Kyrgyz Republic of Kyrgyzstan

• The population of 6.1 million people.
• Political system Parliamentary Republic
• Area 199, 900 square meters. km, the length of the borders - 4503 km
• Neighboring countries China,,, Kazakhstan Uzbekistan Tajikistan

Division North and South

The North and South of the country are two traditionally competing regions. Southerners are more religious, northerners are more secular. The southern region was part of the Kokand Khanate, the northern region was a very conditional vassal.

In the 19th century, the South Kyrgyz princes fought for power in the Kokand Khanate. And they considered themselves in the right to own all the lands of the Kyrgyz. Among the northern Kyrgyz, the Sarybagysh tribe became the main one, and also claimed all power.

Actually, this is still the essence of the intra-Kyrgyz conflict and politics. The eternal struggle for power is between the North, this is the Chui-Issykkul clan, and all the same tribe Sarybagysh, and the South, this is the Osh clan. 

Even in the years of the USSR, the first secretaries (until the 1950s the second, because the first was the Russian, the protege of Moscow) of the Central Committee alternated: the southerner was a northerner. And it was always significant how many southerners and northerners in the Central Committee and ministries.

During the years of independence, this has not gone anywhere. Only escalated. In the year 92nd seriously talked about the division of the country, and by the way, the red color of the flag is a compromise. Red is the color of southerners. The northerner Akaev was partly able to dampen the heat with this.

Atambayev is a northerner, Jeenbekov is a southerner. He was the governor of Osh when in 2010 there were clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks.

And the South are special factors. In addition to more severe Islam, it has been smuggling and drug trafficking since the 19th century. Southern drug lords are traditionally inscribed in local politics.

The arrest of Atambayev in the summer of 2019 is an attempt on the rights of the North. His supporters, these are not supporters of Atambayev personally, but, again, of the North.

The peculiarity of the Kyrgyz "revolution" is always that it has a huge chance to develop into a civil war.

Population

Population

2018: Population growth since 1989 by 32% to 5.7 million

Migration

2021: Net outflow over 4 years

Mortality

2018: More than 100 deaths per year per 100,000 motor vehicles

Regions and cities

• Capital Bishkek
  • Bishkek City Hall

Hybrid political regime

The political regime in Kyrgyzstan for 2023 can be considered a hybrid (a mixture of democratic and authoritarian regime), for which there is some reason. First, it is worth noting the high influence of informal institutions, primarily the clan system, which is why there is a risk of illegal seizure of power. Secondly, however, one can note high competition among political elites (clans), which is why the country does not usurpate power, and some democratic institutions work quite effectively.

Constitution of 2021

In accordance with the constitution adopted in 2021, Kyrgyzstan is a republic with a presidential form of government and a unitary administrative-territorial structure.

The Kyrgyz Republic is a secular state. The state language is Kyrgyz; Russian is recognized as the language of official communication. State power is divided into 3 branches: legislative, executive and judicial.

Jogorku Kenesh Parliament

In Kyrgyzstan, the legislative power is exercised by the parliament of the country - Jogorku Kenesh. For 2023, according to the 2021 Constitution, the parliament consists of one chamber, in which 90 deputies are represented, with a term of election of 5 years. Deputies are elected partially according to the proportional system in a single constituency (54 deputies) and according to the majority system in single-member constituencies.

The most important powers of the Jogorku Kenesh are as follows:

• approves the budget,
• participates together with the president in the election of the chairmen of the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan, the Constitutional and Supreme Courts,
• agrees with the president the candidates for ministerial posts he has chosen,
• responsible for the use of armed forces outside the state.

Kyrgyzstan has a multi-party system. About 200 parties are registered for 2023. The following parties are represented in the parliament of the last convocation:

• Ata-Zhurt
• Mekenchil
• Ishenim
• Yntymak
• Alliance
• Butun Kyrgyzstan
• Yiman Nuru

The president is the head of government

The president is elected by the population of the country by universal suffrage for a term of five years. The number of possible presidential terms for one person is limited to two terms. The requirements for the candidate are the minimum age of 35 years, citizenship of Kyrgyzstan, the term of residence in it is 15 years, as well as compulsory knowledge of the state language.

