More than a hundred dead, thousands of those arrested, Russian troops in the country. Results of the week of protests in Kazakhstan

Capturing administrative institutions

Almost from the very beginning of the protests, the authorities blocked the work of Internet providers and mobile operators. Later, the work of exchange offices, banks and other financial organizations was suspended.

On January 5, protesters took over the international airport in Almaty. The building of the branch of the national state TV channel “Kazakhstan” was set on fire. In Almaty, protesters seized the National Security Committee building and gained access to the contents of the building’s weapons room. The presidential residence in Almaty was destroyed and set on fire.

Change in rhetoric

Immediately after Nazarbayev left the post of head of the Security Council, Tokayev, who replaced him, said that he intends to “act tough.” He began to call the protesters “terrorists”. On January 7, Tokayev ordered the security forces to shoot at protesters to kill without warning.

Appeal to the CSTO countries

January 5 Tokayev appealed to the countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization with a request to “provide assistance to Kazakhstan in overcoming the terrorist threat.” The next day, Chairman of the CSTO Collective Security Council, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan statedthat the Council will send “peacekeeping forces” to Kazakhstan. The first to react was Russia, which decided to immediately send 3,000 military personnel to the republic. Later it was reported about 5,000 troops. Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Tajikistan also announced their readiness to send “peacekeeping forces” to Kazakhstan.

Detainees and deceased

On January 5, the security forces, in addition to tear gas and rubber bullets, began to use firearms, became known about the first victims.

As of January 9, which leads local Ministry of Internal Affairs, during the protest actions, 5969 people were detained. Local media, citing information from the Ministry of Health, reported that 164 people were killed during the riots in Kazakhstan. Almost 2300 people (half in Almaty) are reported as injured, more than 80 of them are in serious condition. However, the Ministry of Health later denied these data.

Even on the eighth day of the protests, the authorities did not name the death toll of the protesters. They announce only about the victims among the security forces, however, and this information can hardly be called accurate: if on January 6 said about 18 dead, then January 10 is the number decreased to 17.