Kazakhstan eyes post-riot restoration as situation stabilizes

Also on Saturday, Tokayev relieved Azamat Abdymomunov, who was the deputy secretary of Kazakhstan's powerful Security Council.

This came after Tokayev dismissed Karim Masimov, who was chairman of Kazakhstan's National Security Committee, on Wednesday. He was detained a day later on suspicion of high treason.

The Commonwealth of Independence States (CIS) Executive Committee said in a statement on Saturday that "the bandits" prepared in advance for the mass demonstrations in order to destabilize the situation in Kazakhstan, and that they had received support from abroad.