Nuraly Khan, faced with popular pressure, had unsuccessfully demanded that the Russian government remove grazing restrictions along the Ural River in 1742.
During the second half of the 18th century, the junior-zhuz Kazakhs suffered as a result of Russian colonial policy and the aggressive actions of the Yaik Cossack army.
[3] During the peasant uprising, led by Yemelyan Pugachev, the biy Dautbai urged the Kazakhs to support the rebels.
Datuly supported Igelström's reforms during the uprising, but the Russian government refused to implement them in the junior juz because of growing anti-monarchist sentiment in Russia.
Detachments unable to conduct military operations against rebel guerrilla units attacked peaceful Kazakh villages.
To deprive the rebels of support from the auls, the head of the military board ordered the "Kirghiz-Kaisak bandits" pushed to the Emba.
[8] Jäñgir-Kerei Khan (1825–1845) regarded the horde's territory as the domain of him and his family, and popular discontent triggered a rebellion.
Otemisuly, Taymanuly's friend and an elder of the Bersh tribe, played a major role in defining the aims of the uprising in his poetry: weakening the khan's power, improving conditions for the poor, and changing the imperial land policy.
Kenesary demanded that Russia restore the independence of the Kazakh Steppe under Abylai Khan, stop collecting taxes and dismantle the fortresses.
Kazakhs were taxed for working and living in nearby Russian settlements, and an unsuccessful rebellion began in the Ural and Turgai Oblasts.
[13] Despite a small initial success, the rebels were unable to take the Alexander Fort by storm, after which they resisted for some time until they were finally finished off by the Russian expedition.
The Zhanaozen massacre, over the weekend of 16–17 December 2011, occurred amid clashes between protesters and police who were attempting to evict them from a square in preparation for an Independence Day celebration.
Authorities accused "bandits" of joining the protesters and beginning the riots, producing video to support their version of events.
[20] General Prosecutor Askhat Daulbayev said that "civilians, who had gathered in the main square to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the country's independence, were attacked by a group of hooligans".
[21] The Kazakh opposition TV channel K-Plus broadcast the beginning of the unrest, as men purported to be oil workers ran on a stage, tipped over the speakers and pushed civilians before police arrived.