On May 26, the Kyrgyz parliament voted to declare Finish diplomat Kimmo Kiljunen and leader of the Kyrgyzstan Inquiry Commission’s (KIC) investigation as persona non grata. By doing so, 95 MPs (out of 120) who voted for the resolution, have demonstrated an incapacity to handle... MORE

The Russian-led security alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, has pledged to face security challenges in Central Asia by boosting military cooperation. Russian military officials urged the grouping to boost their defense ties. The... MORE

One week after the publication of the Kyrgyzstan Inquiry Commission’s (KIC) report detailing its investigation into the ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan, widespread discussion has been triggered in the country. Most local experts agree that the report adds more to understanding the causes and consequences... MORE

On May 2nd, a group of international experts presented their view of Kyrgyzstan’s violence in June 2010, which took the lives of 470 and displaced over 400,000 people. Finish MP Kimmo Kiljunen reported findings of the Kyrgyzstan Inquiry Commission (KIC) in Bishkek, summarizing over five... MORE

It will soon be one year since Kyrgyzstan adopted a parliamentary system of governance. Although the country’s political life is more transparent, it is also increasingly unpredictable. Almost all parties represented in parliament favor a stronger political center. Likewise they all see the upcoming presidential... MORE

Kyrgyzstan’s Prime Minister, Almazbek Atambayev, has announced that Kyrgyzstan will join the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union. It is evident that this decision was political rather than based on economic priorities. Kyrgyzstan is the only Central Asian country with membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), an... MORE

As Kyrgyzstan marks the first anniversary of the April 7, 2010 regime change after a year full of dramatic changes, ambiguity about the country’s recent past prevails. The public and political leadership still grapples with interpreting the meaning of April 7 as well as the... MORE

As with other great powers, today or in history, the United States has been pressured to balance ends and means to retain its influence in the world, currently marked by power shifts away from the West. The government’s proposed budget of $3.73 trillion for 2012... MORE

As the first anniversary of the April 7 “revolution” approaches, Bishkek is plagued by numerous small riots organized to challenge the parliament and government’s decisions. The riots may also be instigated by competing political forces ahead of the presidential elections later this year. The elections... MORE

Six years after ousting an unpopular leader and one year since yet another forceful regime change, Kyrgyzstan faces the dilemma of identifying the role of both events in the country’s recent history. The March 24, 2005, regime change, ousting President Askar Akayev and electing Kurmanbek... MORE