The writer is associate professor at the College of International Security Affairs of the National Defense University, Washington, DC
Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan’s former long-serving president, hoped to make his country part of a “post-industrial” world by 2050. For a while, his ambitious vision of a strong economy and social development worked. The economy expanded. His administration reformed the education, pension and law enforcement systems inherited from the Soviet past. Compared with its central Asian neighbours, Kazakhstan built stronger public institutions.
But nationwide protests last week showed that the reforms of the past 30 years failed to improve the lives of many. They erupted on January 2 in the oil-rich Mangystau region over high gas prices, and spread fast across the country. Other political movements and activists began to demand political and economic changes. The peaceful demonstrations were soon hijacked, reportedly by criminal groups who attacked law enforcement officers and set government buildings on fire. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced a state of emergency and gave orders to shoot to kill “terrorists”.