Kyrgyzstan: no powerful leader – protectorate of the “big brother”

I am planning a business trip to Bishkek at the beginning of June.  Actually it was planned for the end of April – beginning of May, but postponed to the end of May and now to June…  Although traveling to Kyrgyzstan, at least to the northern part of the land, is not forbidden any more, foreign missions staying in Kyrgyzstan advise no to go there if it is not a case of emergency.  People say that the situation in Bishkek is quite safe nowadays, but it is not very comfortable to stay there yet. Many are afraid that disorders can be spread from the southern part of the country to Bishkek any time and very fast, as it was in April. 

Foreigners are advised not to go out at night, stay in touch via mobile phones and always carry passports with them, since the police in Bishkek was told to detain everyone without an ID. Pick pocketing and disorderly conduct are wide spread now, so it is better to watch your bag and be careful.

I wonder when people, who arranged all the “revolutionary events” and made the president resign, will be able to establish power and restore the order in Kyrgyzstan? The point is that there is no real power in the country right now and people know it. They do not feel any strong hand leading them, but it is really needed. I doubt if even a half of those who went to the streets in April had an idea what they were fighting for or against. That was just the crowd effect.  And the same is happening now… Someone on the top cannot assume power and people on the streets like the anarchy.

Thus it is quite logically that other countries want to use the situation in their interests. The main candidates for interfering in Kyrgyzstan are Russia and the US. Both have their security forces there, so both are interested. I don’t want to go into political details, just want to say a couple of words on what I saw. Some time ago there was a show on Russian TV, where Russian experts and people representing Kyrgyzstan were discussing whether Russia should help Kyrgyzstan or not.  The majority of Kyrgyz people said that Russia had to support former soviet country in the hard situation. And they meant not only providing financial support to the country, but also creating jobs for Kyrgyz people in Russia and let them earn there! On the other hand, Russia should not interfere in the situation in Kyrgyzstan…

And the most surprising is that, Russia has already started helping Kyrgyz people. Anyone coming from Kyrgyzstan can get Russian citizenship; the process does not take a long time and quite easy from the bureaucratic point of view.  At the same time, people who are originally Russian but live in other Central Asian countries, have limited chances to get a red passport. Yes, of course Russia just helps poor Kyrgyz people…

And who is this weird lady Rosa Otunbaeva? In the words to journalist after her visit to Moscow at the beginning of May she said something like this: “Vladimir Putin assured me in his support. Russia will help us and will not leave us alone in this tough situation”. She was so excited about it... Like a child. I doubt whether this person can have power in any country. Even as small, as Kyrgyzstan.

Western countries blame some Central Asian governments with violating principles of democracy and giving not enough freedom to people. But when authorities are not strong enough, many say there is no real power and they blame the president for being weak... So it is a pretty hard task to find the golden middle.