joanna lillis writes about central asia for the economist, and is based in elmati in casak stan. This all began when the government ended subsidies on a particular type of gas that is used by many people in casokstan to run their cars. The protestors moved very quickly in very many places, many cities and towns where they had gathered. They have been demanding that basically the entire political establishment should go. It's hard to know just how ordered things are, and whether this is the end of or just a pause in an uprising.