Kazakhstan - Max Fang's Notes

# Kazakhstan ### Is the world's #1 source of Uranium [Tweet](https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1478570237251436547?s=20) Kazakhstan produces 42% of global uranium. It mined more uranium than Canada, Australia, and Namibia combined, which are the #2, #3 and #4 producers. ![[Pasted image 20220105161714.png]] ## January 2022 Crisis [[2022-01-05]] ### Violence [Tweet](https://twitter.com/Nrg8000/status/1478833661831090177?s=20) Videos circulating overnight showing a makeshift morgue in Kazakhstan with 15+ dead bodies being stored. Several appear to have been shot in identical places in the head. Wider context unclear. The situation is escalating far quicker than anyone could prepare for. Other videos show protesters handing out captured or seized weapons on the street (yesterday evening) and footage of what appears to be soldiers firing near (towards?) anyone still out on the street, and women screaming. ### Article in [[The Moscow Times]] *Kazakhstan’s unofficial social pact that saw voters trade political freedom for economic security is cracking under the strain of the pandemic, writes [@pashab05](https://twitter.com/pashab05)* https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/01/05/op-ed-kazakhstan-wakes-up-a75979 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. There has long been a disconnect between what the government wants to offer the public and what the people need. The resignation of Nazarbayev, who ruled the country for nearly three decades, in 2019 is a case in point. When Nazarbayev announced he was stepping aside and anointing veteran diplomat Qasym-Jomart Tokayev as his successor, people felt cheated of the chance to choose their own path. The wave of protests that followed that decision ultimately petered out, but the feelings that it unleashed continued to bubble away, never very far from the surface. This January, resentment once again rose to the fore as the new year was ushered in with sharp spikes in the price of liquified petroleum gas, a fuel used by many drivers in the western region of Mangystau. This is the area where most of the country’s oil and gas income comes from and it has long been a hotbed of unrest. In December 2011, the authorities opened fire on striking oil workers in the town of Zhanaozen killing 16 people. This time round, trouble soon spread out from Zhanaozen as demonstrators gathered across Kazakhstan. Within a few days the protests spiralled and started to gain momentum. Moves by embattled President Tokayev to calm the situation, including a rolling back of the price rises, did little to quell the protest mood that had taken hold across Kazakhstan. As expected, the government resigned in the aftermath of the protests, but this is commonplace in Kazakhstan where the head of state often shuffles the limited deck that is at his disposal. As the protests grew, a state of emergency was introduced. The authorities were forced to take more combative methods to try and stem the unrest. But despite a show of force, with ranks of National Guard troops and riot control vehicles guarding the approaches to key administrative buildings and a barrage of stun grenades, tear gas and water cannon, the crowds were undeterred and overran the security forces to grab control of City Hall, set the Prosecutor General’s office alight and ransack the ruling Nur Otan party’s HQ in Almaty. #### Pact cracking Kazakhstan’s unofficial social pact that saw voters trade political freedom for economic security is cracking under the strain. The growing ranks of the disaffected have seen their incomes shrink in recent years as the pandemic, a worsening economic situation and inflation have left many struggling to get by. Disgruntled workers in Kazakhstan’s rundown oil towns have seen billions of dollars poured into vanity projects such as the grandiose capital Nur-Sultan, named after Nazarbayev, while basic living standards have failed to grow and many in the regions have to put up with no running water, intermittent power supplies and falling incomes in real terms. This stagnation has gathered pace in the shadow of a personality cult that has developed around the first president. Statues of the Leader of the Nation have appeared all over the country and streets and parks have been named in Nazarbayev’s honor. His successor’s first act as president was to call for Astana to be renamed after the father of the nation. However, the mood is turning against the first president and his family. The Nazarbayev clan and its cronies have enriched themselves while living standards stagnate for the masses. A statue of the previously untouchable figure of Nazarbayev was toppled during the unrest in the city of Taldykorgan, a three-hour drive from Almaty. As smoke fills the skies above Kazakhstan’s cities and statues start to fall, a number of private jets were tracked flying out of its airports as the elite headed out to their luxury villas around the globe. The former president’s three daughters own swathes of multi-million dollar property on Swiss lakesides and in London and New York’s swankiest neighborhoods. With the Nazarbayev family’s iron grip on Kazakhstan finally loosening, it looks like the endgame is nigh for the ruling family as Kazakhstan finally wakes up to its future. ### List of demands from “People’s Committee of Kazakhstan.” [Tweet](https://twitter.com/ichbinilya/status/1478782453800128514?s=20) list of demands from something called the “People’s Committee of Kazakhstan.” 