{"id":7372,"date":"2024-05-05T14:05:38","date_gmt":"2024-05-05T14:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372"},"modified":"2024-05-05T14:05:38","modified_gmt":"2024-05-05T14:05:38","slug":"russian-influence-in-kyrgyzstan-rising-despite-local-consternation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372","title":{"rendered":"Russian influence in Kyrgyzstan rising despite local consternation"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Talas, a dusty town in northwestern Kyrgyzstan, is not accustomed to foreign dignitaries. Tourists occasionally stop there, but even officials from the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, rarely visit this remote part of the country.<\/p>\n

In mid-April, though, a high-level Kremlin delegation descended on the town of 30,000, putting it in national spotlight.<\/p>\n

On April 18 and 19, a Russian government delegation led by Igor Maslov, chief of the external cooperation directorate in President Vladimir Putin\u2019s executive office, took part in ceremonies honoring local World War II veterans. The Kremlin officials gave a $2,000 award to Arake Arstanbekov, one of the few living veterans of that war from Talas, and donated textbooks and equipment to several local schools.<\/p>\n

Addressing a group of Talas residents, Vladimir Korobovski, a representative of the Russian delegation, said the visit and assistance provided \u201cclear symbols of friendly relations between Russia and Kyrgyzstan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis act underscores the importance of humanitarian and social initiatives in supporting the development of [Kyrgyzstani] regions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The delegation’s visit, some regional experts say, is part of a broader Russian charm offensive to bolster Moscow\u2019s influence in Central Asia. While Russia views Central Asia as vital to its national interests and its regional governments have cast themselves as Russia’s partners because of historical, political and trade relations, some observers say Russian influence has been waning there because of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Temur Umarov, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said in a December 2022 analysis<\/a> that the invasion significantly weakened Moscow\u2019s influence among former Soviet republics, including those in Central Asia.<\/p>\n

“None of the Central Asian nations have supported Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, and all are adhering to Western sanctions against Russia,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe region\u2019s banks do not accept Russian MIR payment cards [used since Visa and Mastercard suspended Russian activity], for example, and only Kazakhstan allows their use by private individuals\u2014and only after getting U.S. approval to do so. Not one of the countries in Central Asia has recognized the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people\u2019s republics \u2014 or other Ukrainian territory that Russia claims to have annexed \u2014 as part of Russia,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Russian officials showed their displeasure with this seeming disloyalty, with some MPs in Russia’s Duma calling for stiffening restrictions on Central Asian migrants.<\/p>\n

However, instead of relying on arm-twisting, Kremlin officials are evidently relying on soft-power diplomacy to win the hearts and minds of the regional countries. The campaign targets all of the five Central Asian republics, but the main focus is on Kyrgyzstan, long a key ally where Russian language and culture are particularly strong.<\/p>\n

According to Russian Embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan\u2019s capital, more than 350,000 people in the country are registered with the embassy as Russian \u201ccompatriots,\u201d a category usually referring to those with Russian citizenship or who have family or professional ties to Russia.<\/p>\n

Kyrgyzstan is also a member of two Russia-dominated organizations \u2013 the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a military alliance also including Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Belarus, and the Eurasian Economic Union, which also includes Armenia Balarus and Kazakhstan. In addition, Russia maintains a military airbase on the Kyrgyzstani territory, as part of CSTO cooperation.<\/p>\n

Moscow unveiled plans in September to build nine Russian-language schools in Kyrgyzstan. At an estimated cost of $5.5 million, construction is to be completed by 2029. Russia also announced plans to build 10 schools in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n\"FILE\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/div>

\nFILE – Kyrgyz male labor migrants wait to leave to work in Russia at the office of a company organizing passenger transportation to Russia in Bishkek, Oct. 17, 2023.<\/span>
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Moscow officials have adopted a variety of other measures to keep Kyrgyzstan within Russia’s orbit of influence. A Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund gave out more than $500 million for development projects in Kyrgyzstan between 2014 and 2023. The fund, established in 2014, is mainly financed by Russia.<\/p>\n

Russia is also financing the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavonic University, a well-regarded higher educational institution in Kyrgyzstan. Each academic year, Russia gives out stipends to 1,000 Kyrgyzstani students for undergraduate arts and sciences study in Russia. As part of the annual academic exchange program, approximately 120 Russian secondary school teachers spend an academic year in Kyrgyzstan, where they teach Russian language and literature. An organization called the Coordination Council of Russian compatriots in Kyrgyzstan has united approximately 40 pro-Russian nonprofit organizations, and it serves as a conduit for Russian diplomacy.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n\"A\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/div>

\nA secondary school in Bishkek which is financed by Russian Gasprom, April 24, 2024. The school is one of the elitist educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan.<\/span>
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Russian efforts working<\/strong><\/p>\n

Russia’s diplomacy is paying off in Kyrgyzstan, according to analysts.<\/p>\n

A Bishkek-based expert on Kyrgyz-Russia relations, speaking on condition of anonymity, told VOA Kyrgizstan \u201cis one of the few countries in the region where Russian language and culture play dominant roles in society.”<\/p>\n

\u201cRussian language has a status as an official language, and a lot of people rely on Russian media for their news,” he said.<\/p>\n

The expert said that because the Kremlin uses Russian media as a propaganda tool in Kyrgyzstan, many people have pro-Russian views of international affairs.<\/p>\n

