The crisis in Kazakhstan forced President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to step out of the shadow of Nursultan Nazarbayev. The successor of the "leader of the nation" changes the government, removing the associates of his predecessor, and makes claims to the rich residents of the country, which affects the family of the first president. What this process will turn into - in the material. While Alma-Ata returns to normal life after pogroms and cleansing from terrorist elements, the authorities promise serious internal changes, including in social and economic spheres.
One of these decisions was the statement of the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, about the need for the people of the country to be supported by “rich people” who made a fortune under his predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first president and holder of the official title of elbasy (leader of the nation)./i
“Thanks to the first president, Elbasy, a group of very profitable companies and a layer of rich people have appeared in the country, even by international standards. I think it’s time to pay tribute to the people of Kazakhstan and help them on a systematic and regular basis. In addition, I expect active participation from those people who, in fact, have huge funds, are in the shadows,” Tokayev announced.
The “rich people” will be able to help Kazakhstan with the help of a special public fund “The People of Kazakhstan”. Who will have to pay deductions and in what amount, will be determined by the new government of the republic, appointed on January 11.
This statement by Tokayev was one of the first mentions of Nazarbayev since the beginning of the protests in the republic, but by no means the last decision regarding his associates. The head of state officially placed responsibility for the unrest and crisis in the country on the previous government, led by Askar Mamin, who was appointed by Nazarbayev.
In addition, during the period of protests, the chairman of the National Security Committee (KNB) of the country, Karim Masimov, one of the key representatives of the Nazarbayev team, lost his post, during his career he managed to be a deputy prime minister, assistant to the first president, head of his administration and even prime minister. At the same time, Massimov not only lost his position as head of the KNB, but was detained on suspicion of treason.
Separately, it is worth pointing out that the reshuffle also affected Nazarbayev himself - in early January, he lost his post as head of the Security Council of Kazakhstan. Tokayev himself took his place in the Security Council.
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Who are the “rich people” of Kazakhstan
Tokayev’s words about people who got rich under the first president affect not only officials or politicians loyal to Nazarbayev, but also directly the family members of the “leader of the nation”.According to the Forbes list, the top 5 richest residents of Kazakhstan include people who are directly and indirectly associated with the former leader of the country.
Vladimir Kim occupies the first place in the rating - he owns the KAZ Minerals copper mining and production plant, his fortune is estimated at $ 4.6 billion. Formally, the businessman has no ties with Nazarbayev, but in the local press he was repeatedly called the "purse" of the first president , in particular, he allegedly purchased real estate in the UK for the Elbasy.
In second place is Bulat Utemuratov - he has many assets worth $3.6 billion, including the Burger King franchise, private Forte Bank, Sky Mobile mobile operator and The Ritz-Carlton hotels in Nur-Sultan. He is connected with Nazarbayev by his work in the administration of the first president, in particular, as the manager of the affairs of the head of state.
The third line is held by Vyacheslav Kim, the namesake of the richest man in Kazakhstan. He is the founder of the innovative bank Kaspi, his fortune is estimated at $ 3.6 billion. As for his contacts with Nazarbayev, the businessman is indirectly connected with the family of the "leader of the nation" through his business - the co-founder and shareholder of Kaspi was the nephew of the first president Kairat Satybaldy.
Nazarbayev's nephew himself is not in the Forbes top 5, but he is associated with a number of telecommunications companies in Kazakhstan, which he allegedly owns through offshore companies in Luxembourg, he also has a stake in a number of companies and was previously a KNB general. Opposition media in Kazakhstan call Satybaldy the informal leader of religious radicals. According to unofficial information, on January 7, he was detained in Dubai.
