An aerial view shows the Caspian port city of Aktau, in western Kazakhstan July 29, 2021. Picture taken July 29, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev 

An aerial view shows the Caspian port city of Aktau, in western Kazakhstan July 29, 2021. Picture taken July 29, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev 

An aerial view shows the Caspian port city of Aktau, in western Kazakhstan July 29, 2021. Picture taken July 29, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev 

An aerial view shows the Caspian port city of Aktau, in western Kazakhstan July 29, 2021. Picture taken July 29, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev 

A lake and hills are seen from a plane near the city of Aktau, located near the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan, July 8, 2018. As well as shooting all the matches, Reuters photographers are producing pictures showing their own quirky view from the sidelines of the World Cup. REUTERS/David Gray 

Vladimir Kozlov, leader of the unofficial Alga! party, gestures from a glass-walled cage during his trial in the Kazakh city of Aktau October 8, 2012. An outspoken critic of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was jailed for seven-and-a-half years on Monday for his part in a failed attempt to overthrow the government of the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Olga Yaroslavskaya (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS) 

Vladimir Kozlov, leader of the unofficial Alga! party, looks out from a glass-walled cage during his trial in the Kazakh city of Aktau October 8, 2012. An outspoken critic of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was jailed for seven-and-a-half years on Monday for his part in a failed attempt to overthrow the government of the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Olga Yaroslavskaya (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS) 

Vladimir Kozlov, leader of the unofficial political party Alga!, stands in the defendant's holding cell during his trial in the Kazakh city of Aktau August 16, 2012. Kozlov, an outspoken critic of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, was accused on Thursday of colluding with a billionaire fugitive to overthrow the government in a trial the United States says will test democratic reforms in the oil-rich former Soviet state. He denied the charges and, as the trial began in a packed courtroom, around 30 of his supporters shouted for his release. REUTERS/Mariya Gordeyeva (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) 

Defendants, accused of participating in the December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, react behind a glass cubicle while Interior Ministry officers block the audience during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau June 4, 2012. Relatives of 37 protesters accused of rioting in Zhanaozen crammed into a makeshift courtroom on Monday to await the verdicts in the largest trial relating to the deadly December clashes. REUTERS/Olga Yaroslavskaya (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) 

Judge Aralbai Nagashybayev wipes sweat as he tries a case of the defendants, accused of participating in December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, June 4, 2012. Relatives of 37 protesters accused of rioting in a Kazakh oil town crammed into a makeshift courtroom on Monday to await the verdicts in the largest trial relating to the deadly December clashes. REUTERS/Olga Yaroslavskaya (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Defendants, accused of participating in the December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, look out from a glass cubicle during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, June 4, 2012. Relatives of 37 protesters accused of rioting in a Kazakh oil town crammed into a makeshift courtroom on Monday to await the verdicts in the largest trial relating to the deadly December clashes. REUTERS/Olga Yaroslavskaya (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Defendants, accused of participating in the December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, look out from a glass cubicle during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau June 4, 2012. Relatives of 37 protesters accused of rioting in Zhanaozen crammed into a makeshift courtroom on Monday to await the verdicts in the largest trial relating to the deadly December clashes. REUTERS/Olga Yaroslavskaya (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) 

Relatives celebrate the release of a defendant (in blue) after a trial in the western Kazakh city of Aktau May 21, 2012. A court in Kazakhstan on Monday acquitted most people in the first group of defendants accused of taking part in the nation's deadliest riots in decades last December, leaving room for speculation about the possible outcome of the bigger mass trial. REUTERS/Olga Yaroslavskaya (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW POLITICS) 

Relatives of former detention centre head Khenisbek Temirov comfort each other after a trial in the western Kazakh city of Aktau May 17, 2012. Temirov was sentenced to five years in jail for his part in the death of an inmate at the centre, following deadly oil town riots, local media reported. REUTERS/Olga Yaroslavskaya (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) 

Former detention centre head Khenisbek Temirov sits in a holding cabin during a trial in the western Kazakh city of Aktau May 17, 2012. Temirov was sentenced to five years in jail for his part in the death of an inmate at the centre, following deadly oil town riots, local media reported. REUTERS/Olga Yaroslavskaya (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) 

