While working in Moscow from September 1991 through May 1992 as the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic to the USSR, and then, after the Soviet Union collapsed, to the Russian Federation, Saudabayev was a direct participant in and a witness to many crucial events of that time. In the fall of 1991, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev appointed Saudabayev as the Soviet Ambassador to Turkey.
Saudabayev's role during his time in Moscow from September 1991 to May 1992 was crucial. He served as the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic's Plenipotentiary Representative to the USSR and later became a witness to significant events after the Soviet Union collapsed, including being appointed as the Soviet Ambassador to Turkey by President Mikhail Gorbachev in the fall of 1991.