Russians flood Kazakhstan with sanction-busting requests

Russian companies have flooded their Kazakh partners in recent weeks with new requests to help them circumvent Western sanctions and import badly needed goods.

After Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the West imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia's $2.1 trillion economy, prompting Moscow to seek circuitous routes for importing technology and goods, seven sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

With the sale of thousands of items banned by the West, traders established an elaborate network of supply chains through third countries to bypass the restrictions. Many goods enter via Türkiye and former Soviet republics, economists say.

The seven sources, who all spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said they had seen a rise in Russian requests to help get everything from bearings and aircraft parts to rare earth metals across Kazakhstan's 7,591-kilometre (4,717-mile) land border with Russia.

Two of the sources linked the increased Russian interest directly with reported Turkish plans to crack down on the transit of sanctioned goods.

"This means the boom is just beginning," said one businessman involved in foreign trade who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue