Kazakh former security chief arrested

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 08 Jan 2022 by Alex Teddy

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On January 8 Karimov Massimov was taken into custody and accused of being a traitor. He was once Prime Minister and head of the internal intelligence agency (NBK) since 2016. On January 5 he was fired as chairman of the NBK by President Tokayev. Several years ago it had even been rumored that Massimov would be president.It appeared that Nazarbayev was the real ruler of the country despite retiring as president in 2019. Some dismissed Tokayev as his puppet. Massimov is seen as a protege of Nursultan Nazarbayev. Nazarbayev is Leader of the Nation for life and was President of Kazakhstan from the Soviet era until 2019.There is a rumor that Nazarbayev has left the country. His office has strenuously denied this. The 81-year-old has not been seen in public of released any statements since December 2021. Nazarbayev was dismissed as Chairman of the Security Council of Kazakhstan on January 5. Tokayev has now assumed this role himself. A statement was issued on behalf of Nazarbayev professing his allegiance to Tokayev.Much of the demonstrators' fury was directed at Nazarbayev. Crowds shouted ''old man out'' and tore down a statue of him.Tokayev told the public that security forces have been ordered to shoot to kill any suspected terrorists without warning.The situation is grave for Massimov. The acquittal rate is under 1%. He faces decades in jail. Is he really suspected or it is an excuse to remove him? China never liked the 57-year-old because he is Uyghur.The purging of Massimov could be a sign of intra-elite warfare. Is Massimov really a traitor? Or is Tokayev taking down Nazarbayev's retainers so that Tokayev himself is finally fully in charge? Soviet style is to remove a...