Is Kazakhstan Starting to Crack?

Last Friday was the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence from the former Soviet Union; it was also the day Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev declared a state of emergency in the western town of Zhanaozen, where a seven-month-long strike erupted into violence turning Kazakhstan's independence celebrations in chaos. 

Resource-rich Kazakhstan is Central Asia's largest and most successful economy it is the world's 18th largest oil producer. Over the last decade Kazakhstan has had the image of stability and openness to foreign investors. But the mainly Muslim nation of 17 million people has seen an increase this year in bombings and shootings, mostly blamed on Islamist extremists. 

This week, communications were restored with the oil city Zhanaozen. Rioters looted bank ATMs, set a blaze the mayor's office, a hotel and the offices of a Kazakh-Chinese joint venture company that had fired the workers last May. Officially 15 people were killed, 110 others wounded and 46 buildings were burned, opposition party members are saying the numbers are much higher.

In the short term, the riots have hurt Kazakhstan's image as an investor-friendly stable Central Asia nation and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s hard nose tactics against the rioters might make some investors nervous, but the Kazakh government is trying hard to defuse the situation by promising to find jobs for thousands of workers who have been on strike since last May.

Let’s hope the world's 18th largest oil producer and Western friendly nation finds a peaceful solution to their domestic unrest.