A year after Kazakhstan’s deadly riots, questions persist


              FILE - Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attends the unveiling of a monument in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in a photo released by his Presidential Press Service. The memorial honors those killed in January 2022 in the worst unrest in the Central Asian country’s three decades of independence. The violence, which grew out of peaceful protests of corruption and economic inequality, saw over 200 people killed and thousands detained in what came to be known as “Bloody January.” (Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
            
              FILE - Voters talk to each other at a polling station in Astana, Kazakhstan, Nov. 20, 2022. A snap presidential election delivered a second term to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, with official results saying he won over 81% of the vote. Tokayev called the election, which will keep him in office until 2029, as part of reforms following a wave of unrest in January 2022 that saw over 200 people killed and thousands detained. (AP Photo/Stanislav Filippov, File)
            
              FILE - Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev votes at a polling station in Astana, Kazakhstan, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022, in a handout photo released by his press office. A snap election delivered a second term to Tokayev, with official results saying he won over 81% of the vote. Tokayev called the election, which will keep him in office until 2029, as part of reforms following a wave of unrest in January 2022 that saw over 200 people killed and thousands detained. (Kazakhstan's President Press Office via AP, File)
            
              FILE - A Kazakh soldier patrols a street as relatives of a protester who was detained in anti-government demonstrations gather near a police station in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. With thousands jailed that month after the worst unrest in the Central Asian country’s three decades of independence, friends and relatives of those in custody waited and hoped to learn their fate. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
            
              FILE - Russian peacekeeping troops attend a ceremony of to mark their withdrawal from Almaty, Kazakhstan, Jan. 13, 2022. As Kazakhstan was roiled that month by the worst unrest in the Central Asian nation’s three decades of independence, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev asked for 2,000 of the troops from a Moscow-led regional security alliance to be deployed in his country. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File)
            
              FILE - Municipal workers cover the burned city hall building for repairs in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. As protests over a rise in fuel prices broke out that month and grew into broader criticisms of corruption and economic inequality in the Central Asian country, the government responded with a deadly crackdown. Over 200 people were killed, with thousands detained in the worst unrest in the nation in three decades of independence. (AP 
Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
            
              FILE - In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian peacekeepers guard an area in Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. As Kazakhstan was roiled that month by the worst unrest in the Central Asian nation’s three decades of independence, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev asked for 2,000 of the troops from a Moscow-led regional security alliance to be deployed in his country. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
            
              FILE - In this handout photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, vehicles of Russian peacekeeping troops leave an airport in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. As Kazakhstan was roiled that month by the worst unrest in the Central Asian nation’s three decades of independence, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev asked for 2,000 of the troops from a Moscow-led regional security alliance to be deployed in his country. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
            
              FILE - Soldiers patrol a street near the central square blocked by Kazakhstan troops and police in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Monday, Jan. 10, 2022. As protests over a rise in fuel prices broke out that month and grew into broader criticisms of corruption and economic inequality in the Central Asian country, the government responded with a deadly crackdown. Over 200 people were killed, with thousands detained. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov, File)
            
              FILE - A body of victim covered by a banner, right, lays near to a military truck, which was burned amid unrest in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. As protests over a rise in fuel prices broke out that month and grew into broader criticisms of corruption and economic inequality in the Central Asian country, the government responded with a deadly crackdown. Over 200 people were killed, with thousands detained. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File)
            
              FILE - A car, which was burned after clashes, is seen on a street in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Jan. 7, 2022. As protests over a rise in fuel prices broke out that month and grew into broader criticisms of corruption and economic inequality in the Central Asian country, the government responded with a deadly crackdown. Over 200 people were killed, with thousands detained. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov, File)
            
              FILE - The body of a victim is seen in a damaged car in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. As protests over a rise in fuel prices broke out that month and grew into broader criticisms of corruption and economic inequality in the Central Asian country, the government responded with a deadly crackdown. Over 200 people were killed, with thousands detained. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov, File)
            
              FILE - A riot police officer detains two protesters in a street after clashes in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. The demonstrations, initially peaceful, grew into broad criticisms of corruption and economic inequality in the worst unrest in the Central Asian country in its three decades of independence. Over 200 people were killed, with thousands detained. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov, File)
            
              FILE - Smoke rises from city hall during a protest in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Jan. 5, 2022. The demonstrations, initially peaceful, grew into broad criticisms of corruption and economic inequality in the worst unrest in the Central Asian country in its three decades of independence. Over 200 people were killed, with thousands detained. (AP Photo/Yan Blagov, File)
            
              FILE - Demonstrators ride a truck during a protest in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. The demonstrations, initially peaceful, grew into broad criticisms of corruption and economic inequality in the worst unrest in the Central Asian country in its three decades of independence. Over 200 people were killed, with thousands detained. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File)
            
              FILE - Riot police prepare to block protesters in the center of Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. The demonstrations, initially peaceful, grew into broad criticisms of corruption and economic inequality in the worst unrest in the Central Asian country in its three decades of independence. Over 200 people were killed, with thousands detained. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File)
            
