Original 2022-01-08
Talk about Kazakhstan
Country profiles
The Republic of Kazakhstan (T՛азақстан Республикасы), abbreviated as Kazakhstan, Ӛазаӛстан. With an area of 2,724,900 square kilometers, it is only more than 200,000 square kilometers less than India, ranking ninth in the world. With a population of 19,133,600 (as of July 2021), it is similar to the population of Guangzhou, China, with an average of about 6 people per square kilometer, making it one of the countries with the lowest population density in the global village. There are about 140 ethnic groups in Kazakhstan, of which 68% are Kazakhs and 20% Russians. The capital Nur-sultan (Нӱр-Сӱлтан; Originally called Astana, renamed in March 2019). Kazakh is Chinese, and the official languages are Kazakh and Russian. The country has 14 prefectures and 3 municipalities. The municipalities are the capital Nur-Sultan, Shymkent and the largest city, Almaty (Almaty was the capital until 1997). Most of the inhabitants of Kazakhstan are Muslims (Sunnis), in addition to some Orthodox, Catholic and Buddhist beliefs. The average temperature in Kazakhstan is -19°C to -4°C in January and 19°C to 26°C in July.
Kazakhstan is located in Central Asia. Bordered by Russia to the north, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan to the south, the Caspian Sea to the west and China to the east, it is the world's largest landlocked country. Kazakhstan has a complex terrain, with mostly plains and lowlands, with the lowest terrain in the west and southwest. The Caspian coastal lowlands gradually descend to the south, and the lowest point, the Karakiye Basin, is 132 meters below sea level. Kazakhstan straddles Europe and Asia, the territory is mainly located in northern Central Asia, a small part of the territory west of the Ural River is located in Europe, and there is a coastline of 2,964 km in the Caspian Sea.
Kazakhstan is rich in oil and mineral resources. Proven oil reserves of nearly 14 billion tons (onshore and Caspian regions), coal reserves of about 3.94 billion tons, natural gas reserves of about 1.8 trillion cubic meters and manganese about 400 million tons. With more than 90 kinds of mineral deposits, more than 1,200 kinds of mineral raw materials, and more than 500 ferrous, nonferrous, rare and precious metal minerals, it is the world's major oil and gas exporter. The area of available land for agriculture has reached 222 million hectares, of which 29.41 million hectares are arable land and 188 million hectares are pastures, ranking among the top five in the world in per capita arable land.
Kazakhstan's economy is dominated by petroleum, mining, coal and agriculture and animal husbandry. In 2020, Kazakhstan's GDP was US$169.837 billion, down 2.6% year-on-year, industrial output was US$45.93 billion, down 0.7% year-on-year, and agricultural output was US$15.191 billion, up 5.6% year-on-year. From January to June 2021, Kazakhstan's GDP increased by 1.6% year-on-year. In recent years, relying on abundant resources and geographical advantages, while maintaining the strategic position of mining, oil and gas and other industries, Kazakhstan has paid more attention to the construction of hot fields such as agriculture, construction, transportation and logistics, and scientific and technological innovation, and strived to promote economic diversification. According to Wikipedia, about 18.0% of Kazakhstan's working population is engaged in agriculture, about 20.4% in industry and about 61.6% in services. Kazakhstan's service industries include technology services, tourism, retail and gambling. Among them, gambling is only legal in two places, Kapchagay and Shuchinsk, and illegal in other places.
According to 2020 data from the International Monetary Fund, Kazakhstan ranks 53rd in the world in terms of gross domestic product (GDP); GDP per capita is about $9,828, ranking 63rd in the world. In recent years, the average salary of Kazakhs has continued to grow, earning about 250,000 tenge (about 3,600 yuan) per month.
The Armed Forces of Kazakhstan were established in 1992 and consist of three branches of the army, air defence forces, navy and aviation mobile units, rocket and artillery units. The President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
A look back at the history of Kazakhstan
In the early Stone Age, humans began to inhabit the territory of present-day Kazakhstan. From the 3rd century BC to the 1st century BC, the states of Wusun, Kangju and Amang Cai appeared in the region. In 500 BC, the Cypriots and Huns lived here. Between the 1st and 8th centuries AD, the Kushan people lived in Atyrau Prefecture. Between the 6th and 8th centuries AD, the Western Turkic Khaganate was established, and Islamic culture began to influence the region.
