London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Nazarbayev did not leave Kazakhstan amid protests, his office claims

Nazarbayev did not leave Kazakhstan amid protests, his office claims

Social media was flooded with reports of country’s first president taking flight
Kazakhstan’s first independent leader, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has not left his homeland and remains in the capital, where he has been holding consultations with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, his spokesman claimed on Saturday.

The whereabouts of Nazarbayev – an influential veteran politician who ruled Kazakhstan for almost 30 years, from 1991 up to his resignation in 2019 – were unknown for some time, as the nation was engulfed in a series of unprecedented protests that led to outbreaks of violence.

Following his 2019 departure from office, Nazarbayev retained his vast political influence since he took over as the head of Kazakhstan’s National Security Council and also kept his ‘Elbasy’ (‘Leader of the Nation’) title, held since 2010.

The last time he’d made a public appearance was in late December, when he visited an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) – an organization comprising most former Soviet Republics. During that trip to St. Petersburg, Nazarbayev met Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Incumbent President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev relieved Nazarbayev of his duties as the head of Kazakhstan’s National Security Council amid protests on January 5.

Nazarbayev also did not make any public statements during days of riots, which drew the focus of the wider world. His absence from public life sparked a flurry of reports suggesting the inaugural president might have fled, or been otherwise incapacitated.

Some social media posts suggested that state officials had even started refraining from calling the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan amid the ongoing protests. Previously known as Astana, the city was renamed after Nazarbayev in 2019. Others pointed to a monument to Nazarbayev being destroyed by an angry crowd of protesters.

Western social media was particularly alive with reports claiming that he and his “clan” members had fled to the UAE or even China. On Saturday, the first president’s spokesman, Aidos Ukibay, claimed on Twitter that Nazarbayev is still in the Kazakh capital, where he “holds a series of advisory meetings” and is “in direct contact” with the incumbent president, Tokayev.

Ukibay also called on people and the media not to spread “false or speculative information” about his employer.

Kazakhstan has seen unprecedented protests over surging fuel prices for about a week now. The demonstrations spiraled out of control and turned into violent riots that saw armed protesters fighting law enforcement officers and ransacking government buildings. Dozens have been killed in such incidents, including civilians and security officials. Almost 4,000 people were detained as of Friday.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
×