According to Pyotr Tolstoy, the Deputy Speaker of the Russian State Duma, the cities in Kazakhstan are essentially Russian, and therefore Russia has historical rights to them.

Axar.az reports that Tolstoy stated that if Moscow doesn't settle the issue with Ukraine, it will face problems with Kazakhstan, Armenia, and other countries surrounding Russia:

"Look, what is happening today in Kazakhstan regarding the establishment of a certain Kazakh state. There, independence, a national mythology related to the transition to the Latin alphabet, is blossoming.

Kazakhs have forgotten that Almaty was the city of Verny from 1867 to 1921. Our Russian pen is Kazakh. And this story is important for national identity. There is no need to invent a story."