Here is the film of the deadly demonstrations and riots that have shaken Kazakhstan since Sunday, triggered by a rise in the price of gas.
First events
On January 2, demonstrators, furious at the rise in liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices, took to the streets in Janaozen (Mangystau region, west). The demonstrations, rare in this authoritarian country of Central Asia, then spread to the large regional city of Aktau, on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
Emergency state
On the 4th, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in power since 2019, urges the population to “be cautious” and “not to give in to provocations”. In the evening, the authorities concede a reduction in the price of LNG, without calming the protesters. A demonstration brings together thousands of people in Almaty, the economic capital, with cries of “Resignation from the government” and “The old man out”, in reference to the ex-president Nursultan Nazarbaïev, mentor of the current head of state and still very influential. The president decrees a state of emergency in Almaty, in the province of Mangystau as well as in the capital Nur-Sultan from the next day, with a night curfew. WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal messengers are inaccessible.
Government dismissed
On the 5th, the president dismisses the government. The interim Prime Minister is provided by Deputy Prime Minister Alikhan Smaïlov. Police say more than 200 people were arrested after the overnight protests. Nearly a hundred police officers are injured.
Almaty Town Hall taken by storm
Also on the 5th, thousands of demonstrators stormed the town hall of Almaty. They then head for the presidential residence, which they set fire to, just like the town hall, and briefly seize the airport. The president promises a “firm” response to the demonstrations and announces that he will assume the presidency of the powerful Security Council, until then held by his predecessor. Internet and mobile communications are blocked. Russia calls for resolving the crisis through “dialogue” and not “riots”. Washington and the EU call on the authorities to exercise restraint.
Moscow sends troops
The same day, the state of emergency is extended to the whole country, as protests turn into riot. The president asks for help from Moscow and its allies, attributing the riots to “terrorists” trained abroad. On the 6th, Moscow and its allies of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) send a “collective peacekeeping force”. Comprising of Russian, Belarusian, Armenian, Tajik and Kyrgyz troops, it is responsible for “protecting state and military installations” and helping the Kazakh security forces.
“Dozens” of dead
The same day, the police indicate having killed “dozens” of demonstrators who tried to seize administrative buildings and police stations. The government orders fuel price caps for six months.
Call for calm from the international community
Still on the 6th, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, the UN and the EU took turns to express their concerns.
Shoot “without warning”
On the 7th, President Tokaïev announced that he had “ordered the police and the army to shoot to kill without warning”, describing the calls to negotiate with the protesters “absurd”. The Interior Ministry announces that 26 “armed criminals” were killed in the riots. The police report 18 dead in their ranks. More than 3,000 people have been arrested across the country, according to television.
United States withdraws consular staff
On the 7th, head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken questions the need for Kazakhstan to call on Russian troops. “A lesson from recent history is that once the Russians are in your house, it is sometimes very difficult to get them to leave,” he warns. The State Department is allowing non-essential employees of the United States Consulate in Almaty to leave Kazakhstan and their families.
Former security chief arrested for treason, situation still tense
The former head of the national security agency of Kazakhstan was arrested for treason, after being sacked following the riots that rocked the country where the situation remained very tense on Saturday. Kazakhstan, the largest country in Central Asia, is shaken by a protest that erupted last Sunday in the provinces before spreading to other cities and especially to Almaty, the economic capital, where the demonstrations turned into chaotic riots and murderous. The National Security Committee (KNB) announced that its former director, Karim Massimov, 56, had been taken into custody on Thursday after the launch of an investigation for “high treason”.
Meeting between Putin and the Kazakh President to “restore order”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had a “long” telephone conversation to discuss the crisis situation in Kazakhstan, the Kremlin said in a statement on Saturday. “The presidents exchanged views on measures taken to restore order in Kazakhstan,” the statement said, adding that the two leaders agreed to stay in “permanent” contact.
Any reproduction prohibited