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Asia
Nomads living in traditional yurts, mountains soaring to heights of over 7,000 metres and handicrafts which evoke a time when caravans travelled the Silk Road: Kyrgyzstan’s, history, culture and nature can be described with picturesque images. However, the present day in the Central Asian country is altogether different, characterised primarily by poverty, economic decline, political unrest and ethnic tensions.
Having been conquered in the 19th century by the Russian Tsarist empire, in 1936 Kyrgyzstan was given the status of a Soviet Socialist Republic. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan declared its independence on 31 August 1991. In the years that followed, the mountain republic – 90 per cent of the country lies more than 1,000 metres above sea level – was regarded as a role model for other countries in Central Asia. Political and economic reforms were introduced more quickly than in other former Soviet Republics and an active civil society assisted the process of transformation.
At the end of the 1990s, the style of government in Kyrgyzstan became increasingly authoritarian as more and more power was concentrated in the person of the President. Reforms were delayed and the prosperity gap between the north and south widened.
During the past decade, popular uprisings have resulted in the overthrow of the head of state on two separate occasions. In 2005, rigged parliamentary elections triggered the "Tulip Revolution" against President Askar Akayev. In the spring of 2010, his successor, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, was forced to step down following mass demonstrations in which the Kyrgyz population voiced its discontent at Bakiyev’s corruption-ridden and nepotistic politics.
As the political unrest continued, violent clashes broke out in the south of the country between the Kyrgyz population and the Uzbek minority. Several hundred people died in the conflict and tens of thousands were forced to flee.
In June 2010, interim President Roza Otunbayeva held a constitutional referendum in which a majority voted in favour of abolishing the presidential system and setting up a parliamentary democracy. Otunbayeva was confirmed in office. The challenges now facing the Kyrgyz government include pressing ahead with the process of democratisation, kick-starting the economy, creating social peace and fighting corruption.
Cooperation with Germany
Historically, Kyrgyz-German relations have been shaped by the German minority in the Central Asian country. The first settlements of German Mennonites in the country were established in the 19th century. During the Second World War, ethnic Germans were forcibly resettled in Kyrgyzstan and another wave of immigrants followed in the 1950s. After the collapse of the Soviet system, many of them came to Germany as ethnic German resettlers. Whereas roughly 100,000 ethnic Germans were still living in Kyrgyzstan at the beginning of the 1990s, today this figure is estimated at roughly 10,000.
In terms of development policy, Germany and Kyrgyzstan have been working together since 1991. The focus of development cooperation is on sustainable economic development and health.
German Embassy
German Embassy in Kyrgyztan
Uliza Rasakowa 28
720040 Bishkek
Phone: + 996 / 312 / 90 50 00
Fax: + 996 / 312 / 30 07 44
