'Please close the window'. Dystopian clip shows drone in Kazakhstan stopping residents from watching Victory Day parade from their apartment

Meduza.io

Kazakhstani military helicopters at the Victory Day parade. May 7, 2025.

Residents of Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, who tried to watch the city’s Victory Day parade from their 20th-story apartment on Wednesday were approached by a surveillance drone that instructed them to get away from the window.

The encounter was captured in a TikTok filmed by one of the spectators.

“Dear residents, please close the window and move away from the window for the sake of your own security,” said a voice broadcast from the drone.

After the individuals followed the drone’s instructions, it flew away.

if (customElements.get('tik-tok') === undefined) { customElements.define('tik-tok', class TikTokEmbed extends HTMLElement { constructor() { super(); const shadow = this.attachShadow({ mode: 'closed' }); const iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.setAttribute('src', this.getAttribute('addr')); iframe.style.width = "100%"; iframe.style.height = "10px"; iframe.style.border = "0px"; iframe.setAttribute('name', '__tt_embed__v' + this.getAttribute('name')); iframe.style.display = 'block'; iframe.style.visibility = 'unset'; const addr = this.getAttribute('addr'); window.addEventListener("message", function (event) { if (event.source == iframe.contentWindow) { iframe.style.height = '' + JSON.parse(event.data)['height'] + 'px'; } }, false); shadow.appendChild(iframe); } }); }

The parade was held two days before the country's official Victory Day holiday, which commemorates the USSR's defeat of Nazi Germany. According to the Kazakhstani news outlet Orda.kz, the parade was a closed event: those without official invitations could only watch it on TV or on outdoor LED screens. The Kazakhstani Defense Ministry said that anyone who wanted to see it live could watch the rehearsals on May 3 and 4.

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