MOSCOW, January 5. /TASS/. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s decision to assume the Security Council chief’s post instead of the republic’s first leader Nursultan Nazarbayev is prompted by the desire to concentrate all the power levers in one person’s hands amid large-scale protests, Program Director of the Valdai Discussion Club Timofey Bordachev told TASS on Wednesday.
"This decision is prompted by the need to concentrate all the levers of controlling the security, defense and law-enforcement agencies in one person’s hands due to the extraordinary situation that has emerged in some cities of the republic," the expert pointed out, commenting on the Kazakh leader’s televised address to the nation delivered earlier on Wednesday.
This was the last of the key posts that the first president of Kazakhstan retained but his formal removal alone will fail to help stabilize the situation in the republic, the expert stressed.
"The current situation can be influenced not only by the formal aspect of the matter but also by the readiness and ability of the Kazakh authorities to take measures necessary in the current situation," the expert added.
The expert pointed to Tokayev’s statement about his readiness to come up with "new proposals" soon "on the political transformation of Kazakhstan," noting that "the attempts to meet the demands of the crowds on the streets have not resulted in anything good so far."
The expert declined to give any forecasts on further developments in Kazakhstan. "We cannot say at present how much President Tokayev and the Kazakh leadership are ready to use force to calm the situation in Almaty and other cities," he said.
Protests have been raging in Kazakhstan for the fourth day in a row. On January 2, crowds took to the streets in the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the Mangistau region in the country’s southwest, protesting against fuel price hikes. Two days later, riots erupted in Almaty (in the country’s southeast) where police used stun grenades to disperse crowds and also in other cities, in particular, in Atyrau and Aktobe (in the west), Uralsk (in the northwest), Taraz, Shymkent and Kyzylorda (in the south), Karaganda (in the northeast) and even in the capital of Nur-Sultan.
Kazakh President Tokayev has declared a state of emergency in the Mangistau and Almaty regions and also in Almaty and Nur-Sultan for two weeks. On January 5, the head of the Kazakh state dismissed the government. Its members continue discharging their duties until a new Cabinet is approved.