Kyrgyzstan

In about the 16th century the Kyrgyz people migrated west to settle in the area that is now Kyrgyzstan. The region was conquered by the Oirots, a Mongolian people, in the late 17th century and came under the Qùqon (Kokand) khanate in the 19th century. The first Russian penetration of the region took place in 1855, and in 1876 czarist forces defeated the khanate and incorporated present-day Kyrgyzstan into the Russian Empire. Until the Russian Revolution of 1917, the area was ruled as part of Turkistan Kray (Russian for "province"). In 1916 many Kyrgyz and other Central Asian peoples revolted against Russian rule. The czarist regime responded with force, which caused many Kyrgyz to seek refuge across the border in China. After the Russian Revolution, the Kyrgyz resisted but were defeated by Bolshevik forces. In 1921 the area became part of the Turkistan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR)-which also included portions of present-day Kazakstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan-within the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR). In 1924 the area became the Kara-Kirgiz Autonomous Oblast (AO) of the Kirgiz ASSR within the RSFSR. Its name was changed to the Kirgiz AO in 1925. In 1926 it was upgraded to an autonomous republic, and it became a full-fledged constituent republic of the USSR in 1936. Beginning in the late 1920s, the republic experienced extreme cultural and political repression, saw the influx of Russians and other peoples in large numbers, and underwent large-scale industrialization. Kyrgyzstan declared its independence in September 1991, shortly before the breakup of the USSR. It joined the United Nations in 1992. In 1993 Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement with the members of the CIS that would further integrate member economies. Part of the accord included an agreement to use the Russian ruble as currency and to abide by rules for its use. The accord would lower tariffs between countries as well as remove restrictions on travel, work, and property ownership. In May Kyrgyzstan approved its first post-Soviet constitution. The new constitution established a new 105-member parliament to replace the 350-member Jogorku Kenesh (Supreme Soviet), though elections for the legislature were not immediately scheduled. Also in May, Kyrgyzstan abandoned the Russian ruble as a unit of currency and introduced its own currency, the som. This move created tension between neighboring republics that still used the ruble because it made interstate trade more difficult. It also ended Russian subsidies of Kyrgyz industries because it violated the earlier accord. Uzbekistan temporarily closed its border with Kyrgyzstan and cut off natural gas supplies as a result of the currency switch. In July President Asker Akayev decreed that Russian would share Kyrgyz's status as an official language in all areas containing a Russian majority. The move was instituted in order to stem the emigration of ethnic Russians who felt threatened by Kyrgyz nationalists. In early 1994 Kyrgyzstan joined an effort to restore the Aral Sea, which had suffered extreme environmental damage during the 1980s. Debate over the economy continued in 1994. Despite the new currency's stability and a low rate of inflation, Akayev's reform efforts were criticized by the largely conservative parliament. Akayev prompted his supporters to boycott the legislature, and Akayev called for new election and constitutional reform of the legislature. Even after the parliament was reconfigured into a bicameral one by a 1994 referendum, new elections in early 1995 left former Communists holding many of the seats. Members of the legislature resisted Akayev's proposal to concentrate more power in the hands of the president, criticizing the plan as an attempt to turn Kyrgyzstan into a "presidential republic." Nonetheless, voters overwhelmingly approved the stronger presidency in the February 1996 referendum. After the vote, Akayev accepted the resignation of the government, which will remain in a caretaker's role until a new government is formed. Akayev also announced his intention to retain the current prime minister, Apas Jumagulov.