In accordance with the constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic of 2021, the president has the following basic powers:

• the president is the official head of state;
• is the head of government and determines its structure and composition, as well as controls their activities.

In addition to the government, the president forms the presidential administration, the Security Council and other executive bodies. It can veto legislation approved by parliament, after which a review of the legislative draft will be required.

The President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Kyrgyzstan. He makes decisions on the defense and security of the country, monitors the state and activities of military forces. The right to declare martial law in the country or the state of war in the event of a threat to the state integrity of Kyrgyzstan.

He represents Kyrgyzstan as the head of foreign policy: he exercises foreign representation of the country, signs international treaties and agreements, holds meetings with other heads of state and international organizations.

The government (Cabinet) is formed by the president with the approval of the country's parliament.

Kurultai (Council of Elders)

Kurultai is a congress of aksakals providing recommendations in various matters of state activity. Before the 2010 revolution, they took place regularly, but were always demonstrative in nature and did not have special influence.

People's Kurultai is a representative authority of the population, which consists of deputies of local self-government of all regions of the country. Formally, it combines deliberative and observational functions.

2022: Recommendations for abandoning the Russian language and renaming the Soviet names of the districts of Bishkek

On November 25-26, 2022, a meeting of the People's Kurultai (Council of Elders) was held in Kyrgyzstan, in which representatives of the Kyrgyz authorities, including President Sadyr Japarov, took part.

Despite the fact that some of the deputies of the country's parliament declared it illegal to convene a council of elders, President Japarov personally initiated the holding of the kurultai. Japarov intends to advance the powers of the council of elders at the legislative level and put it above parliament.

Based on the results of the kurultai, a resolution was adopted in which various recommendations were made to the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan (Jogorku Kenesh) and the Cabinet of Ministers on the conduct of domestic and foreign policy.

A recommendation was put forward on the conduct of all workflow in the state language, that is, in Kyrgyz. When adopting such a law, this in theory will jeopardize the Russian-speaking part of the population of Kyrgyzstan.

The statement of the speaker of the parliament Nurlanbek Shakiev about the need to rename the Soviet names of the districts of Bishkek to Kyrgyz and use only the Kyrgyz language in conversations with each other fits into this canvas.

It is not yet known whether at least one of the recommendations submitted by the people's aksakalamia will be officially adopted.

Most of the experts, as well as politicians and representatives of various NGOs in Kyrgyzstan, are inclined to the conditional nature of the event. They believe that everything that was said during the kurultai will remain at the level of recommendations.

However, judging by existing trends, the Japarov administration is inclined to increasingly distance itself from the Jogorku Kenesh and reduce the powers of parliament.

The People's Congress of Elders will essentially allow controlling power in the hands of the current president, the Rybar telegram channel noted. And the proposals made "for reflection" reflect the further development of the foreign policy of the Kyrgyz authorities to distance themselves from Russia.

Judiciary

The judicial system of Kyrgyzstan for 2023 is a hierarchy of courts: the Constitutional Court is located at the top, then the Supreme and below are local courts (including aksakal courts), as well as specialized courts that can be established by law.

There are some restrictions on the positions of supreme and constitutional judges - age (from 40 to 70 years) and the presence of a higher legal education with experience (from 15 years, including 5 years of judicial practice). For local courts, the requirements are lower - age from 35 to 65 and work experience from 5 years, respectively.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Kyrgyzstan

Citizenship and visas

2023: Eligible for 10-year visa for $230,000 investment

In January 2023, the Kyrgyz parliament adopted a law according to which foreign citizens who invested $230 thousand in the country's economy will be entitled to a 10-year visa.

Religion

2022: Religious reforms with a course towards moderate Islam backed by Turkey

Since the beginning of the 1990s, Kyrgyzstan has seen an increase in the number of Muslim organizations and associations - from 39 mosques in 1990, their number increased by 2,700 by 2021, and a significant part - illegal.

