INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Dear customers and readers of Qaznews24! How are you? I hope youre still relaxing and making fun of our news! Theres plenty to laugh about
in our country! Kazakh blog writer Temirlan Ensebek wrote in his most current letter from a detention center on Wednesday.See you quickly at
the Nauryzbay district court consider this your invite! The trial will be humorous too, I guarantee! he added.Ensebek is the creator of
Qaznews24, an Instagram page that publishes satirical articles on current events in Kazakhstan in the design of the American satirical news
huge The Onion.The 29-year-old remains in detention on charges of prompting interethnic discord over Qaznews24s January 2024 postresponding
to Russian media executive Tina Kandelakis criticism of Kazakh authorities for renaming Russian-named train stations into the Kazakh
language.Kazakhstan gradually however undoubtedly continues to supplant the Russian language at the state level, Kandelaki had composed on
Under the pretext of securing ones location in history, one can go really far
It is especially hassle-free to utilize history as a pretext for such suspicious decisions.The statement triggered a public uproar in
Kazakhstan, prompting the Foreign Ministry to vow to prohibit her from going into the country.But Qaznews24 was already ahead of
officials.Kazakhstani rap artists recorded a tough response to Tina Kandelaki, stated Qaznews24 in a since-deleted Instagram post from Jan
The post was accompanied by the viral 2000s rap tune Yo, Orystar (Hey, Russians in Kazakh), which would end up being the basis for charges
against Ensebek.Police browsed Ensebeks home in Almaty, Kazakhstans largest city, on Jan
He was consequently detained for two months.It is regrettable that Kazakh authorities didnt respond to remarks and dangers coming from a
Not one deputy made a declaration [in action to Kandelaki], so Qaznews24 took that concern upon themselves, said Ensebeks lawyer Zhanara
Balgabaeva.Temirlan Ensebekmedianet.ngoTina Kandelakiisnt even an ethnic Russian
It is to her that the lyrics of the song Yo, Orystar were resolved to, indicating Temirlan wasnt intending it at ethnic Russians, however at
those who spread out the ideology of Russian imperialism, Balgabaeva told The Moscow Times, worrying that her defendant is not a
russophobe.His beloved sweetheart Maria is an ethnic Russian, the lawyer noted.Maria Kochneva an activist who is now Ensebeks future husband
after he proposed to her throughout a court hearing last month is likewise no stranger to getting in difficulty over the viral song.In July
2024, Kochneva was sentenced to 10 days of arrest for performing Yo, Orystarat a rap fight
The pretext for her arrest was using profane language in a public place
Everything was pre-approved by the organizers and everybody was using blasphemies it was a rap battle, after all, Kochneva remembered in a
discussion with The Moscow Times.But [the authorities] singled me out and focused only on my performancebecause the video of it was flowing
in Russian Z-channels, she included, describing Russian pro-war and pro-Kremlin bloggers.First released around 20 years back, Yo, Orystar is
something of folklore in the Kazakh segment of the internet: it was covered lots of times and nobody knows anymore who was the original
author of the lyrics, which are essentially a stream of profanities resolved to Russians and Uzbeks.No one in fact listens to this song,
neither at celebrations nor privately in their earphones
No one takes the lyrics seriously, described Kochneva, noting that the decades-old track experienced a popular revival in the middle of the
Russian invasion of Ukraine as an anti-war protest song.It has nothing to do with ethnic Russians its just a response to aggressiveness,
added the activist.Kochneva believes that the charges versus her and Ensebek have an obvious Russian connection, considered that the track
never produced any negative public feedback in Kazakhstan.I think the Russian authorities pushed ours to make sure that I faced some kind of
The same goes for Temirlan
Certain people lobby Russias interests [in Kazakhstan], claiming that there is Nazism in Kazakhstan, that Russians are being oppressed here,
And the authorities cant overlook that.Conquered by the Russian Empire in the 19th century, Kazakhstan was a part of the Soviet Union till
it proclaimed independence in 1991
Yet like other Central Asian states, the huge nation still comes to grips with how or whether to get away the orbit of its all-powerful
neighbor.In addition to sharing a 7,800-kilometer land border the worlds second-longest Kazakhstans economy is still securely linked to
