The Fort Worth Press - Russian troops leave Kazakhstan amid reported power struggle

USD -
AED 3.67301
AFN 68.145052
ALL 93.753728
AMD 390.140221
ANG 1.802599
AOA 910.982017
ARS 1006.59118
AUD 1.537657
AWG 1.8025
AZN 1.69797
BAM 1.86664
BBD 2.019441
BDT 119.521076
BGN 1.863474
BHD 0.37695
BIF 2954.726579
BMD 1
BND 1.347847
BOB 6.936935
BRL 5.789398
BSD 1.000224
BTN 84.324335
BWP 13.663891
BYN 3.273158
BYR 19600
BZD 2.016139
CAD 1.39837
CDF 2870.999867
CHF 0.88729
CLF 0.035304
CLP 974.070325
CNY 7.246978
CNH 7.24452
COP 4389.41
CRC 509.75171
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 105.238293
CZK 24.127033
DJF 178.109714
DKK 7.108898
DOP 60.280693
DZD 133.664013
EGP 49.609006
ERN 15
ETB 124.718801
EUR 0.953185
FJD 2.271797
FKP 0.789317
GBP 0.79549
GEL 2.739997
GGP 0.789317
GHS 15.75318
GIP 0.789317
GMD 71.000019
GNF 8619.299175
GTQ 7.723106
GYD 209.262927
HKD 7.78049
HNL 25.274751
HRK 7.133259
HTG 131.279438
HUF 391.247974
IDR 15854.1
ILS 3.650985
IMP 0.789317
INR 84.271799
IQD 1310.217463
IRR 42074.999792
ISK 138.280113
JEP 0.789317
JMD 158.737885
JOD 0.709298
JPY 153.917966
KES 129.515392
KGS 86.789395
KHR 4014.412179
KMF 472.508288
KPW 899.999621
KRW 1400.825047
KWD 0.30769
KYD 0.83352
KZT 499.434511
LAK 21966.222697
LBP 89569.209478
LKR 291.048088
LRD 180.034264
LSL 18.083635
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.895182
MAD 10.048818
MDL 18.284378
MGA 4673.847167
MKD 58.505581
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3397.999946
MOP 8.015558
MRU 39.777049
MUR 46.720307
MVR 15.459978
MWK 1734.391479
MXN 20.315301
MYR 4.451996
MZN 63.910192
NAD 18.083635
NGN 1687.479935
NIO 36.802146
NOK 11.091205
NPR 134.919279
NZD 1.71056
OMR 0.385006
PAB 1.000243
PEN 3.788159
PGK 4.02953
PHP 58.9305
PKR 277.799029
PLN 4.121803
PYG 7792.777961
QAR 3.648719
RON 4.743401
RSD 111.523008
RUB 104.145027
RWF 1365.707932
SAR 3.755274
SBD 8.383555
SCR 15.034935
SDG 601.502803
SEK 10.975898
SGD 1.34611
SHP 0.789317
SLE 22.73009
SLL 20969.504736
SOS 571.60855
SRD 35.494025
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.751963
SYP 2512.529858
SZL 18.078481
THB 34.649801
TJS 10.662244
TMT 3.5
TND 3.172563
TOP 2.342103
TRY 34.594865
TTD 6.793638
TWD 32.453012
TZS 2649.999898
UAH 41.507876
UGX 3705.983689
UYU 42.633606
UZS 12831.121482
VES 46.576427
VND 25420
VUV 118.722009
WST 2.791591
XAF 626.065503
XAG 0.033045
XAU 0.00038
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.765057
XOF 626.053552
XPF 113.823233
YER 249.925009
ZAR 18.037503
ZMK 9001.202481
ZMW 27.580711
ZWL 321.999592
  • RBGPF

