Sadyr Japarov

Kolbaev’s death was a sudden end to a long, infamous, career of escaping the law both internationally and within Kyrgyzstan.

The drama around the Madumarov matter obscures the lack of tangible progress by the Japarov administration in coming to an agreement on the border with Tajikistan. 

Kusturizatsia means, literally, “vomiting.” Under the practice, corrupt individuals can repay a fraction of stolen proceeds to the state and then go about their business. Who knows where the money goes?

FC Barcelona visited Kyrgyzstan to inaugurate two new football academies. Japarov is touchy about investigations into how the schools are funded.

The Kyrgyz media outlet, known for its reporting on corruption, is under pressure once again for publishing materials “aimed at sharply criticizing the policies of the current government.”

Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian country that once wanted to do away with its armed forces, has taken significant steps to rearm itself since the deadly 2021 clashes with neighboring Tajikistan. 

Where some see the normal activities of an opposition party, the Kyrgyz government sees the seeds of a nefarious coup plot. 

For the second time in just over a year, Kyrgyzstan’s prosecutor general has sought to strip opposition politician Adakhan Madumarov’s immunity so he can be prosecuted. 

Sadyr Japarov represents a shift from old-school authoritarianism to new-wave methods of consolidating illiberal, autocratic power under the guise of popular support.

“The Kyrgyz political space has definitely become more constrained, more dangerous, more unpredictable, and less free.”

In prison (mostly) since 2019, the former Kyrgyz president was granted yet another retrial but also released and allowed to leave the country.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov met Mirziyoyev at the airport, welcoming him for a much anticipated state visit.