Residence of the President of Kazakhstan «Akorda» in Nur-Sultan SIMFEROPOL, January 9 Roman Chegrinets, co-chairman of the Assembly of Slavic Peoples of Crimea, believes that it is possible to think about joining Kazakhstan to the union state of Russia and Belarus. In his opinion, Kazakhstan, against the background of the current situation, could become a part of the Union State along with Russia and Belarus. «In my opinion, already absolutely everyone in the post-Soviet space understands that without the support of Russia not a single state will be able to withstand, therefore it is necessary to unite, «Chegrinets told RIA Novosti, speaking of the possible prospect of Kazakhstan joining the union of Russia and Belarus. Mass protests in Kazakhstan began in the early days 2022 — residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the west of the country opposed a twofold increase in prices for liquefied gas. Later, the protests spread to other cities, including Alma-Ata, the old capital and the largest city of the republic: looting began there, militants attacked state institutions, took away weapons. In response, the authorities declared a state of emergency across the country until January 19 and launched a counter-terrorism operation. According to the UN, about 1,000 people were injured during the protests in Kazakhstan. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic, 16 Kazakhstani security officials were killed, more than 1.3 thousand were injured. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev dismissed the government and headed the Security Council. At the first meeting of the Security Council under his leadership, Tokayev described the situation in Kazakhstan as undermining the integrity of the state and said that he had asked the CSTO for help «in overcoming the terrorist threat.» The CSTO Collective Security Council decided to send collective peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan to normalize the situation in the country. On January 7, Tokayev said that terrorists, including those who arrived from abroad, continued to resist, and promised to destroy those who did not lay down their arms. In addition, the President noted that all the demands of citizens, expressed in peaceful forms, were heard.