View source for Kyrgyzstan

===Independence===
{{Recentism|date=September 2012}}
In October 1991, Akayev ran unopposed and was elected president of the new independent Republic by direct ballot, receiving 95 percent of the votes cast. Together with the representatives of seven other Republics that same month, he signed the Treaty of the New Economic Community. Finally, on 21 December 1991, Kyrgyzstan joined with the other four Central Asian Republics to formally enter the new [[Commonwealth of Independent States]]. Kyrgyzstan gained full independence a few days later on 25 December 1991. The following day, on 26 December 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. In 1992, Kyrgyzstan joined the [[United Nations]] and the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] (OSCE). On 5 May 1993, the official name changed from the Republic of Kyrgyzstan to the Kyrgyz Republic.

In 2005, a popular uprising known as the "[[Tulip Revolution]]", took place after the parliamentary elections in March 2005, forced President [[Askar Akayev]]'s resignation on 4 April 2005. Opposition leaders formed a coalition, and a new government was formed under President [[Kurmanbek Bakiyev]] and Prime Minister [[Feliks Kulov]]. The nation's capital was looted during the protests.

Political stability appeared to be elusive, however, as various groups and factions allegedly linked to [[organized crime]] jockeyed for power. Three of the 75 members of Parliament elected in March 2005 were assassinated, and another member was assassinated on 10 May 2006 shortly after winning his murdered brother's seat in a by-election. All four are reputed to have been directly involved in major illegal business ventures.{{According to whom|date=December 2014}}
On 6 April 2010, [[2010 Kyrgyzstan revolution|civil unrest broke out]] in the town of [[Talas, Kyrgyzstan|Talas]] after a demonstration against government corruption and increased living expenses. The protests became violent,  spreading to Bishkek by the following day. Protesters attacked President Bakiyev's offices, as well as state-run radio and television stations. There were conflicting reports that Interior Minister [[Moldomusa Kongatiyev]] had been beaten. On 7 April 2010, President Bakiyev imposed a state of emergency. Police and special services arrested many opposition leaders. In response, protesters took control of the internal security headquarters (former [[KGB]] headquarters) and a state television channel in the capital, Bishkek.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} Reports by Kyrgyzstan government officials indicated that at least 75 people were killed and 458 hospitalized in bloody clashes with police in the capital.<ref>{{cite news |author=Tkachenko, Maxim |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/04/08/kyrgyzstan.violence/index.html?iref=allsearch |title=Kyrgyz president says he won't resign |publisher=CNN |date= 9 April 2010 |accessdate=17 April 2010}}</ref> Reports say that at least 80 people died as a result of clashes with police. A transition government, led by former foreign minister [[Roza Otunbayeva]], by 8 April 2010 had taken control of [[Media of Kyrgyzstan|state media]] and government facilities in the capital, but Bakiyev had not resigned from office.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/04/09/Expert-Kyrgysztan-could-face-civil-war/UPI-78531270835021/ |title=Expert: Kyrgysztan could face civil war |publisher=UPI.com |date=9 April 2010 |accessdate=17 April 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=AFP |url=http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20100410-209496.html |title=Ousted Kyrgyz president is offered 'safe passage' |publisher=asiaone |date=10 April 2010 |accessdate=9 August 2013}}</ref>

President Bakiyev returned to his home in [[Jalal-Abad]] and stated his terms of resignation at a press conference on 13 April 2010.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8617729.stm |title=Kyrgyz President Bakiyev 'will resign if safe' |publisher=BBC News |date=13 April 2010 |accessdate=17 April 2010}}</ref> On 15 April 2010, Bakiyev left the country and flew to neighboring [[Kazakhstan]], along with his wife and two children. The country's provisional leaders announced that Bakiyev signed a formal letter of resignation prior to his departure.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/04/15/kyrgystan.gunfire/index.html?hpt=T2 |title=Ousted Kyrgyz president quits, leaves country |publisher=CNN |date= 16 April 2010}}</ref>

Prime Minister [[Daniar Usenov]] accused Russia of supporting the protests; this accusation was denied by Russian Prime Minister, [[Vladimir Putin]]. Opposition members also called for the closing of the US-controlled [[Manas Air Base]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=10305761 |title=Kyrgyz Opposition Controls Government Building |author=Leonard, Peter |publisher=The Associated Press via ABC News |date=7 April 2010 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411210401/http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=10305761 |archivedate=11 April 2010 }}</ref> Russia's President [[Dmitry Medvedev]] ordered measures to ensure the safety of Russian nationals and tighten security around Russian sites in Kyrgyzstan to protect them against possible attacks.

The [[2010 South Kyrgyzstan ethnic clashes]] occurred between the two main ethnic groups—the Uzbeks and Kyrgyz—in [[Osh]], the second largest city in the country, on 11 June 2010.  The clashes incited fears that the country could be heading towards a civil war.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10296635.stm|title=There are clashes in the Kyrgyzstan again |publisher=BBC |date= 11 June 2010 |accessdate=11 June 2010}}</ref><ref>Shuster, Simon. (1 August 2010) [http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2007709,00.html "Signs of Uzbek Persecution Rising in Kyrgyzstan"]. Time.com. Retrieved on 6 December 2013.</ref>

