The inaugural week of the new year ushered in a period of unprecedented instability for Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest economy. The country has long been considered an island of stability in a chronically unstable region where, for instance, neighboring Kyrgyzstan went through three revolutions since 2005. The turbulence in Kazakhstan began on January 2, when peaceful protests broke out in Zhanaozen, the cradle of the 2011 protest wave that ended in bloodshed on Independence Day (December 16); within days, the latest turmoil spread to other cities of western Kazakhstan. Popular anger was sparked by an overnight doubling of the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), from 60 to 120 tenge ($0.14 to $0.28) per liter, in line with the government’s plan to fully liberalize the LPG market that went into effect on the first day of 2022. Unlike other regions of the country, western Kazakhstan is a major market for LPG, which is widely used for both domestic heating and private transportation (Tengrinews.kz, Kapital.kz, Informburo.kz, RIA Novosti, January 2–4, 2022).
Social Unrest in Kazakhstan Turns Violent, Ends Nazarbayev Era – Jamestown