Police guard as defendants accused of participating in December's clashes that killed at least 14 people are driven away from court in the Caspian port city of Aktau March 28, 2012. Last year's violence in west Kazakhstan has posed the most serious challenge to President Nursultan Nazarbayev, a 71-year-old former steelworker who rose through the ranks of the Soviet Communist party, in his more than two decades in charge of the resource-rich nation. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW POLITICS) 

Police stand guard outside a court where defendants accused of participating in December's clashes that killed at least 14 people are on trial in the Caspian port city of Aktau March 28, 2012. Last year's violence in west Kazakhstan has posed the most serious challenge to President Nursultan Nazarbayev, a 71-year-old former steelworker who rose through the ranks of the Soviet Communist party, in his more than two decades in charge of the resource-rich nation. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW) 

Friends and relatives of defendants, accused of participating in clashes in December that killed at least 14 people, watch proceedings relayed on a television screen in court in the Caspian port city of Aktau March 28, 2012. Thirty-seven people accused of rioting in a Kazakh oil town went on trial in an overcrowded, makeshift courtroom on Tuesday where authorities will seek to restore the oil-producing Central Asian state's reputation for stability after deadly unrest. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW POLITICS) 

Friends and relatives of defendants, accused of participating in clashes in December that killed at least 14 people, watch proceedings relayed on a television screen in a court in the Caspian port city of Aktau March 28, 2012. Thirty-seven people accused of rioting in a Kazakh oil town went on trial in an overcrowded, makeshift courtroom on Tuesday where authorities will seek to restore the oil-producing Central Asian state's reputation for stability after deadly unrest. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW POLITICS) 

Friends and relatives of defendants, accused of participating in clashes in December that killed at least 14 people, wait to enter the court in the Caspian port city of Aktau March 28, 2012. Thirty-seven people accused of rioting in a Kazakh oil town went on trial in an overcrowded, makeshift courtroom on Tuesday where authorities will seek to restore the oil-producing Central Asian state's reputation for stability after deadly unrest. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW POLITICS) 

Defendants, accused of participating in December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, look out from a glass cubicle during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Olga Yaroslavskaya (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Defendants, accused of participating in the December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, look out from a glass cubicle during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Olga Yaroslavskaya (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Defendants, accused of participating in December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, look out from a glass cubicle during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

A defendant, accused of participating in the December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, looks out from a glass cubicle during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

A defendant, accused of participating in the December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, removes handcuffs before entering a cubicle during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) 

Defendants, accused of participating in the December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, gesture inside a glass cubicle during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) 

Judge Aralbai Nagashybayev speaks as he tries a case of the defendants, accused of participating in the December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Prosecutors, accusing the defendants of participating in December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, attend a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Judge Aralbai Nagashybayev speaks as he tries a case of the defendants, accused of participating in December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Judge Aralbai Nagashybayev speaks as he tries a case of the defendants, accused of participating in December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

A bailiff stands near judicial documents on defendants, accused of participating in the December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

People, willing to attend the Zhanaozen clashes trial, gather outside a makeshift court in a single-storey youth centre in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

A woman, willing to attend the Zhanaozen clashes trial, looks through a window outside a makeshift court in a single-storey youth centre in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

People, mostly relatives of defendants accused of participating in December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, watch a live broadcast of the trial at a room of a makeshift court in a single-storey youth centre in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

People, mostly relatives of defendants accused of participating in December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, attend a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

People stand in line before passing through a metal detector to attend the Zhanaozen clashes trial at a makeshift court in a single-storey youth centre in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Defendants, accused of participating in the December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, look out from a glass cubicle during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Defendants, accused of participating in the December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, look out from a glass cubicle during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) 

A defendant, accused of participating in the December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, looks out from a glass cubicle during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) 

Defendants, accused of participating in the December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen, look out from a glass cubicle during a court session in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Participants attend a court session, with defendants accused of participating in the December 2011 clashes in the oil town of Zhanaozen seen inside a glass cubicle in the background, in the Caspian port city of Aktau, March 27, 2012. Angry relatives of the accused burst into a Kazakhstan courtroom shortly before 37 people were due to go on trial on Tuesday for their role in deadly oil town riots that shattered the image of stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

