Postcard from Bishkek

Tomorrow is a big day for Kyrgyzstan – Independence Day.  Although I’ve already written a postcard about the public holiday, I thought that it would be appropriate to take a look at the events in Moscow that led to Kyrgyzstan breaking its bonds with the former Soviet Union at then end of August, 1991.

Before I came here, I thought that the attempted coup d’etat in Moscow in August 1991, was responsible for the demise of the USSR and the declaration of the Kyrgyz Republic as a sovereign and independent state.  In actual fact it proved to be just a catalyst that led to both and the events which led to the eventual independence of Kyrgyzstan from the Soviet Union sprang from a number of causes.  

A growing crisis in the Kyrgyz SSR.

The relationship between the small republic and the rest of the country had been subject to much upheaval over the years.  Although the Kyrgyz from the Northern regions had sent emissaries to the Tsar back in the 19th Century, seeking support against Bukhara and the Khanate of Kokand, the influx of Russians, (explorers, merchants, army and settlers), was not without opposition.   The events of 1916 proved to be particularly bloody and led to a sense of oppression amongst many of the Kyrgyz.  In many ways the “colonization” of Central Asia is seen by many as the Russian equivalent of the expansion into the “Wild West” in the United States – and the oppression of the native peoples of Central Asia compared to the fate suffered by the American Indian.

Then came the Bolshevik Revolution – and some Kyrgyz feel that this saved them from “genocide” at the hands of the Russian colonists.  Even this however, was resisted – in the Civil War that followed and the Bashmachi Revolt.  Eventually, however, the authorities in Moscow prevailed and the area was subsumed into various republics – eventually culminating in the Kyrgyz SSR being established.

During the years of Soviet Rule, the borders of the various republics were re-drawn, people were transported to Central Asia – for example, into “internal exile”, or as whole factories were transferred away from the Western Front and the advancing German armies in the Second World War.   The country became a closed area … off the world stage, but not forgotten.  There were various subsidies and industries established.  Health, education and social services developed.  The infrastructure was built up.  Despite this, there were still underlying tensions in the small republic.

As in the rest of the Union, however, the Kyrgyz SSR was facing economic difficulties.  To make matters worse, unresolved social problems aggravated the economic difficulties, and there was a growing rise in national sentiments.  In 1985, following a decision taken by the Central Committee, the first elections to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR took place by a popular vote of the people – the first time the Kyrgyz people as a whole had been able to participate in such an election.   In 1989 the Kyrgyz language was given the status as the state language – which played a major role in in the national self-consciousness.  There was an increase in interest in traditional national culture, which had suffered from neglect in earlier periods of the development of the USSR. 

Also, a Declaration of Sovereignty was adopted by the Supreme Soviet in December 1990, (creating a sovereign state within the framework of the Soviet Union – in which the authority of the government was derived from the “Kyrgyz nation” , as opposed to being a republic within the Soviet Union).  However, the creation of an independent state was not to happen until August 1991 – in response to the events in Moscow.  

 

Amongst the underlying causes of the tension in the republic which was to erupt as the 1980′s turned into the 1990′s was unrest concerning the housing situation in the republic, (although this may have been just the “tip of the iceberg”) and was a catalyst for a sequence of events..

In the 1970′s and 80′s – called by some the “years of stagnation”, but recalled as the “Golden Years” by many – because there were plenty of goods in the shops, there was plenty of work, and the country (the USSR) exuded self-respect.  In the Kyrgyz SSR there were many ambitious building projects … the monumental marble edifices of the White House, the Historical Museum, the National Library, the Philharmonia, the facade of the Ala Too Square all belong to this period.  Such grandiose projects, however, provided little residential accommodation – and, by 1990, the housing situation was reaching crisis proportions – especially in the capital, Frunze, (Bishkek), and the densely populated areas of the Ferghana valley.

In Frunze rumours spread that homeless refugees from an earthquake in Armenia were to be allocated housing.  In response, people took to the streets to protest.  The mood of the crowds in the mass demonstrations was angry, and there were calls for the government to resign, but order was maintained. 

