[47] In an 11 January speech to the Parliament, Tokayev promised reform and acknowledged public discontent over income inequality and criticized Nazarbayev and his associates over their wealth.

The Central Election Commission said that 77.18% of Sunday's votes were in favour of the amendments, which decentralise decision-making in the oil-rich country and strip former strongman Nursultan Nazarbayev of his "national leader" status.

[26] During this time, international observers did not recognize any of the elections in Kazakhstan as being free or fair,[26] with Nazarbayev ruling the nation through authoritarianism, nepotism and detaining opponents, according to The Daily Telegraph and many other sources.

During that time, the price for a litre of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a mix of butane and propane that is a common vehicle fuel in Zhanaozen, was around 30–35 tenge and has repeatedly risen since then.

According to Darkhan Sharipov of the Oyan, Qazaqstan activist group, protestors wanted "real political reforms" and "fair elections", and were angry about "corruption and nepotism".

[62] According to Kazakh Prosecutor General Berik Asylov, under controlled chaos, the operation to remove the country’s top leadership was carefully planned.

[65] President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had instructed the government to consider the situation in Mangystau Region by "taking into account economic feasibility in the legal field".

[69] Mangystau akim Nurlan Nogaev visited the rally, reminding the crowd that the Kazakh government had reduced the price of gas and that the Agency for the Protection and Development of Competition had launched an antitrust probe into gas suppliers for a suspected price collusion; he urged the protestors to maintain public order and suggested that they hold a constructive dialogue with the authorities.

[71] From there, clashes broke out between both parties with the security forces using stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the protesters who in-turn vandalized police cars and setting some of them ablaze.

[71][72] Armoured military vehicles were spotted throughout the streets of Almaty during the night of unrest which videos on social media later showed them fleeing by chasing protesters.

[77] In spite of Sagintayev's remarks, explosions of stun grenades were continued to be heard throughout Almaty in early morning with protesters setting up barricades and clashing with the National Guard in central streets.

On the same day, a Reuters correspondent reported thousands of protesters pressing ahead towards Almaty city centre after security forces failed to disperse them with tear gas and stun grenades.

[26] By around late evening, chaos had broken out in Almaty as large numbers of riot police began to arrive as automatic gunshots were being heard throughout the city with armed demonstrators and security forces exchanging fire while residents were urged to stay away from the streets by loudspeakers.

[95] Various state-media agency buildings stationed in Almaty were burnt down and looting had taken place in which grocery stores, banks, ATMs, and shopping centers were targeted.

[100] Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry issued a statement saying: "Employees of the Almaty police department have launched a mop-up operation in the streets of Karasay-batyr and Masanchi.

The interior ministry said 2,298 people had been arrested during the unrest, while the police spokesperson Saltanat Azirbek told state news channel Khabar 24 that "dozens of attackers were liquidated".

[103] 3,000 Russian paratroopers arrived in Kazakhstan on the morning of 6 January, after president Tokayev made a formal request for assistance to the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

[107] Russia's Defence Ministry stated that more than 70 planes were flying, around the clock, to bring Russian troops into Kazakhstan and that they were helping to control Almaty's main airport.

[118][119] On 9 January, the interior ministry, said initial estimates put property damage at about 175 million euros, adding that more than 100 businesses and banks had been attacked and looted and about 400 vehicles destroyed.

[126] On 11 January, in a speech to an online meeting of the CSTO military alliance by video link, Tokayev said that order had now been restored in Kazakhstan and called the protests over.

[127] Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in defending Kazakhstan from what he described as a "foreign-backed terrorist uprising", and promised leaders of other ex-Soviet states that a Moscow-led alliance (CSTO) would protect them too.

[128] In a speech to parliament regarding the past days, Tokayev promised reform and acknowledged public discontent over income inequality and criticized Nazarbayev and his associates due to their wealth.

He spoke of initiatives to narrow the wealth gap, raise taxes on the mining sector, and eliminate irregularities in state procurement and areas where associates of Nazarbayev have business interests.

"[136] Joanna Lillis, writing in Eurasianet on 7 January, described Tokayev's shoot to kill declared policy and his terminology, including "bandits and terrorists ... to be eliminated", as resembling that of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Kislov claimed that Nazarbayev's nephew Samat Abish, who was previously deputy head of the Kazakh State Security Service before being ousted by Tokayev, was responsible for orchestrating much of the violence.

[141] Sergey Khestanov, macroeconomic adviser to the general director of Otkritie-Broker, claimed that the massive protests weren't caused directly due to economic factors, suggesting Kazakhstan's high standard of living within the former Soviet Union comparably to Russia and that the average age in Kazakhstan being relatively young leads to higher social activity, which played role in fueling discontent due to "a sufficiently long, stable and powerful economic growth" being "sharply inhibited".

[148] According to Chevron Corporation, which operates Tengiz Field, the production of oil was reduced after its contractors had disrupted railway lines in support of the protests.

[2] Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: "Peacekeeping forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization were sent to the Republic of Kazakhstan for a limited time to stabilize and normalize the situation."

[158] According to CSTO, its armed forces are only authorised to participate in the protection of strategic infrastructure facilities, including Almaty International Airport and Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in south-central Kazakhstan.

[47] On 7 January, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's regional anti-terrorist structure announced that it was ready to extend assistance to Kazakhstan upon request, and voiced support for the Kazakh government's security measures.