2022 Kazakh unrest

Bloody January^[1] was a series of protests that began in Kazakhstan on 2 January 2022 after a sudden sharp increase in gas prices. The Kazakh government said this was because of high demand and price fixing. The protests began in the oil town of Zhanaozen and quickly spread to other cities.^[2][3]

2022 Kazakh unrest
Part of the Kazakh democracy movement
Date	2 January 2022 - 11 January 2022
Location	Kazakhstan, predominantly Mangystau Region
Caused by	Sudden sharp increase in gas prices Corruption Authoritarianism Political repression Human rights violations Kleptocracy Police brutality
Goals	Decreasing of gas price
Methods	Demonstrations Online activism
Parties to the civil conflict
Protesters Government of Kazakhstan Collective Security Treaty Organization
Lead figures
No centralized leadership Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Asqar Mamin Älihan Smaiylov Eraly Togjanov Nursultan Nazarbayev
Units involved
Protesters Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan National Guard of Kazakhstan Military Police Police

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for a state of emergency from 5 to 19 January.