Indeed, the rise in gas prices was the reason for the emergence of spontaneous rallies in the west of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in the city of Zhanaozen. From January 1, prices for this type of fuel soared from 60 tenge per liter to 120. Zhanaozen residents did not like this, and on January 2 they took to the streets demanding to set tariffs at the level of 50 tenge (about 10 som / 9 rubles / 0.11 dollars .) per liter (which by the way is 2 times lower than in Russia, for example). And not to say that the rallies were massive.
On Tuesday, January 4, the first clashes between protesters in Zhanaozen and the police took place. True, they were not of a fierce character either. But here residents of other cities of the Mangistau region - the regional center of Mangistau and Aktau - have already come out to support their fellow countrymen. The protesters blocked the roads. Residents of other cities of this center of the oil industry of Kazakhstan were also ready. The residents of the capital began to join them. The authorities, realizing the potential danger of the situation and the consequences of disrupting the production and supply of hydrocarbons for export, created a special commission and quickly made concessions. The first proposal has already been received - to set the gas price at 80-90 tenge.
But the situation is much more complicated than it seems. The main center for the processing and export of oil, one of the main suppliers of the country's currency, was under attack. Further, events again take place in Zhanaozen, where blood was shed almost ten years ago when the authorities harshly suppressed people's protests.
Plus, this is an attempt to aggravate relations between the Kazakh zhuzes - the younger versus the elder. Nine years ago, the main protesters were the Adays (one of the clans of the younger zhuz). Then the reason was the demand to raise wages in the local oil fields. The authorities used this fact to redistribute property on the Caspian oil rigs - Timur Kulibayev, the husband of Nursultan Nazarbayev's second daughter, who fell out of favor with his almighty father-in-law, was knocked out of the beneficiaries, for example. Then the special services of the Republic of Kazakhstan tracked the traces of the British, who were actively rocking the situation in Kazakhstan.
Even today, the greatest information support in social networks for the protesters is provided by the fugitive oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov, who lives in London. The motive is simple - they say, the senior zhuz, represented by the president of Kazakhstan and his entourage, is robbing the younger zhuz, exploiting its resources and paying a penny.
What else is Zhanaozen's interest in? The fact that from there it is close to Central Russia and the oil fields of the North Caucasus. In the middle of the 2000s, Russian security officials noted a large number of militants from Western Kazakhstan in the ranks of religious radicals in Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan. Young guys crossed the Caspian or circled it to gain combat experience in terrorist detachments. It is possible that it was they who staged a number of actions in the cities of Kazakhstan in 2012–2018, when there were attacks on police stations and the National Security Committee (KNB) with heavy losses in the ranks of the security forces.
If London's interests are again visible here, then “hello” is sent to the Nazarbayev family. Apparently, something did not like in Foggy Albion after the talks on December 28, 2021 in St. Petersburg between Vladimir Putin and Nursultan Abishevich and Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev.