The recent serious unrest in Kazakhstan has been quelled with the support of CGIA peacekeeping forces. But that doesn't mean President Tokayev will stop there, ordering the country's law enforcement to declare war on "terrorist groups" while also cracking down on the country's commercial oligarchs and wealth.
The whereabouts of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev are also attracting attention. At a recent press conference of the Mainland Foreign Ministry, a reporter from the British "Guardian" asked spokesman Zhao Lijian: Quoting sources, former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev is currently in China. Any comments on this? Zhao Lijian replied: I have not heard of such a thing.
A few days ago, Tokayev asked Kazakh's super-rich, including former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, to "give back to the people." In the face of pressure, according to interface news, on January 18, former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had been "missing" for many days, finally appeared and delivered a video speech to all the people of Kazakhstan. This is the first time that Nazarbayev has broken his silence after the kazakh riots and confronted the public society.
In a public speech, Nazarbayev said the riots in Kazakhstan were a "tragedy" and a lesson for everyone. The current president of Kazakhstan, Tokaev, holds full power. When talking about himself, he said that he did not flee abroad like rumors from the outside world, but stayed at home. The former president claims to be a retired old man on a "pension."
Nazarbayev handed over presidential power to Tokayev in 2019 after 30 years in power, but he continues to serve as chairman of the National Security Council and continues to exert influence in Kazakhstan. However, during the unrest in Kazakhstan, Nazarbayev handed over the chairman of the National Security Council to Tokayev on January 9. When he made the above statement, he was publicly announcing his "retirement".
Prior to this, foreign media had reported that there were conflicts between the two presidents of Kazakhstan over rights disputes, but both were denied by the two. However, although Nazarbayev publicly sided with Tokayev during the riots, Tokayev alluded to someone in the country instigating the riots during the Kazakh riots, and it is believed that the target of his sword was Zanabayev.
Whether the Kazakh riots are related to Nazarbayev is unknown to the outside world. But his relationship with Tokayev does not seem to be as harmonious as it seems. Instead, as soon as the turmoil in Kazakhstan was quelled, Tokayev turned his gun and pointed it at the former president. He recently publicly "thanked" Nazarbayev for creating so many commercial oligarchs and huge riches in Kazakhstan during his administration, and called on them to "give back to the people."
Obviously, Nazarbayev's above statement actually means that he has completely relinquished his power and openly acknowledged that Tokayev is the ruler of Kazakhstan. What forced the former president to make the above statement was because Tokayev publicly called out nazarbayev, his family and his cronies a few days ago, hoping that they would distribute their huge wealth to the people.
Tokayev's pressure on Nazarbayev was not just in words, but in deeds. A few days ago, he announced the end of Nazarbayev's youngest daughter, Nazarbayeva's monopoly of private waste recycling, and dismissed her husband. According to Tokaev, this should be done by state-owned enterprises, as in other countries.
In fact, the collapse of unrest in Kazakhstan is only the trigger for the surge in energy prices, and the government's inability to address poverty and unfair income distribution has caused popular discontent and being exploited by external forces, which is the main culprit in the serious unrest. Therefore, in order to eliminate the root causes of turmoil in Kazakhstan, Tokayev must suppress the domestic commercial oligarchy and the huge wealth, so as to eliminate the dissatisfaction of the domestic people with the government.
In this way, It seems that Tokayev wants to "kill the chickens and monkeys" of the Nazarbayev family and his cronies, so as to deter other commercial oligarchs in the country, force them to obediently hand over private businesses, and "give back to the people" their wealth. This is crucial for Tokayev to regain the trust of the people and to consolidate his political position. After Tokayev quelled the domestic unrest, the so-called thief first captured the king, and then took Nazarbayev to open the knife and show the domestic people his determination and will to solve the problem of unfair income distribution in the country.
Therefore, Nazarbayev supported Tokayev's possession of all power at this sensitive moment, not simply "retiring", but trying to surrender his power in exchange for Tokayev's reckoning with the participants in the coup and the "robbery of the rich and the poor" in Kazakhstan. As for whether Tokaev will spare the former president, it will be wait and see.