This chapter looks into how the relations between Kazakhs and Russians inside Kazakhstan have been changing since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It touches on the massive emigration of Russians in the 1990s, the return of Kazakhs from abroad, and the more recent shifts after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The focus is on how the society was divided historically and how this divide is reflected today through population changes, symbolic acts like the removal of Soviet monuments and renaming of cities, and also in heated debates around language, national holidays, and place naming. The chapter seeks to show how Kazakhstan is managing this difficult past and present—especially under pressure from Russia, which still uses colonial and irredentist rhetoric and questions Kazakhstan’s sovereignty. The chapter also deals with how media, memory, and emotions around war and identity are playing a huge role in shaping public opinion. Kazakhstan’s case is presented as an example of how post-Soviet authoritarian states and surviving societies are trying to keep balance, not through open confrontation, but through careful policies and symbolic nation-building steps