What is happening in Kazakhstan: protests, riots and death in the crisis of the largest republic in Central Asia

The city hall of Almaty, one of the main cities of Kazakhstan, burns in flames as a wave of protesters loot its interior. In the streets, the police flee from them. They are the example of what the country has been experiencing since last January 2. Protests that begin with the increase of more than 100% in the price of fuel and that lead to a real revolution against the regime of its current president.

“This revolt is undermining the integrity of the country,” assured the president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. But he is alone. His government has resigned en bloc. For now, it has declared a state of emergency in the country and has asked its neighbors: Belarus for help. “I would just tell (the protesters) to cut their roll, that’s fine,” Aleksandr Lukashenko, Belarusian president, recently warned.

Also to Russia, which this Thursday morning has sent its “peacekeeping forces” in tanks. The Army has taken to the streets to try to control the situation, and the protesters defend themselves from their shots with what they can. According to various media, dozens of civilians have died. But the carcasses of cars and buildings are still burning with flames. Consequence of a revolt that spreads throughout the country.

Thus, Kazakhstan is experiencing the biggest protests in its post-Soviet history these days, with demonstrators described as “terrorists” by the Government. The protests in the second post-Soviet space economy were unleashed on January 2 after the rise in the price of liquefied gas, the country’s main automotive fuel, which doubled its price from 60 tenge per liter to 120 (0.14-0 , $ 28). The general discontent initially originated in western Mangystau, but quickly spread throughout the country.

Fed up with old elites and lack of real political opposition, other reasons for the riots

At the same time, the slogans of an economic and social nature gradually led to political claims. Many analysts now attribute the protests to the Kazakhs fed up with the ancient elites, which has been growing in recent years and reached its peak after a new price rise. The main demand of the government’s detractors is to end the time of former president Nursultán Nazarbayev, whom opponents accuse of still maintaining political power in Kazakhstan in the shadow of the current president.

One of the most viral images of the current protests was the demolition of one of the Nazarbayev monuments in the town of Taldicorgan, in the southeast of the country. What’s more, Kazakhstan lacks real opposition, with the ruling Nur Otan party having practically all power in the country. Precisely the absence of a political force that can express the concerns of the citizens is, according to experts, one of the causes of the current crisis.

In the parliamentary elections held a year ago, Nur Otan revalidated his leadership in the Majilis (lower house of the Kazakh parliament) after harvesting more than 71% of the supports. The Kazakh president, Kasim-Yomart Tokáyev, had set as one of his objectives after replacing Nazarbayev the development of democracy and multi-partyism, tasks that the authorities will have to carry out more quickly to avoid new crises in the future.

Looting, damage and a negative economic impact

The protests began with peaceful marches and demonstrations against rising fuel prices, but in a few days they took on a very violent character with attacks on policemen and looting of shops. According to the authorities, at least 13 soldiers have lost their lives in the riots. Several protesters, who, according to the authorities, belong to terrorist groups were also “eliminated”. The number of those arrested exceeds 2,000 in the city of Almaty alone, the largest in the country.

The protests in Kazakhstan have already caused damages valued at 92 million dollars, according to the Kazakh business community. Furthermore, events in the ex-Soviet republic, which has the largest oil reserves in the post-Soviet space after Russia, threaten to cause oil prices to rise. And the fact is that the Kazakh crisis has already had an impact on uranium prices in the world market as the Central Asian Republic is the main producer of this mineral. On the other hand, Political instability in Kazakhstan caused a drop in the price of bitcoin, as the internet cuts affect the activity of the miners.