Top Officials in Kazakhstan Dodge Independent Journalists

Instead, only the routine promises have become traditional: After that first conference, the president and his press secretary Berik Uali announced twice that there would be another press conference without actually setting a date. For more than five years, Tokayev has not met with the press in this format, only appearing at short briefings, mainly after meetings with foreign guests.

The president is not the only high-ranking official who does not meet with journalists: Since his appointment in early February this year, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov has not appeared in front of the media.

Vlast spoke with journalists working with government agencies about the obstacles they encounter with accessing information and officials. Political analysts also offered their take on why the authorities remain so closed.

Ahead of his reelection in November 2022, Tokayev announced a “big press conference” in case of victory.

“If I am elected, a big press conference must be held at the end of the year or early next year,” he promised.

This year in February, Berik Uali, Tokayev’s press secretary, promised that the president would hold a press conference in the first half of 2024. The promise was broken and the press conference held five years ago remains the only one.

The Akorda website and official social network channels are the only official sources of information through which journalists receive updates from the president. Journalists have almost no opportunity to ask the president a question directly. The Akorda press service told Vlast that during the 2022 elections there were a few briefings. Therefore, the last opportunity to ask a question was two years ago.

“Vlast reporters have also had the opportunity to address questions directly to the president on more than one occasion. In particular, correspondent Tamara Vaal asked him questions at a briefing for media representatives on the results of the referendum on 5 June 2022 and at a briefing after voting in the early presidential elections on 20 November 2022. In this regard, the assertion about ‘the lack of access for journalists to the president’ seems unfounded,” the Akorda press service told Vlast in a written response.

During the last parliamentary elections on 19 March 2023, journalists were unable to ask Tokayev any questions, because while ​​the president was expected to cast his ballot at 9 am, he decided to get to the polling station when it opened at 7 am.

The Akorda press service also noted that holding a press conference for the media “remains on the agenda” of the president. They also added that “the president regularly holds briefings for journalists following talks with foreign leaders and meets with media representatives during various events.” The press service did not specify what events they were referring to.

In an interview with the state news agency Kazinform, Berik Uali said that in 2023, Tokayev held eight briefings for journalists after talks with heads of other states. However, he failed to mention that access is restricted. Most of the accredited journalists end up being relegated to the press center on another floor of the building, watching the briefing through a monitor without the opportunity to ask questions.

Journalist Serik Ordabay, host of the ORDA LIFE YouTube channel, sees no point in being accredited at Akorda.

“I try not to go to heads of state meetings: We can get nothing besides official information there. We have to show up at Akorda a few hours beforehand, and then agonizingly wait for the presidents for two, three hours. What is the point of going to Akorda if you can’t ask a single question?,” Ordabay said.

The Akorda press service told Vlast that all accredited media outlets are invited to attend briefings, adding that journalists are sent to press rooms “to ensure comfortable work, as well as [taking into account] the requirements of protocol and security services.”

In July, Ordabay refused to go to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana. The ministry of culture and information carried out the accreditation process and reserved the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation (known colloquially as The Pyramid) for most attending journalists. The summit took place in the Palace of Independence, across the street.

“I don’t understand at all why we were invited there, because I just wasted my time. As a journalist, it didn’t give me anything. My colleagues from selected state publications were sitting in the Palace (of Independence). They could stream a number of meetings that were unavailable for us sitting in the Pyramid,” journalist Ainur Koskina told Vlast.

The Pyramid was filled with large screens, desks, and a lunch buffet, with talking heads from state-owned research centers walking around, distributing quotes.

When Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited Astana, only selected journalists were invited. The others were again confined to a press center far away, where they could watch redacted bits of his meeting with Tokayev.

Propaganda Interviews

Tokayev usually gives interviews to foreign publications ahead of state visits. In March, before traveling to Baku, he was interviewed by the Azerbaijani state agency APA. In July, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Astana, he talked to Beijing-controlled Xinhua.

Journalist and editor Ainur Shoshayeva noted that the president gives interviews to foreign media more often than to local ones.

Four days after his being elected, Tokayev’s first interview was published in The Wall Street Journal. In December 2019, Tokayev gave an interview to Deutsche Welle, which marks his last interview with an independent media outlet.

In August 2019, five months into his presidency, local news outlet Channel 31 released an interview with Tokayev in the format of a documentary called “President 2.0.” Russian journalist Alexei Pivovarov authored the piece.

“The president treats local journalists with disdain. Sure, the president gave interviews to Kazakh media, but to whom? Only to state media, essentially propaganda," Shoshayeva said.

In the aftermath of Qandy Qantar (Kazakh for ‘Bloody January’, the violent repression of urban protests in 2022) Tokayev gave an interview to the state TV channel Khabar 24 after Kandy Kantara.

Tokayev last gave an interview to state-controlled Egemen Qazaqstan in January. More recently, Tokayev published two op-eds, one at Euronews and one in state-controlled Kazpravda.

“Journalists want to see a free-format briefing without preliminary preparation, where both state and independent media can gather. For example, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, despite being at war, finds time for interviews with both Ukrainian and foreign media,” Shoshayeva said.

The president’s press secretary Berik Uali, who held the position twice from March 2019 to March 2022, and then again since September 2023, often comments on Tokayev’s statements.

"I don't know how accessible Uali is now, but during his first tenure he used to block journalists on WhatsApp when they asked him a question. He did not block me personally, my messages simply remained unread," Koskina said.

Too Busy to Talk

On 6 February 2024, Olzhas Bektenov, the former head of the presidential administration, became prime minister. In the six months that followed, he has not once appeared in front of the media or given a single interview. The government press service noted that they would interact with the press “taking into account the prime minister’s busy work schedule.”

