ABSTRACT
Compared with the years from 1991 to 1994, the period between 1995 and 1999 was a more positive stage in Kazakhstan-Russia relations. A further contradictory political economic trend of post-Soviet development in the Republic included the divergent push towards regionalism versus integration into the global community. The Republic is the second largest oil producer among the former Soviet republics after Russia. For Russia, intensified exploration for oil in the Caspian Sea had not only affected sturgeon fishing, but also presented competition for oil and represented a geopolitical threat due to the presence of new regional and global actors in the region. Beginning in 1995, there were also signs of improvement in Russia-Kazakhstan relations in the military sphere, with officials of both states referring to the military relationship as an 'alliance'. While Russia's share in Kazakhstan's export market during this stage of bilateral relations has declined, it has remained as the latter's key trading partner.
