Kazakhstan’s brewing crisis

Violence in the country’s energy patch and haziness about who will be replacing its ageing dictator are exacerbating the pain of the oil-price collapse

KAZAKHSTAN is in a state of flux. The central Asian state, which holds the world's 11th largest oil reserves, was the scene of another violent insurrection in June. The government first blamed the incident - which claimed almost two dozen lives in the country's oil belt - on Islamist foreigners out to destablise the country. Then it said it was an attempted coup by a local businessman. Either way, it's a sign of wider problems. A group of young men attacked two firearm shops on 5 June in Aktobe, located 100km from the Russian border, and tried to carry out an attack on a military base to seize arms. Thirteen attackers, five police officers and three soldiers were killed in gunfights. Authori