Kyrgyzstan's politics and economics

Manas (Kyrgyzstan's new legendary figure) in front of the National Museum

Of the 5 "Stans", Kyrgyzstan is the only one with any claim to being democratic.  Since its independence in 1991, Kyrgyzstan has had 3 elected presidents.  The first 2 so enraged their countrymen that the citizens rose up in peaceful revolt and ousted them both.  Between presidents 2 and 3, a woman was interim president and seems to have impressed the people with her commitment to democracy and honesty.

Lenin was moved to the back of the Museum

Elections are relatively clean, but complicated, since there are over 100 parties vying for Parliamentary seats.  A party must reach a threshold of 7% of the vote to gain any seats in Parliament, which means that about 50% of the votes in any election go for naught because too many parties can't reach the 7% threshold.  Right now, there are 5 parties in Parliament, 3 in the governing coalition.  It is the party leader, rather than a party's ideology, that is key to election success.

The economy rests on shaky legs.  One third of GDP comes from remittances from Kyrgyz working abroad, mostly in Russia.  Because of Russia's recession, remittances dropped 25% last year, causing huge economic problems for Kyrgyzstan.

monument to protesters who ousted 2 elected presidents

A Canadian company operates a gold mine, another important contributor to GDP, but gold prices, also, have declined sharply.  That leaves agriculture as the most important sector, but, since only 7% of the land is arable, that cannot contribute enough to the economy to make up for lost remittances and income from gold sales.  As a result, Kyrgyzstan is the second poorest country of all the former Soviet republics.  GDP per capita averages $2400 per year.

During the latter part of the U.S. war in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan hosted a large U.S. military presence, providing important cash to the economy.  When the war wound down last year, the base closed, leaving thousands of Kyrgyz without jobs and hitting the economy hard.  The U.S. has beefed up aid to country, but the current president abrogated the foreign aid agreement for some reason, making it difficult for the U.S. to continue its aid missions.  Nonetheless, aid continues to be about $50 million per year, primarily for health care, fighting TB, improving reading education and supporting the American University of Central Asia, located in Bishkek.

changing of the guard in the central square

The U.S. also provides training and support for improving agriculture, including the development of more efficient irrigation (drip systems) and greenhouses.  There is a law enforcement component, of course, primarily fighting drugs and helping train border security guards to guard against the smuggling of nuclear materials.

While Kyrgyzstan is mostly Muslim, it is less fundamentalist than the rest of the region.  Religion was heavily suppressed during the 75 years of Soviet control.  But, today Islam is becoming a stronger force in society, though extremist ideology hasn't taken hold.  Many children attend madrassas to supplement their inferior public school education and this is a source of concern.

The media is almost completely controlled by Russia, which has an effective propaganda machine that is very anti-West right now.  President Atambaev was fairly pro-Western when he first took office, but Russia has pulled him back towards the "motherland".  The country has joined Russia's European Economic Union.

Kyrgyz baby at the changing of the guard

The Russian-dominated media focuses on anti-U.S. propaganda rather than investigative reporting. Virtually all the news people get here is from Russian TV.  Consequently, the U.S. is not trusted.

One important economic activity is re-exporting Chinese goods.  The exportation of these goods has become more expensive in the region because China is not a member of the European Economic Union, so faces high tariffs.  This, too, has cut into Kyrgyzstan's economy.

China is a big force in the Kyrgyz economy, with trade and infrastructure projects.  Key to this are pipelines to carry oil and gas from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan to China.  They are building railroads to connect China to Europe.  One Chinese goal is to integrate Western China more closely into the larger Chinese economy, partly by these transportation links which will cross the Uigher areas of Western China.  Consequently, China is a much bigger economic presence here than Russia.

Kyrgyzstan also exports hydro-power to China, but this is seasonal.  Uzbekistan needs Kyrgyzstan's water for its large cotton production industry, so does not want Kyrgyzstan to dam its rivers.

The U.S. has started a new Silk Road initiative by supporting a pipeline through Kyrgyzstan bringing Turkmenistan's natural gas to India via Pakistan and Tajikistan.  U.S./Kyrgyz relations have cooled since the U.S. base here closed.  Part of this is due to human rights concerns the U.S. has which infuriates the Kyrgyz president.  Both countries want to get relations back on track, however.

tourists arrived at the square in this carriage

There are only 25 embassies in Bishkek, including 5 European embassies.  The U.S. is building a new embassy compound to house its 270 employees (70 Americans and 200 Kyrgyzstan citizens).  Right now, the embassy building is small and employees are crammed 2 to a tiny cubicle, barely able to move about.