Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan to put down deadly uprising
I traveled many post-Soviet countries in the past years with my old camping car. My personal impressions in Kazakhstan were frightening. A deeply corrupt state, much worse than Russia.<p>Aggressive armed bandits in police uniform tried to rob me several times. Kazakhstan is true mafia state where every part of the regime tries to enrich itself at the expanse of the people.<p>In contrast to the rich oil elite there are the normal people who often not even have tap water in the villages. And who live often in constant fear of being robbed by the armed forces.<p>But why is such a dysfunctional dictatorship so stable? Why did it last for three decades?
The situation is very similar to Azerbaijan. I believe the answer is: it is backed by the West because a stable dictator in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan guarantees the oil flow.