In early January, protests erupted in a number of Kazakh cities and continued for several days. During this time, more than a hundred protesters were killed, and the number of detainees approached the mark of six thousand people. The protests were caused by a sharp rise in prices for liquefied gas, but subsequently the people of Kazakhstan began to put forward political demands – in particular, Nursultan Nazarbayev’s departure from politics.
The whereabouts of Nursultan Nazarbayev himself is still unknown. The Sota publication, citing political scientist Arkady Dubnov, wrote that Nazarbayev may be in China. Dubnov also told the publication that one of Nazarbayev’s nephews, billionaire and patron of Kazakh religious radicals Kairat Satybaldy, was arrested in Dubai, and the second, General and First Deputy Head of the NKB Samat Abish Satybaldy, was detained.
Later Beijing refuted reports that Nazarbayev is in China.