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MOSCOW — Since Vladimir Putin came to power more than 20 years ago, political turmoil in post-Soviet countries has kept him busy.
There have been revolts in Georgia, Ukraine and Armenia. Most recently, in August 2020, it was the turn of Belarus. Yet few Kremlin strategists would have predicted Kazakhstan would be next.
During the three-decade rule of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Central Asian republic made stability its trademark. Nazarbayev’s resignation in 2019 to take a position as chair of the national security council — a move that allowed him to maintain control, and one that many speculated could inspire Putin’s own
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