Another post-Soviet ‘ruler for life’ faces upheaval, as enormous protests sweep Kazakhstan

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As the Soviet Union crumbled successful 1990, Kazakhstan declared independence. A 51-year-old erstwhile steelworker, Nursultan Nazarbayev, would go the caller nation’s archetypal president. Despite being a erstwhile Communist Party figure, Nazarbayev promised a agleam caller aboriginal for the country, telling The Washington Post up of the 1994 elections that the federation could go a “proving crushed for ideology and a marketplace economy.”

This week, aft 3 decades of Nazarbayev-led rule, demonstrators successful Kazakhstan launched into the fiercest protests of its post-Communist era. They began Sunday amid outrage astir rising substance prices, but soon the choler turned connected the country’s archetypal autarkic leader. Though Nazarbayev, 81, formally stepped down arsenic president 3 years ago, helium has go a people of demonstrators who are saying: “Old man, spell away!”

That slogan has go a rallying outcry for protesters, galore of whom are angered astatine Nazarbayev’s lingering relation arsenic a de facto ruler for life. Social media is flooded with footage of a statue of Nazarbayev being pulled down, portion a statesmanlike palace was reportedly stormed successful Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city.

With fewer extracurricular observers successful the state and Internet restrictions successful place, it has been hard for the planetary assemblage to get a afloat representation of the protests. What’s wide is that they are tremendous successful standard and sometimes violent. Unverified footage shows constabulary cars connected occurrence and demonstrators storming authorities buildings. Official sources accidental determination person been several deaths among information personnel.

Nazarbayev is lone the latest post-Soviet fig to look important thoroughfare protests successful caller years. In Belarus, wherever strongman person Alexander Lukashenko has kept choky power since being inaugurated arsenic president successful 1994, protests sprang up aft disputed elections 2 years ago. Lukashenko was yet capable to crush the movement, shutting down autarkic media and arresting 34,000, but it appeared to rattle the antheral known arsenic “Europe’s past dictator.”

Pro-Kremlin media has portrayed the protests arsenic portion of a broader Western run against Moscow and its allies. White House property caput Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday that these were conscionable “some brainsick Russian claims” and “part of the modular Russian disinformation playbook.”

The protests successful Kazakhstan travel conscionable weeks aft tens of thousands of Russian troops moved toward the borderline with Ukraine, different post-Soviet state that had breached from the orbit of Moscow successful 2014. President Biden spoke again by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin astir the tense concern past week, portion elder U.S. and Russian officials are readying to conscionable successful Geneva for talks connected Jan. 9 and 10.

Gas prices sparked Kazakhstan’s protests. For years, the Kazakh authorities had controlled the prices of liquefied petroleum gas, oregon LPG, astatine sizeable expense. The authorities lifted these substance caps Jan. 1, arguing they were unsustainable. Overnight, the terms of LPG fundamentally doubled successful Kazakhstan — a worrying imaginable successful a state wherever the gross home merchandise per capita is little than $10,000 a twelvemonth contempt sizeable lipid wealth.

The symptom was mostly felt successful occidental Kazakhstan, wherever astir 70 percent to 90 percent of vehicles are powered with LPG. It was different important economical woe successful a federation wherever ostentation neared 9 percent year-on-year astatine the extremity of 2021.

The Kazakh authorities took a assortment of measures to quell the protests, shutting down the Internet and announcing that the terms headdress determination would beryllium temporarily reversed. But arsenic the demonstrations gathered steam, they adopted a broader governmental code that took purpose astatine the full post-Soviet system.

Nazarbayev stepped down arsenic Kazakh president successful 2019, leaving his powerfulness to a successor Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. But helium maintained important governmental power. He had been granted the rubric “Leader of the Nation” successful 2010, shielding him from prosecution adjacent aft retirement, and continued to arsenic president of the country’s Security Council. The country’s recently built superior was adjacent renamed Nur-Sultan aft him.

Accounts of sizeable corruption continued to swirl astir Nazarbayev and his household since helium near office. The British authorities had unsuccessfully tried to unit his daughter and grandson to explain however they were capable to bargain $108 cardinal successful London property, portion among the names successful the leak called the Pandora Papers was a erstwhile quality queen described successful immoderate reports arsenic Nazarbayev’s “unofficial 3rd wife” who received a mysterious sum of $30 million.

On Wednesday, Tokayev announced a two-week authorities of exigency successful 2 cardinal regions deed by protests and said helium accepted the resignation of the Kazakh government. But Tokayev has besides suggested that helium would respond forcefully to the chaos seen successful Almaty, calling the protesters “terrorists, bandits” and saying aboriginal Thursday that helium was appealing to a Moscow-led determination information bloc for help.

Russian authorities quality agency RIA Novosti reported Wednesday that a “counterterrorism” cognition was present underway, citing a instrumentality enforcement connection that said the crowds successful Almaty were “highly organized, which is grounds that they were earnestly trained abroad.”

So far, Nazarbayev is obscurity to beryllium seen. He had been adjacent to Putin but besides sought retired different partnerships, visiting the White House successful 2018 to conscionable President Donald Trump. As a large exporter of oil, earthy state and coal, the country is economically important to not lone the portion but besides to Europe and its different tremendous neighbor, China.

But for Putin, the interaction of Nazarbayev’s autumn from grace could deed person to home. Nazarbayev whitethorn person been a procreation older than the Russian leader, but helium shared a past successful the Soviet Union and a decades-long grasp connected the apical levels of power. Both Russia and Kazakhstan are earthy assets giants, yet some are mired successful tremendous economical inequality and reports of corruption that scope each the mode to the top. Inflation successful Russia hit 8 percent precocious past year.

Putin’s word expires successful 2024. Though he has the close to tally for president 1 much time, helium has overseen a fig of reforms that person led to speculation helium whitethorn measurement backmost and question to power the state retired of office, overmuch similar Nazarbayev is believed to person done. But arsenic a pupil of history, the Russian president volition besides retrieve that events successful Kazakhstan person upended Moscow’s plans before. The protests that yet led Nazarbayev to powerfulness successful the precocious 1980s besides foretold the extremity of the Soviet Union.