DISINFO: Protests in Kazakhstan were organised by foreign-trained terrorists
SUMMARY
Protests in Kazakhstan, which pose a threat to the country's integrity, were organised by foreign-trained terrorists.
RESPONSE
Emerging pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative alleging that the January 2022 anti-government protests in Kazakhstan are part of a foreign-inspired and directed plot. This claim is advanced as part of a push suggesting a Western 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 many gaps and inconsistencies.
There are however more deep-rooted causes for the protests in a country that suffers from a 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).
The EU High Representative urged Kazakhstan’s authorities to uphold their commitments at this challenging time, including respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of their citizens, particularly, the freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, and of the media.
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