What you should know about Kazakhstan, the ninth largest country in the world and the center of a Russian-Western conflict

Kazakhstan : The death toll from the security forces has risen to 18, and the banking sector has stopped

The Kazakh Interior Ministry announced that the number of victims of the security forces during the protests had risen to 18, while the Central Bank announced that the banking sector had stopped working until the current situation ended.

The Ministry of Interior in Kazakhstan announced, on Thursday, that the number of victims of the security forces who lost their lives during the protests that the country has been witnessing for days, has risen to 18.

This came in a statement by the Ministry, in which it stated that the security forces arrested 2,298 people during the events.

The statement added that during the demonstrations, 18 members of the security forces were killed and 748 others were injured, noting that two of the dead security men were beheaded during the protests.

He noted that security forces are trying to clear buildings one by one in the city of Almaty, where violent clashes occur from time to time.

The statement indicated that the protesters are trying to control the administrative buildings, police stations and the television tower in Almaty, while stressing that the situation is under control in the cities of Shymkent and Aktaf.

In a related context, the Central Bank's spokesman, Olgas Ramzanov, announced, on Thursday, that the banking and finance sector has stopped due to the current situation, according to the official news agency "Kazenform".

He said that the banking and finance sector in the country has stopped completely due to the current conditions and the interruption of internet service, as well as in order to preserve the safety of employees.

Central Bank Vice President Brik Chorbnakulov announced that banking and finance services will be returned to citizens after providing Internet service and stabilizing the situation in the country.

On the other hand, the Kazakh National Chamber of Entrepreneurs stated that the economic damage caused by the protests exceeded $90 million, while the losses of looted businesses in the city of Almaty alone amounted to about $23 million, according to preliminary information.

The National Chamber also indicated in a statement that there is a shortage of food throughout the country, and that complaints have begun to appear about the lack of bakery and dairy products in the markets.

Arbulat Yusipov, chief imam at the Hazrat Sultan Mosque in the Kazakh capital, Nur-Sultan, stated that mosques will be closed during the state of emergency until January 19.

On the other hand, the General Secretariat of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) said in a statement that its Secretary-General Stanislav Zas had made two phone calls with the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Gomert Tokayev and the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, during which they discussed the situation in Kazakhstan and the implementation of the organization's decision to send troops to her.

And last Sunday, protests erupted in Kazakhstan against the increase in liquefied gas prices, including looting and riots in the city of Almaty, and casualties.

The government announced its resignation, on Wednesday, against the backdrop of protests, followed by the imposition of a state of emergency throughout the country, with the aim of maintaining public security, according to local media.

What you should know about Kazakhstan, the ninth largest country in the world and the center of a Russian-Western conflict

In light of the escalating protests in Kazakhstan, the ninth largest country in the world in terms of area and the largest in the Islamic world, in this report we list the most important general information about Kazakhstan, in addition to reviewing the current tensions between Russia and the West.

Kazakhstan entered its new year on the impact of popular anti-government demonstrations, whose first spark was the rise in the prices of liquefied gas used by citizens for heating, and although the protests initially erupted in the western Mangystau region, they quickly moved to other regions of the republic, including the current capital. Nur-Sultan, the country's largest city is Almaty.

In an attempt to calm the anger of protesters who burned government buildings in protest against government performance and high prices, the Kazakh presidency announced on Wednesday that the government had submitted its resignation to President Kassim Jomar Tokayev, in conjunction with cutting off the Internet for the entire country.

Thanks to its distinguished geographical location in Central Asia, Kazakhstan is the most important piece of the raging geopolitical conflict between Russia and the West, especially the United States of America. Here, in this report, the most prominent geographical, economic and political information about the State of Kazakhstan, as well as the ongoing tensions between Russia and the West.

Geography and population

Kazakhstan is a transcontinental country, as its territory lies within two continents, part in Central Asia to the north, and part in Eastern Europe to the west (west of the Ural River). It is the ninth largest country in the world in terms of area, and the largest Muslim country in the world, with an area of ​​2,717,300 km2, and 70% of the population of 18.51 million as of 2018 embrace Islam, followed by Christianity by about 26%.

The country's capital is Nur-Sultan, which until 2019 was called by its original name Astana, which actually became the capital in 1997 instead of Almaty, the largest city in the country. The city of Bikanor is also one of the most important cities in the country because it hosts the space center.

