The Economist (2022-01-08)

The Economist January 8th 2022 31

Asia

Kazakhstan

Shouting at deaf old men

W

hen kazakhstan’sgovernment  re­
solved to end subsidies on liquefied
petroleum gas (lpg) three years ago, the de­
cision attracted little attention. Its leaders
could  not  have  guessed  that  the  move
would threaten the very existence of the re­
gime  that  has  ruled  the  Central  Asian
country  since  it  became  an  independent
republic in 1991. 
Price  controls  had  to  go,  officials  ex­
plained  at  the  time,  to  stimulate  invest­
ment  in  a  sector  plagued  with  inefficien­
cies. Fuel producers had little incentive to
increase  supply  when  the  system  meant
they ended up selling it at a loss. On Janu­
ary  1st  fuel  prices  became  fully  market­
based.  The  cost  of  lpg,  which  many  Ka­
zakhs use instead of petrol or diesel to run
their cars, soon shot up, doubling in some
places  from  60  tenge  ($0.14)  a  litre  at  the
end of last year to 120 tenge by January 2nd. 
Protests immediately broke out in Zha­
naozen,  a  depressed  town  in  the  oil­rich
western part of Kazakhstan. It did not take
long  for  them  to  spread  around  the  vast
country, snowballing from a specific griev­
ance  about  fuel  prices  into  broader  de­

mands  for  regime  change.  By  January  5th

protesters had stormed buildings in Alma­

ty, the largest city, and briefly occupied its

airport.  The  president  sacked  his  prime

minister and declared a state of emergen­

cy. By the afternoon of January 6th at least

12 members of the security forces had been

killed  and  hundreds  injured  in  what  au­

thorities  were  describing  as  a  terrorist  at­

tack  carried  out  with  international  back­

ing.  “Dozens”  of  protesters  died  in  the

clashes, police said. Russian troops are ar­

riving to help restore order.

Big  protests  are  rare  in  Kazakhstan,

which has a reputation for stability in a vo­

latile region, mostly because the country’s

authoritarian rulers crack down harshly on

public displays of disaffection. So it was all

the more surprising when, on January 3rd,

demonstrators in northern Nur­Sultan, the

capital,  in  Almaty,  the  financial  centre  in

the south, and in other towns came out in

solidarity  with  their  brethren  in  Zhanao­

zen, who complain that the country’s vast

oil wealth has done little to improve their

living  standards.  This  quickly  turned  into

fury  over  wider  economic  grievances,  in­

cluding  rising  inflation  and  unemploy­

ment,  and  then  to  shouts  of  “shal ket!”,  or

“old man out!” 

The “old man” is Nursultan Nazarbayev,

the  octogenarian  former  president  who

steered Kazakhstan to independence when

the Soviet Union collapsed and now occu­

pies the role of elder statesman. He rules,

since  his  resignation  in  2019,  in  tandem

with  his  handpicked  successor,  Kassym­

Zhomart  Tokayev.  Some  protesters  want

Mr Nazarbayev to be stripped of his status

as Leader of the Nation, which affords him

broad  powers  and  privileges,  including

immunity from prosecution. 

It  does  not  help  that  the  most  visible

symbol of the ruling elites’ arrogance—the

glittering  new  capital  of  Nur­Sultan—is

named after the former president himself.

There  have  long  been  quiet  grumblings

about  Mr  Nazarbayev’s  relatives  and  cro­

nies  enriching  themselves  with  proceeds

from the country’s natural resources while

citizens struggle with a high cost of living

and  meagre  wages.  The  average  salary  is

less  than  $7,000  a  year.  Despite  promises

of  diversification,  the  economy  relies

heavily on natural resources. Those grum­

Fuel-price protests have sparked unrest that threatens the regime

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