(Reuters) – Soldiers shot at protesters https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/troops-protesters-clash-almaty-main-square-kazakhstan-shots-heard-2022-01-06 in Kazakhstan’s biggest city Almaty on Thursday after days of violent unrest that prompted the government to declare a state of emergency and appeal for help from its ally Russia and other ex-Soviet republics.

Russian paratroopers were arriving in Kazakhstan, which is an oil-rich state that has been viewed for many years as the bastion of stability and stability in Central Asia. Almaty police reported they had killed numerous rioters, while trying to restore order.

This is an overview of Kazakhstan’s economy and its political system.

WHERE IS KAZAKHSTAN & WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

Kazakhstan is located in Central Asia between Russia and China, and shares borders with three ex-Soviet republics. It has the richest hydrocarbon and metal reserves. The country has been able to attract hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign investment since 1991 when it became independent.

It is strategically important because it connects the fast-growing and large markets in China and South Asia to those of Russia and Europe, via rail, road and port at the Caspian sea. The buckle of China’s massive ‘Belt and Road’ trade initiative, it has been described as such.

Kazakhstan is the top global producer of uranium https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/worlds-biggest-uranium-miner-says-unaffected-by-kazakh-turmoil-2022-01-06 and this week’s unrest prompted an 8% jump in the price of the metal that fuels nuclear power plants. The world’s 9th biggest oil exporter and 10th largest coal producer, Kazakhstan produced 85.7 millions tonnes of oil in 2021.

It is also the world’s second largest miner of bitcoin https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/bitcoin-network-power-slumps-kazakhstan-crackdown-hits-crypto-miners-2022-01-06 after the United States. According to BTC.com, a crypto mining company that tracks cryptocurrency transactions,’s hashrate – the amount of computing power used by machines connected to its network – fell more than 10% Wednesday following Kazakhstan’s Internet shut down.

WHY DO PEOPLE BE ANGRY?

Protests began in the oil-rich west against the lifting of New Year’s Day state price caps for propane and butane. These fuels are commonly referred to by their low cost as “road fuels” because they were inexpensive.

The reform that was supposed to alleviate oil shortages quickly proved disastrous as prices increased more than twice. The protests spread quickly, tap into an even wider feeling of discontent at endemic state corruption and income inequality as well as economic hardships. These issues have all been made more difficult by the coronavirus panademic.

Even though Kazakhstan is one of the wealthest Central Asian republics by per capita income, more than half the people of Kazakhstan, which is also the country’s ninth largest territory, live in isolated rural communities that are often denied access to services.

The country’s rich natural resources make a few people extremely wealthy. However, ordinary Kazakhs still feel marginalized. A total of one million Kazakhs, out of the 19 million population, live below the poverty level.

The annual inflation rate is close to 9%. This level of inflation has been at its highest for more than five decades. It has prompted the central bank’s decision to raise interest rates to 9.75%.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SUCCESS?

Kassym Jomart Tokayev is a career diplomat and was elected as president on the promise to carry out his pro-business predecessor Nursultan Nagabayev. Nazarbayev was a Soviet Politburo former member and led Kazakhstan for almost three decades. He is widely considered the true power behind the throne.

Tokayev, an 81-year old former president who was once chief of the Security Council, has fired Tokayev using protests that sometimes hit symbols from the Nazarbayev era like statues.

Nazarbayev made no comments or appearances after the protests broke out. However, it is not clear to what degree the uprising will reduce the influence that he and his family continue to have in politics as well as business.

Tokayev also dismissed Samat Abish’s nephew as second in command of the security force. Dariga Nazarbayev is the oldest daughter of a senator and still an active lawmaker. She has been mentioned as possible president in the past.

ECONOMIC PROSPECTS

Kazakhstan’s per capita gross domestic product in 2020 was $9,122, World Bank data show, slightly above that of Turkey and Mexico but below its annual peak of nearly $14,000 in 2013.

Tokayev’s government created a stimulus package of 6% to aid small and medium-sized companies in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the World Bank, economic growth is expected to rise by 3.5% and then increase to 3.7% in 2021. It will reach 4.8% in 2023. It urged Kazakhstan not to allow large-state owned enterprises in the economy to dominate the market, encourage competition, reduce the impact of the state on the economy and address inequality.

HUMANITARIAN RIGHTS and FREEDOM

While the authoritarian system of Kazakhstan has been long criticized by Western countries as well as rights groups, it is also known for its intolerant of dissent and curbs on media freedoms. However, Kazakhstan has been seen as more volatile and less restrictive than some of its ex-Soviet neighbors.

Amnesty International stated that this week’s demonstrations resulted from the authorities’ “widespread suppression of basic human rights”. It called for all arbitrarily held persons to be released and an investigation into past state abuses.

Marie Struthers from Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director stated, “For many years, the government relentlessly persecuted peaceful opposition, leaving the Kazakhstani population in a state of despair and agitation.”