Anti-government protests that roiled Kazakhstan in January were sparked not just by fuel-price increases but also unrest over authoritarianism and corruption, drawing thousands of people onto the streets in the biggest threat in decades to the central Asian country’s leadership. The nation of 19 million, a former Soviet republic neighboring Russia, is rich in oil and uranium and is the size of western Europe.
A shoot-to-kill policy was imposed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, while the lightning military deployment by a Russian-dominated security alliance in response to a request for help from Tokayev showed how determined Russian President Vladimir Putin was to defend what he sees as his own neighborhood. It came as Russia massed 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine and continued to give political and financial backing to Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko after his contested election in 2020.
