Archive sections: ‘Kyrgyzstan’
Shortly after the Easter Revolution the Interim government made a somewhat controversial decision to change the Mayor of Bishkek.
One of the results of the Easter Revolution was that the Interim Government promised constitutional reform. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the declaration of Independence – Kyrgyzstan continued to operate under the auspices of the existing Soviet document. It was on May 5th, 1993, that a new constitution was finally adopted, thus [...]
In the west, the “May Day” holiday is associated with the Labour movement, and the former Soviet Union – with images of parades in Red Square. It may not seem surprising then that a former Soviet Republic decided to keep with tradition and commemorate this day as a national holiday.
This week has been like trying to solve a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. It seems as if I have left the land of reality and have settled to live in a land of rumour and counter rumour, speculation and supposition, ambiguity and indecision, doubt and uncertainty. There is a constant stream of News reports, gossip and [...]
Economists sometimes refer to the economy as being like an iceberg: split into two parts, with one visible above the “water line” and the other “hidden” below the surface. The ‘hidden’ part of the economy is basically any economic activity which is not reported to the authorities, is not included in statistics, and on which tax [...]
The Kumtor Gold Mine is an open-pit gold mining site in the Issyk Kul oblast, about 350 km (220 miles) southeast of the capital Bishkek and 80 km (50 mi) south of Lake Issyk-Kul, near the border with China. It is said to be the seventh-largest gold deposit in the world and the world’s second highest [...]
The Tien Shan is the largest mountain range in Asia, in surface area; length (2800km); and width (at one point reaching 800 km wide) – with a total of 40 peaks over 6000m. It stretches across several countries and about much of the system lies in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic. Extending over 2800km [...]
Just outside Balykchi is a statue of the Russian explorer Pyotr Petrovich Semyenov leading his packhorse. He was awarded the honorary title TienShansky by the Tsar in 1906, some 50 years after his expeditions, in recognition of his achievements.
Roza Isakovna OTUNBAEVA was born in 1950 in Osh, in what was then the Kyrgyz Socialist Soviet Republic, one of the constituent republics of the USSR.
It’s a week since I last wrote a postcard about the recent events here in Kyrgyzstan … and as the former British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, once commented, “A week is a long time in politics.” It has certainly been a long week … an eventful week.
