Stage 5 (2013–2015): Vostok-delo tonkoe [East is a delicate matter] – the impact of Ukraine on Kazakhstan–Russia bilateral relations

This chapter reviews aspects of investment relations between Kazakhstan and its international partners in different areas of economic activity to examine whether this impact has already had an effect. The impact of events in Ukraine on Russia-Kazakhstan economic relations has been particularly evident in the state of Kazakhstan's economy. Trade statistics on Kazakhstan-Russia trade relations are fairly controversial, especially those relating to the last five years. Using neo-Marxist approaches based on the processes of combined and uneven development that characterize relations between core and periphery countries, it is possible to argue that industrially underdeveloped markets could present an important niche market for overpriced production. The role of relations between Russia and the West in Kazakhstan, the largest country in post-Soviet Central Asia, has not been excluded from international controversies associated with the most recent manifestations of Russia's foreign policy.