Amid fuel crisis, Kazakhstan appoints new prime minister

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev named Alikhan Smailov as prime minister on Tuesday (11).

The Lower House of Parliament quickly confirmed Smailov’s appointment during a session broadcast live on state television.

Smailov, 49, had served as deputy prime minister in Tokayev’s previous cabinet, which was disbanded last week amid violent unrest in the Central Asian country.

Kazakhstan’s entire cabinet submitted a resignation request on Wednesday, which was accepted by the country’s president. The request came after the escalation of confrontation between the government and protesters.

Protests erupted in the oil-producing province of Mangistau on Sunday over the rising price of liquefied petroleum gas, a popular fuel in the country.

Kazakhstan’s security forces have detained 9,900 people over the disturbances, Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

Russian participation

Last Thursday (6), Russia sent troops to Kazakhstan to quell the uprising in the country after violence spread across the territory.

The protests in the Central Asian country are yet another crisis among the countries of the former Soviet Union that have the participation of Russia.

In Ukraine, Russian troops are mobilizing on the border in a move to prevent the country, which borders Russia, from joining NATO and putting the United States at the door of its historic international executioner.

Reporting by Tamara Vaal; writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Muralikumar Anantharaman edited by Reuters