On December 16, 2011, deadly clashes broke out between police and protesters in the western Kazakh city of Zhanaozen. At least 16 people were shot dead by police, and more than 100 were injured. The riots were the bloody culmination of a prolonged strike by local oil workers, and raised international concerns about the state of labor rights in Kazakshtan's remote energy-rich regions. One year later, RFE/RL Kazakh Service correspondent Sania Toiken visited Zhanaozen and filed these photos of an uneasily quiet city.
The Kazakh Service: Zhanaozen – One Year After The Deadly Clashes
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The headquarters of the main gas company was set on fire during the clashes. It has since been reconstructed.
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Security forces stand on Zhanaozen's main square, littered with rubble from the clashes, in a photo from 2011.
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The mayor's office was another casualty of the riots. On the right, the building as it appears today.
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The Aruana Hotel was also set on fire, but unlike the mayor's office, it was demolished rather than reconstructed.