Russian Troops, Called Up By Kazakhstan's President, Leaving Nation as Protests Dwindle

Russian troops deployed to Kazakhstan last week amid nationwide protests will start withdrawing in two days as the demonstrations and unrest dwindle, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced Tuesday.

The troops were sent to the Central Asian nation last week by a military alliance of six former Soviet states called the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

Tokayev requested the security forces to help quell protests that erupted on January 2 over soaring fuel prices but quickly spread across the nation and grew to signify larger dissatisfaction with Kazakhstan's authoritarian rule. It was the worst public unrest in the country since it gained independence three decades ago, with dozens of civilians and law enforcement officers killed.

Tokayev described the protesters as "terrorists" and stood behind his decision to call in the CSTO troops.

"When this decision was being made, we could have completely lost control over Almaty, which was being torn apart by terrorists. Had we lost Almaty, we would have lost the capital and the entire country," Tokayev told Kazakhstan's parliament on Tuesday.

He declared that the forces had largely fulfilled their mission in Kazakhstan. Once started, the withdrawal process is expected to take no more than 10 days.

In Almaty, Kazakhstan's former capital and largest city, protesters set government buildings on fire and briefly seized the airport. The unrest was largely quelled by the weekend.

Asked whether such a move was premature—the troops only started arriving to Kazakhstan five days ago—Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was "utterly and completely" Kazakhstan's prerogative. "It is their analysis, and we have no right to interfere," Peskov said.

Tokayev also appointed a new prime minister and a new cabinet on Tuesday, with some deputy prime ministers and ministers from the previous government keeping their posts.

Kazakhstan's government resigned last week in one of several concessions aimed at mollifying the protesters, along with a 180-day cap on fuel prices and the ouster of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the country's former longtime leader, from his influential post of head of the National Security Council.

The new prime minister, 49-year-old Alikhan Smailov, previously served as Kazakhstan's minister of finance and its first deputy prime minister.

Life in Almaty, which was hit by the harshest violence, started returning to normal this week, with public transportation resuming operations and malls reopening. The owners of shops looted in the unrest were assessing the damage.

Galina Karpenko's underwear store was ransacked, and she said she lost about $10,000 in stolen goods and damage.

"This is not a small sum for me. It's really not. I closed several outlets because of the crisis, as we couldn't afford the rent. And now, my favorite outlet that was turning a profit and feeding my family took a hit," she said. "I'm so distressed, God is my witness, I don't know how to feed my kids."

Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry on Tuesday reported that 9,900 people were detained over the unrest. Tokayev's office has also said 338 criminal probes into mass unrest and assaults on law enforcement officers have been opened.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.