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Russian companies have literally showered their Kazakh partners with new orders in recent weeks to enable them to circumvent Western sanctions and get desperately needed goods, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

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Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the West has imposed heavy sanctions on Russia, forcing Moscow to seek detours to continue importing certain technologies and goods.

So, over the past year, complex new supply networks have been created through third countries to avoid the restrictions, and Russia has begun to import more goods through Turkey or former Soviet republics in Asia, according to economists.

Putin has gathered Russia's richest people and urged them to invest in Russia to counter Western sanctions

The sources, who spoke anonymously to the agency because the situation is sensitive, said that in recent weeks, Russian orders to Kazakh companies for everything from bearings and aircraft parts to rare earth metals have increased sharply.

According to two of the sources, this is due to Turkey's plans to limit the transit of goods prohibited by the sanctions.

"The boom is just beginning," said one of the sources, a businessman involved in international trade.

Another Kazakh entrepreneur says he was offered $1 million to deliver a cargo of rare earth metals originating in Australia.

He points out that all such orders have been rejected.

The Kazakh government did not respond to requests for comment.

The list of purchases desired by the Russians is extremely long and includes industrial equipment, train bearings, the latest generation of electronics, radio equipment, turbines, aircraft parts, raw materials and even materials for bank cards, the sources said, adds BTA.

Some Russian companies are trying to negotiate long-term partnerships that circumvent sanctions.

Under Russian law, complying with Western sanctions is a crime, which has made violating restrictions serious business for many entrepreneurs.

Russian President Vladimir Putin regularly boasts that Western goods are available in Moscow, albeit more expensive.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, during a tour of the region, called on the countries of Central Asia to respect the sanctions and promised help to cover possible damages.

But officials say governments can't do much against the re-export of goods to Russia.

"I turned to a European company with a request to receive specific equipment, but they refused me with the argument that it could end up in Russia," says a Kazakh businessman importing industrial equipment.

"Immediately after that I received an offer from a Russian company for the same equipment".

Last month, Turkey said it was not exporting items Russia could use in its war against Ukraine after Washington warned it over exports of chemicals, microchips and more.

Ankara has also indicated that it will not allow Western sanctions to be violated and will do what is necessary to stop illegal exports and transit.

Russia remains Kazakhstan's largest trading partner.

The Asian country's exports to its northern neighbor rose by about a quarter last year to $8.8 billion, and sales of some items have soared.

For example, bearing exports doubled to $111 million, according to official figures.

Exports of plastic pipes, some of which Russia is unable to produce, tripled to $12 million.

At the same time, Kazakhstan has sharply increased its imports of computers from Europe and Taiwan, but it is impossible to say how much of these devices continued their way to Russia.

Sometimes the law is not broken because certain items may be prohibited, but the products they are embedded in are not.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

sanctions against Russia

Kazakhstan