"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!" adorned the city. The Tricolor was displayed throughout the streets and even in the sky, as six military aircraft "painted" white, blue, and red stripes above the airport — this is how the capital of Kazakhstan greeted the president of the neighboring country.

"They have gone overboard" — wrote a Facebook user from Astana, sharing a photo of streets decorated with Russian flags. Posts highlighting the abundance of the Tricolor on the day of Putin's arrival flooded Kaznet. The greeting using "Your Excellency" outraged some users.

Kazakh political scientist Gaziz Abishev explained in his telegram channel that Putin's visit is state-level, which is why the reception is pompous. The phrase "Your Excellency" is a standard form of address for high-ranking representatives of foreign states.

Similar greetings, but not in Russian, rather in Kazakh ("Жоғары мәртебелі") and in the native languages of visiting leaders on state visits, have already been displayed in Astana. However, they did not provoke much excitement. Perhaps the heightened attention to the greeting this time is due to the guest's identity.

Putin is essentially 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 greatly. Akorda has done everything to revive it, catering to what the Kremlin, and Putin personally, needs — said political scientist Dimash Alzhanov. — State visits can indeed be ceremonial, but hanging billboards [with the words "Your Excellency"] — diplomatic etiquette implies such forms of address, but in correspondence or during formal meetings — and other things [in Kazakhstan] were done to emphasize the invited person's status.

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

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

The ceremonial part continued in Akorda. Tokayev met Putin, who arrived by car, at the building of his residence. After introducing the delegation members and performing the national anthems, negotiations began in both narrow and expanded formats.

— I want to thank the president first and foremost for such a solemn welcome. Kassym-Jomart Kemelievich, — Putin began, almost effortlessly pronouncing the name and patronymic of the president of Kazakhstan, — we meet regularly and have somewhat gotten used to, umm... a working environment.

— This solemn setting 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 on 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 quarantine due to the pandemic, and later to the need to save funds).

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

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

— The agenda of your visit is quite extensive. In the lead-up to the visit, members of the governments worked to discuss all the issues on the agenda. Today, we will adopt very important documents — these are 20 agreements that will undoubtedly provide a 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 today as security, — already within the CSTO framework, — said Putin, announcing the 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 the careful attitude towards the Russian language and for the important initiative to establish an International Organization for the Russian Language, the activities of which will promote its advancement as a means of interstate and interethnic communication,” — states the article authored by Putin.

In Kazakhstan, thousands of schools operate 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 from Tokayev in 2022.

In expert circles, Tokayev's proposal and subsequent actions are viewed as a diplomatic gesture aimed at appeasing Russia and an attempt by Astana to avoid a repeat of Ukraine's fate. When entering the neighboring country, Moscow in 2022 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 unmatched globally, is ready for new large-scale projects with the Kazakh side,” — wrote the president of Russia.

According to the Kazakh government, applications for construction are being considered 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 mentioned "extensive joint activities in energy," including involving Russia in the construction of coal-fired power plants in three cities of 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 "stand on 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 his article with an assurance that Kazakhstan has been and remains "a reliable strategic partner and ally of Russia in this difficult period of history filled with conflicts and cataclysms."