Exactly. The supposed "stability" of authoritarian dictatorships is a complete illusion. They look stable because there's no one exposing how very brittle they

Exactly. The supposed "stability" of authoritarian dictatorships is a complete illusion. They look stable because there's no one exposing how very brittle they are, how much discontent is bubbling below the surface. That's why nothing at all was happening in Tunisia until a fruit stand owner set himself on fire and it all came crushing down. So it is here in Kazakhstan, except Russians come to the rescue to prop up the dictatorship. They probably realize the parallels with their own.