Uprising in Kazakhstan ... Control Re-Established in Kazakhstan

"For us it’s absolutely mandatory to make sure that Ukraine never, never, ever becomes a member of NATO. We do not trust the other side.”

"We need iron-clad, waterproof, bulletproof, legally binding guarantees. Not assurances, not safeguards, guarantees with all the words ‘shall, must’, everything that should be put in, ‘never ever becoming a member of NATO’. It’s a matter of Russia’s national security."

"Unfortunately we have a great disparity in our principled approaches to this. The US and Russia in some ways have opposite views on what needs to be done."

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov

 

"The events in Kazakhstan are not the first and not the last attempt at interfering in the internal affairs of our states from the outside."

Russian President Vladimir Putin 

"[The demonstrations were instigated by] terrorists [with foreign backing]."

"[I will reveal to the world] additional evidence [of a] terrorist aggression [against Kazakhstan.The demands of peaceful protesters have been] heard and met by the state [and the unrest that followed involved] groups of armed militants [whose goal was to overthrow the government]."

"What kind of talks can we hold with criminals and murderers?"

"We had to deal with armed and well-prepared bandits, local as well as foreign. More precisely, with terrorists. So we have to destroy them, this will be done soon."  

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

 

"The situation has been stabilized in all regions of the country."

"A number of strategic facilities have been transferred under the protection of the united peacekeeping contingent of the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization] member states."

Presidential Office statement

A crane loads a military truck, which was burned during clashes onto the platform in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP)

 Russian President Putin and Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev may be singing out of different hymnals. Both speak of 'terrorist' and foreign influence involvement in the recent violence taking place in Kazakhstan following peaceful protests against the government. But while Mr. Putin considers the United States and NATO's malign influence in the region the cause of unrest, Mr. Tokayev seems to feel otherwise pointing to the involvement of "mostly Central Asian countries, including Afghanistan," and some from Mideast nations.

 

Strange business this, apprehending an insurrection, accusing foreign elements and 'terrorists' of invading and leading an insurrection, yet taking draconian steps on the part of the government to arrest the nation's top security officials for what effectively amounts to treasonous activities. There's an echo here of Ukraine, with its still-ongoing conflict with ethnic Russian Ukrainians in the east of the country intent on taking possession of the Donbas as, effectively, Russian territory.

 

In essence, Russian troops invaded eastern Ukraine and fought alongside Russian-Ukrainians leading to Moscow taking possession of Ukrainian territory when it secured the Crimean Peninsula into Greater Russia, violating Ukraine's sovereign territory and scheming to take Mariupol to secure a more direct link for itself to Crimea. In this instance, the reverse has occurred where internal strife in Kazakhstan with citizens rising against a corrupt government turned violent and Russia intervened to save a post-Soviet ally's sovereignty.

 

A Central Asian country that, given its rich market of natural resources of oil and uranium bringing international investment of huge proportions basks in wealth, but little of it, unsurprisingly, given the autocratic nature of its government, trickles down to the population. The original protest arose when the price of fuel rose and the population smarted with indignation. The reversal that quickly followed to appease the anger fizzled, however, people's aggrieved state at their governance continued and when the military used violent tactics the protesters responded in kind.

An estimated 8,000 people have been detained and imprisoned after the torching of public buildings and reciprocal killings between protesters and security forces. President Tokayev had issued shoot-to-kill orders to end the violence caused by "bandits and terrorists". A controversial figure of 164 killed during the riots is being contested, caused by the clashes between protesters and security agents. President Tokayev invited Moscow to help tamp down the insurrection.

The Kremlin responded by calling into action the alliance of ex-Soviet states, the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Well, isn't that interesting, somewhat reminiscent of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization whose creeping presence in eastern Europe which Vladimir Putin considers Russia's 'near abroad' is a matter of such consternation to Russia. Member states of the CSTO sent in their battalions and the violence subsided, wearing itself out in the presence of tanks, armaments and soldiers.

Now, Kazakhstan's president is anxious that the CSTO and Russia in particular vacate his country, thank you very much. Mr. Tokayev is prepared to settle his nation's own internal conflict and consolidate his authority, separating his rule from that of his corrupt predecessor who has now resigned all holdover posts and whose spokesperson said: "[He] and the head of state have always been 'on the same side of the barricades' ... In these difficult days they have demonstrated the monolithic nature of state power for all of us"; and that the population must rally around President Tokayev.

As a first order of business he awarded 'prizes' for bravery to the 16 police and army officers who were killed in the violence. "The counter-terrorist operation ... will be continued until the complete elimination of the terrorists", promised Deputy Defence Minister Sultan Gamaletdinov. According to Russian paratrooper commander Andrey Serdyukov, the CSTO force completed its deployment to Kazakhstan and is preparing to remain until complete stabilization is assured.