In 766 AD, the Turkic tribe Geralu established the state of Yehu in present-day eastern Kazakhstan. In the 8th century, the south was occupied by the Arabs and the Samanid dynasty, and between the 9th and 12th centuries, the west and southwest, the south and the north joined Oghuz, Heikhan and Kimak and Kipchak. In the first half of the 12th century, it was invaded by the Khitans (Western Liao). At the beginning of the 13th century, it was conquered by the Mongols and controlled by the Golden Horde.
Kazakh Khanate (1456-1731). In the 15th century, Sultan Krei Khan and Janibek of the Shuchi line traveled to Mughal to establish the Kazakh Khanate. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Kazakh tribe was basically formed, divided into three yuzi, that is, large, medium and small yuzi (Chinese Qing dynasty documents called right, left and west). In the mid-18th century, the Qing government unified the Mongol tribes in western Moxi and removed the Kazakh threat from Dzungar. Kazakh Sanyuzi voluntarily attached himself to the Qing Dynasty and was canonized by the Qianlong Emperor, and Kazakhstan has since belonged to China.
Ruled by the Russian Empire (1731-1917). In the second half of the 19th century, Kazakhstan was gradually occupied by the Russian Empire, after which Kazakhs began to integrate into Europe.
Arash Autonomous Republic (1917-1920). In November 1917, nationalist groups in Kazakhstan took advantage of the October Revolution to declare their independence from Russian jurisdiction and established the Arash Autonomous Republic on December 13, 1917. Subsequently, the Red Army of Soviet Russia, which was pursuing the White Army, entered Arash and began negotiations with it. After the destruction of the White Army in Kazakhstan in 1919-1920, the Bolsheviks dissolved the Arash Autonomous Republic on August 26, 1920, and Kazakhstan became part of the Russian Federation.
Period of Soviet rule (1920-1991). On April 19, 1925, the Central Asian member countries of the Soviet Union were renamed the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Republic according to ethnic boundaries. In 1932, there was a great famine in Kazakhstan, where about 1.5 million people died. It became a Soviet republic in 1936. On October 25, 1990, Kazakhstan issued a declaration of sovereignty. Kazakhstan declared its independence on December 16, 1991, changed its name to the Kazakh Republic, and joined the Commonwealth of Independent States on December 21 of the same year.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Kazakhstan was the last Soviet republic to declare independence. Nursultan Nazarbayev, the former first secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, continued to serve as President of Kazakhstan from that time until 2019, when he announced his retirement, but remained in power as Chairman of the National Security Council.
In 1992, Kazakhstan joined the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, referred to as the CSTO (CSTO). The organization is an intergovernmental military alliance that has evolved gradually. On 15 May 1992, the six countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, signed the Treaty on Collective Security (also known as the Treaty of Tashkent). Three other countries, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Georgia, signed the Treaty the following year and entered into force in 1994. After five years, six of the nine countries, except Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan, agreed to extend the Treaty for another five years. In 2002, the six countries agreed to establish the CSTO as a military alliance. Uzbekistan rejoined the CSTO in 2006 but withdrew in 2012. At present, CSTO has six member States: Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. CSTO seeks to achieve a number of objectives in the political and military spheres, the most important of which is to ensure collective security and to defend the sovereignty, independence and unity of the territories of its member States. The constitution of the organization stipulates that no force or threat may be used between member states, no other military alliances may be joined, and an attack on any member of the organization is considered an attack on the remaining members.
In 2001, Kazakhstan joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Kazakhstan 30 years ago, fruitful results have been achieved
On January 3, 1992, China and Kazakhstan established diplomatic relations. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China-Kazakhstan relations have gone through an extraordinary course of development and achieved fruitful results that have attracted the attention of the world.
Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Zhang Xiao said that China was one of the first countries to recognize Kazakhstan's independence and establish diplomatic relations with Kazakhstan. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 30 years ago, China-Kazakhstan relations have withstood the test of the changing international situation, basically rising a big step every decade, and realizing leapfrog development from friendly relations to permanent comprehensive strategic partnership.
Zhang Xiao said that especially in recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Kazakhstan relations have developed in a more stable, mature and tenacious direction. Politically, the two countries support each other on issues involving each other's core interests, carry out fruitful cooperation within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and make important contributions to promoting regional and even world peace and stability. In terms of economy and trade, the volume of bilateral trade has increased by more than 60 times in the past 30 years. The "Belt and Road" initiative and the "bright road" new economic policy are deeply docked, and investment and production capacity cooperation projects between the two countries have blossomed everywhere, benefiting the two peoples. In the field of humanities, the cooperation between the two countries in culture, education, sports, science and technology has yielded fruitful results, narrowing the distance between the hearts and minds of the two peoples. The two sides have helped each other and closely cooperated in anti-epidemic cooperation, which fully reflects the "truth in adversity".
