Years of rage lie behind the days of protest. Bringing in foreign troops can’t resolve an uprising with deep roots
As grim as the crisis in Kazakhstan already appears, it could soon look much worse. Authorities reported on Thursday that dozens of protesters and at least 12 members of the police and security forces were dead. With the internet largely blocked and other communications severely hampered, and with reports of gunfire in Almaty, the country’s largest city, the true toll may be much higher. At least 2,000 protesters have been arrested. After days of largely peaceful demonstrations across the vast country, government buildings have been stormed or set on fire in two cities and witnesses in Almaty have reported looting. “Peacekeeping troops” from a Russian-led military alliance have arrived.
The unrest was sparked when the cost of liquefied petroleum gas almost doubled after the authorities lifted price caps – and soon spiralled. Modest concessions did not address the deeper grievances: corruption in a nation rich in oil, where many still struggle to get by while the elite cream off the cash, and the authoritarianism of a post-Soviet state that has never held a free and fair election.