Due to the high threat of radical Islamization of the population, the Kyrgyz authorities began a joint reform of religious education with Turkey in order to gain control over the situation in the country.

A special role in this was played by the state body "Office of Religious Affairs" (Diyanet), which oversees the activities of all religious faiths in Turkey. Diyanet specialists, with the permission of the Kyrgyz government, organized religious training centers to spread the values ​ ​ of moderate Islam with a "Turkish bias."

Training of specialized personnel takes place at Manas in Bishkek, and imams are trained at the Theological Faculty at Osh State University.

Teachers are represented both by citizens of Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. At the same time, the Turks were given full control over the training of personnel. The financing of the entire process, including trips to Turkey for an internship, comes entirely from Turkish funds.

Relatively recently, clerics in major mosques and madrasas began to receive salaries from a specially created fund under the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kyrgyzstan, borrowing Turkish practice with the intention of establishing control over religion.

With the support of Diyanet, the main mosque of the republic was opened in Bishkek. More than $25 million was allocated for this project, and Turkish President Rajep Erdogan attended the opening.

And in recent years, Turkey has been actively investing in the construction of madrasas in remote regions of Kyrgyzstan, gradually increasing its presence in the country.

Moreover, a significant part is "house" and simply illegally built mosques, which in fact no one can fight - there are two new ones for one closed mosque.

Printed literature in Turkish and Kyrgyz is distributed in sparsely populated regions of Kyrgyzstan. Small villages replicate brochures with various instructions against the influence of extremist groups and the Arab world as a whole.

Providing "assistance" to Kyrgyzstan in reforming the educational and religious spheres, Turkey intends to Islamize and control Kyrgyz society as part of a single Turkic association, the Rybar channel wrote.

The presence of dozens of different institutions of religion and education has become a center of attraction for Kyrgyz youth, who see this as the prospect of belonging to something more and opens up opportunities for self-realization.

Turkish influence in Kyrgyzstan is growing more and more. A striking example of this is President Japarov's policy of combating foreign NGOs and NGOs. A significant part of the organizations were deprived of licenses, while the Turkish ones are still functioning, and no one is going to close them.

Crime

Prisons

2019: The minimum age for children to be jailed is 14

2018: Number of prisoners

Drug crime

2022: Drug trafficking routes from Afghanistan to Russia

Ferghana Valley is a mountainous hard-to-reach area, which is chosen by drug dealers and smugglers. The Batken-Isfana highway runs at the southwestern end: by 2022, all the main skirmishes between the Kyrgyz and Tajiks occur in this section.

Most of the local population (regardless of the country of residence) closely cooperates with various groups. Often this is the only way to somehow survive.

Only the indigenous citizens of the region know this area well - including secret mountain routes used to transport various smuggled goods north to Kazakhstan and Russia.

The drug trafficking route, despite the use of secretive paths in mountainous areas, could not be used without the knowledge and assistance of the authorities.

Border conflicts between Tajik and Kyrgyz military personnel occur almost regularly after the collapse of the USSR. Both countries share more than 900 kilometers of a joint border, but only half are fully demarcated.

As of September 2022, 70 disputed sites remain. Both countries refuse to seek a compromise. And this only applies to controversial areas: conflicts also arise due to interethnic hatred and disputes over water.

The absence of a clear border between states and, as a result, the desire of each of the parties to snatch as "fat" a piece as possible is a stumbling block.

Even a couple of tens of meters in favor of one of the countries will significantly increase the cost of tariffs for "transit travel," that is, a bribe.

Despite statements Talibs about the fight against production drugs in, Afghanistan export volumes after their coming to power by 2022 increased several times.

Habibullo Vohidzoda, director of the drug control agency in Tajikistan, said that since the Taliban came to power, the level of seized narcotic substances from Afghanistan has tripled (three tons against one).

The most active in the cultivation of opiates is the province of Badakhshan, from where the route to Russia originates.

The main and more risky is transit from Afghan Ishkashim through the capital region of Tajikistan, Rawat in the Sogdi region and Kyrgyz Batken and Osh in the direction of Kazakhstan.

