Shadow Of 'Bloody January' Unrest Stalks Kazakhstan

Almaty, Kazakhstan, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Jul, 2022 ) :Red plastic embellishes the canvas of painter Saule Suleimenova, depicting the starting point of the lethal unrest that shook Kazakhstan at the beginning of the year.

The dark, brooding wall-sized piece shows the main square of the Central Asian country's largest city, Almaty, with its distinctive Soviet-era buildings and independence-era monument celebrating Kazakh statehood.

With her distinctive "cellophane painting" technique, Suleimenova sought to capture a violent moment in Kazakhstan's modern history that remains full of unanswered questions six months on.

The republic's winter of discontent began with peaceful protests over a hike in fuel prices before descending into chaos, leaving 238 people dead and becoming known as "Bloody January".

Government critics say the authorities' handling of the protests was full of abuses.

The state, meanwhile, insists that the country witnessed a terrorist-led coup attempt in January -- a narrative that has been met with widespread scepticism.

Painter Suleimenova has tried to convey the sense of injustice surrounding the events in her work.

She said her motivation to convey a collective mood during January grew stronger after Russia -- which sent troops to Kazakhstan to help bolster a regime in disarray -- invaded Ukraine the following month.

"With the colour (red), I wanted to express the condition we have been living through this year," she told AFP at an exhibition of her work in Almaty.