“I found my parents’ remains in their burnt-out car.” Voices from the streets of Kazakhstan

By Joanna Lillis

Dauren Bitkembayev is the same age as his country. In December 1991, an independent Kazakhstan emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union. Last December, Bitkembayev celebrated his 30th birthday and Kazakhstan marked three decades as a sovereign state, its leaders hailing the political and economic success story they claim to have built.

Almaty, where Bitkembayev lives, is Kazakhstan’s largest city and its financial and cultural capital. In early January its snowy streets are usually packed with people bearing cakes and flowers as they visit friends and family, and its trendy bars are chock-a-block. But this year, Almaty descended into chaos: peaceful protests over rising fuel prices turned into demonstrations against Kazakhstan’s autocratic regime. Violence and gunfights followed, after mobs hijacked the rallies.