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Kyrgyz Security Chief Outlines Two Alleged Assassination Attempts on President

Kyrgyzstan’s State National Security Committee (GKNB) says it has prevented two assassination attempts on President Sadyr Japarov. This was reported by Kamchybek Tashiyev, Chairman of the GKNB, when speaking to journalists. Tashiyev also claimed that since taking up his post, five or six attempts on his life have been made. Tashiyev stressed that such attempts are regularly thwarted, and significant financial resources are allocated to this end. According to Tashiyev, one of the attempts involved the planned bombing of a road he was supposed to travel on. In addition, Tashiyev described repeated threats against him and his family, in particular a threatening letter he received, which, in his opinion, bore the hallmark of foreign special services and certain oligarchs. “The millions you offered, I did not take. You were angry that you would not be [able to operate] in our country, neither criminals nor oligarchs," Tashiyev stated. "Maybe you'll hurt me, but as long as I'm alive, I will not turn from the path I started.” Born on September 27, 1968, in Barpy, a village in Jalal-Abad Oblast, Kamchybek Tashiyev is a Kyrgyz was appointed as chairman of the GKNB in October 2020, having previously served as Minister of Emergency Situations (2007–2009) and as a deputy of the Jogorku Kenesh. In 2022, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic, and in 2024, he was elected President of the Kyrgyz Football Federation. Tashiyev is also the vice-president of the National Boxing Federation of Kyrgyzstan.

Rule of law Corruption Crime Government Justice Court Cases Oligarchs officials Anti-Corruption

Out With the Old and in With the New: From Politicians to Felons – Part Two

The end of the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev’s era coincided with a wave of mass protests across the country. The widely-accepted cause was the death of five children in a fire in a dilapidated annex to a private house, the like of which there are many in the suburbs of Astana. This tragedy occurred on the night of February 4, 2019, when the girls, with ages ranging from a baby to twelve years old, were left home alone. The event sparked furious complaints from mothers of children across the country, and on March 19 of the same year, Nazarbayev resigned, handing power to the next in the constitutional hierarchy, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the speaker of the Senate (Kazakhstan's upper house of parliament). High-profile cases of the transition period From that moment until the events of January 2022, the country went through a transitional period, which is often spoken of as having been a time of dual power. By analogy with the “Kremlin Towers” (a popular theory about clans in Vladimir Putin's Russia being engaged in an irreconcilable struggle for resources and influence), the new president's entourage began to be called “Akorda” - after the head of state's residence in Astana. Supporters of Nazarbayev and the idea of his return to the presidency, meanwhile, were known as the “Library” – a reference to the Library of the First President. It was believed that the officials Tokayev inherited from his predecessor were more likely to run reports to the Library than to the Akorda. This division serves to explain how the new president was bound in his ability to implement changes. Tokayev initially announced a course of political, economic and social reforms, but only the latter were implemented, while the rest were sabotaged. Even support from the general public, which Tokayev managed to garner in the National Council of Public Trust, did not help matters.Even under such constraints, however, it was possible to begin a purge of the establishment. For example, in 2020, the country was shaken by the first high-profile criminal case under Tokayev, when Bulat Bakauov, akim of the Pavlodar region and a bellwether of high-profile scandals under Nazarbayev, was accused of abusing his authority and arrested. However, the influence of Nazarbayev's entourage remained strong, so the sentence handed down to the former Akim turned out to be a meagre restriction of freedom for 3.5 years. The court obliged Bakauov to refrain from leaving his residence and regularly report to the probation service. In addition, Bakauov was obliged to engage in a hundred hours of public labor, ordered to return $10,000, and banned from holding public office. In the same year, there was a glimmer of hope that the former Akim of Almaty, Bauyrzhan Baibek - who was elevated to the height of political power by his father's childhood friendship with Nursultan Nazarbayev – would be held to account. Urban legends still circulate about the illegal earnings of Baibek and his team from the reconstruction of the center of...

Economy Migration Employment Bishkek Migrants officials

Kyrgyz Authorities Urge Migrants to Return Home From Russia

Kyrgyzstan's presidential spokesperson Askat Alagozov has urged Kyrgyz citizens who have gone to work in Russia to return and work at home. However, only some people share the government's position on the issue. Alagozov noted that the country desperately needs construction and textile workers. “Of course, the salary you expect will be the same as what you get in Russia. But, most importantly, it is better to work in your homeland and near your family. Come and work in your own country,” Alagozov wrote on social media. Alagozov published the Ministry of Labor and Social Development hotline number, where citizens can get help with employment. In comments to the post, citizens noted that salaries in Russia are higher than in Kyrgyzstan. A migrant in Russia receives an average of 80 to 200 thousand KGS ($950 - 2,350), while in Kyrgyzstan, the average salary is 30 to 50 thousand KGS ($350 - 600). “90% of Kyrgyz migrate to buy an apartment. Working here [in Kyrgyzstan], it is impossible to buy a house. The most important factor is migrants' need for housing,” one of Alagozov's followers said. As of August 1, 57,500 unemployed citizens were registered at the labor exchange. According to the National Statistical Committee, registered unemployment decreased by 21% over the past year. The Ministry of Labor and Social Development also claims that more than 230,000 citizens across the country have been employed over the past few years, while 58,000 have received vocational training. Meanwhile, workers registered at the labor exchange told The Times of Central Asia that the Kyrgyz labor market is not as good as the authorities make it out to be. To earn money, people have to take any job offered. “We are standing here on Lev Tolstoy Street, and everyone in Bishkek knows you can find workers if you come here. People here take on any work: construction and landscaping, concrete work, unloading, and transport work,” said a construction worker named Ulukbek. Permanent work is hard to find in the city, he said. “I can earn 1,500-2,000 KGS (US $18) daily, but not always, and sometimes you don't make any money. There is a mafia here; no one will give you a good job for nothing. There is massive competition in the warm seasons. In summer, people stand on both sides of the road, and there is more business to be had,” Ulukbek explained. Talk of a shortage of qualified construction workers in Kyrgyzstan began during the recent construction boom.