Since the beginning of the week, the riots have not subsided in Kazakhstan, the country in the heart of Asia between the jaws of Russia and China.
While Russia came to the aid of the authorities in KazakhstanAfter its president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, appealed to push its forces into the country, China remained silent and emphasized that what is happening is an internal affair, which should not be interfered with.
also declined Its foreign spokesperson Yesterday, he commented on the entry of Russian forces into Kazakhstan, in order to impose security in the city of Almaty, one of the largest cities in the country.
Protest dangers?!
As for United State Moscow warned, stressing that it was monitoring the movement of troops there.
Why do those countries and the world care about these turmoils, and watch them closely, and what are they afraid of?
To answer this question, it is necessary to look at the map, and the geographical location of this country, due to the importance of geography and economics in politics in general.
Located between Russia and China, Kazakhstan is the world’s largest landlocked or landlocked country, larger than all of Western Europe, despite its population of just 19 million.
There is no doubt that the recent turmoil and the demonstrations that started last Sunday are of particular importance because they took place at the heart of a country that was considered, until very recently, the pillar of political and economic stability in an unstable region in general, even though this stability came through a government that stifles the opposition.
Those protests also worry Moscow greatly, according to the New York Times, because Kazakhstan is allied with Russia, whose president, Vladimir Putin, views this neighbor as part of Russia’s sphere of influence in the region.
Here, it must be noted that the decision taken yesterday, Thursday, to intervene in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which is similar to a Russian version of NATO, is the first time that the organization has intervened under the pretext of protecting a country, a step that could have serious consequences for the country. The political geography of the region.
A third challenge for Moscow
Moreover, for the Kremlin, these turmoil represents another potential challenge to an allied authority in a neighboring country.
Especially since this uprising in Kazakhstan is for Putin the third against a state allied with the Kremlin, after the pro-democracy protests in Ukraine in 2014 and Belarus in 2020.
Therefore, Moscow fears any new chaos in its back gardens and neighborhood and among its neighbors, because it may threaten its influence in the region at a time when it is trying to stabilize its economy and geopolitical strength in countries such as Ukraine and Belarus.
countries of the former soviet union
In addition, the countries of the former Soviet Union are closely watching the protests, because the events in Kazakhstan may breathe life and activate their opposition forces.
As for the United States, Kazakhstan is important economically and oil, especially since major companies such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron have invested tens of billions of dollars in the west of the country, where the unrest began.
From Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan – Archyde.com
Although it has close relations with Moscow, successive Kazakh governments have always maintained close ties with the United States, especially as they view oil investment as a counterweight to Russian influence.
And Washington has always been less critical of authoritarianism in Kazakhstan than in Russia and Belarus!
With regard to China, despite also its economic and political interests in the neighboring country, it has not yet objected to the expansion of Russian influence, especially since Beijing and Moscow are balancing so far in the care of their interests in the region, where the commonalities that unite them are much more than those that divide them!
Anger over fuel price hike
It is noteworthy that the demonstrations were initially sparked by anger over the increase in fuel prices, but their scope quickly expanded, to include the change of government and the regime, as well as the opposition of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who still retains wide powers in the former Soviet republic, despite his resignation in 2019 after He ruled the country for nearly three decades.
Nazarbayev, 81, is widely seen as the main political force in the capital, Nur-Sultan, which is named after him.
His family is also believed to control a large part of the country’s economy, the largest in Central Asia. However, the man has not appeared in public or made statements since the protests began.