The plot thickens: 1) Protests, triggered by gas price spike, start in the West and spread across the country. 2) Protests in Almaty begin in the usual way. 4 Jan day - lots of police, squares are blocked, activists harassed and detained.
3) 4 Jan evening, protestors gather on the Republic square, it is getting unusually crowded, it looks maidan-like, so sympathizers seeing this on social media join. There are also usual provocateurs, and some new people.
(What changed during the day to make this gathering possible? Who are these new people?).
4) it gets messy: explosions, police uses tear gas and stun grenades, crowds storm the akimat building and the presidential residence. (Strangely, the police is not backed up, despite disturbances, and then disappears. (Was it used to ignite the riot and then ordered to retreat?)
5) The hell breaks loose overnight. Hundreds of rough-looking aggressive men, some with guns, terrorize the city, attack and burn government buildings, burn cars, shoot at people, vandalize shops.
(Where is the police? Why is the city left unprotected? Did Nazarbayev clan try to unseat Tokayev this way?)
6) 5 Jan morning - Tokayev sacks the government and Samat Abish (N's nephew, deputy chairman of the KNB) and in the afternoon removes Nazarbayev, and in the meantime, he convinces Putin and Lukashenko to help (Tokayev strikes first and prevents the coup?)
7) 5 Jan - the darkest day in the history of independent Kazakhstan, unimaginable chaos and violence.
8) The CSTO decision is made and it's a signal to Kaz security people that he has an upper hand. 9) 5 Jan evening-night - soldiers and armored vehicles are back on the streets of Almaty, the anti-terrorist operation begins.
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