During the 15th-16th centuries, the Kyrgyz people settled in the
territory currently known as the Kyrgyz Republic. In the early 19th
century, the southern territory of the Kyrgyz Republic came under
the control of the Khanate of Kokand, and the territory was formally
incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1876. The Russian takeover
instigated numerous revolts against tsarist authority, and many
Kyrgyz opted to move into the Pamir mountains or to Afghanistan. The
suppression of the 1916 rebellion in Central Asia caused many Kyrgyz
to migrate to China.
Soviet power was initially established in the region in 1918, and in
1924, the Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast was created within the
Russian Federal Socialist Republic. (The term Kara-Kyrgyz was used
until the mid-1920s by the Russians to distinguish them from the
Kazakhs, who were also referred to as Kyrgyz.) In 1926, it became
the Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. On December 5,
1936, the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) was established as
a full Union Republic of the U.S.S.R.
During the 1920s, the Kyrgyz Republic saw considerable cultural,
educational, and social change. Economic and social development also
was notable. Literacy increased, and a standard literary language
was introduced. The Kyrgyz language belongs to the Southern Turkic
group of languages. In 1924, an Arabic-based Kyrgyz alphabet was
introduced, which was replaced by Latin script in 1928. In 1941
Cyrillic script was adopted. Many aspects of the Kyrgyz national
culture were retained despite suppression of nationalist activity
under Joseph Stalin, who controlled the Soviet Union from the late
1920s until 1953.
The early years of glasnost in the late 1980s had little effect on
the political climate in the Kyrgyz Republic. However, the
republic's press was permitted to adopt a more liberal stance and to
establish a new publication, Literaturny Kirghizstan, by the Union
of Writers. Unofficial political groups were forbidden, but several
groups that emerged in 1989 to deal with an acute housing crisis
were permitted to function.
In June 1990, ethnic tensions between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz surfaced in
an area of the Osh Oblast, where Uzbeks form a majority of the
population. Violent confrontations ensued, and a state of emergency
and curfew were introduced. Order was not restored until August
1990.
The early 1990s brought measurable change to the Kyrgyz Republic.
The Kyrgyzstan Democratic Movement (KDM) had developed into a
significant political force with support in parliament. In an upset
victory, Askar Akayev, the president of the Kyrgyz Academy of
Sciences, was elected to the presidency in October 1990. The
following January, Akayev introduced new government structures and
appointed a new government comprised mainly of younger,
reform-oriented politicians. In December 1990, the Supreme Soviet
voted to change the republic's name to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan.
(In 1993, it became the Kyrgyz Republic.) In February 1991, the name
of the capital, Frunze, was changed back to its pre-revolutionary
name--Bishkek.
Despite these moves toward independence, economic realities seemed
to work against secession from the U.S.S.R. In a referendum on the
preservation of the U.S.S.R. in March 1991, 88.7% of the voters
approved a proposal to retain the U.S.S.R. as a "renewed
federation."
On August 19, 1991, when the State Committee for the State of
Emergency (SCSE) assumed power in Moscow, there was an attempt to
depose Akayev in Kyrgyzstan. After the coup collapsed the following
week, Akayev and Vice President German Kuznetsov announced their
resignations from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),
and the entire politburo and secretariat resigned. This was followed
by the Supreme Soviet vote declaring independence from the U.S.S.R.
on August 31, 1991. Kyrgyz was announced as the state language in
September 1991. (In December 2001, through a constitutional
amendment, the Russian language was given official status.)
In October 1991, Akayev ran unopposed and was elected President of
the new independent republic by direct ballot, receiving 95% of the
votes cast. Together with the representatives of seven other
republics, he signed the Treaty of the New Economic Community that
same month. On December 21, 1991, the Kyrgyz Republic formally
entered the new Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
In 1993, allegations of corruption against Akayev's closest
political associates blossomed into a major scandal. One of those
accused of improprieties was Prime Minister Chyngyshev, who was
dismissed for ethical reasons in December. Following Chyngyshev's
dismissal, Akayev dismissed the government and called upon the last
communist premier, Apas Djumagulov, to form a new one. In January
1994, Akayev initiated a referendum asking for a renewed mandate to
complete his term of office. He received 96.2% of the vote.
A new constitution was passed by the parliament in May 1993. In
1994, however, the parliament failed to produce a quorum for its
last scheduled session prior to the expiration of its term in
February 1995. President Akayev was widely accused of having
manipulated a boycott by a majority of the parliamentarians. Akayev,
in turn, asserted that the communists had caused a political crisis
by preventing the legislature from fulfilling its role. Akayev
scheduled an October 1994 referendum, overwhelmingly approved by
voters, which proposed two amendments to the constitution--one that
would allow the constitution to be amended by means of a referendum,
and the other creating a new bicameral parliament called the Jogorku
Kenesh.
Elections for the two legislative chambers--a 35-seat full-time
assembly and a 70-seat part-time assembly--were held in February
1995 after campaigns considered remarkably free and open by most
international observers, although the election-day proceedings were
marred by widespread irregularities. Independent candidates won most
of the seats, suggesting that personalities prevailed over
ideologies. The new parliament convened its initial session in March
1995. One of its first orders of business was the approval of the
precise constitutional language on the role of the legislature.
