Well this is exactly why they are doing it: they want to separate themselves from the evils of Communism, to teach themselves not to be Commies/Russians as much

Well this is exactly why they are doing it: they want to separate themselves from the evils of Communism, to teach themselves not to be Commies/Russians as much as possible, by moving away from Commie-dominated sources of information. Wise decision. If you feel yourself and pose yourself as Russian, you are immediately at odds with all the civilized world, associations are clear: Stalin, evil Commies, Putin, occupation of Ukraine, etc. If you are a Kazakhstani of Slavic origin, that's fine, who bothers? You are perceived neutrally. So this is good for you.