Almost all people in former soviet cities know and use the services of public transportation of minibuses known as “marshrutka”. In Bishkek it has become a big headache for everyone, including other drivers, traffic inspection, urban authorities, and etc. In Internet, especially in RU-zone, one can find quite a few jokes about marshrutka. Nevertheless, city dwellers can not survive without marshrutkas since minibuses took the big chunk of public transportation service. Meanwhile, quite a few road accidents take place every day where marshrutkas and their drivers and passengers are involved. Here is another dramatic and criminal story, published in Delo.

After arguing with each other while driving on the road near Osh Bazaar, drivers of marshrutka and a car stopped and started yelling on each other, and in the end car’s driver took his gun and shot his rival into his eye and went away. Militia found the shooter and arrested him, and the wounded driver is still in hospital, and there is a little chance that his eye will be saved. The case will be considered in the court and the accused driver can be convicted to a prison up to 10 years, while the injured driver probably won’t be able to work again on marshrutka.

Taalaybek, an injured driver (Photo by Delo)

I do not blame anyone, and it seems that both of drivers are guilty and they should have solved the issue in more polite way. But it seems that the people in Kyrgyzstan are getting more angry and severe due to the uneasy life. The brutality starts in elementary school and ends nowhere.