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epa09672806 Kazakh people enjoy the snow weather in downtown Nur-Sultan, the capital city of Kazakhstan, 08 January 2022. Mass protests erupted in the Central Asian country in the first days of 2022, amid the discontent of the residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the west of the country after the rise in prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is widely used to refuel cars. Subsequently, protesters took to the streets in other cities, where several clashes with security forces made victims from all sides. Kazakh President Tokayev dismissed the government and ordered the introduction of regulation of selling prices for fuel, but the unrest continued. He also headed a Security Council, at the first meeting of which he called the situation in Kazakhstan 'undermining the integrity of the state' and said that he had turned to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for help. During the riots, members of the CSTO organization sent collective peacekeeping forces to the country at the request of the Kazakh president. EPA/RADMIR FAHRUTDINOV