Dozens killed in Kazakhstan as Russia airlifts troops in

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 06 Jan 2022 by Alex Teddy
On January 6 officials reported that scores of people had been shot dead by the police in Almaty. The president said on January 5 that terrorist gangs had taken over part of the city and the airport. The airport has since been retaken by the authorities. The government says that at least 13 police officers have been killed by terrorists and over 300 police officers have been wounded. Shooting has continued in Almaty.A state of emergency has been declared all across the country. A curfew is in force. The president said that protesters were financially motivated. That is true inasmuch as they were mainly protesting about the sudden rise in the price of liquefied natural gas (LPG) which fuels 90% of the country's vehicles. There is resentment at Kazakhstan being an extremely unequal society where the first president and his family are perceived to control swathes of business. The internet had been shut down - though reports state that it has been reactivated across much of the country. Banking transactions have been frozen with queues forming at some ATM dispensers. A temporary halt on foreign entrants to the country has been put in place too.Kazakhstan is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) along with Russia. Nur Sultan City requested Russian military assistance. On January 6 hundreds of Russian troops were flown into Almaty to bolster the Kazakh Security Forces as part of a peacekeeping force.The Kazakh imbroglio is an unwelcome distraction from Ukraine for Russia. However, Moscow cannot afford to see the second largest former Soviet republic fall into chaos or unfriendly hands. Both Kazakh and Russian official statements have referred 'non-in...

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