The situation has escalated in Kazakhstan. After days of unrest, dozens are dead and injured on both sides – there is no end in sight. The press review at a glance.
The whole world is currently looking to Kazakhstan. Since Tuesday people have been taking to the streets there because of the extremely high gasoline and gas prices. Now it’s about more than that. People are protesting against the autocratic system. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev then dismissed the government, imposed a nationwide state of emergency and obtained military support from a Russia-led alliance. He called the demonstrators “terrorist bandits” and lets the soldiers crack down on them.
According to official information, the result is more than 1,000 injured, dozens of dead protesters and at least 18 dead security forces. And there is no end in sight to the violence.
The critical situation in Kazakhstan and especially the role of Russia is also a concern of the media in Europe. Russian head of state Vladimir Putin could use the unrest as much as a toothache, some say. Others, however, see the mission as an opportunity for the Kremlin to retain the largest country in Central Asia for the foreseeable future. The press review at a glance.
“The energy prices only brought the barrel to overflow”
“Leipziger Volkszeitung”: “Although Nazarbayev handed over power to his follower Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in 2019 after almost 30 years of presidency, he kept all the strings in hand in the background. This era seems to be coming to an end. But what will come after that is completely unclear. In Kazakhstan has so far not seen any intellectual leadership team that could determine and guide the path and goal of the protests and unite a broad section of the population behind them. “
“Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung”: “The regime in Kazakhstan has apparently been completely taken by surprise by the mass protests. The quick call for help from the Russian-led military alliance Organization of the Collective Security Treaty (CSTO) cannot be interpreted otherwise. Even 30 years after independence from the Soviet Union, there are still concerns that their legal successor could come out of cover with territorial or other claims. “
“People’s Voice”: “The reasons for the serious unrest in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan are not only due to the high energy prices – they were just the drop that broke the barrel. Few have benefited from the economic development so far, especially the rural population is impoverished And dissatisfied. Now that many of the country’s existing problems have been exacerbated by the corona pandemic, the frustration of many against the authoritarian government turned into violence. The protests will not continue even after the resignation of the government and the lowering of energy prices The fact that Russia’s ruler Putin is sending troops to Kazakhstan is primarily in his own interest. He certainly doesn’t want a Western-style democracy right on his doorstep and wants to nip the protests in the bud as quickly as possible. “
Kazakhstan promised a golden future from China. And was bitterly disappointed
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Putin’s intervention “changes the international situation”
“Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”: “Just as in Belarus Alexander Lukashenko had not noticed before the 2020 election how much his country’s society had changed, the authoritarian regime in Kazakhstan was apparently not aware of the pent-up resentment just waiting for a reason to do so To break the path. It wasn’t completely wrong for the Kazakh leadership to portray their country as a success story: In a regional comparison, it was doing well. That this is now in danger is of course primarily the fault of the rulers. (…) Rescuing the regime through Russian intervention prolongs and exacerbates Kazakhstan’s problems. And at the same time the deployment of Russian troops is changing the international situation. “
“General newspaper”: “So far, Kazakhstan has preferred to maintain a certain distance from its neighbors because of the large Russian minority in the country. But that should be over. In all experience, the Russian soldiers will not disappear again anytime soon. And the Kremlin will also be in power Nur-Sultan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, know how to bind themselves. So that he has no choice but to cooperate with Putin. Russia is creating something like a protective belt in Eastern Europe. That is legitimate. The choice of which remains open to question Medium. It is worrying how loudly people emphasize that the riot was instigated by the West. As if 30 years of greedy monopoly rule were not reason enough to call for more participation in Kazakhstan. “