1. lower food prices 2. lower fuel prices 3. lowering of the pension age to 58/60 4. complete change in gov’t 5. release those arrested 6. higher salaries for ordinary ppl ![[Pasted image 20220105155501.png|400]] ### "Whatever your POV, don't deny Kazakhs their agency." [Tweet](https://twitter.com/b_nishanov/status/1478772904833785864?s=20) Everyone's entitled to their opinion on what's happening in Kazakhstan. My only polite request is whatever your POV, don't deny Kazakhs their agency. Not everything is about geopolitics, not everything is about foreign interference. Sometimes people just want to feed their kids. ### Thread of live footage from protests [Tweet](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478405396532502529?s=20) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/i/status/1478405396532502529) by [@ThomasVLinge](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge) on [[January 4th, 2022]]: - Anti-government protests are spreading and growing across #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 tonight. - Protests initially started in #Zhanaozen over a rise in fuel prices but are now taking place in several cities, including the former capital #Almaty. #zhanaozen2022 [pic.twitter.com/kputEXQKb3](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478405396532502529/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: in the western region #Mangystau people are trying to catch up with a convoy of military vehicles, hoping to prevent them from reaching thr protests in #Zhanaozen. #zhanaozen2022 [pic.twitter.com/GsWvjFQxSS](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478406191520829445/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: footage from #Mangystau earlier today as thousands of worked walked to #Aktau in the freezing cold, striking in protest against the government. #zhanaozen2022 [pic.twitter.com/Ix5TEp187a](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478407070802141184/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: Kazakh police scrambling to respond to mass protests tonight. #zhanaozen2022 [pic.twitter.com/LIuOLDp33E](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478409292730544134/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: streets of #Almaty flooded with thousands of people. - These are the biggest protests in Kazakhstan in years. #zhanaozen2022 [pic.twitter.com/NrSzMWIFAO](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478409826443083776/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: protesters in #Uralsk have started setting up tents. Seems they're willing to camo out in the freezing cold until their demands are met. #Zhanaozen2022 [pic.twitter.com/QBhXMNlufP](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478412640191922176/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: no protest is complete without some traditional music and flag waving. - #Zhanaozen tonight. [pic.twitter.com/OBhMJvv5fq](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478415750754979843/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: sight of mass protests in #Almaty. - #Zhanaozen2022 [pic.twitter.com/w7DbxwxiV6](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478417560383242246/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: protesters in Aktobe are lighting fires on the city's central square, where thousands rally against the government. - #Zhanaozen2022 [pic.twitter.com/r4HnO2vgFo](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478418571944505349/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: protesters are making it clear police are not welcome. - #Zhanaozen2022 [pic.twitter.com/o3BXUhryQX](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478427504377581574/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: impressive numbers out to march against the government in the southern city of #Shymkent. - #Zhanaozen2022 [pic.twitter.com/SVmv4lMzTv](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478436055963557888/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: large amounts of tear has fill the streets in the center of #Almaty as riot police try to end the massive anti-government protests. [pic.twitter.com/aef688oWHz](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478444534010949640/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: hundreds of riot police have arrived at the scene. Authorities in #Almaty are trying to prevent thr protesters from setting up a camp. [pic.twitter.com/oVKsW49QIi](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478445671934005251/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: scenes of clashes in #Almaty tonight. [pic.twitter.com/6bVCkDblwW](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478447803894538249/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: protesters face a wall of riot police in the city of #Karagandy [pic.twitter.com/Xkb6ox2LQX](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478456872441200647/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: insane images coming out of #Almaty tonight. Protesters are clearly not backing down. [pic.twitter.com/jIkZaYvpWz](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478464857179570181/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: