Kyrgyzstan

• July 20, 2025

  Central Asia’s Evolving Censorship: From Physical Threats To Algorithmic Purges

  Across Kazakhstan, and more broadly in Central Asia, an evolving censorship achieved by various means -- from algorithmic deletions to orchestrated account takeovers and from legal persecution to digital coercion -- is plaguing the region's fledgling independent media.

• July 18, 2025

  Forced Into Underage Marriages, Kyrgyz And Tajik Girls See Dreams Derailed

  In Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, teenage girls are commonly forced to marry before reaching adulthood, in spite of laws setting the minimum age of marriage at 18. RFE/RL spoke to two teenagers who were coerced into marriage against their will, forcing them to give up their educations.

• July 18, 2025

  Stolen Childhoods: Underage Marriages Still Haunt Central Asia

  In spite of international laws banning marriage for minors, girls in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are commonly forced to marry as young teens. One Tajik woman described leaving school at 17 to work for her husband's family, while a young Kyrgyz woman said she was kidnapped by her suitor at just 16.

• July 14, 2025

  State Silence Fuels Fears Kyrgyz Crypto Boom Busting Russia Sanctions

  With global scrutiny escalating over a Kyrgyzstan-registered cryptocurrency exchange allegedly moving billions of dollars in just a few months, the deafening silence from Kyrgyz officials is raising urgent concerns about the country’s readiness to regulate its burgeoning digital assets sector.

• June 09, 2025

  Central Asian Leaders Groom Their Offspring As Successors With Moscow Meetings

  When Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Uzbek leader Shavkat Mirziyoev travel to Moscow for talks with senior officials, it's just another series of meetings between leaders with deep ties. But a series of recent meetings that involved their children told a new story: the succession process is on.

• June 07, 2025

  Promises Of High-Paid Work Lure Kyrgyz Into Russian Drug Trade

  For some Kyrgyz citizens, an offer of $4,000 per month for a job in Russia might seem too good to pass up. But those promises are used to recruit foreigners into Russia’s drug trade. Kyrgyz who take the gamble risk arrest in Russia and long prison sentences with few resources to defend themselves.

• June 07, 2025

  How Kyrgyz Citizens Are Recruited As Drug Couriers In Russia

  Across the Kyrgyz capital, posters have appeared offering tempting job opportunities in Russia. RFE/RL contacted one of these "employers" -- who openly admitted the work involved drugs.

• June 06, 2025

  Russia's Migrant Crackdown Expands With Mandatory Mobile Tracking

  Russia is preparing to launch a sweeping new system to monitor migrant workers, combining biometric registration, location tracking, and intensified police oversight.

• May 08, 2025

  Migrants Beaten In Moscow Cafe As Crackdown On Central Asians Intensifies

  Migrant workers in Moscow face rising police violence amid intensified crackdowns targeting Central Asians. Despite no violations, raids are increasing, fueling fear and mass deportations after recent terrorist-linked arrests and new powers granted to police.

• May 08, 2025

  Migrants Beaten In Moscow Cafe Amid Ongoing Crackdown On Central Asians

  Staff and customers say they were badly beaten by Moscow police when they raided a cafe employing Central Asian migrants.

• May 01, 2025

  US Deports Over 100 Central Asian Nationals With Uzbekistan’s Cooperation

  The United States has deported more than 100 citizens from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to Tashkent in what Uzbek officials said is part of initiative is aimed at ensuring the rights of its citizens caught in "difficult situations abroad."

• April 24, 2025

  As Russian Ruble Surges Against The Dollar, Central Asia Reaps Windfall

  As the US dollar tanks in value amid tariff turmoil, Central Asian migrant workers are benefitting from a surging Russian ruble -- bringing a huge boost in remittances sent home.

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