In Moscow, it is currently 24/7 news. Almost a full quarter of the population of Kazakhstan is ethnic Russian.
Russia and Kazakhstan have the longest uninterrupted land border on the planet and a full-blown refugee crises is not what Russia wants.
Russia doing its Anti-Ballistic Missile testing at the Sary-Shagan test site within Kazakhstan.
Uranium mining in the country is backed by Russia.
The Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was the main site for the space program and is still in used as the new Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's east is still not finished.