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RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service

RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service is an award-winning, multimedia source of independent news and informed debate, covering major stories and underreported topics, including women, minority rights, high-level corruption, and religious radicalism.

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Also by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service

February 13, 2025
Kyrgyzstan Promotes 'Traditional Names' Amid New De-Russification Drive

In Kyrgyzstan, where many still use Russian-style last names, parliament has adopted a bill that promotes traditional Kyrgyz surnames. The move comes amid a renewed de-Russification drive in Central Asia.
December 26, 2024
2024 Was The Year Of Floods; Expect Climate Crisis To Continue

From Central Europe to the Caucusus to Central Asia and Afghanistan, 2024 saw extreme flooding across many of the countries in RFE/RL's region. We look back at the impact and ask Ayesha Tandon, a science journalist at the U.K.-based website Carbon Brief, what's causing the increased flooding.
November 27, 2024
The Kyrgyz Village Where Flooding Drove Away 30 Families In 4 Years

In recent years, floods have forced out 30 families of nearly 300 households in Ak-Terek, a small village in Kyrgyzstan's southern Batken Province. Residents say they have never experienced such persistent flooding, which experts attribute to climate change.
November 19, 2024
Central Asia's 'Island Of Democracy' Endangered As Kyrgyz Opposition Fades Away

The arrest of opposition politicians on the eve of local elections continues a trend in which even the hint of political competition to President Sadyr Japarov’s regime is being discouraged.
November 13, 2024
Former Kyrgyz Customs Official Matraimov Released To House Arrest

Raimbek Matraimov, the former deputy chief of Kyrgyzstan's Customs Service who was at the center of a high-profile corruption scandal, has been transferred from pretrial detention to house arrest.
November 04, 2024
Kyrgyz Opposition Politician Beknazarov Released Pending Embezzlement Trial

Kyrgyz opposition politician Azimbek Beknazarov, who has been accused of embezzlement in 2010 while he was a member of the interim government, was released from detention on November 4 but ordered not to leave Bishkek.
October 30, 2024
Japarov Proposes New National Anthem For 'Evolving' Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov says he plans to revise the country's national anthem to adequately represent the "evolving" identity of the nation.
October 22, 2024
Russian Engineer Identified Among Victims Of Downed Cargo Plane In Sudan

The death of Anton Selivanets, a Russian aircraft engineer, has been confirmed following the downing of a cargo plane in war-torn Sudan.
October 18, 2024
3 Bodies Found In Kyrgyz Avalanche; 3 People Still Missing

Kyrgyzstan's Emergencies Ministry announced on October 18 the recovery of the bodies of three victims from an avalanche site in the southwestern district of Chatkal, while the search continues for others still missing in the district's Ak-Sai mountains.
October 18, 2024
Russia Pressures Central Asian Prisoners To Fight In Ukraine As 'Expendable Force'

Russia has been enlisting Central Asian prisoners to fight in Ukraine, throwing them on the frontline with limited military training. Some were lured with enticements, but many others faced torture and unbearable prison conditions before signing to fight.
October 18, 2024
Brutal Russian Prisons Driving Inmates To Fight In Ukraine

Increasingly oppressive conditions inside Russian prisons are driving desperate inmates to enlist in the military to fight in Ukraine. Speaking to RFE/RL from behind bars in Russia, a Kyrgyz inmate said that many convicts enlist because they cannot endure such harsh prison conditions.
October 17, 2024
Kyrgyz Government Critic Loses Appeal Against 3-Year Prison Sentence

The Bishkek City Court on October 17 rejected an appeal by Kyrgyz government critic Askat Zhetigen and upheld his three-year prison sentence.
October 10, 2024
Kyrgyz Investigative Journalists Jailed As Media Crackdown Continues

Two journalists from the Kyrgyz anti-corruption investigative group Temirov Live have been sentenced to prison after being found guilty on charges that their supporters and media watchdogs say are politically motivated.
October 08, 2024
Vocal Kyrgyz Government Critic Released From Jail After Sentence Changed

Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court on October 8 changed the five-year prison term handed to vocal government critic and journalist Oljobai Shakir with three years of parole-like probation.
October 03, 2024
Turkic States Agree On Common Latin Alphabet, But Kyrgyzstan Happy With Its Cyrillic Script

The Organization of Turkic States has agreed to adopt a common Latin alphabet, but it remains a sensitive topic in Kyrgyzstan, the only member state that has not decided to make the switch.
September 27, 2024
Watchdog Urges Bishkek To Drop 'Contrived' Charges Against 11 Journalists On Trial

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has urged Kyrgyz authorities to drop the prosecution of 11 current and former staff members from the anti-corruption investigative group Temirov Live and release those in custody.
September 26, 2024
Rights Groups Decry Harsh Sentences Sought For Kyrgyz Reporters

Kyrgyz prosecutors have asked a court in Bishkek to sentence to six years in prison each of 11 former and current reporters for the Temirov Live investigative group on charges the journalists and rights groups have rejected as politically motivated.
September 18, 2024
Kyrgyz President's Relative Accused Of Fraud Released To House Arrest

A court in Bishkek announced on September 18 that a relative of President Sadyr Japarov who is suspected of fraud had been transferred from pretrial detention to house arrest.
September 16, 2024
Former Kyrgyz Deputy PM Placed In Pretrial Detention On Corruption Charges

The Birinchi Mai district court in Bishkek said on September 16 that it placed former Prime Minister Duishenbek Zilaliev in pretrial detention over the weekend until at least November 4 on corruption charges.
September 13, 2024
Kyrgyz Opposition Politician Beknazarov Accused Of Money Laundering

Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said on September 13 that opposition politician Azimbek Beknazarov was detained a day earlier on suspicion of having been involved in money laundering.

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