A Kyrgyz military reserve officer has spoken in detail about his seven months of service as a mercenary in the ranks of the Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Manas Mambetov says Russian troops are increasingly replacing local and mercenary fighters in the region -- and that Moscow has stepped up the provision of heavy weaponry.
The Tablighi Jaamat, a conservative Sunni Islamic movement, has been conducting missionary work in Kyrgyzstan for years. But reports that the avowed pacifistic group is expanding its reach among impoverished youth by offering free education abroad is raising concerns among Kyrgyz authorities.
Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva -- a former foreign minister, diplomat, and longtime opposition figure -- is a very different leader compared to her predecessors in Kyrgyzstan and counterparts in Central Asia. RFE/RL Kyrgyz Service Director Venera Djumataeva looks at the achievements and failures of Otunbaeva's first year in office.
RFE/RL correspondent Venera Djumataeva says Kyrgyzstan's interim leadership knows that it doesn't have much time to prove to the people of Kyrgyzstan that they are different.
The institution of marriage is ideally meant to bring a sense of comfort and security to its partnership. But a rise in polygamy among increasingly devout Central Asian Muslims is changing the rules about family life -- and leaving many women vulnerable and betrayed in the process.
Relations between longtime allies Russia and Kyrgyzstan seemed as close as ever when Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev announced that the U.S.-run, Manas air base outside Bishkek would be closed. But a year later, the two are in open disagreement.
Kyrgyzstan today is still a place where people of different ethnicity live together peacefully. But in the summer and fall of 1989, it really seemed as if things could turn out far worse. I don't think we realized the danger of the fire we were playing with.
Cholpon Orozobekova, editor in chief of the leading independent newspaper in Kyrgyzstan, “De Facto,” has left the country and is seeking political asylum in a European country.
Aziza Abdyrasulova of Kyrgyzstan is a fearless human rights defender who's been arrested, jailed, and beaten for her activism.