Despite the fact that both Tajik and Kyrgyz security forces are already firmly sitting on "subsidies" from smugglers, there is a possibility of seizure of cargo. For this reason, there is another route.

The second route runs through the Vakhan corridor of Afghanistan and the Pamir tract in the Gorno-Badakhshan region (GBAO) of Tajikistan and subsequently the familiar Osh to the territory of Kazakhstan.

However, due to the difficult terrain in the GBAO, a large amount of cargo cannot be carried along this path. It is less cost-effective in contrast to the route through the Fergana Valley.

After entering the Kazakh territory, caravans use the sparsely populated desert regions of the country for invisible movement to the Russian border.

There, in poorly protected areas or also through bribery of certain persons, the goods reach their destination in the Chelyabinsk (Troitsk) or Orenburg (Novotroitsk) regions, and then diverge throughout Russia.

Pedophilia

2023: Kyrgyzstan approved the castration of pedophiles

In January 2023, the Kyrgyz parliament approved a bill on surgical castration of pedophiles. The document, in particular, involves a medical examination of a convicted pedophilia and a psychiatric examination in order to determine his tendency to sex crimes. It is specified that the examination will be carried out no later than six months before the release of the criminal serving his sentence. Read more here.

Education

2023:751 Russian-language schools

In terms of the number of Russian-speaking schools Kazakhstan , it occupies a leading position among the Central states: in Asia 2023, their number reached 3,606. For comparison: in the neighboring Uzbekistan a little more than a thousand, in Kyrgyzstan - 751, in - Tajikistan 200, and in - 71 Turkmenistan.

2022: Turkey's influence on educational processes in Kyrgyzstan

The increasingly active expansion of zones of Turkish influence in Central Asia is closely connected with the presence of Turkey in some states of the post-Soviet space established by 2022.

Kyrgyzstan, due to its economic insolvency and advantageous position in terms of control over illegal transit routes, has become one of the main objects of the policy of the Turks in Central Asia.

An integral part of Turkey's foreign policy strategy is to provide assistance in various spheres of state life to create a positive image and image of the Turkish authorities in the eyes of the Kyrgyz population.

The main emphasis was placed on the educational and religious component in Kyrgyzstan by providing high-quality education and export of Turkish cultural and religious values ​ ​ with the further formation of the necessary stratum of the population with pro-Turkish views.

Turks form the right group of people, starting from preschool age. Various Turkish companies finance the construction and provision of dozens of nursery gardens throughout Kyrgyzstan.

It is in kindergartens that the cultivation of views on the unity of Turkic peoples begins. They conduct various classes with preschoolers, preparing them for school.

Most of the training program is in Kyrgyz. This reduces the importance of the Russian language and ensures a smooth transition to Turkish, completely "outlived" Russian.

The most important institution acting as guides of Turkish educational programs, became the Kyrgyz-Turkish University "Manas." It is funded mainly at the expense of Turkey - the Kyrgyz authorities pay for the training of only 240 students with a total number of more than 4,700 people.

Turkey annually allocates more than $20 million to finance the activities of Manas. The university is headed by a rector from Turkey, as well as the head of the board of trustees, which actually deprives the Kyrgyz authorities of the opportunity to influence the educational policy of the university.

Training is free of charge. With the help of Manas, Turkey is implementing a program to create a layer of pro-Turkish highly qualified specialists from Kyrgyzstan. Using cultural-religious kinship and the closeness of languages, Turks promote their interests with a "soft power" policy.

Another Turkish educational institution is Sebat/Zapat, which unites over a dozen lyceums throughout the country, Ataturk-Alatoo University, Silk Road School, and the Center for the Study of Languages ​ ​ and Computer Literacy.

Created by opposition Erdogan preacher Fethullah Gulen, accused of attempting a coup in Turkey in 2016. The Turkish leadership is pressuring the Kyrgyz authorities to ban the activities of the Gulen network due to "harm to Turkish-Kyrgyz relations."