On December 24, 1995, President Akayev was reelected for another
5-year term with wide support (75% of vote) over two opposing
candidates. President Akayev used government resources and
state-owned media to carry out his campaign. Three (out of six)
candidates were de-registered shortly before the election.
A February 1996 referendum--in violation of the constitution and the
law on referendums--amended the constitution to give President
Akayev more power. Although the changes gave the president the power
to dissolve parliament, it also more clearly defined the
parliament's powers. Since that time, the parliament has
demonstrated real independence from the executive branch.
An October 1998 referendum approved constitutional changes,
including increasing the number of deputies in the lower house,
reducing the number of deputies in the upper house, providing for
25% of lower house deputies to be elected by party lists, rolling
back parliamentary immunity, introducing private property,
prohibiting adoption of laws restricting freedom of speech and mass
media, and reforming the state budget.
Two rounds of parliamentary elections were held on February 20, 2000
and March 12, 2000. With the full backing of the United States, the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reported
that the elections failed to comply with commitments to free and
fair elections and hence were invalid. Questionable judicial
proceedings against opposition candidates and parties limited the
choice of candidates available to Kyrgyz voters, while
state-controlled media only reported favorably on official
candidates. Government officials put pressure on independent media
outlets that favored the opposition. The presidential election that
followed later in 2000 also was marred by irregularities and was not
declared free and fair by international observers.
March 2002 events in the southern district of Aksy, where six people
protesting the arbitrary arrest of an opposition politician were
shot dead by police, engendered nationwide protests. President
Akayev initiated a constitutional reform process, which initially
included the participation of a broad range of government, civil,
and social representatives in an open dialogue. The reform process
resulted in a February 2003 referendum, which was marred by voting
irregularities. The amendments to the constitution approved by the
referendum resulted in further control by the president and weakened
the parliament and the Constitutional Court. Under the new
constitution, the previously bicameral parliament became a 75-seat
unicameral legislature following the 2005 parliamentary elections.
Parliamentary elections were held February 27 and March 13, 2005.
The United States agreed with the findings of the OSCE that while
the elections failed to comply with commitments to free and fair
elections, there were improvements over the 2000 elections, notably
the use of indelible ink, transparent ballot boxes, and generally
good access by election observers.
Sporadic protests against widespread fraud during the parliamentary
runoff elections in March 2005 erupted into calls for the government
to resign. By March 24, 15,000 pro-opposition demonstrators called
for the resignation of the president and his regime in Bishkek. Some
injuries were reported when opposition demonstrators were attacked
by police and pro-government thugs. Protestors seized the
presidential administration building, after which President Akayev
left the country for Kazakhstan, and then Russia. Looting broke out
in parts of Bishkek on the evening of March 24, causing an estimated
$100 million in damage.
Opposition leaders, caught by surprise by developments, moved to
form a broadly inclusive "Committee of National Unity." Opposition
leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev was named acting President and Prime
Minister. Bakiyev formed an alliance with primary rival Feliks Kulov
whereby Kulov agreed to drop out of the presidential race if Bakiyev
appointed him Prime Minister upon winning the elections.
Bakiyev easily won the July 10, 2005 presidential elections with
over 88% of the vote. An unprecedented number of domestic and
international observers monitored the elections and noted
significant improvements in the electoral process over the
parliamentary elections, although there were some reports of
irregularities.
Opposition groups held a series of demonstrations in 2006, including
the entire first week of November, to protest the lack of progress
on reform, in particular of the constitution, promised by President
Bakiyev in 2005. The Kyrgyz parliament adopted amendments to the
constitution and President Bakiyev signed the amended constitution
on November 9, 2006, which limited the powers of the president and
increased the role of parliament. After the government resigned on
December 19, the Kyrgyz parliament voted on December 30 to adopt new
amendments restoring some of the presidential powers lost in
November. President Bakiyev signed the changes into law January 15,
2007.
In March 2007, President Bakiyev appointed opposition leader Almaz
Atambayev as Prime Minister. A week-long opposition protest in April
2007 ended when police cleared the main Ala-Too Square in Bishkek.
In September 2007, the Constitutional Court invalidated the November
2006 and December 2006 versions of the constitution. President
Bakiyev then called a snap national referendum on a new version of
the constitution, which strengthened the powers of the president and
provided for a parliament elected by party lists. The new
constitution was approved in an October 2007 referendum that was
marked by serious irregularities, including massive inflation of
turnout figures. President Bakiyev then dissolved the parliament,
calling for new elections. The December 2007 elections were deeply
flawed, with the new pro-presidential Ak Jol party gaining 71 out of
90 seats. The largest opposition party, Ata Meken, did not gain any
seats, despite probably receiving enough votes to meet the regional
thresholds required to enter parliament. Following the elections, a
new government was formed, headed by the former energy minister,
Igor Chudinov, as Prime Minister. |
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