One yr in the past, state media largely ignored the largest outbreak of civil unrest in Kazakhstan’s historical past. The job of informing the general public objectively in regards to the widespread protests fell on impartial reporters and some so-called citizen journalists and bloggers who did their jobs at nice private threat. These journalists have been attacked by protesters, assailed and tear-gassed by police, shot with rubber bullets, detained, and in some circumstances arrested, crushed, and imprisoned.
When the air, so not too long ago stuffed with smoke from grenades and bullets, each rubber and actual, cleared, reporters have been those urgent the federal government for a full accounting of the 238 individuals killed, greater than 4,500 injured, round 10,000 detained, and a number of other hundred reportedly tortured.
That is the story of the Qandy Qantar — “Bloody January” — rebellion by the eyes of those that coated it, starting in Zhanaozen and ending in Almaty.
You’ll be able to learn this collection in English at The Diplomat and in Russian and Kazakh at Orda.kz.
URALSK, Kazakhstan: Journalists Lukpan Akhmedyarov and Raul Uporov spent January 3 driving round city, in search of protesters. They have been certain Uralsk would observe different Kazakh cities that had erupted in protest following Zhanaozen’s demonstrations towards increased fuel costs.
At 10:30 p.m., as Lukpan was preparing for mattress, he obtained a video displaying a crowd of males shouting on the central sq. as cops encircled them. Lukpan instantly drove to the middle of city.
“These individuals weren’t the standard protesters,” he stated. “Most of them have been truck drivers. You possibly can see their vans parked close to the sq..”
Lukpan, 47, is an professional on protests. He has been detained numerous occasions at protests and jailed for overlaying them. He’s additionally been shot, stabbed, and sued. Beforehand he labored for Uralsk Weekly, a scrappy impartial print and on-line newspaper. Now, he and Uporov, a former Uralsk Weekly photographer, report information and make documentary movies on their YouTube channel, Просто Журналистика — Simply Journalism.
Lukpan thought the police, wearing black garments and sporting bulletproof vests, wouldn’t permit him into the sq.. However they moved apart to let him in.
For 2 hours, Lukpan livestreamed the small demonstration supporting the Zhanaozen protests. Round 1 a.m., the gang dispersed and agreed to collect once more the following day.
“Convey everybody ,” they instructed one another.
Uralsk — or Oral in Kazakh — is a northern metropolis of 236,000, simply 18 miles from the Russian border. One of many nation’s oldest cities, Uralsk dates to 1584 and was the positioning of a failed Cossack revolt towards Russia.
The subsequent morning protesters met at a grocery store on the sting of city and grew in quantity as they peacefully marched to the central sq.. Many held Kazakh flags and sang the nationwide anthem. A number of instructed Lukpan, “That is the primary time we’re lastly all collectively.”
By the point the protesters reached the sq., there have been at the least 2,000 individuals, Lukpan stated. They constructed a platform about 5 ft excessive out of snow. The mayor appeared and stated he needed to listen to their calls for.
“It was now not about fuel costs,” Lukpan remembered. “They needed to upset the entire system. They needed parliamentary elections. They needed to alter the legal guidelines so that individuals might have protests with out requiring the federal government’s approval.”
Crowds amassed in Uralsk’s central sq.. Photograph credit score: Raul Uporov
A Peaceable Rally Begins in Kyzylorda
In the meantime, 950 miles away within the metropolis of Kyzylorda, on the southern finish of Kazakhstan, individuals have been gathering outdoors the Aray Metropolis Mall at a spot the place taxi drivers often loitered. That morning, police had detained about 20 younger individuals outdoors the mall, and demonstrators have been demanding their launch.
Zhamilya Kassymkanova, 31, an Instagram blogger, arrived on the mall round 1:30 p.m. and started filming. She had no concept that the photographs and movies shot over the following three days would doc the largest unrest within the area. Yerkanat Sarsenbay, 34, a state journalist who’d simply left his job in December, was additionally filming and taking notes.