However, the activities of Sepat are highly appreciated in the Kyrgyz environment due to the high quality of education, despite the recruitment on a commercial basis. At the same time, more than 150 out of 834 teachers in total are Turkish citizens.

Providing assistance and financing to Kyrgyzstan in reforming the education system, the Turks pay great attention to expanding the use of the Kyrgyz language.

Thus, the authorities in Ankara are increasingly weakening the influence of the Russian Federation in the country, as the zone of distribution of the Russian language is gradually decreasing, and the higher education system is undergoing changes by increasing the volume of the national language in state activities.

The process itself is built on all patterns of Anglo-Saxon techniques, the Rybar channel noted. And having Turkish international schools called Oxford and Cambridge speaks for itself.

The result of many years of Turkish cultivation and nurturing of controlled politicians and officials has become increasingly emerging statements about the need to switch to the Kyrgyz language in all spheres of state activity.

2019: Number of years of education by citizens over 25

2018: Literacy rate

Health care

Maternity leave

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Ecology

2021: Seventh highest air pollution

In March 2022, Greenpeace, in collaboration with the development company AirVisual, compiled an annual rating of the countries of Europe and the world with the cleanest air. In Kyrgyzstan, the level of air pollution at the end of 2021 amounted to 50.8 PM2.5 (mkg/m³). Read more here.

History

2024: Soros Foundation shutdown due to foreign agents law

In April 2024, the work of the Soros Foundation in Kyrgyzstan was discontinued. The reason was the adoption of the law on foreigners, which was signed in early April by the President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov.

2023: Approval of the new national flag

In December 2023, the Kyrgyz parliament in the third (final) reading adopted amendments to amend the image of the state flag.

Dear MPs! Congratulations on the new flag! It's not any change, it's edits. There is no need to repeat all the time about the "legendary parliament." Each period has its own legend, - said the speaker of the parliament Nurlanbek Shakiev on December 20, 2023.

By this day, the flag of Kyrgyzstan is a red canvas, in the center of which is a solar disk with forty diverging golden rays. These 40 rays mean the unification of ancient tribes into a single country. Inside the sun is a tunduk - a spherical structure that crowns the Kyrgyz yurt. On the flag, the rays of the sun are curved, and the trunk consists of three rods. According to the changes adopted by the deputies, the rays on the flag framing the trunk will not be undulating, but straight. Due to the undulating rays, the symbol of the country looked like a sunflower not associated with Kyrgyzstan.

The red color on the flag of Kyrgyzstan symbolizes valor and courage, and the sun - the eternity of life, peace and wealth. Yurt roofs are a symbol of home and hospitality.

The idea to change the flag belongs to the President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov. The initiators of the bill are the speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh Nurlanbek Shakiev and the deputy Ulan Primov. Sadyr Japarov said that changing the state symbol will make the country more independent.

Prior to that, society actively believed that our flag looked like a sunflower and against this background the country could not get off its knees. There have even been such cases when foreigners who come to visit us said that, probably, sunflower is growing in large quantities in our country, "the head of the Kyrgyz state commented on the situation in an interview with the state news agency Kabar.[1]

2022: Assignment of the neutral status of the Tort-Kocho territory on the border with Tajikistan

In November 2022, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, during a parliamentary meeting, said that the Tort-Kocho area on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border would receive neutral status.

Upon ratification of the agreement, both countries will be obliged to ensure the free passage of Kyrgyz citizens to Leilek, and Tajik - to the enclave of Vorukh. The neutral zone will be defined in square meters.

What is the essence of the contradictions?

In 2009, Adukhan Madumarov, who served as secretary of the Security Council of Kyrgyzstan, during a working meeting signed a protocol with his Tajik counterpart on the transfer of the Tort-Kocho land plot with an area of ​ ​ 5 hectares and a length of 275 m for rent to Tajikistan for 49 years.

Inside Kyrgyzstan, this was regarded as a betrayal of national interests, and due to public resonance, the plan remained on paper. The document signed by Madumarov was not ratified by parliament and visited by the president, so it did not have any legal force.

