Country Background: Kyrgyzstan
3.1 Country Background: Kyrgyzstan
3.1.1 General information
Figure 1: Map of Kyrgyzstan
(Source: Nations Online Project, 2013) Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country located in Central Asia and is surrounded by Kazakhstan, China,
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (see figure 1). The country is dominated by the Tien Shan mountain Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (see figure 1). The country is dominated by the Tien Shan mountain
The whole Republic of Kyrgyzstan is divided into 7 administrative units, which are called oblast (russ.). The four oblasts Chui, Talas, Yssik-Kul and Naryn build the northern part of the country, whereas the southern part encompasses the oblasts Osh, Jalalabat and Batken. The cities Bishkek and Osh build own administrative units. The oblasts again are divided in rayons, the next smaller administrative unit (CIA, 2013).
The population of Kyrgyzstan is estimated on 5.5 million people (2013) with an urban population of approximately 35.3% (2011). The capital Bishkek officially counts 854’000 inhabitants during the population cencus of 2009 (CIA, 2013). Kyrgyzstan possesses a remarkable ethnical diversity: There are more than 90 different ethnicities living in Kyrgyzstan (Weyermann, 2005, p.27). The population census of 2009 counted 71% Kyrgyz, 14.3% Uzbeks, 7.8% Russians, 1.1% Dungans, 0.4% Ukrainians, 0.9% Uighurs and 4.8% other ethnicities (See figure 2). (National Statistic Committee, 2009 cited in BMB, 2011, p.14). Compared to the population census 1999 there is a higher percentage of the Kyrgyz ethnicity, while the Russian and Ukrainian ethnicity percentage declined. This multi-ethnic society is a result of the high immigration to Kyrgyzstan during the Soviet period:
“The 19с0s were a period of strong modernisation in the industrial sector as well as in agriculture. During this time, immigration contributed significantly to population growth, but even before this, following the creation of the Republic and during the Great Patriotic War, migration to Kyrgyzstan was promoted and forced in order to develop the country and to resettle representatives of various nationalities from other parts of the Soviet Union.“ (Schuler, 2007, p.74)
As a consequence of the clearly defined social, political and economic specializations of the different ethnicities, they are spread in different patterns over the Kyrgyz territory: While the ethnic Kyrgyz mainly live in rural areas due to their engagement in agriculture, other ethnicities like the Russians, Ukrainians and Koreans more live in towns or industrial areas. Uzbeks live in both places rural and urban, mainly in the South of Kyrgyzstan (ibid.). With 75%, the majority of Kyrgyz citizens are Muslim, while 20% are Orthodox and 5% follow other religions (CIA 2013).
Russian Dungan Ukrainian Others
Figure 2: Ethnicities in Kyrgyzstan
(Source: BMP, 2011, p.14, own representation) Even if the GDP in Kyrgyzstan was constantly growing in the last decade, with $2,400 PPP
(estimation of 2012) it remains rather low (CIA, 2013). Regarding the HDI of 0.622, Kyrgyzstan is placed on rank 125 out of 187 (UNDP, 2013). In 2011, two out of five people in Kyrgyzstan lived in poverty (WB, 2013, p.21) The Kyrgyz economy is strongly vulnerable to changes in the global economy on account of its landlocked geographical situation as well as its dependence on foreign energy sources (Bierbaum and Gassmann, 2012, p.5). Geographically it can be stated that poverty is a mainly rural phenomenon (WB, 2013, p.21) and increases with the altitude: Places with lower altitudes like Bishkek and in general the Chui valley have the deepest poverty rate since there are more job opportunities than in mountainous areas of high altitudes (Bierbaum and Gassmann, 2012, p.7). With 48%, almost the half of the population is employed in the agrarian sector. However, measuring the GDP the share of the agrarian sector is only 21.3%, while the service sector is dominating with 41.6%, followed by the industrial sector with 32.6%. (CIA, 2013)
3.1.2 Political System of Kyrgyzstan since Independence
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan became independent on 31 August 1991. The first president of the Kyrgyz Republic, Askar Akaev, was still elected in the late Soviet period, 1990, through the Kyrgyz Supreme Soviet. In October 1991, when Kyrgyzstan was already independent, he was elected by the population of Kyrgyzstan. In 1993, the first Constitution of the young independent Republic was established. According to the new constitution, Kyrgyzstan adopted a semi-presidential system (UNECE, 2010, p.9). However, despite the existence of a parliament and its interaction with the population, the main power is given to the president since the constitution denominates the president of Kyrgyzstan as the head of the state with far-reaching legislative power in comparison with the parliament. In 1995, Akaev was re-elected, which was the first time since the establishment of the constitution that Kyrgyzstan had an elected president. Akaev was re- elected in 2000, albeit the election didn’t comply with the OSCE commitments for democratic elections (Weyermann, 2005, pp.8-9). Thereafter he remained on power until 2005. His With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan became independent on 31 August 1991. The first president of the Kyrgyz Republic, Askar Akaev, was still elected in the late Soviet period, 1990, through the Kyrgyz Supreme Soviet. In October 1991, when Kyrgyzstan was already independent, he was elected by the population of Kyrgyzstan. In 1993, the first Constitution of the young independent Republic was established. According to the new constitution, Kyrgyzstan adopted a semi-presidential system (UNECE, 2010, p.9). However, despite the existence of a parliament and its interaction with the population, the main power is given to the president since the constitution denominates the president of Kyrgyzstan as the head of the state with far-reaching legislative power in comparison with the parliament. In 1995, Akaev was re-elected, which was the first time since the establishment of the constitution that Kyrgyzstan had an elected president. Akaev was re- elected in 2000, albeit the election didn’t comply with the OSCE commitments for democratic elections (Weyermann, 2005, pp.8-9). Thereafter he remained on power until 2005. His
“Unlike during the Tulip Revolution, when President Akaev refused to fire on the crowds, President Bakiev’s troops used force to quell the rally, and the death of 8с demonstrators at the hands of government marksmen enraged the crowd and led to the storming of the White House and the deposing of the second president of Kyrgyzstan in five years.”
