Photo credit: function.mil.ru (CC BY 4.0)
Almost 1,500 Russians have been evacuated by military transport aircraft of Russia's Ministry of Defense, the department's website reports. Of these, 14 people were taken to Yekaterinburg, more than 1,400 - to Moscow.
The people who decided to return home were in Alma-Ata mostly as tourists.
The Alma-Ata airport suspended operations as a result of civil unrest in the country, and Russian citizens could not leave on their own. To take everyone out, the planes made almost 10 flights.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has opened a hotline for Russians, which is avialable by e-mail dskc@mid.ru or by phone +7 495 695 45 45.
The situation in Kazakhstan, which in the first days of the new year were caught up in riots, is getting back to normal. Earlier, the troops of Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) were sent to the country to help quell political unrest.
Peacekeepers serve at strategically important facilities in the country; more than 70 Il-76 and five An-124 aircrafts took part in the transportation of personnel and military equipment.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, speaking to the citizens of the country, promised a tough response to the participants in the riots. The military had received an order to fire without warning at "armed and trained bandits" and ruled out the possibility of negotiations with them, he stressed.
Russkiy Mir
