NUR-SULTAN, January 18. /TASS/. The mass riots that erupted in Kazakhstan in January were aimed at destroying the republic’s integrity and the state’s fundamentals, Kazakhstan’s first President Nursultan Nazarbayev said on Tuesday.

"The January events shook the whole of Kazakhstan. These orchestrated riots and attacks on Kazakhstan were aimed at destroying the country’s integrity and the fundamentals of our state. These events show once again that independence should be taken great care of as a fragile vessel that requires especially careful handling," Nazarbayev said in an address to his compatriots made public on Tuesday.

The tragedy that occurred became a lesson for all the residents of Kazakhstan, Nazarbayev pointed out.

"It is important to find out who organized these violent acts and killings. The investigation will give an answer to this question. I want to convey my sincere condolences to the near and dear ones of those killed and wish a quick recovery to those who were injured," Kazakhstan’s first president said.

Kazakhstan has turned into a recognizable and reputable state in the international community over the years of its independence, Nazarbayev said.

"This is the result of the consolidation and unity of all Kazakhstan’s residents. Stability and calm have always been my goal. Everyone must take care of these ever-lasting values. We will necessarily go through this crisis and become even stronger," he stressed.

Mass unrest in Kazakhstan

Protests erupted in several Kazakh cities on January 2, escalating into mass riots with government buildings getting ransacked in several cities a few days later. They were accompanied by attacks on the police, military, and governance bodies in many cities of the country, primarily, in Almaty.

The Collective Security Treaty Organizations (CSTO) sent peacekeepers to the Central Asian country after Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev turned to the Russia-led security bloc for assistance. Law and order, Kazakh authorities affirm, was restored to all of the country’s regions. According to the data of the Kazakh Prosecutor General’s Office, over 4,500 people were injured in the mass riots and 225 bodies were delivered to morgues.

Transfer of power

Nazarbayev who turned 81 in July 2021 was Kazakhstan’s first president (1991-2019). In March 2019, he signed an order on terminating the presidential powers of his own free will. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev succeeded Nazarbayev in the post of the head of state. At that time, Nazarbayev retained the posts of the country’s Security Council chief, a member of the Kazakh Constitutional Council, and the chairman of the Nur Otan (Light of Fatherland) ruling party.

In April 2021, Nazarbayev made a decision to hand over to Tokayev the powers of the head of the Assembly of Kazakhstan’s People that he had led since March 1995.

Following the November 2021 expanded meeting of Nur Otan’s political council, it was reported that Nazarbayev had made a decision to transfer the authority of the party’s chairman to Tokayev. Under the charter, the party chairman is elected to and relieved of this post by the party’s congress. The party’s political council has the authority to convene the congress. The date of the next congress has not been announced yet.

Nur Otan is the largest political party in Kazakhstan with over 835,000 members.