Yulia Yakusheva. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
The row over the Anyz Adam magazine issue devoted to Adolf Hitler became noticeable not only in Kazakhstan, but also in Russia. One may say that the whole row was caused by a simple PR action. Even though Kazakh-language media are relatively unpopular in Kazakhstan, the issue was an enormous success. This means that a business opportunity was not missed.
However the issue has not only a commercial basis, but also a moral undertone. If people are unable to distinguish black from white or deliberately switch them, one can only imagine how adequate they are. Those who call themselves national patriots or national democrats went a long way from a rejection of the Soviet past on the basis of the European values to an open rehabilitation of Nazism. If, at first, russophobia serves as a way to underline one's political position, at some point it becomes the only political concept of such a movement.
This is why the current authorities in Kyiv started a struggle against the Russian language rather than trying to overcome the economic collapse. In Kazakhstan the ideologists of this movement suggest that the older the lie is, the sooner people will believe it. It is very deplorable and even tragic. Instead of promoting the tolerance typical of Kazakhstan, they provoked hatred.
The peculiar thing is that the scandal unfolded at the same time as President Nursultan Nazarbayev issued a statement saying that inciting ethnic conflicts is absolutely unacceptable and that the Russian language should be protected by the state. This means that the magazine issue overtly contradicts the official line on the issue.
It may seem strange, but the row had a positive result. Sane forces within Kazakh society voiced their conjoint condemnation of any attempts aimed at reconsidering the country's main values. This approach was demonstrated by people of all ethnic origins. That is why the authors of the article, who were trying provoke hatred, did in fact cause the opposite reaction. The issue of the magazine, as well as the failed attempt to hold an anti-Eurasian forum, damages the reputation of the national patriotic movement.
However the scandal showed as well that historical memory is fragile. Things that were believed to be sacred and immutable were proved to be easily dishonoured. Young people, who cannot understand what the fuss is about, have little respect for the values of their parents and grandparents.
At the same time, the whole thing seems to be nothing but a provocation, and a very dangerous one especially for Kazakh-Russian relations, not only because of the open rehabilitation of Nazism, but because of the inaccurate parallel drawn between the past and the present.
This circumstance may be dangerous for bilateral relations. The countries remain close allies and any attempt to sabotage this cooperation can be very traumatic for both parties. In this case it was a direct insult to President Putin. Such an insult may damage the relations between the two leaders, which, taking into consideration the role the presidents play in Kazakhstan and Russia, may have serious results.
Maybe the Kazakh public will now remember the blunt reports about Russia's Zhirinovsky and the emphasis that some Russian politicians are notorious for their nationalistic views, but such an approach would be counterproductive.
