President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko believes that the situation in Kazakhstan is an attempt to attack post-Soviet countries along the perimeter of the Russian Federation in order to drown Russia in blood.
“Kazakhstan is an attempt to attack the post-Soviet states along the perimeter of Russia. They need to drown Russia in blood. Therefore, whatever the cost, we need to preserve the center of our civilization, the center of our Orthodoxy and not only. Those lands that are now part of the Russian Federation”, Lukashenko was quoted by journalists.
Mass protests in Kazakhstan began in the early days of 2022. Then the residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the Mangistau region – an oil-producing region in the west of the country – opposed a two-fold increase in prices for liquefied petroleum gas, then the protests spread to other cities. In Alma-Ata, the old capital of the republic, on January 4 and 5, clashes with security forces occurred, the police used gas and stun grenades. Throughout Kazakhstan, the Internet was turned off, and the broadcasting of a number of TV channels was temporarily stopped. A state of emergency has been introduced in Kazakhstan.
On the night of January 6, Tokayev held the first meeting of the Security Council under his leadership, at which he called the situation in Kazakhstan “an undermining of the integrity of the state” and said that he had asked the CSTO for help “in overcoming the terrorist threat.” On the same night, the CSTO Collective Security Council decided to send collective peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan in connection with Tokayev’s appeal. The force, it was reported, will be sent for a limited time period with the aim of stabilizing and normalizing the situation in that country.