DISINFO: Events in Kazakhstan are another Western-made colour revolution
SUMMARY
Another attempt of the "colour revolution" in Kazakhstan is due to the intervention of external forces rather than internal problems in the country. There is a well-organised network of the West, which at one time carried out similar colour revolutions in a number of post-Soviet countries. These were not only aimed at overthrowing authoritarian regimes and replacing them with Western-style democracies but were mostly anti-Russian in nature. Let us remind you that the events in Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan were held under the anti-Russian flag.
The real goal is to reduce Russia's influence in the post-Soviet countries and to overthrow the path of integration into the Eurasian Economic Union chosen by some countries.
RESPONSE
This claim advances an emerging pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative alleging that the January 2022 anti-government protests in Kazakhstan are part of a US policy of staging “colour revolutions” worldwide with the aim of destabilising Russia.
The pro-Kremlin media frequently falsely portray popular protests around the world as instigated from abroad, often by the US and the West. The disinformation narrative has been applied, among others, to reports about protests in Georgia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Belarus, Venezuela, Slovakia, Hong Kong, with the aim of portraying protest movements as aggressive actors supported by foreign powers who constantly prepare new coups.
The trigger and immediate cause of the protests in Kazakhstan was the government's lifting of price controls on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) that took place in early January in the Western region of Manghystau and unrest soon spread to the capital.
As the Guardian reports, the official story from the Kremlin began with explanations that the protests were a military coup organised by foreign terrorists. Later the notion of a "colour revolution" is added. However, the narrative is not based on facts and contains from many gaps and inconsistencies.
There are however more deep-rooted causes for the protests in a country that suffers from lack of democracy, corruption and economic difficulties despite being rich in economic resources. For example, Kazakhstan ranks 128 out of 167 countries in the 2020 Democracy Index, and also ranks 94 out of 180 countries in the 2020 Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI).
See also the statement by the EU High Representative here.
Read also related cases: US-sponsored Kazakhstan protests aimed to undermine CIS stability, Protests in Kazakhstan are a new Western attempt to organise a colour revolution or EU and US aim to generate a new wave of anti-government protests in Belarus.