KZBlog

So far, there is not much written about this, but yesterday, while the President was in Western Kazakhstan, there was a protest in Atyrau—the capital of offshore oil in Kazakhstan. 300 people stood in front of the oblast akim’s office with signs that said “We support Kazakhstan but the akim has to go!” This wasn’t the first time this happened, though I am hard put to find documentation and welcome some details.

This time it worked, and while official sources are not referring to the cause, Bergey Ryskaliyev, formerly head of Aktobe city (EDIT: head of Atyrau city), is the new akim. Meanwhile, the old akim has been made Minister of the Economy and Budget Planning, relieving the Deputy Prime Minister, Karim Massimov, of this position.

Atyrau, like the other oil-rich province Mangiastau, has some of the highest incomes in the nation and some of the worst human development indicators. All the benefits of oil are captured by a small group of urban (often foreign) businessmen and the rest of the region suffers poor education, health care, and access to decent jobs. It’s no wonder the people are upset as they watch Italian and American oilmen race around in super cars!

As the UNDP reports,

Paradoxically, Atyrau and Mangystau oblasts, the leaders in production per capita in the country, have the 2nd and 3rd largets proportions of poor people. In 2001, almost every rural resident in Mangystau oblast lived below subsistence minimum.

Likely this is why Nazrbayev has chosen to prolong his trip in Mangiastau.