January 05, 2026

Kazakhstan: Stop Fighting for Russia, Please


Kazakhstan: Stop Fighting for Russia, Please
A Russian soldier pointing a machine gun, kneeling in front of a truck. Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Wikimedia Commons.

On December 25, Mediazona reported that Kazakhstan is sentencing citizens to five years in prison for fighting for Russia in War on Ukraine. In collaboration with the project Proshay, Oruzhie (Goodbye, Weapons), the news site investigated how Kazakh citizens have ended up in Russian trenches and the legal consequences they are facing back in their home country.

Kazakhstan and Russia are close political allies. However, in early 2025, the Ukrainian anti-war organization Khochu Zhit (I Want to Live) leaked the names of over 1200 Kazakhstan citizens fighting as mercenaries for Russia. According to Mediazona, local authorities indicted 700 people for enlisting in Russian military units and the Wagner mercenary group. Participating in a foreign conflict is illegal in Kazakhstan. 

From Cuba to India, Russia has long lured (and tricked) men into fighting in its war in Ukraine. Since most former Soviet nations still speak Russian, they have been targeted with ads for their citizens to join Russia's army. Migrants from these countries have been particularly vulnerable to forced military enlistment. In many of the criminal cases opened by Kazakhstan, the men went to Russia to do contract work. There, they were either forced or coerced into enlisting in the army. Upon returning to Kazakhstan, many of these men turned themselves in or were arrested.

According to Mediazona, Konstantin Kozhakhmeto said he was forced to sign a military contract after being detained for migration violations. The 56-year-old claims he was beaten in detention. Then, he fled while wounded in Donetsk. Kozhakhmeto stayed in the occupied region for months before crossing the border illegally and surrendering to Kazakhstan's authorities.

Other Kazakh men joined the Russian Army because of ethnic ties or for ideological reasons. Pyotr Miroshnichenko, an ethnic Russian from Kazakhstan, openly petitioned to enlist in a video directly addressed to President Vladimir Putin. The 42-year-old attempted to join the army, but his migration card had expired, and he was subsequently deported. Miroshnicheko then crossed the Luhansk border illegally and continued to petition for Russian citizenship as a soldier. However, his quest came to an end after learning he had liver disease and was HIV positive, a disqualifier for becoming a Russian citizen. He returned to Kazakhstan and surrendered to local authorities.

Kazakhstan has not been alone in convicting its citizens for participation in a foreign war. Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have also arrested passport holders who have fought for Russia. So far, 200 Kazakh citizens are estimated to have died fighting for Russia in Ukraine.

You Might Also Like

Running Out of Doctors and Nurses
  • August 20, 2025

Running Out of Doctors and Nurses

Russia's health care system is running out of doctors, nurses, and hospitals. Some regions have no oncologists or cardiologists.
The
  • July 28, 2025

The "Eternal" Draft is Coming

The Duma is considering a bill to hold conscription year-round, making it harder for Russians to avoid the draft.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

Fearful Majesty
July 01, 2014

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955