Kyrgyzstan | Eurasianet

A man in Kyrgyzstan fills a bottle with water from a dirty stream. In Central Asia, state leaders’ failure to provide regular and uniform social services to all citizens, such as access to clean water, healthcare or jobs, gives rise to local non-state power brokers who performing state-like functions on small scales. (Photo: UNDP Climate, CC BY-NC 2.0, t.ly/KFpUj)

Perspectives: Understanding how patronage networks function in Central Asia

Non-state patronage systems continue to fill services gaps, helping to contain discontent.

Morgan Y. Liu Jul 26, 2024

Aliyev delivers opening remarks at the summit of the Organization of Turkic States on July 5. (Photo: president.az)

Azerbaijan’s Aliyev wants to make Turkic states group a major international player

Hungary’s Viktor Orban attends a summit of Turkic leaders as observer.

Jul 11, 2024

The SCO boasts that its member states now account for almost 27 percent of the world’s landmass and more than 42 percent of the global population. But the organization is yet to show significant, tangible results. (Photo: akorda.kz)

Kazakhstan: SCO summit doesn’t put much meat on organization’s bones

Summit’s most significant accomplishment is admitting Belarus as full member.

Almaz Kumenov Jul 5, 2024

Crocus City Hall in Moscow burns after a terrorist attack in March 2024. ISKP, the terror group responsible for the attack, is believed to also be targeting Central Asia. (Photo: gov.ru)

Perspectives: ISKP posing rising threat to Central Asia

Outreach campaign shifts into top gear.

Lucas Webber Jun 25, 2024

Chinese, Kyrgyz and Uzbek experts discuss the details of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railroad project during a field trip to Kyrgyzstan’s Jalal-Abad Province in April 2023. More than a year later, many details remain unclear. (Photo: Kyrgyz Railways)

Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan & China: When is a done deal really done?

Railway construction agreement doesn’t answer all the questions, especially about financing.

Jun 20, 2024

Work at a uranium tailings site in Naryn Province. Earlier this month, there was an accident linked to the site that fed fears that Kyrgyzstan’s decision to resume uranium mining may give rise to new hazards and accidents. (Photo: gov.kg)

Kyrgyzstan: Environmentalists raise alarm about resumption of uranium mining

For government, the possible economic rewards outweigh the risks.

Ayzirek Imanaliyeva Jun 18, 2024

The sanctioned Kazakh firm reportedly supplied Russia with components used in products with military applications, including drones. (Photo: gov.ru)

Astana authorities to probe operations of sanctioned Kazakh company

Kyrgyz entities also contained on latest list of entities targeted by US sanctions.

Almaz Kumenov Jun 18, 2024

An employee of Gazprom Kyrgyzstan at a station in Bishkek. Under a recently signed deal, Gazprom Kyrgyzstan will be supplied with Russian gas for 15 years, beginning in 2025. (Photo: bishkek.gov.kg)

Energy Roundup: Eurasian natural gas exporters making headway in reorienting operations

Russia looking south instead of west, while Azerbaijan aims to replace Russian supplies to EU.

David O'Byrne Jun 13, 2024

Eurasian citizens striving to obtain asylum in the United States reportedly face expedited removal

Would-be asylum seekers from Georgia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are supposedly targeted.

Jun 11, 2024

Unusually heavy seasonal rains have left vast swaths of Central Asia reeling from devastating floods and mudslides. (Photo: gov.kz)

China to help Central Asian states mitigate impact of floods, earthquakes and other hazards

Regional states join forces to contain Mother Nature.

China-Central Asia Monitor Jun 10, 2024

Officials of the three states at the signing ceremony for the agreement on the “joint efforts to promote the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway.” (Photo: president.uz)

China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan railway project gets off the ground

Financing remains uncertain.

Jun 7, 2024

(Photo: Devin H via Unsplash, t.ly/eIf4C)

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan taking action to curb sorcery and charlatanism

Fortune-telling now a criminal act in Dushanbe.

May 23, 2024

Gela Khachidze has been working in the Rustavi auto market for about a decade. In an interview in March, he said that business was the worst he’d ever seen. (Photo: Brawley Benson)

Georgia: The used-car capital of Eurasia

Dealers grapple with uncertainty as country strives to remain a re-export hub.

Brawley Benson May 21, 2024

The deputy head of the Kyrgyz Cabinet, Edil Baisalov, addresses foreign students on May 19, offering an apology and extending a security guarantee. (Photo: gov.kg)

Kyrgyzstan: Hundreds of Pakistani students flee after weekend melee

Kyrgyz officials take action to reassure foreign students.

