EXPLAINER: What post-unrest reforms is Kazakhstan proposing?

MOSCOW (AP) — Kazakhstan's leader has trumpeted ambitious economic reforms following the worst unrest in the country of 19 million in three decades. The measures are aimed at reducing the state’s deep involvement in the economy, bridging the gap between the wealthy minority and the struggling majority — and eliminating triggers for further turmoil.

Experts say the announced changes look good on paper, but question whether the new government in the energy-rich former Soviet state will implement them.

A look at the causes of discontent and the government's promised reforms:

WHAT'S ROILING KAZAKHSTAN?

On Jan. 2, small protests broke out in an oil city in western Kazakhstan where residents were unhappy about a sudden spike in prices for liquified gas, which is widely used as automotive fuel.

The demonstrations soon spread across the vast country, reflecting wider public discontent with steadily decreasing incomes, worsening living conditions and the authoritarian government. By Jan. 5, the protests descended into violence, with armed groups storming government buildings and setting cars and buses on fire in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty.

To quell the violence, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev requested help from a Russia-led security alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The bloc of six former Soviet states sent more than 2,000 troops.

Authorities arrested thousands of people and more than 220 — mostly civilians — were killed. About a week after the protests began, order was largely restored.

WHY WERE GAS PRICES SUCH A SORE POINT?

The price of gas soared to 120 tenge ($0.27) per liter, a significant increase in the country where, according to Tokayev's own admission, half the population earns no more than 50,000 tenge ($114) a month. The spike came...