DISINFO: The West ordered terrorist attack in Kazakhstan to create hotbed at Russia’s border
SUMMARY
Western regimes do not really care about Kazakhstan. One gets the impression that Western clients are not particularly worried about the result of the terrorist attack in Kazakhstan. If it manages to demolish Tokayev's government, it would be great. A new hotbed of brutal nationalism, militarism and poverty will appear in the underbelly of Russia, and soon an American military base will certainly be deployed there.
Not succeeding to undermine Tokayev's government is also not bad [for the West]. The peacekeeping mission of the CSTO countries will make it possible to stir hysteria about "Russian expansion". And in this case, [the West] can pump even more weapons in Ukraine.
RESPONSE
A new disinformation claim around the crisis in Kazakhstan. The claim build on a conspiracy logic and is provided with no evidence. The general idea that any civil unrest in an ex-Soviet Union country is a result of a Western plan to destabilise a local regime and colonise a new region is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about "colour revolutions".
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 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.