Jiang Wei, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Almaty, said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations 30 years ago, cooperation between China and Kazakhstan in various fields has continued to develop steadily on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. China and Kazakhstan have given full play to their geographical advantages and actively promoted trade cooperation and personnel exchanges between the two countries through various measures such as opening ports, oil and gas transmission, railway transportation, and opening border cooperation centers. The China-Kazakhstan Lianyungang Logistics Cooperation Base has become Kazakhstan's direct access to the Pacific Ocean, helping Kazakhstan's products to be sold to Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian countries.
Jiang Wei said that under the framework of jointly building the "Belt and Road", China and Kazakhstan have successfully implemented a large number of investment and production capacity cooperation projects. In 2021, Almaty large-diameter steel pipe factory, Zanatas wind farm, Turgusun hydropower station and other projects were completed and put into operation. Kazakh enterprises have actively participated in the China International Import Expo for four consecutive years, and Kazakhstan's agricultural exports to China have grown against the trend. In the first 10 months of 2021, the bilateral trade volume between China and Kazakhstan reached US$20.8 billion, an increase of 14% year-on-year, and China continued to maintain its position as Kazakhstan's second largest trading partner and became Kazakhstan's largest export destination for the first time. China-Kazakhstan economic cooperation has withstood the "epidemic test" and shown strong resilience.
China and Kazakhstan are permanent comprehensive strategic partners, and China-Kazakhstan friendship has a deep foundation and strong driving force. Kazakhstan's first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, said in July 2021 that Kazakhstan and China are friendly neighbors and strategic partners, and the two sides support each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns. Kazakhstan-China relations are a model of state-to-state relations, and as the first place to initiate the "Belt and Road", Kazakhstan will continue to firmly promote the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" with China and relevant countries. Kazakh President Tokayev said on many occasions in 2021 that mutually beneficial cooperation between Kazakhstan and China has opened up a path of common development and prosperity for the vast Eurasian continent. Fast-growing China will always be an important and reliable partner of Kazakhstan in Asia. Kazakhstan will never do anything harmful to China's interests under any circumstances, and is willing to continue to consolidate and deepen Kazakhstan-China relations with China, solidly promote the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", strengthen cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, infrastructure and health, and strengthen communication and cooperation under the framework of regional and international organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 30 years ago, China-Kazakhstan relations have become a model of good-neighborliness and friendship between countries. Standing at a new historical starting point, China-Kazakhstan relations will continue to move forward healthily and steadily and achieve greater development.
Profile of recent unrest in Kazakhstan
This week, Kazakhstan erupted in its worst protests and violence in three decades, sparking social unrest. On 6 January, CSTO sent peacekeepers to Kazakhstan.
According to Kazakh media reports, on the afternoon of the 5th, thousands of people broke into the Almaty City Government building, Kazakhstan's largest city, violently setting fire to and damaging public property. They also stormed the local prosecutor's office, the office building of Kazakhstan's national television, and the local office of Kazakhstan's ruling party "Light of the Fatherland" party. From 17:00 to 24:00 on the 5th, Nur-Sultan City completely interrupted Internet services, and social media, instant messaging, web websites, etc. were all inaccessible. Armed with weapons such as assault rifles, rioters everywhere invaded large infrastructure and hundreds of businesses.
According to Kazakhstan's "Habar 24" TV station, after a fierce exchange of fire, on the evening of the 6th local time, Kazakhstan's law enforcement regained control of Republic Square in the center of Almaty, in addition, according to the Russian Satellite News Agency, Kazakhstan's law enforcement has now recaptured the former president's residence, so far the government department has regained control of all state office buildings in Almaty. Kazakhstan's Ministry of Internal Affairs said the unrest in Kazakhstan has so far killed 18 law enforcement officers and injured 748. According to preliminary statistics, the unrest in Kazakhstan has caused economic losses of about 92 million US dollars, or about 587 million yuan, to the country.
On the 7th local time, Kazakh President Tokayev delivered a speech to all the people through live TV. He said it was a long-planned, organized and violent attack led by foreign forces, and these terrorist groups had received rigorous training abroad and were incredibly destructive. The government has decreed that terrorists can be fired upon without warning, and the state will not negotiate with terrorists. Tokayev noted that these rioters were organized and led by both locals and foreigners. Since there are still militants who refuse to surrender, the national anti-terrorist operation continues, and the Government will respond harshly to all acts of sabotage until they are completely eliminated. Tokayev said that the state of the rule of law across the country is gradually being restored, and when the security situation improves, the state of emergency will be gradually lifted.