Fourth place in the ranking is occupied by Nazarbayev's daughter Dinara Kulibayeva, co-owner of the country's largest bank called Halyk Bank. Her fortune is estimated at $ 2.9 billion, during the protests, unconfirmed information was received about the withdrawal of part of her assets to move to the UK.Rounding out the top five richest people in Kazakhstan is Timur Kulibayev, Dinara Kulibayeva's husband and Nazarbayev's son-in-law. His fortune is estimated at $2.9 billion. He owns the assets of the People's Bank along with his wife and heads the Kazenergy oil and gas union, which includes the republic's mining companies. A number of media outlets noted that it was Kulibayev's company that provoked an increase in tariffs for liquefied gas at the beginning of the year, which led to protests.
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Will Tokayev go for a "cleansing" of Nazarbayev's camp
Despite Tokayev's actions, it's still not worth opposing the current and previous presidents of the republic, says Andrey Kazantsev, professor at the Higher School of Economics.“Tokayev himself is a man from the team of the first president, and the transfer of power project was initiated by Nazarbayev. Another thing is that this transfer has accelerated, although Nazarbayev probably counted on a long and gradual process.
But as a result of the New Year's crisis, this transfer actually took place, and now Tokayev needs to firmly establish himself in the position of the country's leader, ”the expert explained.
According to Kazantsev, the current president can strengthen his position just by putting pressure on representatives of the Nazarbayev team, thereby fulfilling the request of the people, which links the associates of the leader of the nation with corruption.
“Tokayev is becoming the main figure in Kazakhstan, and he needs to somehow satisfy the people who rebelled under the slogans of social justice and the fight against corruption. For the population of the country, these are not abstract concepts, but specific people associated with Nazarbayev. Therefore, in order to simply stay in power and restore some order, Tokayev needs to make some sacrifices. And it is clear that some of the oligarchs and members of the Nazarbayev family will suffer from this.
In addition, Tokaev now needs to create some of his own groups, grow his own clan - this also means that he needs to somehow redistribute resources in favor of his own. He is clearly coming out of Nazarbayev’s shadow and becoming independent, which means that he now also needs to feed his people,” the expert added.
At the same time, the ex-presidential candidate of Kazakhstan, journalist Amirzhan Kosanov believes that a certain confrontation between Tokayev and Nazarbayev's team is noticeable to the naked eye.
“On the part of Tokayev, there is indeed a tendency to appoint his own personnel. It can be seen with the naked eye that he is bringing his fellow diplomats to higher positions, in fact, there is a "MFA" of personnel policy. Since the 1990s, Tokayev has been a diplomat, so he knows these personnel better and can trust them more. However, there is a risk of creating the institution of a second Nazarbayev, if personnel are attracted to high positions solely on the principle of loyalty and devotion to Tokayev, ”the expert said.
From Kosanov's point of view, the reshuffle in the government shows that the people who once worked closely with Nazarbayev remained in power. According to him, either Tokayev values their business qualities, or he has to reckon with their presence in the system he manages.
Back to news | Moreover, in the opposition media, the clan of the first president was more than once associated with the construction business, and was also suspected of complete control over all power structures.
The interviewed experts differently assessed the prospects for pressure on associates or relatives of the “leader of the nation”. Thus, Andrey Kazantsev from the National Research University Higher School of Economics is sure that this will rather stabilize the situation in the republic, since it will be the fulfillment of the demand of the people.
“That is, people wanted to fight corruption, and corruption for them is, first of all, Nazarbayev’s team.
On the other hand, the rest of this group will run to demonstrate their loyalty - what else can they do if Tokayev has clearly shown that he is in charge, ”the expert noted.
However, Kazakh journalist Amirzhan Kosanov believes that a negative scenario is also possible.
According to him, pressure on Nazarbayev's team could provoke a new crisis in the republic.
“We live in such a Byzantine country, where there are intrigues, undercover games and clans. In particular, Tokayev must understand that the oligarchs will not be happy after his words about people who got rich under Nazarbayev,” the expert said.
From Kosanov's point of view, under the worst-case scenario, ordinary people can become hostages of inter-clan struggle.
bbabo.Net