Though it’s the capital of the Kyzylorda area, town of Kyzylorda — inhabitants 242,000 — doesn’t have any impartial media retailers. Situated about 80 miles from the southern border with Uzbekistan, Kyzylorda is mostly thought of a sleepy steppe city. However its function within the January protest was about to garner town monumental consideration.
By 5 p.m., Zhamilya was taking pictures photographs of a crowd outdoors the mall that had grown so giant individuals have been spilling onto Nazarbayev Avenue. The group then divided, with one half transferring to the middle sq. outdoors the regional court docket and the opposite staying on the mall. Drunken “provocateurs” tried to set fireplace to a big vacation tree outdoors the mall, she stated, after which tried to assault the police. Different protesters stopped them. The police watched however didn’t detain anybody.
At 8:30 p.m. the regional mayor tried to speak to the gang. However individuals shouted over her. One man learn an inventory of calls for. Protesters complained of falling dwelling requirements, rising grocery and gasoline costs, and the poor situation of roads. When the mayor left, protesters attacked her automobile.
Because the evening wore on, extra individuals confirmed up with their households and kids. The protest had the texture of a full of life block celebration, Zhamilya stated. Folks handed out tea and meals. One girl made plov. Protesters took turns studying poems on the microphone. The group sang the nationwide anthem.
Batyrkhan Zhumabaev, 42, a railway employee, referred to as his brother and instructed him it had been a “peaceable march.”
Nobody was ready for a way radically totally different the following day can be.
Crowds gathered in Kyzylorda, too. Photograph credit score: Nameless.
Provocateurs Arrive in Uralsk
Round 8 p.m., again in Uralsk, Lukpan observed a scuffle in entrance of the mayor’s workplace. When he acquired nearer, he noticed about 20 younger males sporting khaki canvas overalls and medical masks. They have been kicking at one other man and shouting: “Let’s get into the mayor’s workplace!”
A good friend requested Lukpan to “speak some sense into these males.” Two individuals lifted him above the gang. Somebody gave him a bullhorn. Lukpan shouted on the males in Kazakh and Russian, saying “What are you doing? It’s a disgrace! Don’t try this! There’s no level. It’s vital for us to take care of our dignity.” He instructed the boys there was no useful property within the mayor’s workplace and requested them to affix the primary crowd.
Lukpan acknowledged he felt conflicted about his function. “I used to be a journalist there, after which within the subsequent minute I used to be a part of the motion.”
Maria Melnikova, a contract reporter at Azattyq, wasn’t stunned Lukpan, her good friend and former colleague at Uralsk Weekly, spoke up.
“Lukpan is doing journalism a distinct manner,” she stated. “He’s at all times had one thing inside him to protest, to insurgent. Typically he’s even aggressive and really emotional.”
Two provocateurs who reeked of alcohol pushed Lukpan. One grabbed his chest. Lukpan and his pals determined to return to the primary sq..
At round 11 p.m., loudspeakers positioned close to the home windows of the mayor’s workplace started to play a recorded message: “Your actions are unlawful, and you have to go.” After the message, a siren sounded for 30 seconds after which every part repeated on a loop.
Regardless of the loud noise, a number of journalists remained, together with Lukpan, Raul, and Maria. Like Lukpan, Raul and Maria have been detained a number of occasions for making an attempt to cowl protests. Raul, 41, a witty man who’s ethnically Russian and Tartar, has efficiently used humor to cut back pressure with police.
Raul Uporov documented the occasions of early January in Uralsk along with his digicam. Photograph supplied by writer.
Maria, 36, a single mom of a 14-year-old boy and 9-year-old woman, hasn’t been so fortunate. In March 2020 throughout the pandemic, she reposted a foolish photograph a few Kazakh monument. The police confirmed up at her home and began a felony investigation towards her for “spreading false data throughout an emergency order.” The case, which carries a 10-year sentence if convicted, stays open and weighs on Maria. Complicating her scenario is that the federal government refuses to present Maria journalist credentials, forcing her to work unofficially and with no byline.
