2022 Kazakh unrest

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## 2022 Kazakh unrest

Demonstrators in Aktobe, January 4, 2022.

### Location

Kazakhstan

On January 2, 2022, Protesters erupted in Kazakhstan following a sharp increase in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which the Kazakh government said was due to high demand and price fixing.

## Background

Until 1991, Kazakhstan was part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) under the name Kazakhstan Soviet Socialist Republic (Kazakhstan SSR). During the dissolution process of the USSR, the Kazakhstan SSR was the last republic to declare its independence. On January 28, 1993, the Constitution of Kazakhstan was officially approved. Nursultan Nazarbayev, who at that time was the Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan during the last years of the USSR, was elected president in an election where he was the only candidate. In 1999, he founded the Nur Otan party, with a socially conservative and liberal ideology. Nazarbayev was in office between 1990 and 2019, being succeeded by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, also belonging to the Nur Otan party.

## Timeline

### January 2

On the morning of January 2, 2022, the residents of Zhanaozen blocked the road in protest against rising prices. The residents who gathered there called on the akim of the area Nurlan Nogaev and the akim of the city Maksat Ibagarov to adopt some measures in order to stabilize the price of fuel.

### January 3

Hundreds of Zhanaozen residents gathered in the central square during the night. About 1,000 people participated in the protests, and their demands became political as well as social and political. The regional akim and the director of the gas refinery appeared in front of the protesters, but after failure they left the square.

### January 4

During the day, the Kazakh authorities announced a reduction in prices in the Mangystau Region region to 50 tenge (about €0.10) per liter. However, the demonstrations did not stop there.

Also on January 4, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, addressed the participants of the demonstration in a video to "show sense" and not do anything illegal.

### January 5

The Kazakh provider "Kazakhtelecom" has locked down the Internet in the entire country. As a result, all over the country, residents started withdrawing money from their accounts, and queues appeared in front of ATMs, because contactless payments, card payments and electronic payments are no longer possible.

According to the notification of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, no fewer than eight police officers and National Guard officers were killed during the riots, and 317 of them were injured.

### January 6

During the night in Almaty, government forces tried to repulse the protesters from the administrative buildings in the city, primarily from the police buildings. In the morning, it was announced that around 10 rioters were killed in clashes with the police. There was also talk of 13 killed members of the government forces, two of whom were beheaded. By the evening, the number of dead members of law enforcement had increased to 18. During the second half of the day, it was reported through the media that over 2,000 demonstrators had been deprived of their freedom.

### January 7

In his address to the people of Kazakhstan at the morning session of the counter-terrorist headquarters, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev spoke about the current situation in the country and stated that he allowed the use of weapons without warning against those who would carry out armed and terrorist attacks, that the fight against terrorists must be brought to an end, as well as that "all who do not surrender will be destroyed". It is also allowed in certain regions and at certain times to allow Internet traffic, and in those regions where the situation in the country has not been destabilized, the state of emergency will be gradually lifted.

### January 8

On January 8, Kazakhstan's Intelligence Service said that former head of the National Security Council, Karim Massimov, had been arrested on suspicion of treason, and Reuters described the arrest as "the former Soviet republic is suppressing a wave of unrest and is starting to escalate."

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan announced that 4,404 people were detained during the protests and at least 40 people were killed.

### January 9

On 9 January, the Ministry of the Interior announced that initial estimates were around 175m euros in property damage, more than 100 businesses and banks were attacked and looted, and about 400 vehicles were scrapped. The ministry confirmed that more than 160 people were killed and more than 5,000 arrested for questioning as part of 125 separate investigations into the events. The ministry also reported that more than 2,200 people were treated and about 1,300 security guards were injured. Kazakhstan's presidential office said a total of 5,800 people were detained. The Ministry of Health said that a total of 164 people, including two children, were killed. It was also stated that 103 people lost their lives in Almaty, the largest city of Kazakhstan. "The situation has stabilized in all regions of the country today... The anti-terror operation continues to restore order in the country," Interior Minister Erlan Turgumbayev said at a press conference.

### January 10

On January 10, the government declared a day of mourning for the dozens of people who lost their lives in the protests. Kazakhstan's Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that a total of 7,939 people were detained across the country. The National Security Council, Kazakhstan's intelligence and counter-terrorism agency, said the situation in the country was "stabilized and under control". Tokayev described the protests as an "attempted coup". The government also stated that "foreign-trained Islamist radicals" were among those who attacked public buildings and security forces last week, and that police have now detained about 8,000 people to contain the situation.

### January 11

On January 11, speaking at an online meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization via video link, Tokayev said that order in Kazakhstan is now restored and the protests are "over". Vladimir Putin claimed victory by protecting Kazakhstan from what he described as a "foreign-backed terrorist insurgency" and promised the leaders of other former Soviet states that a Moscow-led alliance (CSTO) would protect them as well.

Tokayev announced that the CSTO has completed its mandate in Kazakhstan, that it will begin its withdrawal from the country on January 13 and will withdraw completely within the next 10 days. The Interior Ministry said security forces detained more than 9,900 people in connection with the protests. In addition, international flights to Nur-Sultan, the capital of the country, were resumed.