Understanding the Zhanaozen Crisis Through the Intercultural Lenses of Eurasianism in Kazakhstan

This chapter analyzes the conflict between the oil workers, the KazMunaiGas oil company, and the local government authorities that took place between May and June 2011 in Zhanaozen, a small town in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The complex ethnic and cultural composition of the Kazakhstani population creates challenges for developing national identity and constructing the Kazakhstan nation. Ongoing reports of some journalists and bloggers from Zhanaozen and the continuous unrest in the region forced President Nursultan Nazarbayev to acknowledge the existence of the conflict and move toward finding some solution to end it. This chapter analyzes the Zhanaozen conflict/crisis through cultural lenses. The firing of a few key figures from top management positions was as close to an apology strategy as Nazarbayev ever got. In view of the current Kazakhstani government, the ideology of Eurasianism, which promotes a peaceful coexistence among all ethnic and cultural groups in Kazakhstan and beyond, should prevail.