Keys to the crisis in Kazakhstan that ended in violent protests and the intervention of Russian troops

Kazakhstan These days it is experiencing the largest protests in its post-Soviet history, which led to violent riots with fatalities among protesters, described as “terrorists” by the Government, and among members of the security forces.

These are the keys to the crisis in the largest republic in Central Asia, which took many people inside and outside the country by surprise.

Rise in fuel prices

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 (US $ 0.14-US $ 0.28).

The general discontent initially originated in the western Mangystau region, but quickly spread throughout the country.

At the same time, the slogans of an economic and social nature gradually led to political claims.

Fed up with ancient elites

Many analysts now attribute the protests to the Kazakhs’ fed up with the old elites, which has grown in recent years and reached its peak after a new price hike.

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.

Lack of real opposition

Kazakhstan lacks any real opposition, with the ruling Nur Otan party having virtually 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 garnering more than 71% of the support.

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.

Radicalization of protests

The protests began with peaceful marches and demonstrations against rising fuel prices, but in a few days they became very violent with attacks on police 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 detained exceeds 2,000 in the city of Almaty alone, the largest in the country.

Post-Soviet Military Alliance

The current crisis in Kazakhstan led to the intervention of the forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military bloc in the post-Soviet space that groups six countries and is led by Russia.

Nur-Sultán requested this Wednesday the help of the CSTO members in the face of the “terrorist threat” facing the country and hours later the organization gave its approval to the deployment of more than 3,800 military personnel in Kazakhstan for the “stabilization of the situation ”.

This is the first time since its creation that the post-Soviet alliance has intervened in defense of one of its members.

Internet outages, difficult coverage

During the protests in Kazakhstan, internet and telephone operators have reported difficulties for the proper provision of services.

As a consequence, information on events in the country is limited and often arrives through social networks or fast messaging applications.

Several media outlets, including EFE, were unable to communicate with their co-managers in the country for several hours, especially on Wednesday, the day of massive disturbances.

Economic impact

The protests in Kazakhstan have already caused damages valued at US $ 92 million, 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.

In addition, political instability in Kazakhstan caused a drop in the price of bitcoin, as the internet cuts affected the activity of miners.