NUR-SULTAN, Jan 10 Reuters -- Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory on Monday in defending Kazakhstan from what he described as a foreign-backed terrorist uprising, and promised leaders of other ex-Soviet states that a Moscow-led alliance would protect them too.
After nearly a week of unrest, Kazakhstan's biggest city Almaty returned to normal on Monday after nearly a week of unrest, the worst violence in the 30 year independent history of what had been the most stable former Soviet state in Central Asia.
Cleaners were removing debris from streets that were still littered with burnt-out cars. The internet was switched back on for several hours in the city, for the first time since last Wednesday, and most shops reopened, public transport and regular traffic returned.
The square near the mayor's office, burnt out during the uprising, was firmly held by the security forces and closed to the public. The police searched cars at checkpoints.
Putin sent paratroopers last week to protect strategic facilities after anti-government protesters ransacked and torched public buildings. Dozens of people are believed to have been killed in clashes between security forces and demonstrators in cities across the country.
Russia's swift deployment showed the Kremlin's readiness to use force to safeguard its influence in the former Soviet Union, at a time when Moscow is in a standoff with the West over thousands of troops massed near Ukraine.
Putin said at a virtual summit of the CSTO military alliance of ex-Soviets that the body had managed to prevent the dissolution of the foundations of the state, the complete degradation of the internal situation in Kazakhstan, and block terrorists, criminals, looters and other criminal elements. He said that the events in Kazakhstan are not the first and far from the last attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of our states from the outside. The measures taken by the CSTO have shown that we will not allow the situation to be rocked at home. A wave of unrest broke out on the summit, according to Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who said that his country had weathered an attempted coup d'etat under the guise of spontaneous protests. The main goal was to undermine the constitutional order and seize power. Russia and Kazakhstan have both portrayed the unrest as a foreign-backed insurrection, although they have not said who they blame for organising it.
Russia has blamed the West for fomenting so-called colour revolutions that have overshadowed governments in countries such as Georgia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia and promoted its own role in helping to suppress them. It backed the leader of Belarus in 2020 in the midst of a series of crushing demonstrations.
The uprising in Kazkahstan started as protests against a New Year's Day fuel price hike spread quickly last week into nationwide demonstrations against the government and ex-leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, 81. The longest-serving ruler of a former Soviet state, he handed over the presidency to Tokayev three years ago, but was widely believed to have kept the reins of power.
The main blow was directed at the city of Almaty. The fall of this city would have paved the way for a takeover of the densely populated south and then the whole country, Tokayev said. They planned to seize the capital. Kazakhstan has been ruled firmly and with little organized political opposition since independence, but for decades it has been seen as less volatile and repressive than its Central Asian neighbours. The violence came as a shock to Almaty residents, who shared a poem online lamenting how the garden city had been raped, seized, trampled and torched Tokayev said a large-scale counter-terrorism operation would soon end, along with a CSTO mission that numbered 2,030 troops and 250 pieces of military hardware.
The Kazakh foreign ministry said in a statement that attackers included individuals who have military combat zone experience in the ranks of radical Islamist groups, without providing further details.
The situation had stabilized and security forces had restored control, according to the National Security Committee, successor to the Soviet-era KGB.
Last week, Tokayev sacked the head of the committee, Karim Massimov, and his top deputy, Nazarbayev's nephew. Masimov was arrested on suspicion of treason. Nazarbayev was stripped of a security post he had retained after giving up the presidency, and has not been heard from.
Monday was declared a day of mourning for those killed in the unrest. Russian and state media, citing a government social media post, reported that 164 people had been killed. The original social media post has been deleted, and health and police authorities haven't confirmed that figure.
Akezhan Kazhegeldin, a former Kazakh prime minister, told Reuters on Sunday that Tokayev must move quickly to consolidate his grip after appearing to break with Nazarbayev.