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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)