After the hitherto president was disempowered, an interim government was built with the presidency of Rosa Otumbaeva. The interim government set up a referendum of the constitution “which promised to usher in the first “parliamentary republic” in post-communist Central Asia” (Huskey and Hill, 2011, p.877). While the president should be directly elected as hitherto, the government should newly be formed of the party leaders in the parliament and not from the president (ibid.). After that, the first parliamentary elections under the new constitution took place in the end of June 2010. Apart from some irregularities, international observers judged both the voting for the new constitution as well as the election of the parliament to been held free and fair (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2014).
In June 2010, a serious ethnic conflict between the Kyrgyz and the Uzbek population in the South of Kyrgyzstan, mainly in Osh, shuttered the country. As the central interim government was severely weakened by that time, it lost its de facto control over the southern regions (ICG, 2010, p.1). The new president Almazbek Atambaev which was elected in October 2011 with an acceptance of 63.2% for a six-year term is criticized for its passivity in ameliorating the tensions between Kyrgyz und Uzbeks (Bierbaum and Gassmann, 2012, p.4).
Photo 1 & 2: The White House, Bishkek's political centre (left) and the memorial of the revolution in 2010 in front of the White House (right)
(Source: own photos) During the Soviet period, the state took up a strong authoritarian role. Nowadays Kyrgyzstan is
known as the democratic island in Central Asia. Unlike its neighbours, the first president of Kyrgyzstan, Askar Akaev, was not only a leader which established his power in the Soviet period,
he was also re-elected by the people of Kyrgyzstan. Further, Kyrgyzstan admitted with its constitution to a democratic political system. However there are numerous evidences for corruption and nepotism (Weyermann, 2005, p.9). Tranparency international (2013) ranked Kyrgyzstan on position 150 out of 177 countries, therefore corruption must be a prevalent phenomenon in the country. Furthermore, political life has been shaped by political confrontation between administrative authorities (Alkan, 2009, p.355), particularly between southern and northern clans. These cleavages will be discussed on detail in the next chapter.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the role of the state in Kyrgyzstan changed. What type of state was established after the collapse of the authoritarian Soviet state? Luong (2004) states that the boundaries between state and soci eties haven’t been clear during the time of the Soviet Union, and he argues that after independence they still remained blurred in Central Asia, also in Kyrgyzstan. For example, he mentioned that NGO ’s in Kyrgyzstan indeed exist but are still highly depending on the state. Due to the corruption and the inability of the state to provide basic services to all of its citizens, Ruget and Usmanalieva (2007) consider Kyrgyzstan to be a weak state.
It would lie beyond the scope of this master thesis to answer the question in which extent the contemporary Kyrgyz state is democratic. However, on the example of the registration system, this master thesis should provide insight to the contemporary state-society relations in Kyrgyzstan.
3.1.3 North-South Divisions
Due to the geographical conditions of a natural barrier through the mountain range and the resulting difficulties in transport linkages, the south is strongly separated from the north. Therefore the economy of the south is more linked to its neighbouring countries (Schuler, 2007, p.75) and neglected from the Kyrgyz economy, thus it’s the poorest part of the country with the lowest HDI (Thieme, 2012, p.5). Besides its economy, the South of Kyrgyzstan differs in many further terms from the north: The southern oblasts are more rural than the northern. However, rurality here refers to the predominance of agriculture and doesn’t compulsory mean low population. Moreover, Due to the geographical conditions of a natural barrier through the mountain range and the resulting difficulties in transport linkages, the south is strongly separated from the north. Therefore the economy of the south is more linked to its neighbouring countries (Schuler, 2007, p.75) and neglected from the Kyrgyz economy, thus it’s the poorest part of the country with the lowest HDI (Thieme, 2012, p.5). Besides its economy, the South of Kyrgyzstan differs in many further terms from the north: The southern oblasts are more rural than the northern. However, rurality here refers to the predominance of agriculture and doesn’t compulsory mean low population. Moreover,
in Kyrgyzstan (UNECE, 2010, p.10). Further there are ethnical differences: The main part of the Uzbek minority lives in the south due to its closeness to Uzbekistan, while the majority of the Russian minority live in the north (Ryabkov, 2008). North and south Kyrgyzstan are also divided politically: According to Ryabkov (2008) this political division is a result of complicated clan- dynamics: The clans from the north and the south are politically split from each other. The north- south division of the Kyrgyz tribes goes back to the 16 th century (Alkan, 2009, p.356). During the presidency of Akaev (1990-2005), the whole presidential team originated from the north, particularly from the oblasts Chui and Talas, while Yssik-Kul and Naryn were excluded and therefore out of their control. Southern politicians were in opposition to the government. Bakiev was a leader of this opposition, originating from the south and became president after the Tulip revolution 2005. He was leading Kyrgyzstan in the form of a tandem together with Kulov, who originated from the north. Through that tandem, the unity of the country should be emphasized. However, in the beginning of 2007 this tandem dissolved and the north-south divide was increasing again (Ryabkov, 2008). Because of the underrepresentation of the north in Bakievs government, the northerners felt increasingly discontent, what additionally intensified general discontent about the government and was leading to the violent overthrow of it in 2010 (Huskey and Hill, 2011, p.877). The new elected president Almazbek Atambaev again originates from the north, thus the framework of the north-south relations is currently changing again.