Tragic record after unrest in Kazakhstan: 225 fatalities - Russia celebrates "success"

Created: 01/16/2022, 06:12

By: Jonas Raab

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and his Kazakh colleague Kassym-Jomart Tokayev shortly before the unrest broke out in Kazakhstan.

© picture alliance/dpa/Pool Sputnik Kremlin/AP |

Yevgeny Biyatov

After the serious unrest in Kazakhstan, Russia withdraws its troops.

Meanwhile, the ex-president's sons-in-law are thrown out on the street.

All information in the news ticker.

• The authorities in Kazakhstan* take stock after the violent unrest.

  The uprisings cost 225 lives.

• The sons-in-law of Kazakhstan's ex-president Nazarbayev are losing key positions in the country.

• Russia* continues its troop withdrawal – and describes the operation as a success.

• This news ticker is updated regularly.

Nur-Sultan - For many years, the ex-Soviet republic of Kazakhstan was internationally praised for its stability.

But at the beginning of the month bloody unrest broke out in the authoritarian neighboring country of China.

The protests were initially directed against a doubling of gas prices, before they developed into anti-government demonstrations across the country* and turned into brute force.

Now it is clear how many people lost their lives in the process.

"During the state of emergency, the bodies of 225 people were taken to the morgues," a representative of the Prosecutor General's Office Serik Shalabayev told journalists on Saturday (January 15).

According to this, 19 police officers and soldiers were among the victims*.

Unrest in Kazakhstan: 225 police, soldiers, civilians and "gunmen" die

Some of the fatalities were "armed bandits involved in terrorist attacks," said Shalabayev.

"Unfortunately, civilians have also become victims of acts of terrorism."

The Kazakh authorities had previously spoken of dozens of fatalities.

A message that spoke of at least 164 dead was later withdrawn by the Ministry of Information.

According to a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health, more than 2,600 people have been treated in the hospitals, and 67 are still in serious condition.

An armed riot police officer detains two protesters during a so-called anti-terrorist operation on a street after clashes in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

© picture alliance/dpa/AP |

Vasily Krestyaninov

Outbreak of violence in Kazakhstan: ex-president in focus - his successor probably with a move

Much of the anger of the Kazakh protesters was directed at former head of state Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The 81-year-old had appointed his successor Kassym-Jomart Tokayev himself in 2019, was considered the current president's mentor and should continue to exert great influence in the country.

In 2019, the capital city of Astana was renamed Nur-Sultan in his honor.

Experts assume that Tokayev is also using the crisis to overthrow Nazarbayev.

Tokayev recently stripped him of his post as head of the influential Security Council and dismissed several of his confidants from important positions.

As has now become known, two of the ex-president's sons-in-law were also dismissed as heads of two large energy companies.

Kazakhstan: Ex-President Nazarbayev's sons-in-law are thrown off gas executive chairs

The sovereign wealth fund announced on Saturday that Nazarbayev's son-in-law Dimash Dosanov had resigned as chairman of the oil transport company KasTransOil.

Kakirat Charipbayev, also a son-in-law of the ex-president, has resigned as chairman of the gas company KasakGas, formerly KasTransGas.

The fund did not provide any further information on the background.

According to media reports, 58-year-old Charipbayev is the husband of the ex-head of state's eldest daughter, Dariga Nazarbayeva.

The 40-year-old Dosanov is therefore married to Nazarbayev's youngest daughter Alija.

The ex-president has another daughter, Dinara, whose husband is one of the richest men in Kazakhstan.

Russia intervened after unrest in Kazakhstan - now the troop withdrawal is underway

The layoffs point to power struggles resulting from the violent protests. President Tokayev had condemned the riots as an "attempted coup d'état" by organized "terrorist" forces. He also blamed several companies, including KazakGas, for the crisis. With the head of the secret service, Karim Massimov, a close confidante of Nazarbayev was also dismissed from his post and arrested on suspicion of “high treason”.

In the meantime, the situation in Kazakhstan has calmed down again.

The Russian-led CSTO military alliance, which had intervened in the country with at least 2,500 soldiers at Kazakh request, has been withdrawing since Thursday (January 13)*.

Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had described the military operation as a success at a meeting with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin*.

The withdrawal is scheduled to be completed on January 19.