By Sultan Musayev | 2026-02-20

Nurlan Saburov, a Kazakh stand-up comedian who built his career in Moscow, long tried to stay "above politics." After Russia invaded Ukraine, he largely avoided public commentary on the war and continued performing.

That stance no longer appears acceptable to Russian authorities.

On February 6, Saburov landed at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport from Dubai and was barred from entering Russia for 50 years, effectively a lifetime ban for the 34-year-old performer. Russian media reported the decision was taken "in the interests of the national security of the Russian Federation," citing alleged migration, tax and money-laundering violations.

Saburov has declined interviews. On February 8, he posted on Instagram that his lawyers were handling the case, writing: "Time will put everything in its place." He later deleted all posts from his account.

His difficulties appear to have begun earlier. Dozens of concerts across Russia were canceled late last year, officially due to "technical issues."

Many observers doubt the formal explanation for the entry ban. They point instead to Saburov's refusal to publicly support the war.

"If you want to survive as an artist in today's Russia, you have to be a vatnik and hate Ukrainians, at least publicly," Almaty-based activist Asel Imanbaeva told Kontur using a slang term for a blindly pro-Kremlin nationalist.

Saburov's position on the war has remained ambiguous. During a 2022 show in Los Angeles, responding to demands from Ukrainian audience members, he acknowledged his caution, saying: "I have a family."

Later that year, however, he mocked Russians fleeing mobilization and sanctions to Central Asia.

"How the situation has changed, huh?" Saburov sneered on stage. "About ten years ago, when workers from Central Asia came to Moscow, Russians would sit there saying, 'Who's that, Krukulbek?' And now everyone's like, 'Almaty, Almaty -- I've always dreamed of it!'"

According to Vazhnye Istorii, Saburov also attempted to demonstrate loyalty by donating 10 Enduro motorcycles for "the needs of the special military operation" and transferring 2 million RUB (about $22,000) to the Vse Dlya Pobedy foundation.

It was not enough.

Pressure from security services

Earlier in February, Vazhnye Istorii reported, citing a source close to the comedian, that Russian Federal Security Service initiated the ban after Saburov refused to cooperate with the agency.

The decision was linked to the FSB's Second Service, formally tasked with protecting constitutional order and combating terrorism. The unit has been tied by investigators and journalists to political repression and high-profile poisoning cases involving opposition figures.

According to the report, Saburov was summoned to FSB headquarters at Lubyanka multiple times, where officials sought his cooperation. He neither agreed nor refused and instead "tried to play it cool and stall."

His applications for a Russian residence permit were rejected three times. In 2025, he was allegedly given an ultimatum: sign a contract with the Russian Armed Forces and serve at the front for a year or leave the country.

A diplomatic undercurrent

Some analysts see Saburov's expulsion as more than a personal case, linking it to worsening relations between Moscow and Astana.

Petr Trotsenko of Radio Azattyk compared the comedian's balancing act to Kazakhstan's foreign policy.

"The Kazakh government is trying to sit on two chairs: maintaining friendships with Russia and China on one side, and the US and Europe on the other. Saburov [is doing] the same thing," he told Dozhd TV.

Journalist Ibrash Nusupbaev suggested the comedian could be a symbolic warning to Kazakhstan's leadership.

"It appears [Vladimir] Putin has sent an unequivocal signal to [Kassym-Jomart] Tokayev -- their relationship is clearly going through a rough patch," he said.

Since the start of the war, Kazakhstan has refused to recognize Russian-backed separatist territories in Ukraine, complied with Western sanctions and criminalized participation in the war. Public sentiment in the country has also leaned against Moscow, with concerts by pro-war Russian performers canceled and humanitarian aid sent to Ukraine.

Russian politicians and commentators have repeatedly criticized Astana's stance.

In April 2022, pro-Kremlin host Tigran Keosayan warned Kazakhstan on television: "Kazakhs, brothers, what kind of ingratitude is this? Look closely at Ukraine; think about it seriously. The friendship games are over -- now it’s a matter of survival." He also argued that a war is effectively underway between Russia and NATO, and that countries like Kazakhstan must decide whose side they are on.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko delivered a similar message in 2023, telling a Kazakh official that CSTO states -- members of the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization military alliance -- would eventually have to choose sides.

"The time will come... it will require you to decide, to take a specific stance," he said.

Nusupbaev said Russia, having lost allies, increasingly treats Kazakhstan as a "province" rather than a sovereign state and is likely to do everything it can to keep the country within its orbit.

"But the Kremlin fails to realize one thing: the harder they push Kazakhstan, the further our country moves away from them," he said.