In addition to declaring a state of emergency and accepting the resignation of the government, Kazakh President Tokayev presided over a conference on national socio-economic issues, which adopted a number of measures aimed at stabilizing the situation, including controlling inflation, "the maximum price of liquefied gas in various places should not be higher than the price at the end of last year", accelerating the reform of the liquefied gas system, and preventing a sharp rise in prices.
What happened in Kazakhstan, which just celebrated the 30th anniversary of independence on the 16th of last month?
Since the 2022 New Year holiday, large-scale popular protests have erupted in many regions of Kazakhstan, including Aktau, the capital of Mangistau region, and Almaty, the largest city. Kazakh President Tokayev signed a presidential decree on the 5th, declaring a state of emergency throughout the territory, and said in a televised speech that he would take tough measures against illegal assembly activities.
The trigger for the riots was the rise in liquefied natural gas prices. Since January 1, 2022, Kazakhstan's LPG price control has been lifted, and the price has directly doubled from 60 tenge (about 0.88 yuan) per liter to 120 tenge (about 1.75 yuan), which has triggered people in many places to gather and protest.
Kazakhstan's economy is heavily dependent on energy exports. The raging international epidemic and the decline in oil and gas prices have reduced Kazakhstan's energy revenue, resulting in the need for the Kazakh government to save costs. The Kazakh government chose to reduce or eliminate subsidies for the country's domestic energy, which caused the people's energy consumption to rise. Due to the need for heating in winter, the population is very sensitive to energy prices, and the rise in liquefied gas prices has become the trigger for this mass protest.
Prices directly affect people's livelihood. A price increase ignited a backlog of anger in the hearts of the people. However, rising oil prices are not the only reason for popular protests. Many people who took to the streets protested the rising price of liquefied gas and pressured the government to improve national treatment and punish corrupt officials. The protest, which was triggered by the increase in the price of liquefied gas, gradually escalated into a petition with more socio-economic and political demands. There are reports that Kazakhstan has been greatly affected by the epidemic, many companies have a sluggish economy, and many workers have lost their jobs. In previous years, protests also broke out in the Zhanaozin area, which belongs to a "root of disease" in Kazakhstan. The situation is becoming more and more radical and violent, and the issue of people's livelihood has gradually turned to a political issue.
After the riots, when the Kazakh side had not publicly accused who was behind the riots, the United States immediately took the initiative to jump out and say that they did not do it. But the international community immediately suspected that the United States was responsible, because the Americans have too many historical records in creating "color revolutions" to subvert the regimes of other countries. Moreover, the United States has always hoped to create turmoil in Central Asia, disrupt the surrounding areas of China and Russia, and undermine the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian economic circle. In the CIS alone, last year in Belarus, the shadow of the US CIA was exposed at that time. Before that, Kyrgyzstan also suffered riots in which the United States was behind the scenes.
On the 7th, the Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization issued a statement on the current situation in Kazakhstan. The statement said that the SCO is closely following the development of the situation in the Republic of Kazakhstan and expressing concern about street riots and illegal activities in the country. The statement noted that the SCO considers the measures taken by the leadership of the Republic of Kazakhstan to restore stability in the internal situation and to conduct peaceful dialogue within the framework of the Constitution and the rule of law. The statement stressed that the SCO noted that the CSTO sent peacekeeping forces on temporary missions. As a member State of the SCO, maintaining internal stability and social harmony is one of the important factors in maintaining regional peace and security. The statement concluded by saying that the SCO hopes that Kazakhstan can stabilize the domestic situation as soon as possible, restore law and order and public safety, and protect the rights and interests of all ethnic groups and religions in Kazakhstan. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization expresses its deep condolences to the families of the victims.
According to a report by the Russian News Agency on the 7th citing Kazakhstan media sources, more than 3,000 people have been arrested by the rioters, 26 armed criminals have been eliminated, and 18 others have been injured.
It is hoped that the situation in Kazakhstan will stabilize as soon as possible and avoid a repeat of the tragedy of the "color revolution".
The friendship between the people of Chinese and Kazakhstan endures!
(Editor's note: This article is based on network data and is for reference only; WeChat public account "Shiquan Dou" original 20220108)