Kazakhstan has officially barred entry to four current members of Russia’s State Duma and one former MP. Deutsche Welle reports, citing a government source.
According to the report, the individuals were blacklisted due to their public dissemination of offensive and hostile remarks directed at Kazakhstan and its leadership.
The blacklist includes Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy, First Deputy Chairman of the International Affairs Committee Vyacheslav Nikonov, deputies from the United Russia party Yevgeny Fyodorov and Konstantin Zatulin, as well as the head of Rossotrudnichestvo Yevgeny Primakov.
Pyotr Tolstoy stated that Kazakhstan could be Russia’s «next problem» after Ukraine, referred to Almaty as «Verny, a city built by Russians,» and accused Kazakhstan of trying to «invent its own history» to distance itself from Russia.
Vyacheslav Nikonov claimed on Russian national television that «Kazakhstan simply did not exist» and described its modern territory as a «gift from Russia and the USSR.»
Yevgeny Fyodorov supported Nikonov’s view and stated that Russia has the right to demand the return of certain territories from Kazakhstan.
In late April, political analyst Andrey Grozin was also denied entry into Kazakhstan. He learned of the ban upon arrival at passport control in Astana, where he had planned to attend a conference. No official reason was given.