              FILE - Demonstrators stand in front of police during a protest in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. The demonstrations, initially peaceful, grew into broad criticisms of corruption and economic inequality in the worst unrest in the Central Asian country in its three decades of independence. Over 200 people were killed, with thousands detained. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File)
            
              FILE - Protesters raise their cellphones as they gather in the center of Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. The demonstrations, initially peaceful, grew into broad criticisms of corruption and economic inequality in the worst unrest in the Central Asian country in its three decades of independence. Over 200 people were killed, with thousands detained. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File)
            
              FILE - In this photo from Wednesday, March 20, 2019, the interim president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, right, shakes hands with outgoing President Nursultan Nazarbayev after an inauguration ceremony in Astana, Kazakhstan. Demonstrations broke out in the western part of the Central Asian country over an increase in state-controlled gas prices as 2022 began. Those soon spread and became broad criticisms of corruption, economic inequality and a continuing hold on politics and the country's energy wealth by Nazarbayev, the former Soviet country’s first leader, and his family. The unrest left over 200 dead and thousands detained. (AP Photo/File)
            
              FILE - Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, at an unveiling of a memorial to those killed in January 2022 in the worst unrest in the Central Asian country’s three decades of independence. The photo was released by his Presidential Press Service. Words on the memorial speak of the need for unity and harmony in the former Soviet country of 19 million, but a year after calm was restored and a state of emergency lifted on Jan. 20, 2022, both appear elusive. (Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
            
              FILE - Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attends an unveiling of a memorial in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in a photo released by his Presidential Press Service. The monument honors those killed in January 2022 in the worst unrest in the Central Asian country’s three decades of independence. Words on the memorial speak of the need for unity and harmony in the former Soviet country of 19 million, but a year after calm was restored and a state of emergency lifted on Jan. 20, 2022, both appear elusive. (Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
            
              FILE - Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, at an unveiling of a memorial to those killed in January 2022 in the worst unrest in the Central Asian country’s three decades of independence. The photo was released by his Presidential Press Service. Words on the memorial speak of the need for unity and harmony in the former Soviet country of 19 million, but a year after calm was restored and a state of emergency lifted on Jan. 20, 2022, both appear elusive. (Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
            
              FILE - In this photo released by Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attends an unveiling a memorial to the hundreds of people killed amid the worst unrest in Kazakhstan's three decades of independence in January of 2022 in Republic Square, in the heart of the country's former capital Almaty, Kazakhstan, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Lettering on the stark concrete steles of the "Tagzym" ("Reverence") memorial spoke of the need for unity and harmony a year on from the events dubbed "bloody January." (Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
            
              FILE - Voters talk to each other while leaving voting booths at a polling station in Astana, Kazakhstan, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022. A snap presidential election in late November delivered a second term to President Tokayev, with official election figures saying he netted over 81% of the vote. Final results showed that over 77% of voters supported the changes, which included stripping Nazarbayev of his remaining state posts and veto powers over important areas of domestic and foreign policy. (AP Photo/Stanislav Filippov, File)
            
              FILE - A Kazakhstan soldier patrols a street as relatives of the arrested after anti-government protests gather near a police station in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. With about 12,000 people arrested after anti-government protests in Kazakhstan last week, friends and relatives of those held by police waited outside a jail, hoping to learn their fate. According to figures released by the Kazakh Prosecutor General's office, 238 people were killed in the January unrest. Rights campaigners have criticized the government-published list of victims for not clarifying the circumstances of their deaths. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
            
              FILE - Municipal workers cover the burnt city hall building for repairing in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. At Tokayev's request, 2,000 peacekeepers from the Moscow-led CSTO security alliance were deployed to Kazakhstan, leading to speculation about possible direct intervention by the Kremlin. These fears did not come to pass, with the CSTO announcing in late January that its troops had pulled out without firing a single shot. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
            
              FILE - In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian peacekeepers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization guard an area in Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. To quell the violence, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev requested help from a Russia-led security alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The bloc of six former Soviet states sent more than 2,000 troops. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
            
              FILE - A body of victim covered by a banner, right, lays near to a military truck, which was burned after clashes, in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. The government, by then led by Nazarbayev's close ally Tokayev, responded with a deadly clampdown, culminating in a "shoot-to-kill" order as the president blamed "terrorists" allegedly funded and trained from abroad. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File)
            
              FILE - A car, which was burned after clashes, is seen on a street in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. The government, by then led by Nazarbayev's close ally Tokayev, responded with a deadly clampdown, culminating in a "shoot-to-kill" order as the president blamed "terrorists" allegedly funded and trained from abroad. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov, File)
            
              FILE - The body of a victim is seen in a damaged car in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. The government, by then led by Nazarbayev's close ally Tokayev, responded with a deadly clampdown, culminating in a "shoot-to-kill" order as the president blamed "terrorists" allegedly funded and trained from abroad. ​(AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov, File)
            
              FILE - Smoke rises from the city hall building during a protest in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. The gatherings were initially peaceful, but over the course of a week, groups of armed men appeared in Almaty, some seen riding in cars without license plates or with their faces covered. Participants of peaceful marches told the AP at the time that these men had urged them to storm government buildings, promising to give them guns. (AP Photo/Yan Blagov, File)
            
