Author: Anara Egemberdiev

The Kyrgyz Prosecutor-General’s Office on May 31 formally asked lawmakers to allow the prosecution of the leader of the opposition Butun (United) Kyrgyzstan party over alleged attempts to seize power. The chairman of the Kyrgyz parliament said that the Prosecutor-General’s Office has received a proposal to bring Adakhan Madumarov, who is also a member of parliament, to criminal responsibility. A parliamentary commission of inquiry was formed following a vote by lawmakers. Possible charges include abuse of power and preparing to seize power by force. Madumarov, 58, said the move was politically motivated and punishment for his criticism of authorities. 

Russian anti-war activist and anarchist Aleksei Rozhkov was deported from Kyrgyzstan in late May and is currently in pretrial detention in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg for allegedly setting the building of a military recruitment center in the town of Beryozovsky on fire in March 2022, the Zona Solidarnosti (Solidarity Zone) rights project said on June 6. Rozhkov left Russia for Kyrgyzstan in December after Russian authorities equated arson attacks targeting military recruitment centers to terrorism amid a sharp rise in such incidents after Russia launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Kyrgyz activist and government critic Emil Bekiev, who was deported from Russia in September, has been sentenced to six years in prison on charges of plotting mass unrest, which he rejects. The Birinchi Mai district court in Bishkek said on June 13 that it sentenced Bekiev 11 days earlier after finding him guilty of plotting mass unrest, calling for the seizure of power, and inciting hatred. According to the court’s statement, Bekiev pleaded not guilty, saying that videos he placed on the Internet, which led to the probe against him, had not called for such actions. Bekiev was arrested immediately after he…

A Turkish-Kyrgyz educator who was abducted by Turkish agents in Kyrgyzstan in 2021 has been sentenced to 21 years in prison on a charge of “establishing an armed terrorist group,” Turkish media reports said on June 16, adding that Orhan Inandi had been “brought to Turkey via an “operation” carried out by the National Intelligence Organization. Inandi, who headed the Turkish-language Sapat school system in Kyrgyzstan, was abducted by Turkish agents in Bishkek in June 2021. Turkish officials have called Inandi a top Central Asian leader of the Gulen movement, which is led by the U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, a…

A free-trade-zone agreement between Iran, Russia, and several countries that cover the vast Eurasian region spanning the borders of Eastern Europe to Western China is possible by the end of the year, Russia’s TASS news agency reported on June 19. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksei Overchuk told TASS in an interview that talks between the Eurasian Economic Union — which comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia — and Iran are in their final stages. “We are moving forward,” Overchuk said. “We very much hope that such an agreement can be signed by the end of the year.” 

The Kyrgyz Railway Company plans to link the north and south of the country with railway, Director General Azamat Sakiev said at the meeting of the Parliament Committee for International Affairs, Defense, Security and Migration, Azernews reports, citing AKIpress. “We plan to connect the north and the south of the country with railway. This will make passenger transportation safe and fast,” he said.

Hong Kong, China lost 12-2 to Kyrgyzstan on Sunday in Bosnia and Herzegovina capital Sarajevo, where six teams are competing in the 2023 Ice Hockey World Championship Division III Group B. After the match, Kyrgyzstan dominate Group B with 15 points, well ahead of hosts BiH, who won 15-1 over Malaysia on the same day and sit second in Group B with 11 points. Hong Kong rank third with nine points. Singapore and Iran took fourth and fifth place in the group, while Malaysia scored no points at the bottom of the group. The Ice Hockey World Championships are the…

The Kyrgyz language was not written down until the 20th century. The Kyrgyz have a rich tradition of oral literature. One expert told National Geographic, “The Kyrgyz think of themselves as the poets and artists of Central Asia.” The Kyrgyz oral tradition included several epics about mythical warriors, including Manas, Jayin-Bayis, Kurmanbek, and Er Tabildi.The epic Manas is most widely known, and is still widely performed by manaschis. It is not a memorized piece; the best manaschis take the outline of the story and improvise verses, which have a distinct rhythmic beat and are accompanied by expressive hand gestures. Thirteen…

At least 94 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in clashes on the disputed Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border – the deadliest in years. Fighting between the two Central Asian states broke out on Wednesday, before a ceasefire was agreed on Friday. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov says shooting has stopped but “provocative statements” continue on the internet. Violence regularly erupts between the two ex-Soviet republics, amid tensions over roads, land and water resources. Both sides blame each other for the outbreak of violence. They share a 1,000-km (600-mile) border, a third of which is disputed. President Japarov told the Kyrgyz nation on…

Kyrgyzstan has said it hopes to attract more tourists after its distinctive national hat, the kalpak, won Unesco intangible heritage status. “This gives the international community a chance to get to know our mountainous country,” Kyrgyzstan’s Deputy Tourism Minister Maksat Uulu Damir told AFP. The bell-shaped felt headgear worn by men is white with black motifs on its four panels and an upturned black rim. Unesco is the United Nations’ agency for education, culture, and science. In 2017, about 1.3 million tourists visited Kyrgyzstan, according to the US commerce department-affiliated export.gov website. The kalpak – which many Kyrgyz believe symbolises…