Putin in Kazakhstan hears complaints by Russian speakers.

Text of report by Russian Public TV on 10th October [Presenter] This morning in Astana, Vladimir Putin met his fellow countrymen in Kazakhstan. Our correspondents report: [Correspondent] Vladimir Putin said that he had purposely asked to meet representatives of Kazakhstan 's Russian community, and wanted to know more about their life and see for himself how the accords signed between the two states to regulate that sphere of relations were being put into practice. [Putin] We have signed with Kazakhstan a whole number of agreements which aim to create normal conditions for the Russians in Kazakhstan and for the Kazakhs in Russia. [Correspondent] The leader of the Russian community in Kazakhstan then took the floor. In a very emotional and at times even harshly critical speech, he said that three out of the seven million Russians in Kazakhstan had already left, which spoke volumes about their difficulties. Kazakhstan 's language law, Yuriy Bunakov said, infringes on the rights of Russian speakers, whose children are unable to receive higher education. As for their representation in the Kazakh leadership, it is a mere 8 per cent, despite the fact that the proportion of ethnic Russians in the population of Kazakhstan approaches 35 per cent. [Yuriy Bunakov, leader of the Russian community of Kazakhstan ] One can speak of restrictions on education to the extent that our Russian-language schools have made cuts across the board, with the result that school leavers have learnt nothing and are unable to compete in university admissions in Russia. [Correspondent] During the meeting, the Russian president sought to rechannel the emotional conversation into a businesslike, constructive discussion. [Putin] We should now cast a sober look at what is taking place and at what conditions have been created, and do so calmly, in a normal, businesslike atmosphere. That is what our partners both in Kazakhstan and many other republics of the former Soviet Union want. [Correspondent] It was the first such meeting between a Russian president and Kazakhstan 's Russian diaspora, during which it was said that funding would be provided for Russian organizations in CIS and Baltic states. [Putin] All of us, in this particular case both Russia and Kazakhstan , have an interest in a situation where our fellow Russians here would be a good connection between Russia and Kazakhstan...