Abstract
Abstract Colour revolutions are usually described as political processes which took place in former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, during the early twenty-first century and which, using peaceful and festive mechanisms and involving NGOs and thousands of participants, managed or tried to oust corrupt and authoritarian governments in the context of rigged elections. Although the events in January 2022 in Kazakhstan share some of these characteristics, such as the authoritarian regime and the participation of many citizens, other features of the colour revolutions are not present, such as the peaceful nature of the protests or the elections. Confusing the two types of events may lead to putting forward inadequate solutions to improve the quality of democracy and the rule of law in Kazakhstan or in similar countries. Moreover, there are still many unanswered questions about the events of January 2022, such as the identity of those who instigated the riots and the violence and who really benefited from it.