It also became evident that protestors were well organised, with cars regularly bringing them automatic weapons and iron rods. It became clear that shops selling hunting weapons had been looted. But the large group of people attacked the City Council from two sides and for the first time, firearms were seen among the demonstrators. The roughly 300-strong police forces headed to the City Council to protect it. Such a large number is without precedent. In the morning, there was thick fog, and from 14:00, there were many protesters, between 10,000 and 20,000, converging in the city centre. Despite being the worst crisis in the 30 years of independence, many thought that it was now over and the three-year transition from Nazarbayev to Tokayev would be finally completed, ending a period of co-leadership.Д«ut during the night, people from the periphery of Almaty came uptown. On the morning of 5 January, things return to normal in Almaty despite some clashes during the night, but they were relatively minor. Tokayev also announced that Nazarbayev is no longer the chair of the security council, that he is taking over, that the price of LPG returns to 50 tenges, and that a week later, he would announce a new government and reforms. So Tokayev announces the state of emergency across the country and a curfew from 23:00 until 07:00, starting from 5 January in the evening and lasting until 19 January. The latter was in Almaty on New YearвЂ™s day, but we do not know where he was after 3 January. On the same night, President Tokayev called a meeting of the countryвЂ™s security council, which Nazarbayev usually chairs. The protesters were not armed and the police did not use lethal weapons. In front of the Almaty Akimat (City House), peaceful demonstrations were held during the night of 4 January. So the protests started spreading from the west, on 4 January, across the country up to Almaty, the former capital (in the east). In Western Kazakhstan, when the protests started, Nazarbayev was not popular because this was not his tribe.

The demands were the governmentвЂ™s resignation, bringing the former leader (Nursultan) Nazarbayev to account and stripping him of his remaining official duties. This very rapidly became a social and political protest movement. Thus automobilists protested and many people joined them. Its price, which was the equivalent of 50 tenge or 11 cents, more than doubled. The protests started on 1 January in the western province of Mangistau after a decision, on 31 January, to liberalise the prices of liquefied petroleum gas, a popular car fuel in Kazakhstan. In Almaty, the former capital and the countryвЂ™s largest city, the internet returned only on Tuesday (11 January). Although frustrations have been piling up, they are not the only explanation. But the riches are unevenly distributed, corruption has been there since Soviet times, and those in top positions got a significant slice of the pie.

вЂњTo understand Kazakhstan, one should consider that this is a country rich in resources, including energy. The original account has been shortened for clarity. The source, who asked not to be named, has provided reliable information and analysis to this website for more than 10 years. A trusted source in Almaty gave a rare first-hand account to EURACTIV of the unrest that shook up the Central Asian country in the first days of 2022.

Periphery has it leaked