"Your Excellency, Mr. Vladimir Putin." This is how the Russian president was welcomed in Astana.

Massive banners reading "Your Excellency, Mr. Vladimir Putin, welcome to Astana!" adorn the streets. The tricolor is visible everywhere: six military aircraft are "drawing" white, blue, and red stripes in the sky above the airport — the capital of Kazakhstan is welcoming the president of the neighboring country.

“They have gone too far,” wrote a Facebook user from Astana, sharing a photo of streets decorated with Russian flags. Posts about the abundance of tricolor flags on the day of Putin's arrival flooded Kaznet. The greeting using the phrase "Your Excellency" outraged some users.

Kazakh political analyst Gaziz Abishev explained in his Telegram channel that Putin's visit is a state one, hence the grand reception, and that the phrase "Your Excellency" is a standard form of address for high-ranking representatives of foreign states.

Similar addresses, but not in Russian, instead in Kazakh ("Жоғары мәртебелі") and in the native languages of visiting state leaders, have already been displayed in Astana. However, they did not cause a stir. Perhaps the heightened attention to this greeting is due to the identity of the guest.

Putin is effectively in international isolation. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, American officials and most European leaders ceased communication with him, and The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of war crimes.

— Putin's image has suffered significantly. Akorda did everything to revive it, catering to what the Kremlin needs, personally for Putin, — believes political analyst Dimash Alzhanov. — State visits can indeed be ceremonial, but hanging billboards [with the words "Your Excellency"] — diplomatic etiquette implies such address, but in correspondence or during formal meetings — and other things [in Kazakhstan] are done to emphasize the status of the invited person.

Putin's plane landed on the evening of November 27. At the foot of the plane, he was greeted by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. An honor guard was lined up at the airport. Children holding flags of both countries welcomed Putin and members of the official Russian delegation.

The president's press service reports that artist Asel Sabyrzhanqyzy (Assol) presented the presidents with an unfinished painting she began creating upon Putin's departure for Astana. She invited Tokayev and Putin to "take part in completing the canvas." They added several strokes with dark paint. The painting depicts Tokayev's residence Akorda and the Moscow Kremlin.

The ceremonial part continued at Akorda. Tokayev met Putin, who arrived by car, at the entrance to his residence. Following the introduction of delegation members and the performance of national anthems, negotiations commenced in both narrow and expanded formats.

— I want to begin by thanking the president for such a ceremonial reception. Kassym-Jomart Kemelievich, — Putin started his speech, almost flawlessly pronouncing the name and patronymic of the president of Kazakhstan, — we meet regularly and have somewhat grown accustomed to a mm... working atmosphere.

— This ceremonial backdrop is somewhat unusual, — added the Russian leader with a smirk.

During the meeting, Putin invited Tokayev to an informal CIS summit in St. Petersburg in December and to the military parade on May 9 in Moscow.

Parades in Red Square commemorating the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 are held annually. While two decades ago, dozens of foreign leaders attended the event in the Russian capital, in recent years only a few high-ranking guests have arrived. Tokayev attended the parade in Moscow this year and last year (Kazakhstan has not held parades since 2019: initially, the cancellation was attributed to pandemic-related quarantine, later to the need to save funds).

Astana and Moscow report that the agenda of Kazakh-Russian negotiations on November 27 includes "issues of further development of strategic partnership and alliance in various areas."

Tokayev stated during the negotiations that Kazakhstan and Russia have intensified cooperation in recent years.

— The agenda for your visit is quite extensive. In the lead-up to the visit, members of the governments worked on discussing all the issues on the agenda. Today we will adopt very important documents — 20 agreements that will undoubtedly provide an additional powerful impetus for the further development of our good-neighborliness and cooperation, — quotes Tokayev's press service.

— The mutual volume of cooperation is increasing: it is already nearing 30 billion dollars. Despite all the challenges of today, this interaction is only expanding and becoming more interesting and mutually beneficial for both sides. We discussed not only industry and finance, but tomorrow we will also talk about such a crucial component as security — already within the framework of the CSTO, — said Putin, announcing a session of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which will take place in Astana on November 28.

On the day of the Russian president's visit, the state newspaper "Kazakhstan Pravda" published an article by Putin, while the Russian "Izvestia" printed a publication by Tokayev.

In his article, Putin expresses gratitude to Tokayev for supporting the Russian language.

“We are, of course, grateful to the leadership of the Republic of Kazakhstan, personally to Kassym-Jomart Kemelievich, for their careful attitude towards the Russian language and for the important initiative to establish the International Organization for the Russian Language, whose activities will contribute to its promotion as a means of interstate and interethnic communication,” — the article authored by Putin states.

There are thousands of schools in Kazakhstan with Russian as the language of instruction. According to Putin, three more will soon open in Kyzylorda, Taraz, and Turkestan — cities in the south of the country where the majority of the population are Kazakhs.

Shortly before Putin's arrival, the Mazhilis approved the ratification of the agreement on the international organization for the promotion of the Russian language. The initiative to create this structure originated in 2022 from Tokayev.

In expert circles, Tokayev's proposal and subsequent steps are referred to as a diplomatic gesture aimed at appeasing Russia, and an attempt by Astana to avoid the fate of Ukraine. When Moscow invaded the neighboring country in 2022, it claimed to be protecting the rights of the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine.

In his article in "Kazpravda," Putin wrote about economic cooperation, growth in trade turnover and investments. He emphasized the readiness of the Russian state corporation "Rosatom" to cooperate with Kazakhstan, which held a referendum last month on the construction of a nuclear power plant. According to official data, over 71 percent of voters approved the construction of the NPP.

“The Russian state corporation, possessing unique competencies and technical solutions often without global analogs, is ready for new large-scale projects with the Kazakh side,” — wrote the president of Russia.

According to the government of Kazakhstan, applications are being considered for construction from companies from Russia, China, France, and South Korea. On the day of the referendum, Tokayev expressed the opinion that the NPP should be built by an international consortium.

In the article in "Izvestia," Tokayev reported on "large-scale joint activities in energy," including involving Russia in the construction of coal-fired power plants in three cities in Kazakhstan and the modernization of the Ekibastuz GRES.

Neither Tokayev nor Putin mentioned in their articles the military invasion of Russia into Ukraine, which has been ongoing for almost three years.

The Russian president emphasized that Astana and Moscow "share similar positions regarding the key role of international law in interstate relations and the necessity of considering the interests of all countries in matters of global security, stability, and sustainable development."

The president of Kazakhstan concluded the article by assuring that Kazakhstan has been and remains "a reliable strategic partner and ally of Russia during this complex period filled with conflicts and upheavals in history."