“It’s like I’m a ghost,” she stated.
Shock Grenades
By 3 a.m. on January 5, the gang had thinned significantly. Uralsk Weekly reporter Talgat Umarov, 35, and cameraman, Erkebulan Gapuov, 29, have been the one journalists left on the sq. when police lined up in a row sporting balaclavas and riot shields. Thirty minutes later, they heard loud explosions and noticed smoke.
Talgat instantly considered the documentary footage from the 2011 Zhanaozen Bloodbath — one thing he’d seen two weeks earlier when Lukpan and Raul launched their documentary in regards to the bloodbath on its tenth anniversary, December 16, 2021. The footage reveals police taking pictures at people who find themselves working away. Talgat knew he needed to seize on video what was unfolding on the sq..
Police and safety forces face off with protesters in Uralsk. Photograph credit score: Talgat Umarov and Yerkebulan Gapuov (Uralsk Weekly uralskweek.kz)
“When I discovered myself in a scenario the place grenades have been exploding round me and a convoy of policemen have been coming at me, I used to be scared. I used to be certain that if our policemen got the order to shoot, they are going to shoot,” Talgat stated.
Talgat and Erkebulan filmed the scene, then rushed to the Uralsk Weekly workplaces and referred to as Lukpan, who had simply gone to mattress.
Lukpan remembers the urgency in his good friend’s voice. “He stated lots of people are damage. The police beat up on individuals and arrested them,” Lukpan stated. “There’s a gunfight right here. Everybody’s working.”
Lukpan urged Talgat to publish the video instantly, as a result of they didn’t know the way lengthy earlier than the web can be shut off. The video reveals males milling across the sq.. Then there’s a succession of loud booms. Males are yelling and working. A line of police with shields begins to march towards the protesters. Extra grenades go off and a cloud of smoke descends on the sq. as males scream and run between pine timber adorned with coloured lights and laden with snow.
Smoke, Grenades, and Bullets
Just a few hours later at 8 a.m. in Kyzylorda, police detained about 20 protesters who had stayed all evening and have been blocking Nazarbayev Avenue, a busy thoroughfare, Zhamilya stated.
She arrived round 1 p.m. and started filming protesters gathering on Nazarbayev Avenue. When the police tried to take away them, the protesters and police clashed, she stated. As police superior towards protesters, the gang started throwing stones on the police. Police retaliated with tear fuel, shock grenades, and rubber bullets. Some protesters set vehicles on fireplace. Others hurled fuel onto cops. Police fled.
Zhamilya filmed police buses burning and billowing black smoke coming from a number of authorities buildings. She watched as protesters stole vehicles parked in a authorities storage, then set the storage on fireplace. She noticed individuals looting the press service constructing, finishing up digicam gear.
Yerkanat, the previous state media journalist, lives close to the mall, and ran to the scene. He noticed a person waving a Kazakhstan flag name out to individuals to observe him to the mayor’s workplace. The group marched behind him and chanted “Shal, ket!” — “Previous man out!” — referring to President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has continued to have an iron grip on the nation’s authorities regardless of his March 2019 resignation.
Poster with Nursultan Nazarbayev’s face laying on the bottom in Kyzylorda. Photograph credit score: Zhamilya Kassymkanova
Yerkanat was filming on his telephone when somebody requested him to cease. “They didn’t wish to be held accountable later,” he stated. Zhamilya additionally had a number of protesters curse her and demand she cease filming.
When the gang of a number of thousand reached the mayor’s constructing, they have been met by particular forces troopers, who wore helmets and carried shields and rubber batons. Yerkanat noticed protesters encompass a cameraman from Khabar TV, a state channel primarily based out of Astana, and demand he hand over recordings or they might break his digicam. Then they pressured him to present them each the primary and the backup flash playing cards, Yerkanat stated. Protesters rushed the gates to the mayor’s constructing. That’s when police threw grenades and started firing into the gang.
