Kazakhstan is stuck between two superpower neighbors — Russia and China. Now it is trying to use its geography to its advantage. Kazakhstan has a long history of being ruled from Moscow, both during the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. During Soviet times, it was a test site for nuclear weapons and the launchpad for the first human in space: Yuri Gagarin launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Ever since Kazakh independence, the Central Asian country has kept close ties with Russia. Russia