The Kazakh government has resigned following protests over rising oil prices

The Kazakh government stepped down on Wednesday after protests erupted over rising fuel prices on several major cities, marking a major test for President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The demonstrations, which have been described as the largest in Kazakhstan’s history after the Soviet Union occupied an obscure television screen, are a rare phenomenon in a country that is largely under control. Kazakhstan, like Russia and other countries in the region, has been struggling to cope with rising prices of basic necessities amid the economic crisis.

Late Tuesday, the government announced an emergency in the city of Almaty and the western part of Mangystau until January 19, with thousands of people taking part in a three-day march on oil prices and a series of political protests.

Tokayev, who entered the service as a loyal companion to a longtime ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev Following the football vote in 2019, he said the case was in the state and on Wednesday morning he agreed to resign. He also appointed a new interim prime minister.

Protests have continued since the announcement, with hundreds of demonstrations seeking to destroy the Almaty mayor’s office, a video show on television, in which police responded and fired deadly bombs. Some films show police vehicles being burned down and protesters continue to march in the streets.

More than 200 people have been arrested so far, the interior ministry says, during the war when security forces fired tear gas. At least 100 police officers have been injured, the ministry said.

The mayor of Almaty denounced the “insiders of internal and external violence” who he said were responsible for “disruptive attempts and extremes”.

Some journalists and commentators in Moscow have criticized the unknown foreign forces for launching protests in Kazakhstan to disrupt the eastern part of Russia, ahead of talks as Moscow seeks to discuss Western powers.

Washington, Moscow and NATO are preparing meet to discuss next week, as Russia seeks to enforce “security guarantees” to reduce the size of the European Union war.

A spokesman for Russia’s state-run news agency RIA said this was in line with a new attempt to initiate “ethnic change” in the former Soviet Union, citing the many conflicts that have erupted in Russia’s former Soviet Union. Russian politicians have in the past criticized the rebels for their involvement in Western affairs.

The first demonstration in Mangystau this week caused protesters to be doubled by the price of crude oil – which is widely used as cheap fuel in cars – up to 120 cents per liter, equivalent to 0.27 cents.

Some Western officials agreed to lower the price of oil, but protesters demanded new changes, including a change in lifestyle, the expulsion of parliament and the resignation of Nazarbayev from his post as “National Leader”, when, according to reports, he and control over major parts of the country.

Tokayev formed a special government committee to reach an agreement, and promised to discuss “social and economic needs”, according to His Twitter account.

“I urge observers not to follow the call for destructive power, which seeks to disrupt the peace and unity of our people,” Tokayev wrote Tuesday night.