Ayzirek Imanaliyeva May 20, 2024

Chinese officers check the credentials of a cargo truck headed to Kyrgyzstan at the Irkeshtam border crossing between Kyrgyzstan and the PRC. Chinese exports to Kyrgyzstan during the first quarter of 2024 totaled $4.163 billion, while only $22 million of Kyrgyz goods and services made their way to China, according to the PRC’s customs agency. (Photo: gov.cn)

Kyrgyzstan running huge trade deficit with China

Chinese trade turnover almost doubles that of the Moscow-dominated Eurasian Economic Union.

China-Central Asia Monitor May 16, 2024

After the Muftiate’s warning, Ainura Sagynbaeva deleted her controversial TikTok post and published a contrite post on Instagram, saying that she intended to “no longer study sexology,” adding that “I have also closed the topic of religion until I study the Qur’an.” (Screenshot)

Kyrgyzstan: Religious authorities muzzle influencer who said pre-marital sex is not a sin

Prospect of punishment has immediate chilling effect.

Ayzirek Imanaliyeva May 8, 2024

A protest in Tbilisi against the so-called foreign agents law. The Asian Development Bank that held its annual meeting in Tbilisi in early May came under criticism from NGO activists from across Eurasia who allege that the bank’s policies and practices buttress authoritarian regimes. (Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/oc-media.org)

ADB faces some heat at Tbilisi meeting over its development policies

Non-profit experts contend that lax standards undermine the bank’s goals.

May 6, 2024

A Russian citizen at a Kazakh border control checkpoint. Since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a stream of Russians have fled to Central Asia and the Caucasus. (Photo: gov.kz)

Relokanty: Is Russia’s loss Central Asia’s gain?

Maximizing the benefits of Russia’s surprising exodus.

Marsha McGraw Olive May 3, 2024

Trucks lined up at a border checkpoint. Central Asian governments are making efforts to simplify customs procedures. (Photo: gov.kz)

Central Asian states easing trade barriers

Agreements mark baby steps toward formation of a free-trade zone.

Apr 25, 2024

Kazakhstan’s giant Kashagan oil field. The Central Asian state’s “economic growth is projected to slow to 3.4 percent in 2024 before regaining momentum in subsequent years, driven by new oil production coming online,” according to the World Bank. (Photo: gov.kz)

Growth rates set to slow in Caucasus and Central Asia – World Bank

Regional economies experiencing “multiple headwinds.”

Brawley Benson Apr 22, 2024

Screenshot of Argen Kerimov pulling the face that made him TikTok famous. TikTok has catapulted some Kyrgyz content creators to international stardom, and many are expected to be negatively affected by the ban.

TikTok is deemed harmful to kids’ health in Kyrgyzstan

Bishkek beats the US in banning the social media channel.

Ayzirek Imanaliyeva Apr 19, 2024

The Khorgos Gateway dry port on the Chinese-Kazakh border. Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine in 2022, and the imposition of Western sanctions to punish Russian aggression, provided impetus for the growth of the Middle Corridor via Central Asia. (Photo: gov.kz)

Central Asia: Welcome to the ‘opportunity zone’

The Great Game’s got a new name.

Apr 18, 2024

Participants of an event co-sponsored by the Soros-Kyrgyzstan Foundation discuss ideas to improve Bishkek’s utilities infrastructure. The foundation supported initiatives in a variety of areas, such as education, public health, access to new digital technologies, independent media, criminal justice and legal aid reform, but has now opted to cease operations in Kyrgyzstan. (Photo: soros.kg)

Kyrgyzstan: The sun sets on the Soros Foundation in Bishkek

The newly implemented ‘foreign agents’ legislation is cited as the reason for closure.

Ayzirek Imanaliyeva Apr 17, 2024

Leaders of all five Central Asian states, as well as Azerbaijan, at a regional summit in Dushanbe in late 2023. All these countries were listed as “consolidated authoritarian regimes” in Freedom House’s recent report on the state of political freedom in 29 post-Communist states. (Photo: president.kg)

Central Asia is a bastion of “consolidated” authoritarianism – report

Warfare is catalyzing an expansion of authoritarian practices.

Apr 15, 2024

The coal-fired TPS-3 power station in Kazakhstan’s Karaganda. (Photo: gov.kz)

Central Asian states have a coal dependency problem – report

Coal addiction in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan fuels regional global warming conundrum.

Apr 12, 2024

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Kyrgyzstan | 1946 Articles