NUR-SULTAN, January 6. /TASS/. The approximate damage to business in Kazakhstan from unrest in the country is tentatively estimated at 40 bln tenge (more than $90 mln), Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs announced on Thursday.
"As of 17:00 (14:00 Moscow time - TASS) on January 6, the total amount of damage to business during the riots was, according to rough estimates, 40 bln tenge, in Almaty - 39.5 bln tenge ($89.8 mln - TASS)," the statement said.
At the same time, the department noted that it is not yet possible to assess the damage to the majority of tenants, since entrepreneurs do not have access to the facilities.
On January 2, crowds took to the streets in the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the Mangystau Region, in southwestern Kazakhstan, protesting against high fuel prices. Two days later, the protests engulfed Almaty, in the country’s southeast, where the police used flashbangs to disperse the crowd, as well as other cities, including Atyrau, Aktobe (in the west), Uralsk (in the northwest), Taraz, Shymkent, Kyzylorda (in the south), Karaganda (in the northeast) and even Kazakhstan’s capital Nur-Sultan. The president imposed a two-week state of emergency in the Mangystau Region and in the Almaty Region, as well as the republic’s largest city of Almaty and the capital Nur-Sultan. On January 5, the head of the state also accepted the government’s resignation. Its members will continue to perform their tasks until a new cabinet is formed.