On the 11th of April 2023, police in Kazakhstan’s capital robustly dispersed several dozen demonstrators who traveled to the capital from an oil-rich western region with demands for well-paid jobs.

Anger over that crackdown spread quickly among workers from three KazMunaiGaz subsidiary companies (UzenMunaiGaz, UzenMunai Service and Burgylau) in Mangystau. The protesters declared wildcat strikes and spontaneous marches took place in the city of Aktau and in the town of Zhanaozen.

Later that day, the company released a statement mentioning that protesters had returned to their workplaces