Kazakhstan–Russia relations
Kazakhstan–Russia relations refers to bilateral foreign relations between Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. Kazakhstan has an embassy in Moscow, a consulate-general in Saint Petersburg, Astrakhan and Omsk. Russia has an embassy in Nur-Sultan and consulates in Almaty and Oral. Nur-Sultan and Moscow are military and political allies. Overview. Kazakhstan and Russia are both founding members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and are additionally part of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Both also founded the Eurasian Economic Union with Belarus. Following the collapse  of the USSR, the issue of nuclear weapons was central to diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Russia, the West and the broader international community. In recent years, Kazakhstan has attempted to balance ties between both sides by selling petroleum and natural gas to its northern neighbor at artificially low prices, allowing heavy investment from Russian businesses, and concluding an agreement over the Baikonur Cosmodrome while simultaneously assisting the West in the War on Terror. According to a survey conducted by the Central Asia Barometer, 87% of Kazakhs have a favorable view of Russia, with 8% holding an unfavorable view. The  survey also found that 88 percent support closer relations with Russia, compared to 6 percent who do not. History. During the reign of Kasym Khan, the Tsardom of Russia became the first major state to establish diplomatic relations with the Kazakh Khanate. Border agreements. In January 2005 President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed an agreement approving an official map of the border. On May 23, 2009, the two countries placed their first boundary marker on the border between Kazakhstan's Atyrau and Russia's Astrakhan provinces. The demarcation is expected to take 10 to 15  years to complete. Controversies. Statehood. In 2013, President Vladimir Putin raised controversy when he claimed that “Kazakhs had never had statehood”, in what seemed to be an apparent response to growing nationalism among Kazakhstanis. Putin's remarks on the matter led to a severe response from President Nazarbayev, who announced that the country would celebrate the 550th anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate, which effectively refutes Putin's claim that a Kazakh nation has never existed. He also threatened to withdraw from the Eurasian Economic Union, saying that the independence of the country is his "most precious treasure" and that Kazakhs  will never surrender their independence. Trade relations. Overall money flow in a trade between Kazakhstan-Russia in 2018 was $18,219,255,476, which is more than 2017's numbers by 5.68%. Export to Kazakhstan was: $12,923,333,532 which is more than 2017's numbers by 4.86%. Export to Russia was: $5,295,921,944 which is more than 2017's numbers by 7.71%. Main products of trade are: machinery, mineral products, metal, chemicals, agricultural supplies, shoes. The influx of Russian direct investment in the Republic of Kazakhstan for the period 2005–2014. amounted to 9.1 billion US dollars, and Kazakhstan in Russia - 2.9 billion  US dollars. One of the most active and large scale relations are in fuel sphere. The transit of Kazakh oil through Russia is also carried out within the framework of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). At 50 percent, CPC is owned by the governments of Russia and Kazakhstan, and by 50 percent - by mining companies that financed the commissioning of the first phase of the project. Big Russian companies like Lukoil ($5 billion), Gazprom ($1 billion), INTER RAO UES ($0.2 billion) invest in the Kazakhstan's economy. United States), Rusal ($0.4 billion). Rosatom State Corporation, Rosneft  OJSC, Bank VTB OJSC, VEB, Mechel OJSC, Severstal OJSC invest to Kazakhstan's economy.