Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials On The Unrest In Kazakhstan -- January 8, 2022

 

Paul Bartlett, Moscow Times: Kazakhstan Wakes Up 

There has long been a disconnect between what Kazakhstan's government wants to offer the public and what the people need.

It’s been a while coming but Kazakhstan has finally woken up, with alarming scenes of government buildings in flames and thousands of protesters filling the streets and clashing with security forces coming out of Almaty, Kazakhstan’s commercial hub. 

In scenes quickly replicated across the country, protesters, initially fired up by fuel price hikes that came into effect on Jan. 1, took to the streets. 

The government backtracked on the price rises but the protesters' demands had already moved on, with calls for more political involvement and the final removal from power of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev. 

The rallying cry of “Shal Ket”, (Old Man Out), a reference to Nazarbayev, could be heard at protests across the country. 

But the calls are more about dismantling the corrupt system that the “Leader of the Nation,” a title bestowed upon Nazarbayev, has bequeathed to Kazakhstan.  

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials On The Unrest In Kazakhstan -- January 8, 2022

Maps and charts to understand Kazakhstan’s protests -- Al Jazeera  

Why Violence Has Exploded in Kazakhstan -- Anna Akage, Worldcrunch 

Inequality is driving protest against Kazakhstan’s authoritarian government -- Peter Leonard. The Guardian  

The Nazarbayev Era Is Over in Kazakhstan -- Nastassia Astrasheuskaya, FT  

Kazakhstan's Unprecedented Crisis -- Paul Stronski, Carnegie  

EXPLAINER: Kazakhstan seeks Russia-led security group’s help -- AP  

Resource-rich Kazakhstan invites Putin to guard its henhouse -- Paul Roderick Gregory, The Hill  

Kazakhstan, Russia, and why recent protests matter -- Yahoo News  

Will Unrest in Kazakhstan Inflame Tensions Between Russia and the West? -- Foreign Policy  

Russian intervention in Kazakhstan risks ‘destabilising' ethnic divides -- France 24  

Kremlin Fears 'Color Revolution' in Kazakhstan -- Jamie Dettmer, VOA  

Putin’s Kazakh gambit tightens his grip on ex-Soviet space -- Oksana Antonenko, Politico 

Kazakhstan protests: A nightmare or an opportunity for Russia? -- DW  

Putin taking a risk in Kazakhstan and may hope for reward -- The Guardian  

Russia’s Involvement in Kazakhstan’s Crisis Could Have Wide Implications -- Moscow Times 

 How protests in Kazakhstan could become a geopolitical crisis -- Jen Kirby, VOX

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