In the south, however, and the quarrels between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz over building land erupted into violence which led to many deaths – reports vary but early estimates of 116 were later revised to 300, and some unofficial figures put it as high as 1000 (48 people died in the first four days of rioting in Osh, itself).  The riots of June 1990 were sparked after local Kyrgyz had been granted building plots on an Uzbek dominated state-farm.  A crowd of Uzbeks attacked a police station and the situation deteriorated.  There was a wave of bloody revenge killings as inter ethnic rioting spread to other towns.  Troops were drafted in from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to restore order, the border with Uzbekistan was closed to prevent the unrest spreading and a curfew imposed in several cities – but the unrest lasted for several weeks and many residents fled: Uzbeks to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz to the North, to escape the violence.

There were calls for the resignation of the of the party leadership – and calls from from some of the ethnic Uzbeks for autonomy.  Faced with a crisis of confidence, the Party under Absamat Masaliyevich Masaliyev decided to create the post of President.  The President would be symbolic, virtually powerless, but would be elected by the Supreme Soviet.  During the debates in the parliament, a hunger strike was organized on the terrace of the White  House, (which, at that time, wasn’t fenced in).  The election ended in a “draw” which, according to rules of procedure, resulted in the elimination of all eleven candidates.  In the political turmoil that ensued, Askar Akaev emerged as a compromise candidate and was elected. 

The new administration asserted itself slowly and amidst a growing sense of nationalism the capital was renamed Bishkek in April 1991.

Then came the events in Moscow, in August 1991. 

Crisis in Moscow.

Throughout the Soviet Union there was economic difficulties.  To make matters worse, unresolved social problems aggravated the economic difficulties. and there was a growth of republican separatism within the USSR.   The “Democratic” movement in Russia was strengthening … civil unrest erupted in Vilnius, Tbilisi, Baku and Almaty.

Trouble had been brewing in the Baltic States for some years … Estonia even declaring in 1990 that all Soviet power in the country since 1940 was illegal.  A union-wide referendum was held in March 1991, and although 6 of republics boycotted it, a majority in each of the other nine – including the KSSR, (Kyrgyzstan) – voted in favour of the retention of the USSR.

Mikhail Gorbachev, attempted to create a new, less centralised state structure.  On August 20th was to be the signing of a new Union Treaty, which would effectively reform the 15 existing republics of the USSR into a federation of independent republics, with a common president, foreign policy and armed services.  Generally, the leaders of the Central Asian republics supported him in this, along with many reformers who thought that the adoption of a free market economy was the only way to solve the economic problems facing the superpower.   But not everybody in the Union supported the move. 

Gorbachev was on holiday in the Crimea, and his Vice President, Prime Minister, Defence Minister and the head of the KGB, along with some other senior officials formed the State Committee on the State Emergency”.  The sent troops to place him under house arrest, and issued decrees suspending all political activity and placing limits on the media – banning most of the newspapers published throughout the Union.  They may have expected popular support, but whilst the world – and the rest of the Soviet Union – watched, thousands went onto the streets of the capital Moscow to “defend the White House” – the home of the Russian parliament, (the “Duma”) where the Mayor of Moscow, Boris Yeltsin was leading a vigorous opposition to the new authorities.

CNN and the BBC reported that the leaders of the coup were planning to fly to Bishkek – which never happened, and this information may have simply been rumour.  It is interesting that just hours before the junta acted against the White House, (home of the Duma – Parliament), in Moscow, tanks were to be seen lined up along the road between Bishkek and Manas airport – although no-one seems to know who ordered them onto the streets.  

In Bishkek, performances of “Swan Lake” were broadcast on the State Television Service, and then President Akaev appeared to address the nation.  He announced in, what some people say was “blunt” language, he shocked the nation with the announcement that a coup was being staged in Moscow.     

The coup collapsed after three days and the organizers arrested. 

Independence

The various republics accelerated their process towards independence, declaring their sovereignty one by one.  In Kyrgyzstan, Akaev resigned from the Communist Party, along with his Vice President, and was followed by the entire politburo and secretariat of the republic. The Communist Party was outlawed and its assets seized.  This was followed by a vote in the Supreme Soviet, acting on the basis of the Declaration of Sovereignty adopted the previous December and the constitution of the Kyrgyz SSR, declaring independence from the USSR on August 31, 1991.