'Dozens' of Kazakhstan protesters killed as Russian 'peacekeepers' arrive to 'stabilize' the country

Protests in Kazakhstan that began last weekend over higher fuel prices turned deadly early Thursday. "Dozens of attackers have been eliminated" or "liquidated," Saltanat Azirbek, spokeswoman for the police in Almaty, said Thursday morning on state news channel Khaber-24, and "their identities are being established." The Interior Ministry says at least eight security officers have also been killed in the five days of protests, the biggest since Kazakhstan gained independence from the collapses Soviet Union 30 years ago.
Azirbek said the violence flared as "extremist forces" attempted to storm government buildings in Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, an oil-rich Central Asian republic of about 19 million people. Getting information about the demonstrations has been difficult due to a nationwide internet blackout imposed Wednesday, according to monitoring groups.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who fired his government and declared a two-week state of emergency in response to the protests, requested backup from the Russian-led military alliance the Collective Security Treaty Organization. And CSTO chairman Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian prime minister, said the alliance will send in Russian-backed "peacekeepers" for "a limited time period" to "stabilize and resolve the situation." Some Russian "peacekeepers" and paratroopers are already on the ground, The Washington Post reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Grievances have been accumulating over years, and with [founding President Nursultan] Nazarbayev's resignation in 2019, people felt the promise of change and started pushing for change in various ways," Nargis Kassenova, a Central Asia expert at Harvard, told the Post, adding that she has seen references to a "Kazakh Spring." Russian and Chinese government-aligned commentators have called it an attempted "color revolution" and, without evidence, blame the U.S.
State Department Ned Price said the U.S. condemns "the acts of violence and destruction of property" and calls for "restraint by both the authorities and protestors."
"The speed at which the protests turned violent took many by surprise, both in Kazakhstan and in the wider region," writes BBC Russian correspondent Olga Ivshina. "The analysts I spoke to say that the Kazakh government clearly underestimated how angry the population was, and that these protests were not surprising in a country with no electoral democracy — people need to take to the streets to be heard."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
May 31 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include how much to pay for a pardon, medical advice from a brain worm, and a simple solution to the national debt.
-
5 costly cartoons about the national debt
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on the USA's financial hole, rare bipartisan agreement, and Donald Trump and Mike Johnson.
-
Green goddess salad recipe
The Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
'Russia's position is fragile'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
How the Arctic became a geopolitical flashpoint
The Explainer The UK is working with Nato allies in the Arctic Circle to prepare for potential Russian aggression