ABSTRACT
On 29 March 1994 a speech was made at Moscow State University, which bears the name of renowned scientist M.V. Lomonosov. The speaker was Nursultan A. Nazarbaev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It was that speech which launched the Eurasian strategy into its implementation stage. That was 20 years ago. Before faculty and students of the university, the Kazakh leader proclaimed that the post-Soviet republics were prepared for a united community ‘by their very history and destiny’, as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) republics were intrinsically connected to one another by administrative ties based on common designs and mechanisms, and by a common mindset. Even then, Nazarbaev emphasized that Kazakhstan was championing the idea of economic integration of the post-Soviet countries, and doing so with consistency, based on the fact that all the elements critical to expanding cooperation were already in place. Two decades ago, the Kazakh leader called upon the CIS countries to make a major qualitative change in their relationships by creating a new interstate union, founded on the principles of voluntary participation and equality, to undertake the following two vital tasks: establish a common economic space and build a common defence policy. All other issues regarding national sovereignty, internal political and state governance systems, foreign policy, etc., were to remain internal matters and be based on the principle of non-intervention in each other’s affairs.1