Farhat Omarov, 29, was shot within the coronary heart and the leg. His mom would discover him within the morgue two days later with “unknown man” written on his leg.
Younger protesters broke home windows. Then the particular forces retreated, Yerkanat stated.
A bunch of individuals urged the demonstrators to storm the police station. Drivers of a truck and automobile rammed the gates defending the police station however couldn’t get by the obstacles. A number of vehicles within the police car parking zone have been set on fireplace. Police fired photographs across the station.
Nursultan Bekbolatov, 28, was driving house from a funeral dinner along with his household when he and three different members of the family in his automobile have been shot. The victims have been rushed to the hospital by one other passing automobile. Bekbolatov died; the opposite members of his household survived.
About the identical time, Zhumabaev — the railway employee who’d bragged in regards to the peaceable rally he’d attended the day before today — arrived on the hospital from a gunshot wound. He died two days later.
After watching protesters make a number of unsuccessful makes an attempt to take over the police constructing, Yerkanat determined it was too harmful and returned house.
Zhamilya was additionally filming outdoors the police division, her palms trembling as she acquired near the gang standing earlier than a hearth on the entrance. Activists and protesters have been making an attempt to free these whom police had detained, she stated. Protesters threw stones on the streetlights and safety cameras to stop their actions from being video recorded.
“I didn’t see anybody that I knew within the chaos,” Zhamilya stated. “They didn’t look like native individuals.”
Like Yerkanat, she thought it wasn’t protected and went house to look after her 9-year-old son and her mom. However even when she reached her home close to the primary police station, she might nonetheless hear gunfire. She locked her doorways and home windows. She and her mom put knives underneath their pillows.
“We have been now liable for our security,” she stated. “We didn’t see any police left within the metropolis.”
Smoke rises within the distance as protesters watch in Kyzylorda in early January 2022. Photograph credit score: Yerbolat Tursynkozh
Detention and Interrogations
On January 5 at 11:30 a.m., Serik Yessenov, a 26-year-old reporter at Uralsk Weekly, was despatched to Abay Sq.. He discovered the place largely empty and blocked off by military-looking police sporting fatigues, balaclavas, and bullet proof vests. Barbed wire was stretched across the perimeter and armored vehicles have been parked in entrance of the regional mayor’s workplace. Police have been detaining anybody within the space, even two males who have been simply driving by.
Two policemen approached Serik, who was filming the scene and sporting a yellow press armband, and tried to remove his digicam. Serik repeatedly shouted that he was a journalist. The police twisted his palms behind his again and dragged him to an armored paddy wagon. Inside two riot policemen sporting balaclavas pushed him right into a seat.
“One of many masked guys seemed as if he have been some type of felony. He had such anger in his eyes,” Serik remembered. “Even when I needed to do one thing, like try to resist, that man was prepared to make use of pressure.”
Serik had managed to cover his cellphone in his denims pocket. He quietly made a name to his editor, Tamara Eslyamova, who instructed him to remain calm and cooperate.
Serik Yessenov, a 26-year-old reporter at Uralsk Weekly, was despatched to Abay Sq. on January 5, 2022, to report on the protests. Photograph supplied by writer.
As soon as on the station, police seized his telephone. As he was escorted inside, he noticed certainly one of his former colleagues, Yessenzhol Yelekenov, being interrogated. Serik thought he didn’t look so good. Police took Serik’s fingerprints and his mugshot. He was listed as No. 463 within the log of those that have been interrogated.
A person in civilian garments interrupted Serik’s interrogation and had him launched. Later Serik realized that Tamara had referred to as the police station and insisted he be launched.
Yessenzhol, although, remained in police custody.
He’d arrived on the sq. about two hours earlier than Serik. Masked officers threw him right into a paddy wagon and beat his legs and hips with picket batons on the way in which to the station, he stated.
