The United States’ Role in the Nuclear Disarmament of Kazakhstan: History of the Issue

Abstract

The article is devoted to the consideration of the reasons for the US interest in the nuclear disarmament of Kazakhstan, as well as to the study of the role played by the United States in this process. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan inherited the fourth largest nuclear arsenal in the world – more than a thousand nuclear warheads, dozens of heavy bombers, and more than a hundred intercontinental ballistic missiles. The legal status of the Soviet weapons remaining in Kazakhstan was not formalized until March 1994. In these circumstances, given the colossal geopolitical changes where the United States remained the only pole of power in the post-bipolar system of international relations, the American politicians could not ignore such a significant problem. In turn, Kazakhstan, faced with an economic and political crisis after the collapse of the Soviet Union, also needed American partnership, which provided financial and technical assistance.