Kazakhstan is going through difficult days.
The former Soviet Republic of Central Asia has been beset by major disputes in recent days.
The protests, which began on Sunday due to rising gas prices, quickly took a political turn.
Dozens of protesters and thirteen police officers died, police said, and more than a thousand people were injured.
2,000 people were arrested.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev, who denounced the action of "terrorist groups", dismissed his government, declared a state of emergency and backed down on the increase in gas prices.
He also appealed to his Russian ally, who announced the dispatch of troops from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
What is happening in Kazakhstan?
Shops looted, statues of the former president dismantled, administrative buildings invaded, police vehicles set on fire ... Chaos has seized Kazakhstan and its economic capital, Almaty.
According to the latest reports released this Thursday by the police, "dozens" of demonstrators and thirteen police officers died during riots, the origin of which is found in the increase in gas prices.
The protest, which began on Sunday in Janaozen, in the west of this former Soviet Republic independent since 1991, has spread to other regions and to its capital, in the south-east of the country. “There was an extremely violent and unexpected blast, analyzes Michaël Levystone, researcher on Central Asia at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI). Kazakhstan is not a country where authority is attacked. "
While the police spoke of "extremist forces" and "eliminated dozens of attackers," in his words, President Tokayev, 68, spoke Wednesday evening in Russian on state television.
He denounced the action of "terrorist groups" having "received in-depth training abroad".
The Head of State has also dismissed his government and declared a state of emergency in this country of 18 million inhabitants, where the Internet and communications have been blocked (several airports are also at a standstill).
What are the demands of the demonstrators?
The challenge has evolved.
The popular uprising triggered by the doubling of the price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) began on Sunday.
It then spread to other regions and took a political turn.
“Obviously, this movement has become very political,” comments Michaël Levystone.
He is very targeted against Nazarbayev and his clan.
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Director of research at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), Jean de Gliniasty evokes a protest against a "sclerotic regime" and the omnipresence of the very influential Nursultan Nazarbaïev (81 years old), whose official departure from power in 2019 after nearly thirty years of reign is only an illusion.
During the rallies, the demonstrators demand change and protest almost exclusively against Nazarbayev, considered the father of the nation.
“His departure was a sham, analyzes Michaël Levystone.
Nazarbayev became president of the National Security Council (CSN) and Tokayev is just a super-prime minister.
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A police roadblock on January 5, 2022 in Almaty (Kazakhstan).
Reuters / Mariya Gordeyeva.
Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev, who hardened the response to the demonstrators, paradoxically gave them a lot of pledges in a few days.
In addition to backing down on the price of gas, he announced on Wednesday that he would now chair the National Security Council himself, which is a way of turning the Nazarbayev page, and sacked many close to him. former president in strategic positions.
Why is Russia sending troops?
The dispatch of military forces by the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CTSC), made up of several countries and led by Russia, responds to a double challenge: to maintain peace in the country and to serve the interests of Moscow, including the Kazakhstan is a special partner.
“Kazakhstan is the jewel of Russia, a strategic point with its 20% of Russians and its military base in Baikonur.
The destabilization of this power is unacceptable (for Moscow), ”says Jean de Gliniasty.
The reinforcement of the CSTO is, for Michaël Levystone, a real "cry for help", while France on Thursday invited "all parties", including external forces, to "moderation".
“Tokayev is paralyzed, he sheds his last cards and this call shows that he wants to cling to power.
"And if Russia sends an internal message with this deployment of troops -" Putin shows that he does not allow chaos to settle at its borders "-, the Kremlin wants above all to prevent" the country imploding and everything s 'collapses', judges Michaël Levystone, for whom the rest is full of uncertainties as "the crisis is extremely progressive".
And to conclude: “The dead (in the demonstrations) can help to shift the anger towards President Tokayev.
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