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1 1 (January 11, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govekfi0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research SerVec informing Ih legiative debat s 1n . 114 Updated January 11, 2023 Kazakhstan Overview Kazakhstan, a U.S. partner in areas such as counterterrorism, regional security, and nuclear nonproliferation, is a strategically situated country with significant hydrocarbon and mineral resources. It shares borders with Russia to the north and China to the east (see Figure 1). Although sparsely populated, Kazakhstan is the world's ninth-largest country by land area. Previously a republic of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan became independent in 1991. Since then, the authoritarian government has introduced market reforms, developed the energy sector, and moved to diversify its economy. Kazakhstan pursues a multi-vector foreign policy, seeking to balance relations with major powers while actively participating in international organizations. Following unprecedented unrest in January 2022, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has moved to consolidate power while his country confronts difficult geopolitical and economic dynamics in the wake of Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Some Members of Congress express interest in expanding U.S. engagement with Kazakhstan, supporting its political reform process, and encouraging democratization. Kazakhstan has refused to endorse Russia's invasion and provided humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, leading some analysts to suggest that Kazakhstan is moving away from Russia's influence, which may present new opportunities for U.S. engagement. Other Members express concern about Kazakhstan's human rights record and have called for a review of U.S. security assistance in the wake of the January 2022 unrest. Politkal Background Reforms introduced by Tokayev are aimed at restructuring Kazakhstan's political system and annulling the privileged position of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who held office for nearly three decades until his 2019 resignation. While authorities tout ongoing reforms as moving the country in a more democratic direction, skeptics question the degree to which Kazakhstan will implement genuine democratization. Tokayev, seen as Nazarbayev's hand-picked successor, won a snap presidential election in 2019. Nazarbayev initially maintained significant powers, leading some analysts to term Kazakhstan's government a duopoly. That changed in January 2022, when initially peaceful demonstrations over economic inequality and corruption became the largest and most violent protests in Kazakhstan's history, leaving over 200 dead. Tokayev referred to the events as an attempted coup. Many analysts contend that figures associated with Nazarbayev took advantage of genuine popular protests to pursue an intra-elite power struggle. As Tokayev moved to control the situation, he appealed for assistance from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russia-led security alliance to which Kazakhstan belongs. In the first deployment in the organization's history, a CSTO mission of roughly 2,500 mostly Russian troops spent about two weeks in Kazakhstan. In a move some analysts see as part of Tokayev's efforts to reduce Nazarbayev's influence, Kazakhstan held a constitutional referendum on June 5, 2022. Voters approved changes curtailing some presidential powers and removing mentions of Nazarbayev from the constitution. Tokayev said the constitutional changes would shift Kazakhstan from a super-presidential form of government to a presidential republic with a strong parliament. Following additional legislation extending the presidential term from five years to seven and imposing a one-term limit, a snap presidential election was held in November, two years ahead of schedule, with Tokayev winning 81% of the vote. Observers from the Organization for Security and Co- operation in Europe (OSCE) deemed the electoral contest lacking competitiveness. Figure I. Map of Kazakhstan Source: CRS Human Rights and Civil Society. According to the U.S. State Department, serious human rights issues in Kazakhstan include restrictions on freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association; the absence of an independent judiciary; and arbitrary detention, torture, and unlawful or arbitrary killings by police. The nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch assesses that Kazakhstan's government has been engaging in a multi-year crackdown on government critics. Reporters Without Borders ranks Kazakhstan 122nd out of 180 countries in its 2022 World Press Freedom Index. Economic inequality and a perceived lack of government accountability have fueled grassroots discontent in recent years. In 2011, protests by oil workers in the western town of Zhanaozen turned violent, leaving at least 15 demonstrators dead and dozens injured after police opened

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