Relationship dossier
Kazakhstan
Russia
Relationship assessment
Extensive security and economic partnership, with differences over Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Kazakhstan toward Russia
+45Kazakhstan cooperates with Russia through the Eurasian Economic Union and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and hosts Russia’s leased Baikonur Cosmodrome. It has not recognized Russia’s annexations of Ukrainian territory and has stated that it will observe sanctions rules, reflecting limits to its alignment with Moscow.
Russia toward Kazakhstan
+50Russia maintains extensive security and economic cooperation with Kazakhstan through the Collective Security Treaty Organization and Eurasian Economic Union, and leases the Baikonur Cosmodrome under a bilateral arrangement. The countries also sustain substantial trade and strategic ties.
Overall relationship
+45The relationship is structured by durable economic and security cooperation, institutional integration, and the Baikonur lease. Kazakhstan’s refusal to recognize Russia’s territorial claims in Ukraine and its stated observance of sanctions rules demonstrate that this partnership does not entail full alignment on major foreign-policy issues.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Kazakhstan and Russia maintain extensive security, economic, and institutional ties, including through the Eurasian Economic Union and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Russia leases the Baikonur Cosmodrome from Kazakhstan, and the countries have a substantial bilateral trade relationship. Russia’s war against Ukraine has exposed limits to alignment: Kazakhstan has not recognized Russia’s annexations of Ukrainian territory and has said it will observe sanctions rules. These ties coexist with differing positions on the war and its consequences.
Areas of tension
- Kazakhstan has not recognized Russia’s annexations of Ukrainian territory.
- Kazakhstan’s stated observance of sanctions rules contrasts with Russia’s efforts to sustain trade amid international sanctions.
Key developments
Kazakhstan and Russia established the Eurasian Economic Union with other member states.
Kazakhstan and Russia participate in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a regional security arrangement.
Russia continues to lease the Baikonur Cosmodrome from Kazakhstan under a bilateral arrangement.
Major uncertainties
- The extent to which sanctions-related trade controls affect bilateral commerce is unclear.
- The future scope of Kazakhstan’s security cooperation with Russia amid the war in Ukraine is uncertain.