              FILE - Demonstrators ride a truck during a protest in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. Demonstrators denouncing the doubling of prices for liquefied gas have clashed with police in Kazakhstan's largest city and held protests in about a dozen other cities in the country. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File)
            
              FILE - Riot police prepare to block protesters in the center of Almaty, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. The gatherings were initially peaceful, but over the course of a week, groups of armed men appeared in Almaty, some seen riding in cars without license plates or with their faces covered. Participants of peaceful marches told the AP at the time that these men had urged them to storm government buildings, promising to give them guns. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File)
            
              FILE - Demonstrators stand in front of police line during a protest in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. Demonstrators denouncing the doubling of prices for liquefied gas have clashed with police in Kazakhstan's largest city and held protests in about a dozen other cities in the country. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File)
            
              FILE - Protesters light by their smartphones as they gather in the center of Almaty, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. The gatherings were initially peaceful, but over the course of a week, groups of armed men appeared in Almaty, some seen riding in cars without license plates or with their faces covered. Participants of peaceful marches told the AP at the time that these men had urged them to storm government buildings, promising to give them guns. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File)
            
              FILE - Kazakhstan's interim president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, right, and outgoing Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev shake hands after an inauguration ceremony in Astana, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, March 20, 2019. Demonstrations broke out Jan. 2 in western Kazakhstan's oil-producing region over an increase in state-controlled gas prices as 2022 began. Those protests soon spread to the cities and morphed into broad criticisms of corruption, economic inequality and a continuing hold on politics and the country's energy wealth by its long-serving first leader, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and his family. Marchers referred to him by shouting "Old man out!" (AP Photo/File)
            
              FILE - In this photo released by Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaks during an unveiling a memorial to the hundreds of people killed amid the worst unrest in Kazakhstan's three decades of independence in January of 2022 in Republic Square, in the heart of the country's former capital Almaty, Kazakhstan, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Wisps of fog hung over central Almaty, Kazakhstan, last month as President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev somberly unveiled a monument to those killed a year ago in a wave of unrest that was the worst in the Central Asian nation's three decades of independence. (Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
            
              FILE - In this photo released by Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attends an unveiling a memorial to the hundreds of people killed amid the worst unrest in Kazakhstan's three decades of independence in January of 2022 in Republic Square, in the heart of the country's former capital Almaty, Kazakhstan, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Words on the stark concrete "Reverence" memorial speak of the need for unity and harmony in the former Soviet country. But a year after calm was restored and a state of emergency lifted on Jan. 20, 2022, both appear elusive in the country of 19 million. (Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
            
              FILE - In this photo released by Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaks to people as he attends an unveiling a memorial to the hundreds of people killed amid the worst unrest in Kazakhstan's three decades of independence in January of 2022 in Republic Square, in the heart of the country's former capital Almaty, Kazakhstan, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Words on the stark concrete "Reverence" memorial speak of the need for unity and harmony in the former Soviet country. But a year after calm was restored and a state of emergency lifted on Jan. 20, 2022, both appear elusive in the country of 19 million. (Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
            FILE - An armed riot police officer detains two protesters during a security anti-terrorists operation in a street after clashes in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. The government, by then led by Nazarbayev's close ally Tokayev, responded with a deadly clampdown, culminating in a "shoot-to-kill" order as the president blamed "terrorists" allegedly funded and trained from abroad. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov, File) FILE - In this handout photo released by Kazakhstan's President Press Office, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev casts his ballot at a polling station in Astasna, Kazakhstan, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022. A snap presidential election in late November delivered a second term to President Tokayev, with official election figures saying he netted over 81% of the vote. Final results showed that over 77% of voters supported the changes, which included stripping Nazarbayev of his remaining state posts and veto powers over important areas of domestic and foreign policy. (Kazakhstan's President Press Office via AP, File) FILE - Russian peacekeepers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization attend the official ceremony of starting withdraw its troops in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. At Tokayev's request, 2,000 peacekeepers from the Moscow-led CSTO security alliance were deployed to Kazakhstan, leading to speculation about possible direct intervention by the Kremlin. These fears did not come to pass, with the CSTO announcing in late January that its troops had pulled out without firing a single shot. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP, File) FILE - Soldiers patrol a street near the central square blocked by Kazakhstan troops and police in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Monday, Jan. 10, 2022. The government, by then led by Nazarbayev's close ally Tokayev, responded with a deadly clampdown, culminating in a "shoot-to-kill" order as the president blamed "terrorists" allegedly funded and trained from abroad. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov, File) FILE - In this handout photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, vehicles of Russian peacekeepers leave an airport of Almaty, Kazakhstan, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. At Tokayev's request, 2,000 peacekeepers from the Moscow-led CSTO security alliance were deployed to Kazakhstan, leading to speculation about possible direct intervention by the Kremlin. These fears did not come to pass, with the CSTO announcing in late January that its troops had pulled out without firing a single shot. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
A year after Kazakhstan’s deadly riots, questions persist