Putin declares victory in the fight against the uprising in Kazakhstan.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared success in the fight against a foreign-backed terrorist revolt in Kazakhstan, promising leaders of other ex-Soviet governments that a Moscow-led alliance would safeguard them as well.

Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, returned to near-normalcy on Monday after nearly a week of upheaval, by far the worst in the 30-year independent history of what had been Central Asia’s most stable former Soviet state.

Cleaners were clearing trash from the streets, which were still littered with burned-out automobiles. For the first time since last Wednesday, most shops reopened, public transportation and regular traffic resumed, and the internet was turned back on throughout the city for many hours.

The security forces firmly held the square near the mayor’s office, which had been burned out during the rebellion, and it was closed to the public. At checkpoints, police searched cars.