Anti-government protesters in Kazakhstan have demolished a statue of the country's first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The statue was broken in half and knocked off its pedestal, RIA Novosti reported, citing the local KazTAG portal. A photo of the destroyed monument was posted on the portal's Telegram channel.

Earlier on Wednesday, Sputnik Kazakhstan reported on attempts to demolish the monument.

Recall that in the first days of 2022, residents of the towns of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the Mangystau region, an oil-producing region in western Kazakhstan, protested against an increase in the price of liquefied petroleum gas. Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered the formation of a government commission to examine the situation. On January 4, he said he was ready to meet the protesters' main demand and lower gas prices.