On Sunday, Russia announced that President Vladimir Putin will take part in an extraordinary security session of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to discuss stabilisation measures for the ongoing unrest in Kazakhstan.
On Saturday, Kazakhstan's President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, called Putin to provide detailed updates about the civic unrest in Kazakhstan that took place last week. Tokayev also thanked Russia for their support through CSTO in helping restore order in Kazakhstan. During the call, he proposed holding a virtual conference with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan—fellow CSTO members—to gather further support.
On January 6, Tokayev declared a two-week state of emergency after mass protests erupted in capital city Almaty and the southwestern province of Mangistau over a fuel price hike. Kazakhstan’s government resigned after hundreds of protesters stormed the presidential residence and mayor’s office in Almaty; the ensuing riots killed 20 Kazakh security personnel. The protesters also clashed with the police, setting fire to police vehicles. Russia provided Tokayev with military personnel and equipment as part of the CSTO’s peacekeeping operation.
On Sunday, Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement saying, “The situation in the country (Kazakhstan) is gradually improving. Economic activities in the republic are returning to normal.” The statement also said that certain services, such as public transport and payment systems, are now back in service. Moscow confirmed that “government buildings in Almaty have been cleared from extremists,” adding that no Russian citizen was hurt during the unrest.
On the same day, the Commander of CSTO’s peacekeeping forces in Kazakhstan, Colonel-General Andrey Serdyukov, and Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Lieutenant-General Sultan Gamaletdinov, announced in a joint briefing that CSTO forces had completed their deployment in the country.
“Currently, the units of the peacekeeping forces are carrying out tasks to protect important military, state and socially significant facilities in the city of Alma-Ata and adjacent areas,” Serdyukov said. He also assured that Russian tourists in the country will be provided safe passage back home by the military. “The situation on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan is stabilising and is under the control of the authorities,” Gamaletdinov added, while also thanking CSTO forces for assisting the government.
Putin had provided similar support to his Belarusian counterpart Lukashenko after Minsk was rocked by unrest over the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential elections, indicating Russia’s continued efforts to maintain strong ties with former Soviet republics.