Kazakhstan has borders with important and powerful countries such as China and Russia, in addition to Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. Its shores extend on the Caspian Sea with a length of 1,894 km. It has 131 ethnicities, including Kazakhs (63% of the population), Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Germans, Tatars and Uyghurs. The Kazakh language is the official language, and Russian also has an official status within administrative and institutional life.

Economy

Kazakhstan is the most powerful economic country in the Central Asian region, and it is responsible alone for producing about 60% of the total production of this region locally. It is famous for the oil and gas industry that is spread in the country, in addition to its abundant relevant resources.

While the gross domestic product amounted to about 179 billion dollars last year, the annual per capita output amounted to about 9 thousand and 686 dollars, and the annual growth rate reached 4.5%. Kazakhstan's economy depends almost entirely on oil exports, which constitute about 56 percent of total exports and 55 percent of the state budget. Kazakhstan is also one of the most important gas-producing countries in Asia.

In addition to natural resources, the service sector constitutes about 52% of the GDP, while agriculture accounts for approximately 5% of the GDP in Kazakhstan. China is one of Kazakhstan's main economic and trade partners, especially after China launched the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, when Kazakhstan was given an important role as a transit hub.

In 2018, Kazakhstan's foreign trade volume amounted to $93.5 billion, while exports amounted to about $67 billion, imports amounted to about $32.5 billion. Exports accounted for 40.1 percent of Kazakhstan's GDP in 2018. Kazakhstan exports about 800 products to 120 countries around the world.

It is noteworthy that the country's currency is called "Kazakhstan tenge" (KZT), and it has been issued by the National Bank of Kazakhstan since 1993, and today it is equivalent to 0.0022 US dollars.

Politics

Kazakhstan was the last Soviet republic to declare its independence during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. After gaining independence, Kazakhstan declared itself a constitutional secular democratic republic, ratifying and amending its constitution in 1993 and amended in 1995.

Kazakhstan adopts a presidential system of government, where the president is considered the head of state and the supreme commander of the armed forces, followed by the Council of Ministers. Nursultan Nazarbayev assumed the presidency from December 1, 1991 until his resignation in March 2019, to be replaced by Kasim-Jomart Kimilovich Tokayev, whom the opposition describes as a puppet of Nazarbayev, whose resignation was a formality, to continue his policies.

There are currently 10 registered political parties in Kazakhstan, the largest of which is the People's Democratic Party "Nur-Otan".

Russian-American tug-of-war

In recent days, Kazakhstan has become one of the most important pieces of the geopolitical conflict between Russia and China on the one hand, and the West led by the United States of America on the other.

Experts who follow the Kazakh issue believe that the country is currently taking the same steps taken by the Color Revolution in Ukraine, which began with protests against the government and Russian influence, which is demonstrated by videos in the Russian and Kazakh languages ​​that were circulated by local and international media.

It is natural for America and Western countries to try to support the liberal forces and elites in the countries that have studied in Western universities, and which call for an alliance with the European Union at the expense of an alliance with Moscow. Perhaps Washington has now begun implementing plans aimed at handing over power to liberal forces with a Western orientation, which would later allow America and its allies to tighten their control over the Central Asian region, and thus tighten the noose further on Russia and China.

Amid Western criticism, Russian forces deploy in Mali after French withdrawal

According to a Malian army spokesman, Russian soldiers were deployed to train Malian forces at a base from which French forces withdrew last month. Neither Mali nor Russia announced significant details about the deployment, including the number of soldiers involved or the specific mission of the Russian forces.

A spokesman for the army in Mali said Thursday that Russian soldiers have been deployed in the northern city of Timbuktu to train Malian forces at a base from which French forces withdrew last month.

Mali's government said last month that "trainers from Russia" had arrived in the country, but neither Bamako nor Moscow released few details about the deployment, including the number of soldiers involved or the specific mission of the Russian forces.

The arrival of Russian forces led to sharp criticism from Western countries, led by France to Russia. Western countries say the forces include contractors from the Vanger private military group, which they accuse of violating human rights in other countries.

Mali's government denies this, saying that Russian forces are in the country as part of a bilateral agreement.

"We got new planes and equipment from them (the Russians)," a Malian army spokesman told Reuters. "On-site training is much less expensive than going there, so what's the harm in that?" he added.

He did not say how many Russians were sent to Timbuktu.

Locals told Reuters they saw Russian men in uniform driving around the city in vehicles, but they did not know how many there.

The Russian Defense Ministry could not be reached for comment