more footage of police vehicles burning down in #Almaty [pic.twitter.com/p2l1e6wbqS](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478465922813894662/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: protesters and police clashing tonight in #Almaty [pic.twitter.com/6uSIw0f5xa](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478469594360729601/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: president #Tokayev has announced a state of emergency tonight in #Almaty and the western #Mangystau region as mass protests continue throughout the night. - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: protesters kick the sirens off a police van. [pic.twitter.com/xUIhuMS1al](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478476197927526404/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: for the police things in #Almaty tonight did not quite go according to plans [pic.twitter.com/aUZn8Cfk49](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478477250748198926/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: the city of #Aktobe today. Protestors are storming the regional administration building as riot police stand by and watch. [pic.twitter.com/SiCc3ug0IC](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478663560456814592/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: hundreds of protesters are trying to enter thr city administration building in #Almaty [pic.twitter.com/WKdB1GlOqV](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478664554548715529/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: people in #Aktau are chasing away police trucks as security forces are unable yo crush mass protests in the city. [pic.twitter.com/cz0WQOAe3X](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478665561320083457/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: more crazy footage from #Almaty. Protesters and riot police sit on top of a police vehicle together as other policemen watch on. No sign of violence anywhere. [pic.twitter.com/c0WsKLRwHb](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478666771863375872/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: military truck burning down on the side of the road. [pic.twitter.com/X1ynQKGu92](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478667072750166021/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: smoke rises from several sides of the city administration in #Almaty as hundreds of protesters are storming the building [pic.twitter.com/TwlfryVSiY](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478670758004076549/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: in #Aktau people stopped and climbed on a military truck as it was making its way to a local protests, making it clear to the soldiers they are not welcome. [pic.twitter.com/SYYkQ5mu75](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478674418998161408/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: the city administration building of #Almaty is burning down at this moment [pic.twitter.com/A12YDyYJYw](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478702445408792576/photo/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: protesters in #Aralsk have started blocking the nain highway and railway leading through the town. [pic.twitter.com/APZ9BDSqVp](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478703646347038721/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: protesters are taking down a statue of former president #Nazarbayev (1989-2019) who according to many is still calling the shots behind the scenes. [pic.twitter.com/ibQ6J3BuE6](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478728243184381955/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: police forces in the city of #Atyrau are walking out of the police station to join hands with the protesters standing outside. [pic.twitter.com/O4ANL2uC3g](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478728771867918337/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: latest capture by protesters in #Almaty [pic.twitter.com/pJRtxJX6ge](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478729629041139715/video/1) - #Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 BREAKING: #Almaty Airport, the biggest airport in the country, reports that a force of 45 men has entered and taken over the facility [twitter.com/GazetaRu/statu…](https://twitter.com/GazetaRu/status/1478750258159050755?t=E_tHrGlwO6CqQWrDbBYRKg&s=19) ### Main government building stored [Tweet](https://twitter.com/Reevellp/status/1478657476123889665?s=20) Protesters now storming the main government building in Kazakhstan’s largest city Almaty. ### Statue fell [Tweet](https://twitter.com/Nrg8000/status/1478722579682660353?s=20) The legacy of dictators only ever ends one way: Like on the streets of Almaty tonight. ![[Pasted image 20220105154919.png|500]] ### [[Internet Shutdowns|Internet shutdown]] [Tweet](https://twitter.com/netblocks/status/1478694849440358400?s=20) by [[NetBlocks]] Confirmed: [#Kazakhstan](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kazakhstan?src=hashtag_click) is now in the midst of a nation-scale internet blackout after a day of mobile internet disruptions and partial restrictions. The incident is likely to severely limit coverage of escalating anti-government protests. Report: [https://netblocks.org/reports/internet-disrupted-in-kazakhstan-amid-energy-price-protests-oy9YQgy3](https://t.co/Op5GwzXKbh) ### Former nomenklatura fleeing to [[Europe]] [Tweet](https://twitter.com/AigiTurgunbaeva/status/1478679193823203328?s=20) The elite is leaving Kazakhstan. According to KazTAG's source, about 5-6 business jets took off from Almaty. There is one FlyJet plane from Astana. All in the direction of Europe ### [[Alex Gladstein]] Summary [Tweet](https://twitter.com/gladstein/status/1478792445450067971?s=20) Kazakhstan situation: - Ruled by brutal dictator Nazarbayev since 1991 - Resource giant, world’s largest Uranium exporter - Massive countrywide protests over inflation and rising fuel costs - Internet blackout - Bitcoin hashrate down 12% - Elites fled today ### Thread with context and footage [Thread](https://twitter.com/i/status/1478405684920262659) by [@sumlenny](https://twitter.com/sumlenny): - Another country with its border to Russia revolts: because the Beloved Leader stays in power for too long. Not a good sign for Putin, who will clearly intervene, if Nursultan (ruling since Summer 1989!) would disappoint Putin. Long live free Kazakhstan! [pic.twitter.com/TAjQHDsewf](https://twitter.com/Archer83Able/status/1478399273851043842/video/1) - Nursultan Nazarbayev, the self-proclaimed "Leader of the Nation" (Yelbasy in Kazakh), rules Kazakhstan sind June 22nd 1989 (yes, 1989). His family controls the natural resources rich country. [pic.twitter.com/8myWYWId0t](https://twitter.com/sumlenny/status/1478407948972003341/photo/1) - clashes with police start in Kazakh cities. These are not the first clashes of this kid. All attempts of protests had been brutally oppressed by Nazarbayev's police up to today [pic.twitter.com/iNXmTO0bkh](https://twitter.com/buch10_04/status/1478396555921141765/video/1) - In December 2011, in Kazakh Zhanaozen city, police had killed dozens of protestors in the streets, indiscriminately shooting at civilians, who protested against social inequality: [youtube.com/watch?v=9bKtK_…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bKtK_gWg7Q) - Protests in Kazhakh city of Aktobe. I wonder, when Kazakhs will dethrone terrible Lenin monuments like Ukrainians have done during Ukrainian Maidan revolution: [pic.twitter.com/LoxfeuKvsR](https://twitter.com/F9RDegacoItONHY/status/1478340436020314134/video/1) - Another protest video from Kazakhstan: [pic.twitter.com/IVyGRz5ejX](https://twitter.com/jardemalie/status/1478077959185604610/video/1) - [twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/s…](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478418571944505349) - [twitter.com/jardemalie/sta…](https://twitter.com/jardemalie/status/1478423883007074318) - [twitter.com/sumlenny/statu…](https://twitter.com/sumlenny/status/1478425667096227845) - futher protests in Almaty: [pic.twitter.com/8o56uylK4x](https://twitter.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1478417560383242246/video/1) - heavy gear in the streets of Almaty, Kazakhstan, stun grenades in use: [pic.twitter.com/AoEoD8wAvH](https://twitter.com/HannaLiubakova/status/1478438509006438402/video/1) - More police vehicles in Almaty: [pic.twitter.com/jrwUnulBTb](https://twitter.com/Citizen38441256/status/1478438816172101632/video/1) - Almaty's main square under smoke of police grenades [twitter.com/_A_Vit_/status…](https://twitter.com/_A_Vit_/status/1478440614257639424) - Nazarbayev has brought army into game: [twitter.com/alla91748059/s…](https://twitter.com/alla91748059/status/1478438819313721348) - Protestors start to do attack dictator’s police: [twitter.com/marqs__/status…](https://twitter.com/marqs__/status/1478453481103052809) - Massive clashes between the police and protesters in Kazakhstan: [twitter.com/ussrcomeback/s…](https://twitter.com/ussrcomeback/status/1478459958534422530) - Protestors set policies on fire in Kazakhstan: [twitter.com/the_ins_ru/sta…](https://twitter.com/the_ins_ru/status/1478462465600069635) - Further development in Kazakhstan in this #thread: [twitter.com/sumlenny/statu…](https://twitter.com/sumlenny/status/1478656267296153601) ### Establishment requests help from [[Russia]] [Tweet](https://twitter.com/felix_light/status/1478801066829488134?s=20) Kazakh president Tokayev requesting help from the Russia-led CSTO alliance to deal with “the terrorist threat” Also confirms that protestors did indeed capture Almaty airport. And that there are “battles” going on around Almaty between security services and “terrorist bands” ### Putin readying military for action [Tweet](https://twitter.com/OlgaNYC1211/status/1478808239932334089?s=20) Russian media is reporting that an "anti-terrorist special operation has just begun in Almaty" Also, State Duma said Russia must immediately consider providing help and accept Tokayev's request. Unverified reports are that Putin has already agreed This is the news breaking across Russian unofficial channels "Путин поручил начальнику генштаба вооруженных сил России Валерию Герасимову подготовить войска для ввода в Казахстан." "Putin instructed Chief of General Staff Gerasimov to prepare troops for entry into Kazakhstan" On official media channels no mention of military intervention yet. ### "How does the PRC react to turmoil in Kazakhstan?" [Tweet](https://twitter.com/GeringTuvia/status/1478810491942281218?s=20) ![[Pasted image 20220105155946.png|400]]