Social Movements & Civil Rights

Ethnic Unrest in Alma-Ata Over Leadership Change

Riots erupted in Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR, following Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's dismissal of Dinmukhamed Kunaev, a well-regarded ethnic Kazakh First Secretary, and his replacement by Gennady Kolbin, an ethnic Russian from the Russian SFSR. The local population viewed this change as a disregard for Kazakhstan's ethnic composition and a sign of the Kremlin’s indifference toward Kazakh identity. Protests began peacefully but escalated into violent clashes with the authorities, highlighting deep-rooted ethnic tensions in the region.

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