Following last week's spate of violence and government collapse in Kazakhstan, the UCI has reiterated its non-political approach to the global problem and called for restraint and peaceful resolution.

The Astana Kazakhstan team declined to comment on the situation when contacted by Cycling News. However, the political turmoil could cause unrest for the WorldTour team, which relies heavily on state support.

Now former prime minister Askar Mamin is also believed to have intervened to reinstate former player Alexander Vinokurov, who was dismissed last summer in an internal dispute.

Last Wednesday, Mamin and his government resigned as protests intensified. These were sparked by a sharp rise in fuel prices, which led to widespread disturbances, including in the country's largest city, Almaty.

Government buildings and vehicles were torched, and violent clashes broke out between authorities and protesters. The protesters alleged widespread corruption and cited low living standards and unemployment as reasons for their discontent. According to government authorities in Almaty, 353 police officers and security forces personnel were injured and 12 killed on Thursday.

President Qasim Jomart Tokayev promised a tough response and said that last Friday he personally ordered security forces and troops to "fire with deadly force."

More than 2,000 troops from Russia and other countries moved into the country and played a part in the counterattack against the protests.

On Sunday, authorities announced that 164 people, including three children, had been killed, and the Interior Ministry said Monday that nearly 8,000 people had been detained.

The Astana team was created in 2006 after the collapse of Vinokourov's then Liberty Seguros team due to the Operacion Puerto doping scandal.

It is funded and owned by Samruk Kazyna, a Kazakhstan state-owned sovereign wealth fund. Samruk-Kazyna owns Kazakhstan's oil and gas companies, state-owned banks, telecommunications companies, uranium companies, and the national airline Air Astana.

Because of Kazakhstan's close ties to the WorldTour teams, Cyclingnews reached out to the UCI for comment on the Kazakhstan issue; the UCI's mission is to develop and promote cycling in all its forms, and the sport is "a more inclusive, sustainable society and can play an active role in building a better and healthier world," he replied.

"The subject of human rights is very important to the UCI ...... However, we do not play a political role and we do not engage in political debates. We firmly believe that sport and politics should not be mixed, and therefore we have no comment on the current situation in Kazakhstan"

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"We are of course watching the situation with concern and call for restraint by all parties and a peaceful resolution of the situation."

With Mamin stepping down, Vinokourov and his team will also be watching the political developments closely. It is not certain whether the government's resignation will have any effect on the team's backup, but last week's events will at least be an unwelcome distraction at the start of the 2022 season.

Vinokurov has run for parliamentary elections in the past and is an honorary colonel in the Kazakhstan military.

Last June, Vinokurov was removed as team president of Astana Premier Tech amid reports of a power struggle within the team. He was then dramatically reinstated in August, just days after co-owner Premier Tech announced that it would prematurely end its relationship with the team at the end of 2021. Former team manager Jana Schiele, who clashed with Vinokurov, has been hired by Lot Soudal as chief business officer, and the Belgian team is trying to find a new sponsor and secure its place on the 2023 World Tour.

Jean Bélanger, president and CEO of Premier Tech, told Canada's La Presse magazine that Vinokourov's return was the reason Premier Tech relinquished its 50% ownership.

"The prime minister [Askar Mamin] forced him back," he said at the time.

The team will be led this year by riders Alexey Lutsenko, Miguel Angel Lopez, Vincenzo Nibali, and Gianni Moscon, with Vinokurov as general manager.