Yessenzhol, 32, is a slight man, barely 5 ft, 2 inches tall, and weighs 108 kilos.
On the police station, a State Safety (KNB) officer refused to consider he’d been crushed. As a substitute, the officer instructed Yessenzhol that the KNB knew all about him — that he used to work at Uralsk Weekly and that now he had a brand new web site.
“Don’t you wish to work with us?” the KNB officer requested. “We are able to order you to put in writing a publish on the web site.”
Yessenzhol replied, “You already know that I’m a journalist. I’ll by no means work with policemen.”
The KNB officer threatened to place Yessenzhol in jail if he confirmed up once more on the sq.. The officer returned his telephone, however all his footage of the protest was deleted, he stated.
That very same morning, Lukpan was in search of protesters when police stopped him in his automobile and took him to the police station, the place they questioned him for 5 hours.
OMON guards (riot police) stand within the entrance to the regional mayor’s constructing. Photograph credit score: Raul Uporov.
Silence and Smoldering
On January 6, Uralsk was largely quiet. Whereas nobody had died within the battle with police within the metropolis, a number of individuals have been injured.
In Kyzylorda, the place buildings and vehicles have been nonetheless smoldering, an eerie silence descended on town. Leaflets with Nazarbayev’s face lay tattered on the bottom.
“It was as if these protesters had obtained some type of cease sign,” Zhamilya stated.
For a number of days there was no web within the nation. Zhamilya and a good friend pooled their protest footage and posted the montage on January 18 to KyzylordaGo, the Instagram website Zhamilya manages. Yerkanat wrote an account about what had occurred in Kyzylorda for Azattyq, RFE/RL’s Kazakh-language service, which was printed January 21.
It could take days earlier than Kyzylorda authorities assessed the harm: 24 authorities and enterprise buildings have been broken; 718 individuals have been detained by police; 210 individuals sought medical assist; 33 have been hospitalized.
Greater than the bodily harm, dozens of individuals have been killed, together with a soldier. The true demise rely stays unknown. Yerkanat says he is aware of of 26 individuals who died; Zhamilya made an inventory of 25. Azattyq has reported data on 20 deaths. Of these, all have been males, most underneath 30 years of age.
Yerkanat says little is thought about most victims as a result of regulation enforcement has ordered households to not present data. Police questioned the injured within the hospital and summoned the family of the useless to the police division. Our bodies have been exhumed by police and bullets retrieved, he reported.
Prosecuted
On January 7, at 7:30 a.m., the Uralsk police arrived at Lukpan’s home.
He was interrogated on the police station till 7 p.m. At 8 p.m., he appeared earlier than a decide who sentenced him to 10 days in jail for collaborating in a protest. The video of him attempting to calm the provocateurs was used to convict him.
Journalists Lukpan Akhmedyarov spent January 3 driving round city, in search of protesters. Photograph supplied by writer.
“They didn’t care about me being a journalist,” Lukpan stated. “They needed to chop off all of the heads of these concerned within the rebellion.”
For these 10 days, Lukpan stated he both stared on the wall, or learn books that he’d had the forethought to place in his automobile simply in case he acquired arrested. He plowed by George Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” a e book about Kazakhstan’s historical past referred to as “Usurpers and Imposters of the Steppe Empire,” and Robert Sheckley’s “The Retailer of the Worlds.”
He additionally mirrored on how he’d crossed a line as a journalist by taking over the bullhorn and attempting to quiet the gang.
“I’m acquainted with the ethics of what I did,” he stated. “I don’t remorse something. It was the suitable factor to do. I used to be attempting to stop something unhealthy from occurring. It’s a function of all these post-Soviet international locations that journalists are inclined to turn out to be social activists or human rights activists.”
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Tomorrow, January 5, we are going to observe the story of Kazakhstan’s Bloody January to Ust-Kamenogorsk to Kokshetau
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