Kazakhstan: Challenges Ahead

On January 2 2022, peaceful protests occurred in oil-rich Western Kazakhstan against the withdrawal of price subsidies for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). LPG is widely used to fuel vehicles. Protesters soon voiced pro-democracy demands too, and protests spread across the country. In addition to peaceful protests, from January 4, Almaty and other cities also saw large-scale violence by sizeable armed groups, who took over official buildings and Almaty’s airport. After having initially encountered weak resistance, the insurrection was neutralized by January 8. To date, about 8,000 people have been detained in connection with the disorders.