ASTANA, Kazakhstan:President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev shared his thoughts on the January 2022 crisis in Kazakhstan, which he said was a complex plot to undermine the country’s social and economic stability. He praised the people of Kazakhstan for overcoming this challenge, defending their nation, and becoming stronger.
“Qantar showed us the importance of having strong and effective state institutions that follow the Constitution. We united as a nation and survived this crisis, becoming even stronger,” he told Egemen Qazaqstan newspaper on Jan. 3.
“I have been thinking and still think about these questions. I believe that the tragic events in January were caused by long-standing socio-economic issues and a general stagnation that led to the decline of both the government and society. It was obvious, as they say, to the naked eye,” Tokayev said.
The tragic January events, also known as Qantar (January in Kazakh) refer to the protests that started on Jan. 2, 2022, in western Kazakhstan’s Mangystau Region after a sudden increase in price for liquid petroleum gas, widely used in the region. The protests in Mangystau sparked a chain of reaction, spreading to other cities, including Almaty, Astana, Shymkent, Aktobe, and Atyrau, with demands going beyond just the support of fellow citizens in Mangystau to political demands.
“After I became President in 2019, I set a course towards the democratization of the political system, the liberalization of public life, and the de-monopolization of the economy,” he said. “I will be honest: this new course faced strong opposition from influential people who saw it as a threat to the established order in the country and their privileged position within the power structures.”
According to Tokayev, this group of high-ranking individuals, without naming them, had significant influence over law enforcement and criminal networks, and chose the extreme option of staging a violent coup.
The President described a sequence of events, from peaceful protests turning into extremist acts to the later involvement of criminal gangs and coordinated attacks on government structures. He said the conspirators “took advantage” of peaceful protests.
“In the middle of chaos, armed thugs and terrorists joined in, coordinating attacks on government buildings, security forces, weapons stores, and the arsenals of law enforcement and military units at the same time, following a single command. This was not only in Almaty; several regional centers were also affected,” Tokayev said, noting that over 3,000 weapons were taken, including rifles, machine guns, and grenade launchers.
Tokayev repeated that the country was on the “edge of falling into chaos.”
“The Ministry of Internal Affairs gave information about the preparation of various attacks on the Akorda [presidential residence], including using trucks. I was advised many times to leave the residence, even to flee abroad. But I strongly refused and, in one of my televised addresses, stated that under any circumstances, I would stay at my post. For two weeks, I stayed in the official residence of the Akorda,” he explained.
Tokayev expressed worry over $3 billion worth of damage caused during the unrest, ranging from looted stores and burned vehicles to attacks on government buildings and police stations.
The President also warned against speculative interpretations of the causes and consequences of the events, denying notions of a supposed popular uprising.
“I will be direct: discussions about a supposed popular uprising help to justify and excuse criminal actions,” he said.
