The destabilisation of Kazakhstan from abroad tries to create obstacles to its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union headed by Russia, as well as China’s new Silk Road. Such destabilisation would hit Eurasia in its core, with geopolitical reverberations in Russia, China and all Central Asia, where the embers of the US debacle in Afghanistan persist.
This is part of a wider disinformation campaign to justify the Russian-led intervention of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation in Kazakhstan.
There is no evidence to support claims about any US or foreign intervention behind the unrest in Kazakhstan, and even less evidence that the actual target would be any Russian or Chinese project. Instead, growing evidence points to an ongoing power struggle in the country as a driving cause in the radicalisation and expansion of the protests, which started peacefully after the government lifted price controls on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), in an already volatile context in the country.
Besides, there are 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).
See also the statement by the EU High Representative here.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that US-sponsored Kazakhstan protests aimed to undermine CIS stability, that the West ordered a terrorist attack in Kazakhstan to create a hotbed at Russia’s border, or that the US seeded chaos in Afghanistan to undermine China and Russia.
The events in Kazakhstan are another attempt at a "colour revolution". "Revolution" in Kazakhstan before negotiations with Russia is very beneficial for the US.
It is also done to divert Russia's attention from the deployment of missile launchers in Poland and Romania and the integration of Georgia and Ukraine into NATO.
These events erase the last hope for the constructiveness of the upcoming negotiations.
This claim advances an emerging pro-Kremlin 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.
Under pressure from US intelligence agencies, Western officials and media have recently accused Moscow of massing troops and military forces with the intention of invading Ukraine.
This claim is part of a current disinformation campaign aiming to deflect attention away from Russia’s military build-up on its border with Ukraine since late October 2021 by accusing Western media of only reporting on this issue because they are pressured by US intelligence agencies.
Contrary to the claim, reports and expressions of concern about military preparations and mobilisation of Russian troops is not a “campaign against Russia”, but a fact confirmed by satellite images and intelligence of the US, Ukraine and NATO, among other countries and institutions. See for example the 16 December NATO statement calling on Russia to immediately de-escalate tension. See also the 24 January 2022 EU statement condeming Russia’s continued aggressive actions and threats against Ukraine.
It is clear that no country is more interested in destabilising Kazakhstan than the United States, and Turkey is the next potential beneficiary.
In general, Washington's policy of dragging Russia into conflicts on its borders is old and well known. The role of the United States in the Ukrainian and Belarus coups is clear, and the role of Turkey, a member of NATO, in the Karabakh war is also clear.
And if chaos or civil war breaks out in Kazakhstan, Russia will have to send troops there, which will weaken its ability to resist the US on other fronts.
A new disinformation around the crisis in Kazakhstan presented with no evidence.
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.