Nevertheless, Dushanbe still considers the protocol to confirm the ownership of the land plot to Tajikistan. It was due to the lack of regulated legal status that conflicts regularly arose there.

What is the importance of Cake-Kocho?

This route has great importance for citizens of Kyrgyzstan, since it can be reached from Bishkek to Isfana directly. The loss of Tort-Kocho will de facto mean the isolation of Leilek and part of Batken districts from the main territory of the country.

For Tajikistan, control over Tort Kocho will become a lever of pressure on its neighbors on the issue of demarcation and delimitation of borders. It is the territorial dispute that is the main cause of conflicts in recent years.

Attempts to make peace are faced with the aggression of a particularly patriotic part of the population of both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which require a solution to the issue by force.

In addition, maintaining a fire hazard situation and the possibility of inciting a conflict between CSTO and SCO members right at the side of Russia and China is an extremely convenient option for Western countries. The potential focus of tension can always be used at the right time as an "ace in the sleeve." Therefore, Western states, through a huge network of NGOs and NGOs, as well as proxies in the political circles of both countries, will not allow the issue to be settled peacefully, the Rybar telegram channel noted.

2021: Sadyr Japarov's entry into the post of President of Kyrgyzstan

On January 28, 2021, the inauguration of the new President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov took place. During the ceremony, he read out the text of the oath, after which the head of the country's Central Election Commission Nurzhan Shaildabekova presented him with distinctive signs - a badge, a standard and a certificate of the head of state. Read more here.

2020

President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbai Jeenbekov resigned

On October 15, 2020, President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbai Jeenbekov announced his resignation after three years of leadership of the republic. Read more here.

The release from the pre-trial detention center of Atambayev and Isakov by protesters after the parliamentary elections

Protests in Bishkek began on the morning of October 5, 2020 after the last parliamentary elections. By evening, they had turned into riots. Tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets were used against the activists.

On the night of October 6, protesters broke into the White House building. Then the crowd went to  the SIZO GKNB and released from the insulator of the ex-president of the  republic Almazbek Atambayev, as well as the former Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Sapar Isakov.

Ex-President of Kyrgyzstan Atambayev received 11 years in prison for the release of a criminal authority

On June 23, 2020, the Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek sentenced Almazbek Atambayev. The former president of Kyrgyzstan was given 11 years and two months in prison with confiscation of property and deprivation of state awards for participating in the release of criminal authority Aziz Batukaev. Read more here.

The emergence of the Jeong Kazat movement

In May 2020, it became known about the appearance of the extremist organization "Chon Kazat."

1991: All-Union referendum on the preservation of the USSR

On March 17, 1991, an All-Union referendum on the preservation of the USSR was held - the only one in the history of the USSR.

The issue of preserving the USSR as an updated Federation of equal sovereign states and republics of the former USSR was discussed.

1966

1945: Polygamy of collective farm chairmen and sale of girls for feces

Memorandum of the Secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee O.P. Mishakova on the situation of women in the republics of Central Asia after the end of World War II of September 18, 1945

"The Komsomol Central Committee has many other facts indicating great abnormalities in the situation of women in Central Asia.

Here, especially in rural areas, polygamy still takes place. According to Komsomol workers in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and other republics, this crime against Soviet laws is often committed by the chairmen of collective farms. Some of them have become very rich in recent years; using their position, they almost eliminated all democracy on collective farms and established almost feudal orders. Individual chairmen have 2-3 wives each, force girls to cohabit, and for disobedience threaten ordinary collective farmers and collective farmers with the summons of the military registration and enlistment office and sending them to the labor front. District party and Soviet organizations are very poorly fighting these phenomena.

Komsomol workers of all Central Asian republics unanimously declare such facts.

Early marriages are common in Central Asia. Girls under the age of 16 are often married. In rural areas of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, girls are often sold for feces.

Early marriages are one of the main reasons for the huge dropout of female youth from educational institutions. Most often, the girl is forced to leave school by her family. "

200 BC: Toharas

Sport

2022: The most popular sport is football

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