Fuel Increases Stimulate Rage as Emergency Declared in Kazakhstan’s Capital and Government Resigns
Posted on 01/05/2022
Kazakhstan, a resource-rich Central Asian nation and former Soviet republic, extends from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Altai Mountains at its eastern border with China and Russia. Kazakhstan achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Thousands of people returned to the streets across Kazakhstan on January 5, 2022 for a fourth straight day of demonstrations driven by outrage over surging gas prices. Kazakhs started protesting after the government lifted price caps for liquefied petroleum gas and the cost of the fuel doubled. Kazakhstan is an exporter of oil and gas and the people found that the price increases were ridiculous. Many Kazakhs converted their automobiles to run on liquefied petroleum gas due to the low cost.
Protesters stormed government buildings and captured police vehicles. This is despite a strict state of emergency and government attempts to concede to their demands. Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced he was dismissing Prime Minister Askar Mamin and his entire cabinet, and imposing a strict two-week state of emergency in much of the country. Alikhan Smailov has been appointed acting prime minister. There was announced the possible dissolution of Parliament. Nursultan Nazarbayev (age 81) handpicked Tokayev as his successor. Nursultan Nazarbayev led the country since it was a Soviet Republic until his departure in 2019. Commenting about the unrest, Tokayev said the protests were “highly organized” as part of a “meticulously thought-out plan of conspirators, who were motivated financially.” According to the Almaty police, more than 500 civilians were beaten and protesters burned 120 cars, including 33 police vehicles, and damaged about 400 businesses. Flights to Kazakhstan are being cancelled after Almaty International Airport was reportedly seized by protesters. Demonstrators stormed the former presidential residence in Almaty before a fire started at the building.
“As the head of state and from now on as the chief of the Security Council, I intend to act as tough as possible,” Tokayev declared.
Kazakhtelecom, the country’s largest telecommunications company, terminated internet access throughout the country on the afternoon of January 5th. The Kazakhstan government blocked social networking sites and chat apps including Facebook, WhatsApp, Chinese app WeChat, and Telegram.
