This handout image grab taken and released by the Russian Defence Ministry on January 6, 2021 shows Russian paratroopers boarding a military cargo plane to depart to Kazakhstan as a 'peacekeeping' force
* 2,500 soldiers of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) are headed for Kazakhstan
* The first CSTO troops arrived earlier today to aid Kazakh forces in quelling violent protests across the country
* The troops of Russia's 'mini NATO' could stay in Kazakhstan for weeks and are permitted to use deadly force
* Officials have said over 1,000 people have been wounded so far, with no official fatality tally being released
* Russian media said Thursday 18 security officers had been killed, with three reportedly being beheaded
* Gunfire continued Thursday evening, with witnesses saying downtown Almaty had turned into a 'war zone'
Around 2,500 soldiers of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) have arrived in Kazakhstan to help quell violent protests, the secretariat of the security bloc said today.
The forces from Russia's 'mini NATO' will stay in Kazakhstan for several days or weeks, and have been given the right to use weapons in Kazakhstan in case they are attacked by 'armed gangs,' according to Russia's RIA news agency.
After they arrived the shooting qwuietened down at the end of a day when gunfire and explosions had rocked the capital Almaty.
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Update: Russia-led bloc reveals if peacekeepers will use deadly force in Kazakhstan (RT)
WNU Editor: Russian media reports are saying that these forces will only be deployed to strategic locations (i.e. airports, critical infrastructure, government buildings, etc.). No mention on how many forces will be sent to Kazakhstan, or will they become directly involved in the fighting.
As to what is my take on the crisis.
The Kremlin was clearly taken by surprise. Just last week Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted both the current Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and his predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev in St. Petersburg at an informal summit of several post-Soviet leaders. No one anticipated that this was going to happen.
This is also a massive intelligence failure for Russia's intelligence services. For a country and government that is a strategic partner and ally of Russia, Russia's intelligence services and foreign ministry were caught flat-footed.
As to what do the Russian people think? I would say that a majority do not want to get involved in this mess. The Kazakhstan government has passed laws that discriminate against the Russian minority in the country, and those in the Kazakh government who have voiced support for closer ties to Moscow have been removed.
So why the deployment of thousands of Russian troops?
My guess is that President Putin regards the current Kazakh leadership to be far more preferable than the alternative that may replace them.
Update #2: Here are two good analysis of the situation (see below).
Russia Takes a Gamble in Kazakhstan (Dmitri Trenin, Carnegie Moscow Center)
Russia’s Involvement in Kazakhstan’s Crisis Could Have Wide Implications (Felix Light, Moscow Times)
2 comments:
I'm waiting for the boss to come out of the White House with some statement. Subject? Up for grabs but hopefully coherent.
LOL!!
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