In Kyrgyzstan, creeping authoritarianism rubs up against proud tradition of people power in the shadow of Putin the Terrible

Recommendable and concerning!

A bit of history:

"... Bishkek [capitol] – then known as Pishpek – came under Russian rule in the 1850s as the czar conquered a patchwork of Central Asian city-states and nomadic tribes under the guise of a “civilizing mission.”

The Kyrgyz people continued to defend their distinctive nomadic way of life. But overt resistance against Russian rule was met with brutal force. In 1916, when imperial Russia began forcibly conscripting Kyrgyz men to fight in World War I, Kyrgyz rebelled. In the crackdown that followed, over 100,000 Kyrgyz were killed. Many women and children died crossing the Tian Shan mountains to seek refuge in China from Russian repression.

Soviet rule ostensibly offered the promise of better relations with Moscow. And in 1926, the Kyrgyz gained autonomy; full republic status followed in 1936.

In common with much of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyz citizens suffered from Stalin’s purges. In 1938, 138 Kyrgyz intellectuals were killed and buried in a mass grave outside Bishkek ..."

In Kyrgyzstan, creeping authoritarianism rubs up against proud tradition of people power