The President of Kazakhstan is calling on his nation’s alliance with Russia to help control the ongoing riots

Eight security personnel have already been killed as a result of the mass protests that erupted across the country.

Demonstrators were initially protesting against rising fuel prices but are now also speaking out against the government.

The protestors have reached Kazakhstan’s main airport in Almaty entering the terminal causing staff to flee the area.

The government has called a state of emergency with the President declaring tough measures to contain the demonstrations.

The President called them a “black period” in the nation’s history labelling protestors as “financially motivated”.

One expert on foreign affairs says the protests are “symptomatic of very deep-seated and simmering anger and resentment at the failure of the Kazhak government to modernise their country and introduce reforms that impact people at all levels”.

The current president is the second to hold power in the former Soviet state since it gained independence in 1991.

His 2019 election was criticised by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe for its lack of democratic standards.