On Sunday, October 29, Kyrgyz citizens will vote in the country's presidential election. Living standards for the overwhelming majority of the country's 4.7 million inhabitants have experienced a significant decline during the years since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The economic infrastructure has eroded under President Askar Akayev's administration, and the average monthly salary is estimated to be under $30 US. GDP per capita is estimated at $2,100 US per year.
EurasiaNet's photo essay by Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert strives to capture the flavor of daily life for typical Kyrgyz citizens. The images show Kyrgyzstan to be diverse in both geographic and in ethnic terms. They also demonstrate that the population is proving resourceful in the struggle to carve out an existence under difficult economic conditions.
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