Russia and the nation is a member of the Kremlin-led CSTO security alliance.When anti-government demonstrations broke out across Kazakhstan
in January 2022, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arranged the deployment of CSTOs military contingent to support the nation a move
that analystswarned would even more seal its security reliance on Russia.But when Russias intrusion of Ukraine came, Astana stopped short of
backing Moscow and refused to acknowledge the independence of Kremlin-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.This position turned Kazakhstan
into a regular punching bag of Russian propagandists and lower-ranking political leaders, who like Kandelaki consistently voiced
dissatisfaction with Astanas Kazakh-oriented language policy and even hinted that the Kremlin could relocate to annex its northern areas in
retaliation for growing russophobia.I am 100% convinced that there is a Russian connection in Temirlans case, said Bota Sharipzhan, an
activist with the Oyan, Qazaqstan! civil rights motion
Russian books were utilized in the forensic examination and Temirlan had a few public arguments with the pro-Russian blog writer Anton
Budarov.Budarov is the author of Budanbay, a Telegram channel with over 30,000 customers where he discusses events in Kazakhstan and exposes
officials and activists who supposedly harbor anti-Russian opinions.Temirlan Ensebek.bureau.kzThe Myrotvorets database, a Ukrainian civic
initiative that collects details on people whom its creators think are hazards to Ukrainian statehood, identifies Budarov as an FSB
agent.There have already been a number of circumstances when Anton had public arguments with someone over ethnic concerns and our security
services acted on his reports relatively quickly, stated Sharipzhan, noting that this trend might be linked to closer cooperation in between
the Russian and Kazakh security services since January 2022
Its likewise important to comprehend that there is no requirement to safeguard ethnic Russians in Kazakhstan from anything, stated
Kazakhstan has constantly been home to various ethnic groups, specifically after Koreans, Chechens and others were powerfully deported to
our country [by Soviet authorities] Everybody here is utilized to having Koreans, Germans, Russians, Kyrgyz, Tatars or Bashkirs as
Significant circumstances of interethnic dispute are quite rare in Kazakhstan.Political analyst Dimash Alzhanov stated he believes that the
search for a Russian trace in Ensebeks case is merely an effort to shift responsibility onto something distant, powerful and sinister like
the Kremlin.The primary factor for his arrest and the ongoing trial is jokes about Kazakhstans political management and the president
Of course, these jokes often discussed Russia as we unfortunately share the exact same information area, Alzhanov told The Moscow
Times.Qaznews24s posts lined up with the wider unfavorable view of the Kremlin among Kazakhstans public, mainly spoofing Tokayevs weak
position vis-a-vis Russia, according to Alzhanov.This [trial] is, firstly, about the president and the criticism revealed through these
jokes, he added.Whether Russia contributed to it or not, the trial against Ensebek has actually already turned into one of the
highest-profile political cases in Kazakhstan in current years.While the preliminary examination and subsequent Prosecutor Generals office
inquiry into Ensebeks case were incredibly quick, the trial seemingly stalled as widespread spotlight caught Kazakh authorities off-guard,
according to legal representative Balgabaeva.Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and leading Kazakh human rights protectors and
activists have gotten in touch with authorities to drop all charges versus the blogger.Two people were sentenced to prolonged detention and
two others were fined for staging solo pickets in assistance of Ensebek.Meanwhile, the first court hearing in the blog writers case was
moved online an hour before the scheduled time and ended with a choice to move proceedings into a different district of Almaty, further far
from the center.If found guilty, Ensebek confront seven years in prison.One of my colleagues compared this case to a hot potato, which
everyone is attempting to leave their hands as quickly as possible, Balgabaeva said in a phone interview
I want to highlight that Temirlans [social networks] page is satirical and that post [about Kandelaki] was in line with its aims and the
satirical kind it uses.Satire is not a crime, she said
It can not be responded to with criminal punishment.