“Dziennik” (Poland): “The protests have refuted the image of Kazakhstan as an enlightened autocracy and an oasis of stability in Central Asia. Nursultan Nazarbayev has ruled the republic since 1984, first as head of government, later as first secretary of the communist party, and finally as president. He succeeded as the leader of a young state it was not easy for him to avoid ethnic and religious clashes, because several million Russians live in the north, along the border with Russia. Kazakhstan was never such a grotesque dictatorship as Turkmenistan, the opposition leaders were not brutally murdered there as in Uzbekistan, there was no mass repression as in Tajikistan. Nazarbayev also protected the country from anarchy, in which the relatively democratic Kyrgyzstan keeps sinking. The price there for was a close alliance with Russia. “
“Neatkariga Rita Avize” (Latvia): “The balance of power in Central Asia, which has existed for 20 years, changed with the US withdrawal from Afghanistan last year. Since the Americans are no longer there to make war, it is possible to export the success of the Taliban to other Central Asian countries. Given Given the total length of the land border between Russia and Kazakhstan of 7,600 kilometers, a destabilization of Kazakhstan is advantageous for Russia’s adversaries under the given circumstances. Should Kazakhstan turn into a haven of instability and Islamic extremism in Central Asia, this means a threat to the entire southern border of Russia Russia would have to devote enormous resources to protecting its southern border and then there will be a lack of resources to maintain tensions with Europe, which is why Moscow immediately decided to send “peacekeeping forces” to further destabilization and a change of power in Kazakhstan prevent change. “
“De Tijd” (Belgium): “Russian President Vladimir Putin can use the unrest in Kazakhstan as well as a toothache. He has his hands full with Ukraine, where he is confronted face to face with the USA and Europe. A new source of fire on the Russian border means a military burden and the deployment of troops that he can use elsewhere. (…) “
Will Russia bring order to Kazakhstan?
“Aftenposten” (Norway): “The background to the unrest is high gas prices. Many in Kazakhstan have converted their cars to run on gas instead of gasoline. Until recently, the country had a price cap for gas. Around the New Year, the cap was removed and the price skyrocketed But the protests are also about dissatisfaction with the authorities. When Kazakhstan held a presidential election in 2019 for the first time since independence from the Soviet Union, Nursultan Nazarbayev was not among the candidates for the first time. But the election was far from free. Nazarbayev had a long history Hand selected his successor, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. President Tokayev promised that the price cap for the gas would come back, but that didn’t stop the protests. It didn’t help that he ousted the government. Perhaps a free election would be a better solution represent.”
“de Volkskrant” (Netherlands): “Much of what is happening in Kazakhstan – a strategically located country that borders China and Russia and is as big as Western Europe, but with more raw materials – is mysterious. This also applies to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s request for military action Help. Did he really decide it all by himself or did he get a call from Moscow? We already know that from Belarus: autocrats in distress are lashing out like crazy. A bloodbath in Almaty is the preliminary result. (…) “
“La Repubblica” (Italy): “Kazakhstan may become Putin’s revenge. While the Russian President is telling Ukraine by threatening an invasion of 100,000 men gathered near the border, and a number in the face of meetings with the United States and NATO next week marked by “red lines”, the gas uprising in the richest and most modern post-Soviet state threatens to shatter the Kremlin leader’s dream of a camouflaged revival of the USSR. (…) “
“Lidove noviny” (Czech Republic): “The events in Kazakhstan also reveal something about the ambitions of Russian politics. Some will still remember how Russian units ended the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh last year. This time, too, Russia is bringing order as a crime. But the problem is that Russia does not know where to start and where to stop. Its intervention in Nagorno-Karabakh and Kazakhstan does not disturb the West. But it would also in the case of Georgia, Ukraine or even the The US and NATO have to negotiate with Russia about this. The concept of spheres of influence is unpopular, but sometimes the better way is to set a limit that is still considered to be reasonably acceptable. “
“NZZ” (Switzerland): “That Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send troops to Kazakhstan in the current situation may seem astonishing at first sight. In the last few weeks he has had large troop units relocated to the border with Ukraine – a second front seems several thousand kilometers to the east But Putin is known for taking opportunities when they arise. Apparently he sees the unrest in Kazakhstan as an opportunity to tie the largest country in Central Asia firmly to Russia for the foreseeable future Purpose that has even incited or controls popular anger probably belongs to the category of conspiracy theories. Rather, the shrewd opportunist Putin cleverly exploits the weakness of the Kazakh autocrats for himself. “