[[File:Sassamir Valley (3968060227).jpg|thumb|Nomads in Kyrgyzstan]]
Finding it difficult to control the situation, Otunbayeva, the interim leader, sent a letter to the Russian president, Dimitry Medvedev, asking him to send Russian troops to help the country control the situation. Medvedev's Press Attaché, [[Natalya Timakova]], said in a reply to the letter, "It is an internal conflict and for now Russia does not see the conditions for taking part in its resolution". The clashes caused a shortage of food and other essential commodities with more than 200 killed and 1,685 people hurt, {{As of|2010|06|12|lc=on}}. The Russian government, however, said it would be sending humanitarian aid to the troubled nation.<ref name="By2010">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10300348.stm|title=Kyrgyz president asks for Russian help|publisher=BBC |date= 12 June 2010|accessdate=12 June 2010}}</ref>

According to local sources, there was a clash between two local gangs and it did not take long for the violence to spread to the rest of the city. There were also reports that the armed forces supported ethnic Kyrgyz gangs entering the city, but the government denied the allegations.<ref name="By2010"/>

The riots spread to neighboring areas, and the government declared a state of emergency in the entire southern [[Jalal-Abad]] region. To control the situation, the interim government gave special shoot-to-kill powers to the security forces. The Russian government decided to send a battalion to the country to protect Russian facilities.<ref name="By the BBC">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10304165.stm|title=Situation worsens in Kyrgyzstan|publisher=bbc.co.uk |date= 13 June 2010|accessdate=13 June 2010}}</ref>

[[File:Kyrgyz family Sary-Mogol.jpg|thumb|Kyrgyz family in the village of Sary-Mogol, [[Osh Region]]]]
Otunbayeva accused the family of Bakiyev of "instigating the riots".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/russia-turns-down-kyrgyz-call-for-help-as-toll-rises/633045/0|title=Ousted Kyrgyz President's family blamed| publisher=Associated Press via The Indian Express| date= 12 June 2010|accessdate=13 June 2010}}</ref> AFP reported "a veil of smoke covering the whole city". Authorities in neighboring [[Uzbekistan]] said at least 30,000 Uzbeks had crossed the border to escape the riots.<ref name="By the BBC"/> Osh became relatively calm on 14 June 2010, but Jalal-Abad witnessed sporadic incidents of arson. The entire region was still under a state of emergency as Uzbeks were reluctant to leave their houses for fear of attacks by the mobs. The [[United Nations]] decided to send an envoy to assess the situation.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10307406.stm|title=Osh gets relatively calmer but Jalalabad flares up |publisher=BBC |date= 14 June 2010 |accessdate=14 June 2010}}</ref>

[[Temir Sariyev]], deputy chief of the interim government, said there were local clashes and that it was not possible [for the government] to fully control the situation. He added that there were not sufficient security forces to contain the violence. Media agencies reported on 14 June 2010 that the Russian government was considering a request by the Kyrgyz government. An emergency meeting of [[Collective Security Treaty Organisation]] (CSTO) was held on the same day (14 June) to discuss the role it could play in helping to end the violence. 
Ethnic violence waned, according to the Kyrgyz government, by 15 June 2010 and Kyrgyz president Roza Otunbayeva held a news conference that day and declared that there was no need for Russia to send in troops to quell the violence. There were at least 170 people left dead by 15 June 2010 but Pascale Meige Wagner of the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]] said the [official] death toll was an underestimate. The UN High Commissioner told reporters in [[Geneva]] that evidence suggested that the violence seemed to have been staged up. 
Ethnic Uzbeks threatened to blow up an oil depot in Osh if they failed to get guarantees of protection. The United Nations said it believed that the attacks were "orchestrated, targeted and well-planned". Kyrgyz officials told the media that a person suspected to be behind the violence in Jalal-Abad had been detained.<ref name="http">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10325589.stm|title=UN and Russian aid arrives |publisher=BBC |date= 16 June 2010 |accessdate=16 June 2010}}</ref>
[[File:HA delivers to a local kindergarten.jpg|thumb|Children of Kyrgyzstan]]

On 2 August 2010, a Kyrgyz government commission began investigating the causes of the clashes. Members of the National Commission, led by former parliament speaker Abdygany Erkebaev, met with people from the predominantly ethnic Uzbek villages of Mady, Shark, and Kyzyl-Kyshtak in the Kara-Suu district of Osh Oblast. This National Commission, including representatives of many ethnic groups, was established by a presidential decree.

President Roza Otunbayeva also said in August 2010 that an international commission would also be formed to investigate the clashes.<ref>[http://www.rferl.org/content/Kyrgyz_Commission_Begins_Investigating_Ethnic_Clashes/2116620.html Kyrgyz Commission Begins Investigating Ethnic Clashes]. Rferl.org (2 August 2010). Retrieved on 6 December 2013.</ref>

The commission's report, released in January 2011, concluded that the events in southern Kyrgyzstan constituted a “planned, large-scale provocation, oriented towards the splitting of Kyrgyzstan and disrupting the unity of its people.”  Responsibility for this provocation was seen as lying with “nationalistically-minded leaders of the Uzbek community”.  
In the aftermath of the turmoil, on 5 August 2010, Kyrgyz forces arrested party leader Urmat Baryktabasov on suspicion of plotting an overthrow of the government, after troops allegedly fired blank rounds at a crowd trying to join mass demonstrations near the Parliament in the capital Bishkek. Acting President Roza Otunbayeva said security forces seized firearms and grenades from him and 26 supporters.<ref>Siegel, Matt and Namatabayeva, Tolkun (5 August 2010) [https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5itwmskCKICJVZOpvt3Gbs76Z2H9g Attempted coup rocks tense Kyrgyzstan]. AFP.</ref>