Hunger Stalks Central Asia as the Ukraine War Unfolds

Tokayev spent part of his State of the Nation speech speaking about the inflation of energy and food prices. He spoke about the need for the government to oversee the production of agricultural equipment, fertilizers, fuel and the stocks of seeds.

by Vijay PrashadOn March 16, 2022, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivered his State of the Nation address in Nur-Sultan. Most of Tokayev's speech was about the political reforms in Kazakhstan he had either accomplished or planned to advance, after he had promised them as redress to January's political unrest and protests against the Kazakh government.

He also addressed the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on Kazakhstan during his speech and pointed to the spikes in food prices and currency volatility as some of the worrying economic consequences being faced by the country as a fallout of this conflict.table " " 0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto class="tr-caption" Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart TokayevThe address by Tokayev was made four days before the holiday of Nauryz, which fell on March 20 and is a new year festival celebrated by people in the belt that runs from the Kurdish lands to the Kyrgyz lands.

Households across Kazakhstan were preparing for this celebration, although inflation of food prices--which predated the Russian intervention in Ukraine and the resulting Western sanctions imposed on the Kremlin--had already dampened the mood of the festivities in the country; by mid-March, the National Bank of Kazakhstan had reported that prices of food products such as baked goods, cereals, vegetables and dairy--the important components of a Nauryz meal--had increased by 10 percent."Kazakhstan is facing unprecedented financial and economic difficulties in our modern history due to the escalation of the geopolitical situation," President Tokayev said.

The "harsh sanctions" imposed on Russia by the West are already impacting the global economy, he said, adding, "Uncertainty and turbulence in the world markets are growing, and production and trade chains are collapsing." Rising food prices and financial turbulence--a result of both the Western sanctions on Russia and of the integration of national economies--have set the alarm bells ringing and seem to have heightened the urgency to resolve these issues in Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan.

Famine and HungerTokayev spent part of his State of the Nation speech speaking about the inflation of...