planned economy to a market-oriented one was also covered in Western media. The country's vast energy reserves, particularly its oil and gas, attracted attention from international investors and corporations.
Articles and reports discussed the challenges that Kazakhstan faced as it embarked on nation-building, including establishing its national identity, developing institutions, and addressing economic and social issues. Western media explored Kazakhstan's rich cultural and ethnic diversity, highlighting the coexistence of various ethnic groups within the country.
Reports also delved into Kazakhstan's relationships with other nations, particularly with the United States and Russia. These diplomatic relationships were seen as vital for Kazakhstan's success as an independent state. Some Western media outlets raised concerns about human rights and political freedoms in Kazakhstan, particularly in the early years of independence. Western media often discussed the broader implications of Kazakhstan's independence for the Central Asian region and its potential to influence neighboring countries.
Overall, Western media covered Kazakhstan's independence as a notable development within the larger context of the Soviet Union's dissolution, highlighting its geopolitical significance, economic potential, and the challenges and opportunities it faced as a newly independent nation.