A general view shows a grain terminal at the Aktau port on the Caspian Sea coast in western Kazakhstan, March 15, 2012. Kazakhstan, a top-10 world wheat exporter, still hopes to export around 15 million tonnes of grain in the current marketing year and plans to build a new terminal on the Caspian to boost exports by sea, officials said on Thursday. REUTERS/Olga Yaroslavskaya (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: AGRICULTURE BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

A grain carrier is loaded at the grain terminal at the Aktau port on the Caspian Sea coast in western Kazakhstan, March 15, 2012. Kazakhstan, a top-10 world wheat exporter, still hopes to export around 15 million tonnes of grain in the current marketing year and plans to build a new terminal on the Caspian to boost exports by sea, officials said on Thursday. REUTERS/Olga Yaroslavskaya (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: AGRICULTURE BUSINESS TRANSPORT) 

A woman walks past a cordon of riot police on duty in the western Kazakh city of Aktau December 20, 2011. Authorities maintained a heavy police presence in the capital of Kazakhstan's western oil-producing region on Tuesday following the Central Asian state's deadliest riots in decades. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW) 

Riot police stand on duty in the western Kazakh city of Aktau December 20, 2011. Authorities maintained a heavy police presence in the capital of Kazakhstan's western oil-producing region on Tuesday following the Central Asian state's deadliest riots in decades. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW) 

Riot police get ready to take up positions in the town of Aktau December 18, 2011. Protests in Kazakhstan's oil-producing Mangistau region, unprecedented in the Central Asian state's recent history, spread on Sunday to the regional capital, where hundreds of angry protesters faced reinforced police troops. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Riot police take up positions in the town of Aktau December 18, 2011. Protests in Kazakhstan's oil-producing Mangistau region, unprecedented in the Central Asian state's recent history, spread on Sunday to the regional capital, where hundreds of angry protesters faced reinforced police troops. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Riot police take up positions in the town of Aktau December 18, 2011. Protests in Kazakhstan's oil-producing Mangistau region, unprecedented in the Central Asian state's recent history, spread on Sunday to the regional capital, where hundreds of angry protesters faced reinforced police troops. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Protesters gather on the square in the town of Aktau, December 18, 2011. Protests in Kazakhstan's oil-producing Mangistau region, unprecedented in the Central Asian state's recent history, spread on Sunday to the regional capital, where hundreds of angry protesters faced reinforced police troops. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

Riot police stand guard in the town of Aktau December 18, 2011. Protests in Kazakhstan's oil-producing Mangistau region, unprecedented in the Central Asian state's recent history, spread on Sunday to the regional capital, where hundreds of angry protesters faced reinforced police troops. REUTERS/Vladimir Tretyakov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) 

A Kazakh veterinarian burns a dead wild swan found on the shore in the western Kazakh town of Aktau March 23, 2006. The deadly H5N1 bird flu strain has been found in wild fowl in western Kazakhstan, an agriculture ministry official said on March 20. REUTERS/Anatoly Ustinenko 

Azerbaijan's officials inspect the debris of Antonov An-140 aircraft at seashore at Nardaran, on the outskirts of Baku, December 24, 2005. Eight foreigners were among 23 people who died in the plane crash in Azerbaijan, officials said on Saturday. The Antonov An-140 aircraft, bound for the Kazakh city of Aktau, disappeared from radar screens soon after take-off from the Azeri capital Baku on Friday night. REUTERS/Oktay Mamedov 

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev (R) attends a scene of Antonov An-140 plane crash at seashore at Nardaran, on the outskirts of Baku, December 24, 2005. Eight foreigners were among 23 people who died in the plane crash in Azerbaijan, officials said on Saturday. The Antonov An-140 aircraft, bound for the Kazakh city of Aktau, disappeared from radar screens soon after take-off from the Azeri capital Baku on Friday night. REUTERS/Oktay Mamedov 

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev (R, in blue) attends the scene of a plane crash at seashore at Nardaran, on the outskirts of Baku, December 24, 2005. Eight foreigners were among 23 people who died in the plane crash in Azerbaijan, officials said on Saturday. The Antonov An-140 aircraft, bound for the Kazakh city of Aktau, disappeared from radar screens soon after take-off from the Azeri capital Baku on Friday night. REUTERS/Oktay Mamedov