On April 2, Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov signed a bill on foreign funding for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) into law. NGOs that receive funding from abroad will be registered as “foreign representatives,” and they will be subject to costly reporting and auditing requirements. In the many months it took for this piece of legislation to pass … Read more
As Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov marked three years in power this week, officials in his government confirmed that he’d seek a second term. Deputy Prime Minister Edil Baisalov said Japarov would take part in the next election during an Azattyk program on January 29. “The constitution allows it, so he will not just abandon things … Read more
Kyrgyzstan is considering changing its more than 30-year-old flag. “I support the idea,” said President Sadyr Japarov. “Our flag looks likes a sunflower; with this the country cannot rise from its knees.” The Jogorku Kenesh, the country’s unicameral legislature, approved the first reading of the draft law last week to straighten the flag’s currently wavy … Read more
Advertisement The sudden killing of criminal leader Kamchybek Kolbaev by Kyrgyzstan’s security service has given rise to considerable doubts and rumors among the public. The whole situation sent shockwaves through Kyrgyzstan, leaving many people deeply stunned and leading some to question the nature of the current Kyrgyz legal system. Several different layers of doubts have … Read more
Advertisement On October 3, Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov signed a bill into law that allows the Constitutional Court to revise prior decisions. Revisions can be instigated by the court’s chairperson or the president in three cases: if constitutional norms have shifted since a decision was made, if circumstances relevant to a decision come to light … Read more
Advertisement The notorious, internationally wanted, criminal kingpin Kamchybek Kolbaev was killed in a shootout in a Bishkek pub on October 4. Kolbaev’s death was a sudden end to a long, infamous career of escaping the law, both internationally and within Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz State Committee of National Security claimed that Kolbaev – aka Kamchybek Asanbek – … Read more
Advertisement The collapse of the Soviet Union sparked the creation of new informal practices across all of its former republics. Soviet-style corruption, in the form of blat (favors) and reiderstvo (corporate raiding), and newer informal practices, enabled the transition to independence. Like other parts of the former Soviet periphery, in Kyrgyzstan Soviet-era practices and ideas … Read more
Advertisement Six months have passed since Kyrgyzstan’s former President Almazbek Atambayev decamped for Spain, and it was only a few weeks ago that there was any glimpse of him. On August 5, Temirlan Sultanbekov – an Atambayev loyalist and head of the Social Democrats, one of the offshoots of Atambayev’s party – posted a photo … Read more
Advertisement In late June, Kyrgyzstan’s Constitutional Court reversed an earlier Supreme Court ruling and allowed for adult citizens to adopt a matronymic, a second name derived from one’s mother. The ruling sparked intense public debate in Kyrgyzstan, not only about the issue of naming and traditional values, but also about the role and power of … Read more
Advertisement Back in 2015, the United States and Kyrgyzstan hit a serious bump in bilateral relations. Less than a year after U.S. and NATO forces vacated the air base at Manas (June 2014), the U.S. State Department decided to give Azimjan Askarov, an ethnic Uzbek Kyrgyz political prisoner, its 2014 Human Rights Defender Award (he … Read more