Russia and the CIS (bbabo.net) - In Kazakhstan, the geography of protest actions that began in the west of the country after the New Year's double increase in gas prices is expanding - from 60 tenge to 120 (from 12 rubles to 24 rubles). The most massive rallies are held in the regional centers of Aktau, Atyrau and the city of Zhanaozen. On the fourth day, protests spread to the cities of Aktobe, Kyzylorda, Turkestan, Uralsk, Semipalatinsk. Protesters were detained in Nur-Sultan, Shymkent and Almaty. In Atyrau there were clashes with the forces of law and order.

Protesters chant "Shal ket!" (Old man, go away!). If in the early days the protesters demanded that the gas price be reduced to 50 tenge, today political demands are heard at the rallies - Nursultan Nazarbayev's resignation from the post of head of the Security Council and from all government posts. According to the protesters, the real ruler in the country is the ex-president N. Nazarbayev, and not the current president Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev. There are also slogans against Chinese economic expansion. On the YouTube channel, Kazakh oppositionists living in Europe and America address the protesters with appeals not to stop and go “to the barricades”. In the western cities of Kazakhstan, tents and field kitchens are being set up.

President Tokayev called on the demonstrators for dialogue. “In Aktau, the Government Commission has started its work, which includes employees of the Presidential Administration. The Republican Operational Headquarters is working on a permanent basis. The Commission has been instructed to find a mutually acceptable solution to the problem that has arisen in the interests of stability in our country. Law enforcement agencies have been instructed to ensure that public order is not disturbed. Demonstrators must show responsibility and readiness for dialogue, "the President of Kazakhstan wrote on his Twitter.

In the photo: a fight between protesters and the police in Atyrau

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