ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Police in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, have launched a probe against former radio presenter Lyubov Panova over her online promise to turn to Russian President Vladimir Putin "to take care" of "Nazis" in Kazakhstan.
Almaty city police said late on March 28 that investigations were launched into the "incitement of ethnic hatred" by Panova, though it is unclear if she has been charged.
Last week during an online debate, Panova, who is a Kazakh citizen of Russian origin residing in Almaty, told those Kazakhs who oppose Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine that she will call "Uncle Vova," who would "take care" of "natsiki" in the Central Asian nation.
Uncle Vova is a nickname for Russian President Vladimir Putin and natsiki is a colloquial word describing Nazis or ultranationalists. Russian officials explained Moscow’s full-scale attack against its neighbor, which started on February 24, by claiming they wanted to "denazify" and demilitarize Ukraine.
Panova's online statement sparked a public outcry. Her employer, Europa Plus Kazakhstan, announced on March 28 that she had been fired.
The deputy prosecutor-general of Kazakhstan, Bolat Dembaev, issued a statement on March 28 calling on Kazakh citizens to stay away from following "public statements by some Internet users, including Kazakh citizens, who are making separatist calls damaging our country's territorial integrity."
