Naryn is the provincial administrative center of the Naryn Oblast in central Kyrgyzstan, with a population of 40,049 (1999). It is located at 41°26?N, 76°0?E, situated on both banks of the Naryn River, one of the main head waters of the Syr Darya, which cuts a picturesque gorge through the town. The city has […]

Kyrgyzstan has stopped supplying electricity to Tajikistan, said Kyrgyz Minister of Energy and Industry Saparbek Balkibekov. During the meeting in Moscow in January 24, Prime Minister of Tajikistan Akil Akilov asked Kyrgyz Prime Minister Igor Chudinov to increase capacity of electricity supply to Tajikistan, informs CA-News Service.
Currently Tajikistan is in extremely critical situation with […]

As all of you know, on 21st of October the Kyrgyz government held a referendum on whether or not to accept the new constitution. The importance of the referendum was that all citizens around the world could vote; thus, throwing one piece of sand to any side of the scales, one of which had […]

An independent research organization, Fund for Peace, annually publishes an index called Failed States Index that also gets published in US magazine Foreign Policy. It conducts a global ranking of weak and failed nations on the basis of 12 economic, political, social and military indicators. Such 12 determining factors include movement of refugees, environmental […]

Presidents have always played a significant role in determining country’s domestic and foreign policy, and its relations with other countries, especially neighboring ones. Change of president can lead to a change of relationship. This might be the case with new Turkmen President G. Berdymuhammedov in relation to Kyrgyzstan. He expressed his intention to develop […]

The IWPR has published an article entitled “New Social Policies Needed to Bridge Regional Conflicts” (Russian version here).
The report refers to information from the Foundation for Tolerance International’s Early Warning for Violence Prevention Programme. The most recent bulletin (Issue 71, May 10 -16) included information about clashes between groups of Kyrgyz youths from the […]

Editor’s Note: What follows is part of a cross-blog survey that explores minorities in Central Asia. This article was written by Ted Callahan*, a Research Fellow at the Social Research Center of the American University in Bishkek.
A visit to the Afghan Pamirs reveals nothing so much as the timelessness of certain economic forms. Animal […]

Editor’s Note: What follows is part of a cross-blog survey that sheds light on the rich ethnic tapestry of Central Asia.
The Ferghana Valley, especially its Kyrgyzstani part (southern Kyrgyzstan), has always fascinated people from all over the world, especially Westerners, because of the variety of ethnic groups living there (more than 20 ethnic groups […]

It’s happened! Finally, one of the greatest singers of Russia’s pop-music stage, originally from Bishkek, Svetlana Nazarenko, the lead singer of the band Gorod 312, was awarded the honorary title of “Honored Artist of Kyrgyz Republic.”
Svetlana Nazarenko, aka Aya, was born and grew up in Frunze (Bishkek), Kyrgyzstan. She is one of the few […]

IFEX has announced that news media in Kyrgyzstan enjoy more freedoms comparing to their colleagues in other Central Asian countries.
The question is, though, whether we have many reasons to rejoice this fact. Every time the data on the status of mass media celebrating freedom of speech of certain countries is published I get […]