He cited the Kyrgyz foreign agents law, enacted last month, as among the most recent examples of Russian influence, saying it \u201cwas modeled after a Russian one, and it gives [Kyrgyz] authorities wide powers to control local NGOs.”<\/p>\n

He said the closure of Western organizations under the law will allow more Russian influence.<\/p>\n

Some activists have voiced concerns that Kremlin is using rising influence to promote Russian state propaganda in Kyrgyzstan. Local media reports said Russia will not only build the nine schools in Kyrgyzstan, it will also provide all the technical resources and choose the school principals.<\/p>\n

In a September 3 interview with RFE\/Rl, Bishkek political analyst Aibek Tenizbaev asked what kind of educations programs the schools would follow.<\/p>\n

\u201cKyrgyz authorities need to sort this issue out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRussia has adopted new standards. In their history textbooks, Russian authorities have included a section on their justification for the invasion of Ukraine in these textbooks, and these textbooks contain blunt [Russian government] propaganda,” he said.<\/p>\n

Politicians bothered<\/strong><\/p>\n

Russian efforts to expand its influence in Kyrgyzstan is bothering some politicians too.<\/p>\n

Nurlanbek Shakiev, speaker of the Supreme Council, the country\u2019s parliament, has emerged as a voice for political groups lamenting that Russian language and culture\u2019s dominant role in Kyrgyzstan has been undercutting government efforts to spread use of Kyrgyz language.<\/p>\n

Shakiev told Kyrgyz MPs on April 11 that, with children speaking Russian in villages across the country, \u201cKyrgyz [is disappearing because children are watching mainly Russian-language content on the internet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to block all broadcasts, all cartoons in Russian and other foreign languages,” he said.<\/p>\n

President Sadyr Japarov, apparently fearing to alienate Russia, quickly distanced himself from Shakiev’s statement, calling it “Shakiev’s personal opinion,” adding that he disagreed with Shakiev’s claim Kyrgyz is disappearing in villages.<\/p>\n

“I haven\u2019t heard our children speaking Russian since the childhood. On the contrary, there are cases when students leave school without knowing a word in Russian and go to Russia. They go there, and they have problems with the language. That is why I personally took the initiative and asked Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] to build nine Russian-language schools for us. Construction work will begin soon,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Japarov had previously played down activists\u2019 concern about Russian-financed schools.<\/p>\n

Addressing a September 1 groundbreaking ceremony for one of the schools, he said, \u201cThe language of instruction in these schools is Russian, and the curriculum will be based on the standards adopted in both of the two countries.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Talas, a dusty town in northwestern Kyrgyzstan, is not accustomed to foreign dignitaries. Tourists occasionally…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nRussian influence in Kyrgyzstan rising despite local consternation - International Pulse<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Russian influence in Kyrgyzstan rising despite local consternation - International Pulse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Talas, a dusty town in northwestern Kyrgyzstan, is not accustomed to foreign dignitaries. Tourists occasionally...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"International Pulse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-05T14:05:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gdb.voanews.com\/01000000-0aff-0242-0c54-08dc6d00cfa2_w250_r0_s.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372\",\"name\":\"Russian influence in Kyrgyzstan rising despite local consternation - International Pulse\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-05T14:05:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-05T14:05:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Russian influence in Kyrgyzstan rising despite local consternation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/\",\"name\":\"International Pulse\",\"description\":\"There's a different sound here\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/demo6.aiwalls.com\/automatic-news\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Russian influence in Kyrgyzstan rising despite local consternation - International Pulse","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Russian influence in Kyrgyzstan rising despite local consternation - International Pulse","og_description":"Talas, a dusty town in northwestern Kyrgyzstan, is not accustomed to foreign dignitaries. Tourists occasionally...","og_url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372","og_site_name":"International Pulse","article_published_time":"2024-05-05T14:05:38+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/gdb.voanews.com\/01000000-0aff-0242-0c54-08dc6d00cfa2_w250_r0_s.jpg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372","url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372","name":"Russian influence in Kyrgyzstan rising despite local consternation - International Pulse","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-05-05T14:05:38+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-05T14:05:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7372#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Russian influence in Kyrgyzstan rising despite local consternation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/","name":"International Pulse","description":"There's a different sound here","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/demo6.aiwalls.com\/automatic-news"],"url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?author=1"}]}},"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/B3BF7D25-5795-4788-BCD3-7E552009BCCF.jpg",1200,628,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/B3BF7D25-5795-4788-BCD3-7E552009BCCF-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/B3BF7D25-5795-4788-BCD3-7E552009BCCF-300x157.jpg",300,157,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/B3BF7D25-5795-4788-BCD3-7E552009BCCF-768x402.jpg",640,335,true],"large":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/B3BF7D25-5795-4788-BCD3-7E552009BCCF-1024x536.jpg",640,335,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/B3BF7D25-5795-4788-BCD3-7E552009BCCF.jpg",1200,628,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/B3BF7D25-5795-4788-BCD3-7E552009BCCF.jpg",1200,628,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/B3BF7D25-5795-4788-BCD3-7E552009BCCF-1115x628.jpg",1115,628,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/B3BF7D25-5795-4788-BCD3-7E552009BCCF-800x500.jpg",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/B3BF7D25-5795-4788-BCD3-7E552009BCCF-1024x536.jpg",1024,536,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/B3BF7D25-5795-4788-BCD3-7E552009BCCF-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/B3BF7D25-5795-4788-BCD3-7E552009BCCF-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?cat=9\" rel=\"category\">News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7372"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}