    -0.9500

    59.24

    -1.6%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0500

    6.75

    -0.74%

  • CMSD

    0.1390

    24.599

    +0.57%

  • CMSC

    0.0878

    24.76

    +0.35%

  • BCC

    9.7900

    153.57

    +6.37%

  • GSK

    0.1600

    34.12

    +0.47%

  • SCS

    0.4550

    13.725

    +3.32%

  • RIO

    0.5250

    62.875

    +0.83%

  • JRI

    0.1400

    13.35

    +1.05%

  • RELX

    -0.2750

    46.475

    -0.59%

  • VOD

    0.1400

    8.87

    +1.58%

  • BTI

    0.1050

    37.485

    +0.28%

  • BCE

    0.0550

    26.825

    +0.21%

  • AZN

    0.4210

    66.051

    +0.64%

  • NGG

    0.0700

    63.18

    +0.11%

  • BP

    -0.4550

    29.265

    -1.55%

Russian troops leave Kazakhstan amid reported power struggle
Russian troops leave Kazakhstan amid reported power struggle

Russian troops leave Kazakhstan amid reported power struggle

Russian soldiers completed their draw down from Kazakhstan, the defence ministry said Wednesday, as the Central Asian country lifted a state of emergency imposed after unprecedented unrest and signs of a power struggle.

Text size:

The ex-Soviet country was roiled by clashes sparked during peaceful rallies around the New Year against fuel price hikes. At least 225 people -- including 19 servicemen -- died in unrest that prompted President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to appeal to Moscow for help.

The crisis has spurred suggestions of a rift between Tokayev and his long-ruling predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev, 81, who spoke for the first time since the protests Tuesday and denied any conflict with the president.

The Russian defence ministry said Wednesday that four planes carrying its remaining troops had departed from the capital Nur-Sultan and Kazakhstan's largest city Almaty.

"The last of the peacekeepers and the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent headed by Colonel General Andrei Serdyukov will return home on these planes," it said.

Video distributed by the ministry showed troops landing at an airport in the southern Russian city of Ulyanovsk, where a ceremony was held to mark their return.

Troops from the alliance of ex-Soviet states including Armenia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Russia began arriving January 6 after the urgent plea from Tokayev, and started their withdrawal last week.

Their last departure came hours after Tokayev's spokesman Berik Uali confirmed the end of a two-week state of emergency, saying "the unity and integrity of the people, law enforcement agencies and military" had ensured order was restored.

"May there be peace and goodness in our country always!" Uali wrote on Facebook.

But Almaty was tense Wednesday morning, where AFP correspondents saw police blocking access to several central roads after a banned opposition group called for protests.

The decision to despatch peacekeepers was a first for the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), often touted by Russia as a NATO equivalent.

There had been concerns Moscow would leverage the mission to influence Kazakhstan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had warned that "once Russians are in your house, it's sometimes very difficult to get them to leave".

- 'Unity and integrity' -

The authorities have blamed the violence that centred in Almaty -- the financial hub of 1.8 million people -- on bandits and "terrorists" with international links.

That narrative has been complicated by suggestions of infighting at the highest-level of government, with a former national security chief close to Nazarbayev and two of his deputies detained on coup-plotting charges.

Tokayev on Wednesday announced the dismissal of defence minister Murat Bektanov saying that the army's poor performance had forced him to call on the CSTO to intervene.

"Minister Bektanov did not show commanding qualities," Tokayev said, presenting Ruslan Zhaksylykov as his replacement to military officials.

Tokayev said Bektanov had been unable to utilise the military's full potential "in a critical situation" saying authorities "were forced to resort to outside help".

Zhaksylykov had filled the role of deputy interior minister prior to the change.

On Tuesday, Nazarbayev was shown speaking for the first time since the crisis began to deny that he was in a tussle with the man he handpicked to replace him as head of state in 2019.

He said Tokayev had "full" control and described himself as "a pensioner", stressing there is: "no conflict or confrontation between elites".

Calling the violence "a lesson for all of us", Nazarbayev added: "It is important to find out who organised all these pogroms and murders".

It was not clear when Nazarbayev's address, which appeared on his official website, was recorded.

Tokayev became head of the country's security council as the crisis began to peak on January 5 -- a position that Nazarbayev previously occupied and was viewed as a check on the head of state's authority.

The Kremlin said Wednesday it would not interfere in Kazakhstan's "internal affairs" and that President Vladimir Putin had "cordial relations" with both Tokayev and his predecessor.

T.Dixon--TFWP