Declassified British document about Tokayev appears online

Tengrinews.kz – Thirty years after the collapse of the USSR, documents mentioning President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev have become available in the UK National Archives. Azerbaijani historian Cemil Hasanli published excerpts from these materials.

In 1994, when Tokayev was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, the British Foreign Office prepared a dossier on him. It highlighted his education, language skills, and work experience in China and Southeast Asian countries.

“The department prepared very interesting profiles on him and characterized him as a well-qualified specialist. The British forecasts proved accurate. Today, Tokayev stands out favorably from the corrupt and authoritarian leaders of the post-Soviet space who disregard their people,” Hasanli wrote.

The documents also indicated that Tokayev was actively visiting the U.S., Canada, and Uzbekistan, fostering relations with foreign counterparts, and proposing the creation of free economic zones along the Chinese border.

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Political analyst Gaziz Abishev drew attention to Hasanli’s post.

“From the document presented, one can assume it was prepared for the political leadership of the United Kingdom – 10 Downing Street is the address of the Prime Minister’s office.

In general, this is standard practice for most active diplomatic services, and for countries claiming global influence (the Anglo-Saxons, their allies, and rivals), there is a well-established mechanism for analyzing national elites,” he wrote.