What are the protests in Kazakhstan about?

Price caps on liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, were lifted Saturday, and the cost of fuel doubled within days. The protests started over the weekend in oil-rich western Kazakhstan, where the quality of life is considered poorer than other parts of the country and an estimated 70 to 90 percent of vehicles there are powered with LPG, such as propane. The demonstrations spilled over into other parts of the country by Tuesday night, when an estimated 5,000 people gathered in Almaty. By late Wednesday, the Internet in most of the country was reportedly shut off , and popular messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram were unavailable. Several television channels also went dark. In an attempt to quell the unrest, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has said the government would introduce a price cap on fuel in the western Mangystau province. In a tweet, he blamed the protests on “destructive individuals who want to undermine the stability and unity of our society” and said the government would meet Wednesday to discuss “the socioeconomic demands” of protesters. But while the protests started over the rising cost of fuel, analysts said the demonstrations represent a broader discontent with the regime led by Nazarbayev, who handpicked Tokayev as his successor. Video posted to social media showed protesters attempting to pull down a statue of Nazarbayev in Taldykorgan, near Almaty — a potentially watershed moment in a country where the capital, Nur-Sultan, is named after the former president.

Kazakhstan’s de facto ruler-for-life, Nazarbayev has ruled Central Asia’s largest country since it became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Inside the country, Nazarbayev built a sweeping security state that crushed any opposition and used the country’s natural resources, including oil, as a personal fund for his regime. He maintained close bonds with Russia, and Kazakhstan hosts the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the rocket launch complex leased to Russia. But Nazarbayev also has been receptive to Chinese investment and outreach with the West for greater economic ties. In a 2017 move that angered some Russian officials, Nazarbayev ordered the official script of the Kazakh language to be switched from the Cyrillic to Latin alphabet. In 2020, Nazarbayev’s regime showed an unexpectedly whimsical side — he had the country’s tourism board launch an advertising campaign using the “very nice” catchphrase of the fictional film journalist Borat. Kazakh officials were at first outraged by the guileless Borat character created by comic actor Sacha Baron Cohen. But later, Kazakhstan tried to leverage the film’s popularity.

Why does unrest in Kazakhstan matter for the region?

The turmoil could ripple across the region. Moscow considers Kazakhstan part of its sphere of influence. The Kremlin has previously reacted negatively to political upheavals in former Soviet republics — particularly in Ukraine and Belarus — fearing a weakening of Russia’s hand and potentially inspiring opposition at home to President Vladimir Putin. China also has been expanding its political and economic influence across Central Asia, seeing Kazakhstan as pivotal to its massive global infrastructure program.

Why has Kazakhstan declared a state of emergency?

On Wednesday, protesters in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, stormed the city hall and several other government buildings. Thick black smoke billowed from windows. Protesters in the western region of Aktobe, near the Russian border, also reportedly stormed the city administration building. Security forces in some cities did not move to disperse crowds but engaged in clashes with protesters in others. Tokayev on Wednesday vowed “maximally tough action” to continued unrest. But within hours, protesters had taken control of the Almaty airport. The state of emergency through Jan. 19 in Nur-Sultan, Almaty and Mangystau is an attempt to quash the demonstrations. It bans mass gatherings, includes a curfew from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. and restricts movement. Almaty health-care authorities said Wednesday that at least 40 people were hospitalized during the protests Tuesday night. Seven people, including four police officers, were in intensive care, according to the city’s public health department. It added that 137 police officers and 53 civilians were injured. Almaty police said more than 30 of the 120 cars burned were police vehicles. Tokayev said Wednesday that he would not to flee the country under any circumstance. “Together we will overcome this dark moment in the history of Kazakhstan and emerge stronger,” he said.

Tokayev’s office said early Wednesday he accepted the government’s resignation and appointed Alikhan Smailov as acting prime minister. He was previously the first deputy prime minister. But that is unlikely to appease many Kazakhs if Nazarbayev’s regime remains in power. Much of the anger centers on an elite that takes advantage of the country’s rich resources while ordinary citizens get a much smaller share of the wealth. In Aktau, capital of the Mangystau region, some protesters shouted, “Old man out!” according to reports, a reference to Nazarbayev. In Almaty, a regional office of Nazarbayev’s Nur Otan party was one of the buildings set on fire. Nazarbayev, however, has the support of Putin. Similar backing proved critical for Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko to maintain his rule when he faced mass protests in 2020. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it was “closely watching the situation.” “We stand for a peaceful solution to be found to all problems in line with the constitution and laws and with the help of dialogue rather than through street riots and violations of laws,” the ministry said in a statement. “This is the goal of the steps being taken by” Tokayev. “Hopefully, the situation will be normalized as soon as possible in the country, with which Russia has a strategic partnership and allied, fraternal and people-to-people contacts,” it added.

Asia

Here’s what you need to know about Kazakhstan’s unrest and Russian intervention

By Isabelle Khurshudyan

Updated January 5, 2022 at 7:54 p.m. EST|Published January 5, 2022 at 4:20 a.m. EST

Protesters attend a rally in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Jan. 4, following energy price hikes. (Abduaziz Madyarov/AFP/Getty Images)

MOSCOW — Protests over rising energy prices in Kazakhstan mushroomed into attacks on government offices over the past week and prompted the intervention of a Russian-led military alliance of post-Soviet states.

An unspecified number of troops have been sent to the Central Asian nation “for a limited time period” to “stabilize and resolve the situation,” according to officials as the demonstrations pose an unprecedented challenge to the authoritarian regime. The country’s government resigned and the fuel price hikes were rescinded, but the demonstrations have continued.

The rare demonstrations are considered the greatest outpouring against Nursultan Nazarbayev’s three-decade rule since the fall of the Soviet Union. The 81-year-old former president stepped down in 2019 but has continued to hold major sway behind the scenes under the official “father of the nation” title.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Jan. 5 that he asked a Russia-led military alliance for help to quell anti-government protests. (Video: Reuters)

Kazakhstan unrest

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