Seven months after the violence in Osh, much uncertainty prevails about what caused the bloodshed and who were its main perpetrators. Instead, rumors fill the gaps, with some in Kyrgyzstan fearing a renewal of violence and others quietly blaming either ethnic Uzbeks or ethnic Kyrgyz... MORE

Despite the Russian government’s ongoing crackdown of opposition protests in Moscow and extending the politically-motivated prison term to former influential oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Kyrgyzstan has honored Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, with his own mountain. Shortly before visiting Moscow late last month, Kyrgyzstan’s newly elected... MORE

After the first unsuccessful attempt to form a ruling coalition, Kyrgyz Members of Parliament (MP’s) have attempted to re-establish one. Under the Respublika Party’s leadership, the Social-Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK) and the Ata-Jurt Party joined a new coalition. Similar to the earlier effort, the... MORE

For several months Kyrgyzstan has existed without a fully-fledged government and functioning parliament. Most voters had hoped to see the government finally formed after three out of five parties represented in the parliament agreed to join the ruling coalition.It took weeks of negotiations before the... MORE

The situation in Kyrgyzstan generated an emotive exchange between Kazakh and Uzbek officials during the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit in Astana, on December 1-2, highlighting continuing disagreements between neighbors.While Kazakhstan’s President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, affirmed that the OSCE has done everything... MORE

On November 17, a controversial trial began in Bishkek over the ousted former Kyrgyz president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, and 28 members of his regime. Former defense minister Baktybek Kalyev is among the defendants. Bakiyev, however, along with six other defendants, is being tried in absentia (www.akipress.kg,... MORE

Kyrgyzstan’s political leaders were surprised by the US Department of Defense’s (DoD) decision to renew its contract with the London-based and Gibraltar-registered Mina Corp Inc., the contractor that has been responsible in recent years for supplying jet fuel to the US Transit Center in Manas.... MORE

After months of deliberations, on November 3, the US Defense Department (DoD) renewed its collaboration with Mina Corp Ltd., which has supplied jet fuel to the US Transit Center Manas in Bishkek for the past six years (https://www.defense.gov//News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=61543). A one year $315 million contract allows... MORE

Approximately six months after the ethnic violence in Osh and Jalalabad, southern Kyrgyzstan remains relatively calm. Tensions, however, have now migrated into the local courtrooms, where the alleged criminals are on trial in a highly charge environment. Ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks find themselves on the... MORE

The leaders of four political parties –Ar-Namys, Ata-Jurt, Respublika, and Social-democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SPDK) – traveled to Moscow days after the October 10 parliamentary elections (www.24.kg, October 15). Reportedly, they met with Russian officials to discuss the possibility of forming a coalition. All four... MORE