Kazakh President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev accepted the resignation of the government amid nationwide protests over rising gas prices. This is stated in the presidential decree.
Former First Deputy Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov became Acting Prime Minister of Kazakhstan. The ministers will serve until the appointment of a new cabinet.
Tokayev also appointed deputy head of his administration, Murat Nurtleu, first deputy chairman of the National Security Committee, and his assistant, Yerlan Karin, as secretary of state.
TASS, citing the head of the Almaty administration, writes that the situation in the city is being controlled after a night of pogroms. “Provocateurs and extremists are being detained,” the state agency quoted officials as saying. Contrary to the statements of officials, residents of Almaty report that flash-noise grenades continue to explode in the city on the morning of January 5, the local newspaper Vlast writes.
At the same time, the GlobalCheck resource reports that Kazakhstan has begun to fight against VPN services — the OpenVPN protocol is being blocked.
A few hours before, Tokayev introduced a state of emergency in the country's largest city, Almaty and Mangistau region, by January 19, with which the gas protests began. Commandant's offices are created in the emergency zones, the sale of alcohol and weapons is prohibited, a curfew is introduced from 23:00 to 7:00, and entry and exit are limited.