On July 24, in a comment to the press.kz website, the prime minister's press secretary Dilyara Alenova said Bektenov’s lack of availability was a consequence of the recent floods.

“There are still residents who live in evacuation points. We visit villages across the country to ensure that the deadlines are not missed. Once all residents are released and resettled before the onset of the cold period, we will definitely find a time for the prime minister to talk in public," she said.

Journalists, however, find this hard to believe.

“Hopefully, after the floods, there will be no ‘preparations for the heating season’ or anything else, so that in early September we will see Bektenov at least for a short briefing, as [former Prime Minister Alikhan] Smailov did. Smailov did not give large press conferences either,” Koskina said.

Ordabay recalled that Smailov once left a group of journalists, after only answering a few questions.

“I remember how we chased after him, asking why he ran away from journalists,” Ordabay said.

Pandemic Practice

After the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were set in place, the practice of gathering a number of ministers at press conferences was suspended, and was never restored, said Koskina.

“COVID came and online meetings began. When restrictions were lifted we went back to in-person press conferences, where only the minister on the agenda showed up,” Koskina explained.

In response to a request from Vlast, the government confirmed that this practice was introduced during the coronavirus pandemic, and later became the norm “for the convenience and time saving of government representatives.”

In September 2021, Kanat Kulshmanov, then head of the government press service, said this practice, linked to the policy of de-bureaucratization, also fostered the ministers’ efficiency.

“A separate schedule has been set up in order to ensure communications with the public and journalists, according to which all members of the government will hold briefings,” Kulshmanov confirmed.

However, this schedule of individual briefings was never drafted.

While the prime minister is “looking for a good moment” to talk to journalists, the government press service has launched a “series of interviews on the country’s socio-economic development.” Three deputy prime ministers, Roman Sklyar, Tamara Duisenova, and Nurlan Baibazarov (who also serves as minister of economy), have already answered questions that were prepared by their own press service.

In an answer to Vlast, the government press service suggested that journalists can also obtain updates by sending official requests.

Yet, according to the law on mass media, institutions have up to five days to process an official request and can potentially delay the answer for up to 15 days. During this time, the news often loses its relevance.

“Sometimes you have to wait weeks for a response to a request. And sometimes the answers are missing the necessary information,” Shoshayeva said. When journalists officially file complaints for having received incomplete and inaccurate responses, the review process can take another 15 days.

Local Silence

In March 2022, after Qandy Qantar, the president signed a decree that obliged regional governors to meet with the population. Last November, the regulation was amended and the twice-yearly mandatory in-person meeting in each district was reduced to once a year, while in-person governor meetings in the three largest cities were reduced from four times to once a year.

Political analyst Shalkar Nurseit says that the president and government officials remain inaccessible to journalists because none of them rely on support from voters. Their attitude toward the media shows their attitude not only towards journalism, but also towards the citizens of the country.

“They do not have it in their mission to serve citizens or fulfill their promises,” Nurseit said.

While Tokayev said that the government “will strengthen [freedom of the press] in every possible way,” according to Nurseit, this is just a political statement. It is the president’s inaccessibility that shows his real attitude toward the media.

“During Qandy Qantar, the president tried to suppress the press and pointed to independent media as a threat for the socio-political stability of Kazakhstan. If given a chance, independent media will ask questions about Qandy Qantar, [former President Nursultan], and ongoing political repressions, to which the president may not have answers,” Nurseit argued.

Political consultant Dimash Alzhanov said there is a history of repression that only makes room for journalists who demonstrate loyalty to the regime.

“In our political system, the president is neither open nor accessible to independent media. The system protects the president as much as possible and exempts him from responsibility. The state’s information policy is aimed at protecting the president and not associating him with negative events,” Alzhanov told Vlast.

New Rules

Limited or no access for journalists to information and top officials occurs against the backdrop of a deteriorating situation of freedom of speech in Kazakhstan. In the Press Freedom Index published yearly by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Kazakhstan’s ranking fell from 134th place in 2023 to 142nd in 2024. In 2022, Kazakhstan was ranked 122nd.

Alongside the index, RSF also noted that although the quality of online news is improving, Kazakhstan’s government is tightening its control over the Internet, using all available means to prevent media coverage of major events.

“Access to information is restricted, and journalists’ questions at government briefings are censored. The government pays private media to disseminate its propaganda. The government controls the appointment of top editors at state-owned and state-controlled media,” RSF noted.

In June, Tokayev signed into law a series of amendments concerning mass media that drew criticism from the press. The initial version proposed by the ministry of information effectively introduced censorship. After firm rebukes, the media community was able to convince the government to slash the most restrictive points of the law. Still, the current version of the law allows the government to monitor media outlets for “violations of moral, cultural and family values” and to deny accreditation to foreign media.

“The media community has done everything possible to remove the points that tie the hands of journalists, but the ministry stubbornly tries to use these absurd rules to keep only those media outlets that follow their lead,” Shoshayeva noted.

The rules for media accreditation, updated after a public discussion, are contradictory, according to Gulmira Birzhanova, head of the legal service of Media Koldau.

An accredited journalist, now, can only publish information received from state institutions in the media outlet on whose behalf they are accredited, a massive blow to freelancers and journalists working for several news outlets. A violation of this clause could lead to the withdrawal of the accreditation.

“This clause can be interpreted in different ways: It is unclear how this regulation will be defined,” Birzhanova said.

Alzhanov believes that Tokayev needs these legislative restrictions to “shield himself from criticism as much as possible.”

“It is important for the regime to create a sterile environment where independent media are toothless, marginalized to the maximum extent and unable to inform society at the proper level,” Alzhanov said.